I like Taylor Swift’s music. Have you seen her latest video?
So much to talk about. Ready?
First of all, it’s so catchy. That’s one of the biggest reasons I like Taylor’s music – it’s just fun and catchy.
This video is fun, if not a bit insulting but HEY. it’s okay, I’m not upset and it’s certainly not going to ruin my day but damn girl, depicting people who don’t agree with homosexuality as idiots is a bit harsh, don’t ‘cha think?
I mean, to each his own, I guess. I know there ARE people who look like that, missing teeth, rat hair, holes in clothes, poor education, basically meth heads. But to imply that those are the kinds of people who disagree with your opinions is just … stupid.
People are ignorant. I won’t dispute that. But ignorance is present in coastal states too, not just the Midwest bible thumpers.
I understand where Tayor is going with this video and this song. And she’s right, there are WAY too many people who are offended and outraged over well, everything. People need to calm down.
You don’t agree with homosexuality? Okay. Life goes on.
You don’t agree with abortion? Okay. Life goes on.
You don’t agree with one particular politic party? Okay. Life goes on.
To sum up? People are not ignorant, evil or crazy if they disagree with you.
It’s called LIFE.
You need to calm down.
Taylor says people who are against homosexuality need to calm down – I say – same sweetie.
People who think straight people are devil incarnate also need to calm down.
People who have differing opinions have just as much right as you do, it’s called freedom of speech. Do you have to stand there and listen to those opinions? Nope. You can disregard and walk away. But those that try to bully and threaten their way to “being right” need to swallow a dose of reality. It’s not all about you and your life choices, hunty.
Everyone, take a chill pill AND CALM DOWN.
And one last thought – why is it okay to have one whole month dedicated to gay people but if we try and plan one whole month to celebrate straight people, the world goes apoplectic?
So gay people have chosen to dedicate one month to celebrate being gay? WHO CARES? You do you, boo. But DO NOT get upset when another section of our population would like to do the same for their life choice. You can’t have it your way and only your way, people.
You need to calm down.
This song goes both ways, this song goes ALL ways. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
People NEED to get over themselves. Truly.
And I’m going to be straight up honest with ya’ll – people honest to God DO NOT CARE ABOUT HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIVES.
We just got back from another cruise. Well, we didn’t JUST get back, we went mid-May.
If you didn’t know, Kevin and I are BIG cruisers. It’s fun and most importantly, we feel like we get our money’s worth.
When you mention cruising to people they immediately discard the idea. “It’s too expensive. Cruising is for rich people.” I can tell you right now, neither is true.
As with anything, you have to budget for a cruise but when you break down the cost and really see what you’re getting for your money, it’s actually a really good deal.
I mean, just the cost of the room and food nearly justifies the cost alone. But when you break down the number of places you stop, each port that you visit, again, you can’t beat the cost. Imagine how much it would cost you if you flew to each of these places? Then the cost of a hotel room and food on top of that. Don’t forget entertainment and taxis, tips, etc.
You honestly can’t beat the cost of a cruise – and I’m speaking of experience on that; I’m married to an accountant!
Kevin and I try and go on one cruise per year. We have an American Airline credit card that builds points toward airline tickets each time you use it. We also started using the Barclays card, which builds even MORE points toward airline tickets. (Honestly, we HIGHLY recommend looking into the Barclays card). We use our credit cards for everything – I can’t even tell you the last time I used cash for anything.
Now, keep in mind, we pay our cards off every month. Building points toward airline tickets only pays off if you’re not paying crazy high interest payments each month. But we figured, we’ll be buying this stuff anyway, why NOT use a card AND build points while we do it.
However, even though we build a lot of airline points each year, we don’t typically have enough accumulated by the time we’re ready to go on our next cruise the next year, so we have been alternating years we fly somewhere with driving to a nearby port other years.
For example, the last four years, we flew one year, the next year, we drove to New Orleans, then flew the next year, then drove down to New Orleans again.
That way, we continue to build points, don’t pay for flights, and we still get to go on a cruise every year.
In fact, I can’t even tell you the last time Kevin and I paid for airline tickets.
The points cover our airline tickets, it does not cover checking baggage. But still, it ends up costing us maybe $100 dollars to fly when we cash in our airline tickets – FOR BOTH OF US. I’d say that’s quite a deal.
Even though building points sounds great, and it IS great, there is a downside. Cashing in your points means you’re at the mercy of the airline. The available dates and times are limited. Which means, there will be times you have to fly at odd times, or have one or more layovers, or, you have to stay over someplace an extra day or two because the flight plan doesn’t exactly match your travel plans. And yes, then you have the extra cost for the hotel and food but even after factoring that cost in, it’s still cheaper than paying full price for airline tickets for each of us.
In short, it’s worth it. And if you have to stay over someplace, we take that time to do a little sight seeing – when are ever going to be back? Might as well take advantage of the time we’re there.
So again, win/win, really.
And that is how we manage to go on a cruise every year. Remember when I said you really need to budget for vacations/cruises? Well, Kevin has set up a cruising account made up of investments, and that’s the money we use to go cruising. So, we’re saving for retirement and basically cruising on the interest from our investments.
Another perk of being married to an accountant. 🙂
When we were driving back from New Orleans in May, (it takes about 10 hours and it’s really not a bad drive at all), we got to talking about how many cruises we’ve actually been on in our lifetime. We took our first cruise for our tenth anniversary. (Blake was about 8 and Brandon was 6 – they stayed with my parents for half the week and Kevin’s parents the second half of the week). We started naming them but honestly, we knew we were missing a few. (How sad, and how awesome, is it that we lost track of how many cruises we’ve been on? What a great problem to have!)
Kevin, being the super Excel geek that he is, made a spreadsheet of our cruises and I’d like to list them now, have a record of them, because if I don’t list them somewhere, we’ll lose track again.
2000 – Honeymoon cruise – we left out of Miami and cruised to San Juan/St. Thomas/Virgin Gorda – Carnival Paradise
2009 – left out of Miami and cruised to Belize/Honduras/Cozumel – Carnival Valor
2010 – left out of New York and cruised to St. John’s, NB/Halifax – Carnival Glory (this was right after Kevin’s’ motorcycle accident – he walked New York streets with a walker!)
2011 – left out of Port Canaveral and cruised to Orlando/Nassau/Freeport – Carnival Sensation
2012 – left out of Vancouver and cruised to Astoria OR/San Francisco – Holland America Zuiderdam (this was only a three-day cruise – TOO SHORT)
2013 – left out of Vancouver and cruised to Alaska (rode the train into the Yukon territory) – Holland America Statendam
2014 – no cruise – we vacationed in Las Vegas that year
2015 – left out of Honolulu and cruised to Hawaii (big Island)/Kauai/Maui – Norwegian Pride of America (This was our 25-year anniversary trip)
2016 – left out of New York and cruised to Bermuda – Norwegian Breakaway
2017 – left out of New Orleans and cruised to Montego bay/Jamaica/Grand Cayman/Cozumel – Carnival Dream
2018 – left out of San Juan and cruised to St. Thomas/Antigua/Barbuda/St. Kitts/St. Lucia – Royal Caribbean Jewel of the Sea
2019 – left out of New Orleans and cruised to Key West/Freeport/Half Moon Cay/Nassau – Carnival Glory
So I’ve been on 11 cruises, and Kevin has been on 13 cruises. (He took a cruise with the boys and LeRoy a few times without me).
Looking over that list, I would say … my favorite cruises were; 2000 (it was our first cruise and everything was new and exciting), Alaska, Hawaii, Bermuda and the one we just got back from.
2012 Alaska is AMAZING and we will most definitely be back.
2015 Hawaii was fun and so beautiful, but it was expensive and we were in a port every day, which was fun, but utterly exhausting. Tip: book a cruise with at least one, or two sea days. Give yourself a chance to relax and catch your breath.
2016 Bermuda is breathtaking. The beaches are pink and super soft. We both loved it and will absolutely be going back for more.
2019 This past cruise was so smooth, literally. Every day the waters were smooth as glass, very little rocking. It was awesome and VERY unusual. If you go on a cruise, you need to plan for one or two patches of rough seas. The captain does everything he/she can do to stay clear of rough seas but sometimes it’s inevitable. You’re on the ocean after all, what do you expect? Just take a Dramamine, sit, relax, drink a ginger ale and the waters will smooth out eventually. Whatever you do, don’t walk around. It makes the sea sickness worse. This past cruise was also awesome because we sailed to Carnival’s private island, Half Moon Cay. It’s a private beach, plenty of room to enjoy the beach (you just have to walk away from the crowds a bit but it’s worth it), and there are no vendors there trying to shove their wares in your face. We will MOST definitely be back for more.
My least favorite cruises?
2009 The cruise itself was fun and this was the first time the boys cruised with us but I hated the ports. Belize/Honduras were pretty but super hot and humid and they had armed guards walking around with guns. Not fun.
2012 The cruise was just … meh. it was a short cruise and we just didn’t really have time to enjoy ourselves. And Astoria Oregon was beautiful but boring.
The rest of the cruises were fun, just nothing spectacular about them. I mean, every cruise is great, don’t get me wrong, I’m not ungrateful, but certain trips are just … perfect, others, are just fun.
If that makes sense.
We are planning our next cruise. It will be our 30th anniversary next year so I want to do something extra special. We have been saving our airline points and plan on flying to Barcelona Spain to take a Mediterranean cruise. It will take quite of bit of planning, the flight itself is about 14 hours long. And we will likely have to stay an extra day or two in Barcelona before flying back but somehow, I think we’ll find something to do.
My nurse has plantar fasciitis in both feet, though her left is worse than her right. I know, by the end of the day, she’s hobbling around and in a lot of pain and has to sleep with an ice pack on her feet at night. I can’t imagine what she has to endure and I’m very thankful I don’t have that problem.
This has been going on for quite some time though when she was pregnant with her girls, the pain only got worse.
She has seen a podiatrist for treatment options but our own neuro radiologist (who is AN EXCELLENT DOCTOR) offered to do a PRP injection on her.
What is platelet-rich plasma?
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a patient’s own concentrated platelets. PRP contains a large number growth factors. These growth factors stimulate healing.
What are the goals of a PRP injection?
When PRP is injected, it can aid the body’s natural healing of injuries. The goal is not only to relieve symptoms but to create actual healing. In some cases, PRP may reduce the need for medication and/or surgery.
She wanted me to accompany her and I went. I knew I would feel awkward, and I did, but I went because she’s the daughter from another mother and I wanted to be there for.
I watched as a fellow nurse drew her blood. She seemed nervous. I’ve never drawn blood (thank goodness), but I can imagine it’s nerve wracking to draw blood on a fellow professional. I know my nurse has had to draw blood from our doctor before and she said she was really nervous.
After her blood was drawn, it was put into a centrifuge and spun at high speeds to separate the platelets from the blood.
It was fascinating to watch the nurse put together a sterile environment with all of the syringes he would need for the procedure. I helped, but mostly I feel like I was in the way. But it didn’t seem to bother the doctor that was there with her.
When it’s done, the liquid that has been separated from the blood looks like thick urine making really thick blood.
The doctor numbed her up and then injected her platelets into her foot. The doctor’s nurse helped to distract my nurse but I was left to watch the actual procedure. He was repeatedly stabbing her in the same area while slowing injecting the platelets.
It was a little disturbing to watch but fascinating at the same time.
After it was over, I brought her the wheeled knee walker she will be using to get around for the next two weeks as the doctor has recommended that she not be on her feet for two weeks, after that, she can walk around but will need to wear a boot.
She will be back next week to help with clinics, it will be interesting to see how she navigates around the clinic and helping patients with any surgeries we schedule.
It’s times like that, when I get to watch procedures, that I’m thankful that my job doesn’t require any type of blood draws or other procedures. Not because I can’t do them, I’m sure with training and practice I could, but because I really don’t WANT to that sort of stuff on people.
I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?
I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).
Today’s prompt(s):
Would you rather be less attractive and extremely intelligent or extremely attractive and less intelligent? What do you think the pros and cons of each combination would be?
Wow, what a conundrum.
I mean, let’s be honest, if you’re attractive, life is easier. People tend to be nicer. They tend to make allowances and bend the rules a bit more. If you’re attractive, you’re more approachable.
Just don’t open your mouth.
I think being attractive opens more doors than just being smart.
Though if you’re smart and not that attractive, there are ways to MAKE yourself more attractive. And no, I’m not talking about plastic surgery though I guess that might be an option for some. (Not for me). I’m talking more about wearing clothes that highlight your particular body type, having a flattering hairstyle and wearing appropriate makeup.
But can you really make yourself smarter? I sort of feel like you are either smart, or you’re not. You can ACT smart but people typically see through the facade fairly quickly. But would anyone really care if you’re not smart if you’re nice to look at?
I guess one could make a lot of money if he/she was attractive – modeling, acting, etc. Not saying those careers don’t require intelligence but come on, not many people get past the packaging in that industry.
You can also make a lot of money if you’re smart. But I think it would take longer and require more effort to get to that stage since so many people take one look at you and make a judgement.
I think for me, I would rather be less attractive and more intelligent. Hey, I’m smart, I can figure out how to get past the outer flaws and transform myself into something, or someone, to get what I want.
And I’ll be honest, most of the fashions I see I wouldn’t be caught dead in, but there are quire a few pieces in this show that I would actually wear… if I lived on an exotic island and had nothing better to do but attend cocktail parties and exchange fantasies about the hot pool boy.
However, I’m any BUT a fashionista.
I’m comfy in my over-sized t-shirts and swing dresses, thank you very much.
But still, I like to dream. And I not only like to watch fashion shows in YouTube to see what new and ridiculous fashions are being showcased now, but the zombie-like expressions on the models who wear these ridiculous concoctions.
I find that “fashion” becomes more difficult as you get older. I want to wear the hot trendy stuff but let us not forget that I’m old(er) and some of this stuff just looks crazy on me. I LOOK like a woman who is trying too hard.
But in my mind, I’m still mid-30’s so it doesn’t FEEL weird. Just LOOKS odd.
I haven’t given up. I’m still “trying” to find my look but the rate I’m going, I will be 90 before I really find it.
In the meantime, I’m going to live my fashion life through these poor, uncomfortable looking models.
I’m attempting to force myself to write in my blog every day. I’ve gotten SO BAD at keeping up these past several years and someday I’ll be dead and then what?
I’ll be gone but hopefully not forgotten. (Feel free to use these prompts for your own writing).
Today’s prompt(s):
Three things you can’t live without.
Kevin. Blake. Brandon.
Okay, let’s list something else besides my family.
Food. Drink. Air.
Ugh, that’s even more boring.
Let’s think of something unique to ME.
False eyelashes – did you know that I wear falsies? I actually started last year. Since I’ve gone through the change, all my hair grows back really slowly. This includes my eyelashes. They were never super long to begin with, but now, gads, they are short and light so when I don’t wear mascara it looks like I don’t have eyes. I can usually make one pair of lashes last one week. I could probably make them last longer but I’m too lazy to properly care for them so I wear a pair Monday through Friday and then start over on Monday. (I don’t usually wear makeup on the weekends). I’ve gotten the hang of putting falsies on, it took quite a few months but now I love them and I love how they make my eyes look.
My Garmin Fitness tracker – I’m not into fitness, I just like to keep track of my steps. And that’s largely because I get a health point on my health insurance for every 6000 steps I take every day. I’m usually all over the place all day at work so I might as well earn points toward my health insurance, right?
My swing dresses. I freaking love these swing dresses from Old Navy. They are super comfy, super cute, super cheap and look good with either leggings and boots or bare leg and flats. I wear these things to work all the time. I love them. Can you guess why else I like them? Cause they disguise all the love lumps, baby. Ha!
I don’t know if these things are things I can’t live without, but they are definitely my obsessions right now.
A secret duo of romance authors team up under the pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you a sexy, laugh-out-loud new series. Are you ready to meet the Billionaire Bad Boys?
Blind dates? Online dating profiles? Been there, done that.
Georgia Cummings has zero luck with dating, and the era of the internet is not her friend.
No matter how fast she runs, how many corners she turns, she can’t find her way out of this weird, alternate universe where men think dick pics are a replacement for small talk and getting to know a girl. One more crotch selfie and she might write men off for good…
But why can’t she stop fantasizing about him?
Kline Brooks is the quintessential billionaire bad boy—dark, styled, short hair, muscles for days, and a panty-dropping smile.
Except—he isn’t.
As his employee, he won’t touch her with a ten foot pole.
But she won’t touch him either.
Too bad their hormones missed the memo.
Disclaimer:
If you’re the type of woman who prefers crotch selfies to small talk, this book isn’t for you.
If you enjoy random men you’ve never met filling up your inbox with dirty words and porn—for reasons focused more towards diddling your donut than laughing at the absurdity—this book isn’t for you.
If you HATE laughing, this book isn’t for you.
If you want your male leads to grunt, thrust like jack rabbits, and have one-track minds that prefer a nice pair of tits to brains every hour of every day for the rest of forever, well, then, this book still isn’t for you.
But.
If you enjoy a good swoon, a hearty laugh, witty banter, and some hot as f*@% f*@%ing, then consider Georgia Cummings your Girl Friday and Kline Brooks your next irresistible book boyfriend
So ………………..
The disclaimer annoys me.
Actually, the whole blurb annoys me and does not, at all, represent the book. I think I would have liked the story better if it had mirrored the blurb.
I mean, I guess I know what they’re going for here – if you like a more serious story, then you may not appreciate the humor in this story.
And there is humor. I personally respond to stories of relationships that have a solid sense of humor interlaced throughout, but I sort of feel like this story DOES contain lots of grunts, growls and other choice sex terms throughout.
In fact, almost TOO much.
I felt like the story spent the majority of time on the sex part of their relationship. And that DOES NOT do it for me.
Let me back up a minute …
This story takes place between a high-ranking person within the company and the owner/boss of the company. Nothing new here. It’s a common fantasy of many women to have a sexual relationship with a powerful man, someone who can make or break your career. There is an element of danger in the relationship, makes it exciting on some level.
But the authors are trying to sell me on the idea that these two, very hot, very attractive, very smart individuals have worked closely together for two years before they really notice each other?
I mean, I get noticing each other, maybe a fantasy or two, but the transition between these two work colleagues to so much more happens at warp speed and that ruins the story for me. It’s like, “Excuse me.” To “Oh HI! Let’s have sex!” I like some build up, some teasing, some friction before going right into the nasty.
Not sexy, at least to me.
And the male character is just too perfect. He’s a gentleman. He’s super hot. He’s super rich. He’s super respectful of her feelings and taking her V card.
I mean, that’s great, too bad more men AREN’T like this, but it doesn’t make for a very good story.
It’s sort of boring.
I wanted to see more intellectual interaction between the two. We get it, THEY ARE ATTRACTED TO EACH OTHER AND CAN’T KEEP THEIR HANDS OFF EACH OTHER, but to me, there is so much more to a rich relationship than just sex.
I felt like the characters had potential, I just feel like the authors didn’t take the time to fully flesh them out. Instead, it was all about the sex. Which they wrote in detail, A LOT.
Ho hum.
There are only so many ways one can write about the physical side of a relationship before it becomes … boring.
And the event that temporarily broke them up…..
Come on. Really??? It was so WEAK!
These are two intelligent professionals who both act like children over an event that literally would have taken one phone call and five minutes to explain. Instead, the authors put their characters through some torturous days before clearing the air. It was just trivial and felt contrived. If these two lovebirds, who clearly love each other, have professed their love for one another and crave to be together allow one little text message to tear them apart, are they really meant to be together? What sort of reaction would they have if something really big happened?
I nearly put this story down several times. But then the authors would throw in something funny, or cute, and I would think, “Okay. Here we go. It’s getting better.”
No. Not really.
It’s like the authors know the formula for a cute little romance, threw two characters together, came up with a haphazard back story, a frail, and quite frankly, lame, “deal breaker” into the story and called it a book.
There. Done. Meant our deadline. Whew.
There are two more books in this series so far. I already know who the story in book two will be about based on the epilogue of this book and I already don’t care much for the characters. So I’ll pass, thanks.
I mean, if you haven’t been reading romance for very long, then you’ll likely enjoy this. But if you’re like me, who has been reading romance for years and expects more conflict, more depth, to the story, I wouldn’t recommend it.
A secret duo of romance authors team up under the pseudonym Max Monroe to bring you a sexy, laugh-out-loud new series. Are you ready to meet the Billionaire Bad Boys?
Write From Karen 