An Arizona Cheesehead's Thoughts

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent My rating: 4 of 5 stars It was my turn to host book club this month and I picked this one off of an online reading guide site. It's historical fiction based on Kent's ancestor who was tried as a witch during the Salem witch hunts in the 1600s. Told from the perspective of the woman's daughter, the first part of the book was much to do about the way of life back then and the mother/daughter relationship. The second half of the book is about the start of the witch hysteria, the trials, imprisonment and ultimately deaths of some of the accused. Really interesting story to me as I only had some basic understanding of what went on back then. It's hard to fathom how it all could have happened as it was just so irrational. Were people just evil or did they really believe their friends/neighbors/family members were consorting with the devil? I don't think we'll ever know the why, though. View all my reviews >>

Want to freak out your co-workers? Walk around the office with a pen and some papers in your hands. Peer in to every office and cube. Periodically, jot something down on the papers. That's all you have to do! I've been doing a physical inventory of all of our printers. That means I have to go through all of the buildings, find the printers and compare them to a master list. Well, to be honest, we don't have a master list and that's a problem. I'm actually comparing them to several lists but that's not the point. The point is that I've had people partially follow me to see what I'm doing, curiously look at me and raise their eyebrows in a questioning manner but no one's actually asked me what I'm doing. It's almost like they're afraid to find out. I have been telling folks my mission but only after I make them suspicious. Hey, it's a crappy task so I need to get whatever fun out of it that I can.

I left George in Steven's care while I was off to Key West for the week. They have this strange "sibling" rivalry thing so it's not the best situation for either of them, frankly, and they're both pretty vocal about it. What happens is that George hides from Steven most of the time. When she does come out, he picks on her because he's mad she won't be friendly. She then goes back into hiding. Lather, rinse, repeat. New Dude picked me up at the airport late on Monday night. When we got to my place, George went a little nuts. She randomly jumped around, meowed loudly and wouldn't settle at all. She was clearly upset. Our usual routine when I get home is I kick my shoes off in my bedroom then sit on my bed. She jumps up and we have some Mommy/Kitty time where she tells me about what happened while I was gone and I scratch her ears and chin and pet her. So, I went down to my room and sat on the bed thinking she would join me and I could calm her do...

Goodreads.com is a great site to keep track of what you've read and get ideas from people with similar tastes on what else to check out. There are also discussion groups, author blogs and book lists. You could spend a lot of time on there. I used to read a LOT more than I do now. That's what adding a boyfriend to the life will do. A boyfriend who's allergic to your cat so you're always at his house and never remember to bring something to read. I don't regret the BF part at all but I do miss my books. One of my Goodreads friends is a prolific reader and very active participant on the site. She sent me (along with many others) an invite to join a group for next year: 144 Books in 2010. The idea is to read and record 144 books during the year at whatever pace you choose. The books are of your own choosing, too, except that kidlet books are not allowed to count. Guess I can't read Where The Wild Things Are for this. Drat. Because I have trouble saying no...

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich My rating: 2 of 5 stars An enjoyable read but I have to admit I want some resolution with the Stephanie/Ranger/Joe thing. In this book, Stephanie and Joe are off so she hangs with Ranger. It just feels like an unending loop - Joe then Ranger then Joe then Ranger... Other repetitive themes - Stephanie's car gets destroyed, Ranger's car gets destroyed after Stephanie borrows it, Stephanie's apartment gets trashed...yadda, yadda, yadda. I still enjoy these books but they need something fresh to keep me going much longer. View all my reviews >>

I only spend one week a year in Key West yet it feels like home to me. It's comfortable and welcoming and familiar despite the short amount of time I spend there. One reason is the size. Or, lack thereof. I can get almost everywhere I want to go on foot or a in quick cab ride. Because it's not so big, I have a pretty good grasp of where things are, too. Not a perfect grasp - I get turned around at least once every year but alcohol is usually a factor then. Except for one year, I've stayed in the same condo. It's become "our" condo in my mind. Even though they've made some changes to it, it's mostly the same as when we first started renting it. It's also the attitude. It's hard to be anything but relaxed when you're wearing tank tops, shorts and sandals to every event. I also appreciate the live and let live vibe. It's the only place I've been when two men or two women can walk down a major street while holding hands and no ...

I booked my ticket to Key West months ago because I got a screaming deal. I was originally scheduled to get there at 8:30 PM which is perfect for closing out the evening at Margaritaville with the Boat Drunks. For a while, it seemed like I was getting an itinerary change every 3 days and they were small changes so I stopped looking at them. Those one or two minute changes eventually led to my flight being scheduled to get in at 9:29 PM. Kinda late. So, I decided to see if I could change my flight to get in earlier. While I was selecting different options, I was mentally trying to decide what my price point for the change was. Would it be worth $100 to get in during the afternoon? $150? $200? My first scheduling change option got me in around 5 PM. That sounded pretty good so I hit the Calculate New Rate button. The cost? $1500! Whatever my price point might have been, it wasn't even close to $1500. And, there were no cheaper options. I hope my friends are all somewhat s...