ROMY AND MICHELE'S (AND MY) HIGH SCHOOL REUNION

One of my favorite LOL movies is Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, possibly because, although I actually mostly enjoyed high school, I've never had any desire to attend any of my reunions, so I can enjoy their misadventure vicariously. Here's the trailer, for those of you who've never seen the movie:



I'm currently working on Ricochet, High Risk #5, which is sexy SEAL Sax Douchett's story. Some of you may remember him as Quinn McKade's sniper spotter from Crossfire. Well, in Ricochet, Sax has returned home to the bayou, just as former students start arriving in the small town for their high school reunions.

Which would be bad enough. But then someone begins killing off "most likely to" classmates. You know the type: The person most likely to become a gazillionaire; the person mostly likely to have a porn star named after them; the person most likely to be married more times than Elizabeth Taylor; the person most likely to be indicted for running a Ponzi scheme hedge fund, etc. Bayou bad boy Sax, was, by the way, voted both the most likely to become a rock star AND the most likely to miss his 10th reunion because he was in prison.

I was passing a way good time in with Sax and Kara Conway, Bayou Elysian's sheriff, when, out of the blue last week, I received an invitation to -- you guessed it -- attend my own class reunion. Which is taking place this summer across the country back in Oregon. At the same time grandbabies are coming to visit and the week before I have to turn Sax's story in to my publisher. So, I figure that lets me off the hook.

However, just the idea of getting back into high school mode was giving me hives when I saw this news report about a woman who came up with a unique way of handling her 10th year reunion.

Enjoy.

FRIDAY FUN VIDEO -- MEET CHESTY, THE MARINE MASCOT

I know. The blog has gone from dated St. Patrick's Day shamrocks to one of Blogger's blah default templates. Sigh. I plan to work on it. But I also have a book to write and a -- yay! -- brand new shiny ebony piano to remember how to play. I haven't touched a keyboard in over a decade, since I left my piano behind in Phoenix, but how hard could it be, I asked myself last week.

Hey, 88 keys, 2 hands, no problem, right?

Uh. Wrong.

However, I can still read music (12 yrs of classical piano lessons and playing in coffee houses did help with that), my fingering is still good, and I remembered that I actually enjoy practicing, so I remain hopeful.

Meanwhile, I've also been passing a good time down in the bayou with sexy Cajun Sax Douchett. His story -- Ricochet -- is due on my editor's desk September 1. Sax may be a SEAL, but both his brothers and father are/were Marines, so for reasons you'll see when you read the book (which I hope you will), I needed to learn the name of the Marine English bulldog mascot.

While Googling, I stumbled across this fun video from CBS about Chesty the Marine mascot.

Enjoy.



For those who'd like to know more about how the Marines ended up with a bulldog mascot in the first place, here's a cool link. And please note that the TN dog, like everyone I've met in the eleven years I've lived in the state, was really, really nice. :)

FRIDAY FUNNY PHOTO -- NOT SO TINY DANCER

Things have been crazy around here the past three weeks, what with my trip to NYC, the cold from hell I brought back, then my Sweetie's sister and brother-in-law coming to visit for a week, which included a trip over to Nashville for a stay at the ultra fun Opryland Hotel, which explains why you're still looking at a St. Patrick's Day blog template. I was fiddling with a spring one this morning, but still have to get the vacation pics off to family members, so, having trouble with changing text colors, I just decided that shamrocks are lucky year round and will get around to changing it later. (If only blogger were as easy to change as Myspace!)

Anyway, that's also why I haven't located a Friday Funny video. But while going through old photos with Jay's sister the other day, I came across this one and thought it might make some of you smile. And yes, that's a home perm my mom gave me and it actually smelled as bad as it looks. And the turned-in back foot is only one of the reasons -- along with growing up to be 5'8" tall and being left-footed -- I didn't become a prima ballerina. LOL