Back to the drawing board...

I know... I've been keeping you in suspense I'm sure, but I had to be sure before I posted anything. We are NOT pregnant... nope, big no, big FAT negative on my blood work. I ended up POAS (Peeing on a stick) early Monday morning and ended up getting one of those "crazy lady" pink lines... ya know, the kind where your like "is that real? Am I really seeing that or am I just nuts?"

So I called up the doc's office and asked if I could have a blood test. So off to Mobile I drove on Tuesday morning, they didn't get the results back until later that day and my nurse finally called me at around five yesterday with the news. I just don't know what to say... other than I'm getting real used to the disappointment. I know... everyone keeps telling me all kinds of sweet things... "like it will happen when its meant to", "it will happen when god want's it too", "it will happen when your body is ready to let it happen".

I get it, really I do... but the thing is... my body will NEVER be ready... I don't ovulate on my own... my body doesn't work like it should, I am defected... I am broken. So without help of modern medicine I will NEVER have a child of my own... so saying thing's like it will happen when its time, is not a valid answer to me... because for me my time will never come without help. I am losing hope slowly but surely... its hard to stay positive when you get a negative every month. It's hard to have faith in something that you never believed in anyway.

I made alot of bad choices and mistakes in my life but I still feel that I deserve to be happy and complete, children are after all... what is worth living for. I am greatful for all I have, a husband that loves me, a daughter that thinks the world of me, I just wish I could give them something in return, a little piece of me to love too. My biggest fear is that my munchkin will grow up like me, alone and scared. The cold hard fact is, I won't live forever... and one day she will be all alone. She has NO cousins, let alone close ones. She has her grandparents and her father and I, that's all... she is why I fight this battle... not for me... but to give her a best friend, to give her someone to share her adult life with, to have someone to lean on after I am gone. Every wish of her's is spent on asking for a brother or a sister, every Christmas or Birthday she asks for a sibling to spend her days with. She promises she will be a good big sister and it breaks my heart that she might never get the chance to be one. She is why I fight the fight. She is my constant, she is my rock.

So I guess its back to the drawing board now...

Book Review: A Sheetcake Named Desire by: Jacklyn Brady

"Sweet success can be motive for murder..." There aren't many things pastry chef Rita Lucero hates more than losing. But two years after her marriage to fellow baker Philippe Renier fell apart, she's still trying to get him to sign the divorce papers. Exasperated, Rita visits Philippe's high-end New Orleans shop, Zydeco Cakes, to get his signature- and discovers that her marriage is already over when she finds Philippe dead with a chef's knife in his chest. Rita is shocked to discover the body, and overwhelmed to learn that since the divorce wasn't final, she now inherits part ownership in Zydeco Cakes. But it's a mixed blessing: the gorgeous shop is actually in financial trouble, and Rita's windfall sets her up as a prime suspect in Philippe's murder. Her former mother-in-law demands that Rita find out who killed her son, and his former employees don't know whether to trust her. The feeling is mutual espeically since the real culprit is still out there, and Rita may be the next victim served...

First in a new series and so good that I can't hardly wait to get my hands on the next book! I loved everything about the book espeically where it takes place; my favoirte city... "Nawlins"! That's New Orleans for everyone else that lives above sea level ;) Rita is an amazingly funny and witty character who takes after my own heart. Jacklyn Brady, you had me reeling till the end! I just couldn't put the book down till I found out who did it! I also love the vivid descriptions of the cakes and all the sweet goodness that goes into making them... I'd be lying if I didn't consider taking a pastry class or two after reading this book!

Milspouse Friday Fill-In

It's the first day of Autumn and it sure doesn't feel like it... I am disappointed lol! No, instead we have a warm, muggy, humid, below sea level, drink the air not breath it kinda day. Boooooo.

1. My favorite thing that happened this week was I made two more scentsy sales and that is always an awesome thing! The kiddo also brought home a smiley face from school (its like getting a gold star, back in my day) it means she went through her whole day being 100% good! In my book she would get one just about everyday but her teacher is pretty strict. Ok... ok... Im gonna say it, I really dislike her teacher... I think she expects too much from 5 year olds... 8 hours is a long time to sit in your chair and not move or disrupt the class. For example... she got in trouble a few weeks ago for singing at the lunch table!? I saw the note and thought... WTF!? It's lunch...? Who cares if shes singing.... unless its like loud and obnoxious but when I asked her to do it for me, she just sang her ABC's and no louder than you would if you were talking... for me, I think that's a bit harsh... what do you think?

2. Find a penny, pick it up and all day long you’ll your daughter will pick it up, insist that its a "magic penny" and will put it in her pocket only to forget about it and you will neglect to check her pockets before washing her clothes mostly because your have to only worry about checking your husbands uniform for odd's and ends he has at work ie. pens, ear plugs, gum and wrappers. And then that little magic penny will find its way into your washers drainage vent and clog it! True story... it happened last weekend and I've never been so glad to have the extended warranty on an item!

3. Autumn is officially here and my favorite part of the season is the decorations and waiting for that magic day to happen at the end of October! I have ALWAYS loved Halloween and now I love it more because I can see my cute munchkin all dressed up and take her around to get pounds of candy! :D Ohhh and cooler weather! YES!

4. One of the things I’d like to do before winter arrives is just spend as much time together as a family as we possibly can... and maybe take a trip to NOLA or maybe back to Florida to see the family.

5. I (((would/would not/might))) be willing to participate in MilSpouse Secret Santa. (sorry folks, just trying to get an idea here on how many would participate, so please circle/underline/bold one)

I'm going to leave it at a maybe right now... it is possible though... I do always like getting and giving surprises in the mail :)

2 Week Wait Craziness!

Ok so I HAVE to talk about it... its Wednesday and the week is just dragging on for me, and If I just keep it to myself I might just explode and then where will I be come Monday morning when I have to POAS (Pee on a stick)? Right... so here we go... for the last 3-4 days I have had symptoms... and I am trying my hardest not to read into this since it could just be a lingering effect from my HCG shot those things have been known to give off symptoms since it is in fact the pregnancy hormone. Butt... there is this nagging sensation in the back of my mind that makes it really hard to ignore them. I don't want to get my hopes up either because I can't stand to be crushed, see I figured that if I ignore all the signs and just keep telling myself that it will never happen and you have nothing to get all excited about then I don't have to steel myself for the heartbreak that I'm bound to have at the end of the month when AF (Aunt Flow) arrives. However... here I am... talking about it to avoid driving myself nuts! So... they are...

1. Tiredness- I took a 4 1/2 hour nap on Monday and a 3 hour nap yesterday, I feel ok today so I don't think a nap will be had.

2. I'm eating like a horse! I'm hungry ALL the freakin time! Yes, ALL the time... and I mostly want bread or carb stuff. In fact I ate a HUGE portion of french bread for breakfast (and it was the most delicious french bread ever btw...) and had two bowls of Ramen noodles! That is soooo not me... I typically have a sandwich for lunch and that's about it. I don't even EAT breakfast!

3. I pee all the time! I pee probably every half hour, it just hits me like a ton of bricks and then some. I also have to wake up in the night to pee too.

4. I have twinges (not cramps) but just twinges of pain in my pelvis mostly at the top of my uterus and on the left side. I haven't had the spotting yet that usually occurs with implantation. I also get this kinda pinching feeling every once and a while, it doesn't hurt or anything its just annoying. I also feel sorta a pulling sensation that is kinda between my leg and my pelvis on both my left and right sides. None of this feels like AF symptoms and if it were my period coming on it would be about 3 weeks early... and I typically don't feel this way 3 weeks before my period.

5. My boobs are HUGE, well more huge than normal lol! They don't hurt they are just heavy... like I can't wear a bra, because its putting dents in my shoulders kinda heavy. I'm wearing a sports bra for the rest of the week and maybe investing in a couple of bungee cords!

6. I am VERY irritable and emotional... yesterday in particular I was snapping at EVERY little thing... and I nearly cried when I thought the dog was gonna run out the front door and all hubby did was unlock it and then of course I yelled at him... yeah made me feel psycho!

That's about all right some of the other stuff is just like lower back pain, headaches and nausea that's on and off all day, don't worry its not enough to make me puke yet. I'm pretty good about not puking unless I have to, because I HATE puking!

So yeah... phew... I feel a little better getting that all out there... so thoughts? ideas? Am I crazy or what?

A Scentsy Halloween!

I just had to share... because it's just too cute not to... The UPS man came yesterday and delivered my scentsy order! I think I am now all set for Halloween! I bought the pumpkin marshmallow scent of the month too and it smells amazing! Like Fresh baked pumpkin pie, sugary sweet marshmallow and just a hint of cinnamon! I swear I sell just to support my habit! LOL!

Seeing Lines and Wishful Thinking... Still

So in no way to do I want to jinx myself... and I know that these OPK (Ovulation Predictor Kits) aren't always 100% accurate after you've had a trigger shot but.... I seriously just couldn't help myself, I wanted to see if the shot actually worked... yeah, I know... "dumb"... "just don't think about it"... "just let nature do it's thing"... trust me, I've told myself all that a million times until I just gave in. At the very least it gives me a happy feeling just seeing 2 lines. I have never seen two lines in all my life, not with an OPK or a HPT (Ovulation Predictor Kit or Home Pregnancy Test) so it was nice to see the lines for a change. I am however, taking this all with a grain of salt... I am trying to be hopeful without getting my hopes up. I know... makes no sense right? Exactly... I know... try living that lol! This is what infertility will do to you... make you gray and insane lol! Oh and were not even in the middle of my tww (Two Week Wait)! Can you imagine what I'll be like next week? I apologize in advance lol!

Oh and P.S.

As you may or may not be able to tell... the OPK in the middle is the strongest it is from my cycle day 13, it puts me still in my window of 24-36 hours after my shot and I also feel the most confident about O'ing (Ovulating) on that day. I have a ton of other "symptoms" but I'd rather not report on that, since I'm trying hard not to convince my self So.... fingers crossed!

Milspouse Friday Fill-in

1.) Right now, our weather is _________________, but what I’d really like is _________________.

Right now, our weather is hot and extremely humid! but I'd really love it to be cool with high temps in the 60s and 70's! I can't wait for fall and winter!

2.) I like to let my hair down and _________________.

Let someone else be responsible for the house and all its inhabitants... I get tired of being the glue sometimes.

3.) Mommy Rambles made a post about heroes… my hero is _________________, because _________________.

Awesome, because he is selfless, brave, confident and smart.

4.) It’s a weird combination, but I swear _________________ and _________________ are a perfect pair!

Pizza and Nacho Cheese are a perfect pair!

5.) Some may see the glass half empty and others may see it half full, but I _________________.

As just a glass... life is neither half full nor half empty it is what it is... and it is what you make of it.

A Moivie Date

Oh ya know what...? In the midst of all my doctor/fertility reporting I forgot to mention...
Hubby and I had a date night! Woohoo! This one was sans guns (we would have had there been more time though) LOL! About a month ago I won a contest through scentsy and they sent me a prize package full of goodies, one goody being a gift card to The Grand Theater so we decided to put it to good use on Saturday night and go watch The Help. Yeah, I was a little shocked that hubby wanted to see it, he's not much for drama and girly stuff but he sat with me through it and even said he liked it afterward. I, in fact LOVED it! It made me laugh, it made me cry and it made me never want to eat chocolate pie again LMAO! I'm not even going to mention why... but you seriously have to go watch it, its a great movie bound to warm your heart! I can't wait to read the book, its on my "to buy list" which is growing by the minute! Hope you all are having a great week! :)

Book Review: Some Like it Hot-Buttered by: Jeffrey Cohen

All Elliot Freed wanted to do was make people die laughing, But not literally. The dead guy in row S, seat 18, is no joke. Elliot Freed, recovering writer, socked all his savings and the alimony from his ex-wife into the Comedy Tonight movie theater, never suspecting it would become a crime scene. And Murder can't be good for ticket sales. Death by popcorn was the cause. Poisoned popcorn . To the chagrin of the local police, Elliot takes to his bike to start his own investigation. A growing attraction to a beautiful detective, the discovery of a DVD pirating operation, and one missing employee later, Elliot's still waiting for the punch line. But this one might knock his theater and Elliot out for good...

I like the idea of a mystery revolving around an old movie house, I like the perspective from a male protagonist and I liked the story line, up until the end. It started to lose my attention about three fourth's of the way through, mostly because of the side plot and trying to figure out which characters were likely capable of murder... when in fact it turns out the man actually killed himself. Yeah, really not happy with how that ended. Then there is the sub plot of the piracy operation that's going on and who was involved with that. I get that Anthony was an accomplice but to go as far as his professor being involved with the cop who loves the main character... now that's stretching it a bit. On the bright side, it was very funny with the witty humor and sarcasm. It also makes me want to do a bit dvd renting for some old movies(Young Frankenstein)that seem to be pretty funny. All in all I will give Jeffrey Cohen another shot and read his next book in this series, but this one is not my really favorite.

We have Eggs!

SO YAY!!! We have two (three) very successfully mature eggs on my left ovary! One egg is measuring at 18mm and the other at 19mm, which is perfectly normal for the stage I'm at in the ovulation process. We do *ahem* *cough* have another sliiiiiiiigtly smaller egg that seems to be hiding behind the other two it is measuring at around 17mm and is not realllllly expected to grow much more since the other two are much more dominate in size and shape... yeah, shape... weird, I know but apparently shape in important lol! Or so I'm told ;) I also received my first trigger shot injection of HCG today (the hormone that makes you ovulate) so the magic should be happening in the next 36 hours. So here is to giving it all we got! I am suuuuuuuper excited about our chances this month. It means so much to us that we have such a great shot this month, its the closest to our dream we've ever been so far and I feel like its right there! I just need to reach out and grab it! So keep your fingers crossed, I thank you for everything so far in all your lovely comments, hopes, prayers and joy for us. I hope to update you soon on that is going on. Until then... go team left ovary!

Go Team Left Ovary!

I am back from the doctors today and had a WONDERFUL visit! Yes! You read that correctly! From what the ultrasound was telling us, taking the pills a few extra days paid off! As of today we have 3 big follicles on my left ovary, one which is most dominant is measuring at 13mm! The other two in line right behind it are at 12mm and 11mm. There is also one hiding in the back that is at around 8mm and we don't think it will be given the chance to grow seeing how the other three are much bigger. My right ovary (the one that has a little cyst on it) has 2 little follicles too but they are all smaller and about 6mm and probably wont mature at all. That being said... we are going to, obviously not take anymore meds; because I have enough eggs as it is... and personally I don't feel like becoming TLC's next mommy tv show! And were going to see what happens over the weekend, the goal is to see how they mature and we are hoping for the 3 most dominant follicles to become around a 17-18mm that would mean they are totally mature and ready for fertilizing. Of course I would be more than ecstatic if any one of these chooses to mature but I do have to prepare myself LOL! My next appointment will be on Monday and hopefully by then we will have some good, slightly larger, mature follicles! If that is the case then I will be getting a trigger point injection to start my ovulation, that's right! No guessing when we should start "baking the cookies"! So until then... please believe, hope, pray and cross everything (including your eyeballs if you have to!) because whatever it is that is working is WORKING! And of course, I will up date on Monday again. Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

1.) My plans for Labor Day included _________________, but what really happened was _________________.

A trip to NOLA, but what really happened was... we were rained out and we ended up staying at home playing games like candy land, sorry, monopoly and watching movies all weekend.

2.) Call me crazy, but sometimes I just need to _________________.

Get in the car turn the radio up and drive along a scenic route... I love doing that, it feels good... stress re-leaving even.

3.) One of the funniest things I’ve seen lately is _________________.

My dog, when he acts all banana sandwich... he will jump off anything, we call him the suicide dogger LOL! He also loves to stalk and chase and occasionally bark at the pigeons and seagulls that land on our back porch, which is hilarious to watch.

4.) It’s strange, but _________________ drives me crazy while _________________ is perfectly fine with me!

Clutter drives me crazy while my mess is perfectly fine with me :)

5.) One, two, buckle my shoe… three, four _________________.

Better lock your door...five six...grab your crucifix...seven eight... gonna stay up late... nine ten never sleep again... Heehee! I prefer the Freddy version... what can I say I like old horror movies! :)

A Decor Dream

So remember back when I said I was doing some projects? We'll I'm still working on them but I thought I would share the progress so far...

I have been trying to make at least one room in our house make sense. As in... it needs to have a theme! If you were to walk right into our house you would be greeted with comfort and a homey feeling but nothing in it makes alot of sense. Our living room has a bunch of movie posters and comic book memorbilia mixed in with a whole lot of comfort. My dining room looks like my craft/art room and even the kiddo's room has a bit of princess/superhero's thrown in. See what I mean... it just doesn't tie in together! I hate it! I keep telling myself that once we get some place permanent, ever room in the house will have a theme. I guess I get it from my mom, she has theme's to all her rooms and it drives me nuts not to be like that too lol! So the room I have started on is my bedroom, the theme to the room is "world travel" I have a few things that I have cooked up to help get things underway but I need more ideas! I also need more money (that I don't have) lol! Anyway here's what I got so far...

These are my new (old) fabric painted on curtains. I had these curtains from my last house and they were just plain khaki colored. To be truthful, we had a street lamp that was as bright as the sun, right outside our bedroom window and would keep me up all night, so I bought these to block it out. Now I painted them to look like an airmail envelope. What'cha think? I got the great idea from a fellow blogger at Secret Pie Shoppe she has such awesome & creative ideas and I loved her easy tutorial on how to make it.

My window is kinda small for my bedroom and my panels were meant to fit my larger window from our previous house so I had to improvise. So this is what it looks like on one side of the panel.

And here is the other side, when they are closed together it just looks a little smooshed. :)

So while raiding the comic book section at the flea market a few months ago, I came across this! Its a front page of the St. Louis Star Times from December 8th 1941, the day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. How neat right?! I know it doesn't exaaaaactly fit in with the world travel theme but it looks good hanging up above my bookshelf. :)

See... right?

And speaking of bookshelves... here is my little nook, it sits across from my window and chase lounge so I have a nice little reading nook in my bedroom. And all the little trinkets you see are things I have either collected from travels or something someone has brought back for me. On the top shelf (you might not be able to see) are a pair of little wooden shoes that were sent to my by a friend who lives in Holland. The first shelf holds a voodoo doll I bought on my first trip to NOLA after we moved here, he sits on the right side of the shelf because, apparently its bad luck to have voodoo items on the left side of anything. The second shelf holds a frame of my ticket into the Vatican museum that I visited while staying in Rome for a week. And the bottom shelf is a Japanese silk fan that my brother in law picked up while TDY there. The basket on the top shelf and to the left is a woven with Japanese news paper and of course I filled it with silk pink cherry blossoms from hobby lobby :)

So this is what I have so far... I have a few more ideas waiting in the wings but they are not finished yet, and I'm not sure when I will get the chance of finishing them... there's something that disturbs my husband about spending money on "frivolous" things LOL! Oh men! LOL!

And Please, PLEASE! If you have any ideas or suggestions pleaaaaaase comment. I can always use some more ideas! :)

Fertility Update

So as promised I am updating on my adventure on my visit to the "fert" doc. I went today to have my 2nd ultrasound done. And we have follicles! Woohoo! There are 3 on my left ovary (the good ovary this month) and 2 on my right (the ovary that has a cyst on it this month). Last week when I went in I only had 2, one on my left and one on my right and they were measuring at around 5mm, today they are obviously more and the largest ones are measuring around 7mm! Per my doctor and his PA I am going to be continuing my letrozole for the next two days in hopes that these little "babies" grow to at least 10mm. I am extatic that I even responded to this medication! Even if it doesn't happen this month, at least I know that I respond to a medication! That my dear friends is progress that I needed to see! So until Friday... please, keep your fingers crossed! I hope, wish and pray on everything that this is our month! So... to...be...continued!

What's going on and last day of the "Ten Day You Challenge"

Hey sorry alot has been going on... well ok, not that much but I just haven't had it in me to blog. I spent a good amount of time hanging out as a family this weekend. Since Tropical Storm Lee decided to make our Labor Day suck rainy, we stayed indoors and watched movies, played with play dough and went 4 rounds of Candy Land; where the munchkin spanked the pants off of us each time!

In baby news; I went to the fertility doc last week in Mobile and they did my baseline ultrasound. This time they put me on a medication called Letrozole/Femara... and man am I feeling the weird side effects from it. The first day I was on it I had a migraine from hell. I have also experienced dizzy spells, lightheaded-ness, twinges on my ovaries, hot flashes, palpitations, and just the general feeling of being kinda tipsy lol! Like I said... weird side effects! I just hope the pills work as well as the side effects do on me. They decided to give me this kind of medication instead since Clomid doesn't work on me. I go back to the doc tomorrow for my ultrasound to see if there are any folicals and hopefully there are. During my baseline ultrasound they discovered this month my left ovary is all clear and my right ovary has a small cyst. They will be monitoring it and hopefully it wont grow and dominate the ovary... that is one of the reasons why I don't ovulate... these cysts become giant a-holes and tend to dominated the ovary it is inhabiting and wont let it do its job. So keep your fingers crossed that my left side will cooperate this month, I will update again after tomorrow.

Today is also the hubbies birthday! He turns the big 3-0! We're not doing too much that is special today since he has his big PT test tomorrow, he wants to be in perfect condition for it tomorrow. I made him some low fat banana pudding for later when he gets home and we will go out for dinner to celebrate this weekend. We're not doing a whole lot since we did his big present this summer... remember the trip to the Corvette Museum...?




And I guess I better finish up that "Ten Day You Challenge" huh? I think I've stretched it waaaaay beyond the ten days... but you don't mind right? LOL!

Soooo... Ten Secrets!

10.) I love the smell of books! Yes! Weird... I know! That's one of the main reasons I still buy books and why my nook just sits around and collects dust. I also hate hard covers! Why? Because I'm a spine creaser! Ooooooh! I know right? Major no no! But I can't help it. I like how it looks too. I think it gives my books character...
I think it looks well read. And a well read book is like a good friend to me. :)

9.) I am addicted to nail polish! I have a shelf in my bathroom (that looks like the kind in the salon) that is completely full of nail polish! I am an addict, I can't stop buying it or using it. I don't think I've actually seen my toe nails (other than to take the polish off and re-paint them) in probably over 12 years!

8.) I want to own my own movie theater one day... I know how crazy that sounds but I have always loved movies and I think it would be really awesome to have a movie theater. Not like an AMC or Cinemark but a family "mom & pop" style theater...
and I won't charge $9.50 for a ticket either!

7.) Id love to write my own book one day too. Either a mystery or a children's book.
I've always wanted to be a writer, I just don't think I'm that good at it
(I know... your probably nodding your head in agreement that I'm not lol)

6.) I don't know what I want to be yet... and that to me is scary. I just can't decide... I know what I'm going to do and what I'm going to school for, but is it really what I want? I dunno.

5.) I want to move back home, as much as I love Biloxi and being so close to New Orleans. I'm sick of all this. I'm sick of the military and I'm sick of being away from my friends and family. It's been real good to us with all the benefits and all but I am done.

4.) I love the way my dog smells lol! I know how gross that sounds but I love it! He still has that musky puppy scent and its really loveable!

3.) I looooooooath chucky cheese! And the munchkin wants to have her birthday party there this year... I am trying my hardest to talk her into having it ANYWHERE else but there! I don't know what it is about that place but it makes my anxiety go off the scale and leaves me with a headache and empty wallet later.

2.) Oooh ooh... ok if the movie theater doesn't work out I wanna own a tea shop. Like the kind you can go in and sit down and have any kinda tea and some awesome tea sandwiches or dainty lady fingers?

1.) I have set a limit to the "having a baby" time... my limit is 32. I won't go past that. I think by that time it will be just too late for me. My cousin had her children late in life... 30 for her son and 32 for her daughter and then 4 years later she had cancer and died. The doctors told my Aunt and Uncle it could have been brought on by having her children so late in life. Female cancer's are dominate in both sides of my family and it scares the shit out of me. It's not the getting cancer and dieing part (which I'm not ready for... believe me) its more leaving your young children behind. I can't imagine growing up with out my mom, I can't imagine having to leave them and never being able to see them go to prom, graduate from college, get married and have children of their own. Sooo much is missed out on both parts and frankly that just scares the shit out of me. I won't risk not being there to see my daughter grow up and become a mother some day herself for the sake of a dream. I have a daughter, whither or not she came from my body she is mine and I can be satisfied with her being my only love.

Book Review: Books Can Be Deceiving By: Jenn McKinlay

What is the only word in the English language that ends in -mt? Answering tricky reference questions like this one is more than enough excitement for recently single librarian Lindsey Norris. That is, until someone in her cozy new hometown of Briar Creek, Connecticut commits murder, and the most pressing question is whodunit... Lindsay is just getting into her groove as the director of the Briar Creek Public Library when a vacationing New York editor brings a little buzz to the small town. It's the perfect chance for her friend Beth to sell the children's book she's written. Unfortunately, Beth's boyfriend, Rick, a famous author and local celebrity, tries to stop her. When Lindsay and Beth meet the editor, they uncover the real reason for Rick's bad attitude... They go confront Rick at his house on the storied and mysterious Thumb Islands, only to find him murdered. The local chief of police likes Beth for the murderer and isn't interested in looking elsewhere. Now Lindsey has to act fast before they throw the book at the wrong person...

I loved it! Great start to a new series! Jenn McKinlay always leads me into a suspenseful, nail biting frenzy with a awesome and satisfying ending! Lindsay and Beth make me feel like we've been friends forever, and the town of Briar Creek is amazing and picturesque! I love all the quirky "creeker's" and the story has me longing to be a "creeker" as well, because "once a creeker, always a creeker." Read it! You'll love it! And if you don't, well... we're just gonna have to put you to work with the lemon Ms. Cole! I am definitely looking forward to reading her next book in this series! You rock Jenn!

Milspouse Friday Fill-In

1. My plans for this weekend include Probably staying in doors but what I’d really like to do is hang out as a family, maybe go on a day trip to NOLA.

2. I consider the Labor Day holiday to hang out with family and usually grill and swim in the pool, at least that's what I did as a kid.

3. My favorite meal for cookouts is steaks & BBQ ribs with corn on the cob and cherry pie for dessert!, but my thighs wouldn’t agree.

4. So far, my favorite part of summer has been Hanging out in the back yard pool, going to to water park, walks on the beach in the evening etc.

5. When it comes to deployments, my philosophy is surround yourself with good friends and family if you can. Get a hobby and stick to it, go on mini trips, maybe road trip to see your family. Get out of the house! You will drive yourself nuts if you stay cooped up all day!