Monday Muse...

Monday greetings from the Muse and I.  We're gearing up to take part in the Love's a Beach blog hop over on our Shapeshifterseductions blog next week.  Miz Muse and I are still searching for a topic that involves water, sand and sex!  Yes, we're having some very lovely daydreams.  hehe

Friday Retro...

It's hard to believe when you check out some of today's swimwear that in it's day this was risque'.  I, myself, have always dug this style...I'd like to see it come back.  :)


A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Billy-A-Dick by Bette Midler  What a voice...

Currently Reading:  Never Been Bit by Lydia Dare

Currently Writing:  Continued ideas for my dragon story in Talbot's Peak.  Editing:  The Submission
 
Quote of the Day:  If a man has to say trust me, Gogu conveyed, it's a sure sign you cannot. Trust him, that is. Trust is a thing you know without words.



Juliet Marillier
The author of Daughter of the Forest was born on this day in 1948.

Wicked Wednesday...

Mmm...I think this guy knows a lot about wickedness!

~~~

Today starts the Sexy Summer Solstice Blog Hop. (check out the side panel for the banner)  I've joined in on the hop with my Shapeshifter Seduction blog mates with more tales from Talbot's Peak.  Drop on by, take the tour, win some prizes, but mostly enjoy the flashing!

Start Here:  Justromance.me


A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Somethings Gotta Give by Aerosmith

Currently Reading: No Tan Lines by Kate Angell

Currently Writing:  Ideas for new works  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day: We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.

Robert Fulghum

 

Monday Muse...

The water above belayed a calmness not matched below.  Once Dylana, sank to the liquid depths she would forced to choose a side...end a war, one she should have been raised to know.  Instead, she knew nothing of their ways.  She was a leader, blind to their traditions - blind to herself.


A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven when you smile) by Van Morrison

Currently Reading: Animal Attraction by Jill Shalvis

Currently Writing:  Blog post for the upcoming Sexy Summer Solstice Hop.  Join in, start here.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day: 
The time to make up your mind about people, is never.

Philip Barry
The playwright was born on this day in 1896.

Wicked Wednesday...

Each line of ink spoke of his lineage, his future and his past.  Ivy knew from just one look this man was a killer of nightmares and a savior to the flock.  Even as he drew on his robes for the first time, she swore to free him from the elders. She knew she would love and die for him.  The knowledge should have scared her young mind...

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Whiney Whiney by Willi One Blood

Currently Reading: Kiss Me, I'm Irish by Roxanne St. Claire, Jill Shalvis & Maureen Child

Currently Writing:  Blogging and editing again today...  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.

Anne Frank

Wednesday Word:  fantast \FAN-tast\, noun:  A visionary or dreamer.

~Yep, I am a fantast...and I have several other in my circle of family and friends.  Pretty cool!~

Fantast entered English from German, though it is based on the Greek word phantastḗs which meant "boaster". It is related to the other English word fantastic.  ~dictionary.com

Monday Muse...

Her feet moved, and moved again.  Forever alight, forever burning.  Her deal with the devil seemed perfect - immortality, beauty and talent.  She was a triple threat, a creature of perfection, born to dance and living in the bosom of fame and fortune.  Life was exquisite...until the night.

When darkness descended, so did she - Goddess of the dance, flame of the fire and sexual servant to Satan.  His will engulfed her, his desires overwhelmed her and she became an extension of hell.  Maiming, killing and dancing were her life, night her bane and hell her domain.


A Day in the Life of Serena 

Song of the Day:  Deuces are Wild by Aerosmith 

Currently Reading: Fear No Evil by Allison Brennan

Currently Writing:  Blogging and editing again today...  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.

William Styron
The author of Sophie's Choice was born on this day in 1925.

Wicked Wednesday

~Lowers head and wonders where the naughtiness has gone~

Right, so I grabbed this graphic to use on my Wicked Wed blog 'cause, well I like it, but my second thought was ooh sexy.  Know what my first thought was?? 

'Hmm, I wonder if those stockings come pre-ripped or if you rip them yourself...what a waste.'

Sad...so sad.  I must need a good, hard spanking to get my naughty back on!  ~wink~


A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC  Working on the wicked today!  ;D 

Currently Reading: A Lady's Guide to Improper Behavior by Suzanne Enoch

Currently Writing:  All editing again today...Tomorrow is Darling Diva's last day of school already so I have to get this done and off to the publisher asap for my own peace of mind!  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves.

Federico García Lorca

Word of the Day:

larrup \LAR-uhp\, verb:

To beat or thrash.

Larrup may derive from the Dutch word larpen meaning "to beat with flails". ~Dictionary.com

~Hm, the derivative of this word, larpen, makes me wonder if this could have been a sexy word turned harsh.  "to beat with flails"  cat 'o nines maybe? A soft flogger?~

Friday Retro...

~Notes: Date stamped on verso: Aug 23 1939. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). Poster designed by J. Hirt. Poster for National Park Service promoting travel to national parks, showing two bighorn sheep.~

I love these old posters. Simple yet intriguing. Makes you want to see a national park...especially one out west with big horn sheep. :D

Check this one out though...

~Notes: Date stamped on verso: Mar 27 1937. Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress). Poster showing whiskey bottle, gas pump, and a skull.~

...Don't drink and drive or should I really not mix whiskey and gasoline? Will they explode? Oh man, makes me want to bring those liquids together. Yeah, I'm a Mythbusters fan!

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  American Band by Grand Funk Railroad.  What a great group name.  :D 

Currently Reading: Taking A Shot by Jaci Burton.

Currently Writing:  All editing today...I'm so close to the end of my story!  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Resist much, obey little.

Walt Whitman

~Ha, I kinda like this.~

Word of the Day:  

haimish \HEY-mish\, adjective:

Homey; cozy and unpretentious.

Haimish stems from the Yiddish word of the same spelling, which comes from the German word heimisc that literally means "pertaining to the home."  ~dictionary.com

 

Wednesday Whew...

Yep, this is my muse today. 

After a nice long, and busy, four day weekend with my family...muse and I are in agreement.  We're exhausted and burned(literally not figuratively).  My pasty white skin has lost all of the tan ability it gathered in the ten years I lived in Texas...now, I go lobster red.  ~Sigh~

So I need an enticement for my flagging wordsmith.  Something to get her juices running.  Something to bring the words back...

Scrabble anyone?

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Multiple Selena Gomez songs...Darling Diva asked for my opinion on which ones might work for her next voice lesson.  Yay!  I love being asked to help her. :D 

Currently Reading: A Clandestine Affair by Joanna Wayne

Currently Writing:  Plotting for Friday's Shapeshifter blog, I hope.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.

G.K. Chesterton

~hehe, this just kind of tickles me.  Maybe today is a cheese poem day?~

Word of the Day:  Chrestomathy \kres-TOM-uh-thee\, noun: A collection of selected literary passages.

Chrestomathy literally means "useful to learn" in Greek, from the roots chres- meaning "to use" and math- meaning "to learn." ~dictionary.com

 

Friday Retro...

French village, a small settlement on St. Thomas Island, Virgin Islands, Dec 1941
~Library of Congress pictures

Picture perfect...can you smell the sea?  Feel the soft breeze against your skin?  Hear both the silence only the open water can bring and the busyness of life all around you?

Intrestingly enough, when this picture was taken, Pearl Harbor was either about to be bombed or already had been.  Two island ports,  one a haven the other in hell.

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Days Are Short by Arlo Guthrie.  I've been drawn all this week to the Hobo's Lullaby cd.  This album was a staple in my youth and has made me a lifelong fan of the amazing Arlo.  He's coming to town in Nov for a show and I'm determined to get Darling Diva to the concert.  Three generations of my family will be appriciating his music, mom, me and DD!  Plus hubby, of course, who became a fan when he met me.  :D


Sound of the Day:  Frog songs.  With all the rain we received yesterday, the pond next door has filled in making all the froggies very, very happy.  They've been singing like crazy.  :)  Though I suspect part of their song is thanks for not being fried by the lightening!  LOL  The show was incredible and thankfully I got my computer turned off before anything could happen...that would be just my luck.

Currently Reading: The Care and Taming of a Rogue (Adventurers' Club) by Suzanne Enoch
 
Currently Writing:  Plotting werewolf series.   Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.

Joseph Brodsky

 

Monday Muse...

Acacia looked from wrist to wrist at the ropes holding her to the bed.  Thick sailor knots assured there would be no leaving the pillowed haven until Varg released her.  God, she was tired of being at the mercy of others because of a familial bequest she never wanted.

“Son.of.a.Bitch.”  Each tug of her arm tightened the restraints until her hands went numb. A virulent storm of emotions whipped the sheer draperies out towards the still calm sea as she watched for his return.  “I’m going to kill that dirty, rotten Viking.” 

Sadly, she could attest to that being true. Her gift of knowing showed her this man’s final outcome, like a movie, running repeatedly behind her eyes.  Her fingers wrapped securely around his neck, squeezing the life from him until his eyes rolled back in his head and a final breath escaped his sensual lips.



A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  We All Die Young by Steelheart (For my hubs who has been listening to this song all weekend!)

Currently Reading: Carnel Sin by Allison Brennan

Currently Writing:  Plotting werewolf series.  Tyr & Ela's story. Though today's musing is from Varg & Acacia's story, probably the fourth book in the series.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.

Nora Ephron

 

Friday Retro...

~Retiring a locomotive driver wheel in the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railway locomotive shops, Shopton, near Fort Madison, Iowa. The tire is heated by means of gas until it can be slipped over the wheel. Contraction on cooling will hold it firmly in place. Santa Fe R.R.

1943 March ~ Library of Congress pics

What a cool picture! It tugs at my artistic side...I adore working with/shaping metal. Unfortunately, circumstances as they are, I don't get to play as I'd like.

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  So What! by Pink

Currently Reading: In a Storm of Scandal by Kim Lawrence

Currently Writing:  Plotting werewolf series.  Tyr & Ela's story.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Some people say, “Never let them see you cry.” I say, if you’re so mad you could just cry, then cry. It terrifies everyone.

Tina Fey
The author of Bossypants was born on this day in 1970.

~Ha!  Too true.~ 

Wednesday Word of the Day

Spruik \sprook\, verb:

To make or give a speech, especially extensively; spiel.

~For Burgess or Dugger over at Shapeshifter Seductions.  Either, I'm sure, could make it sound sinful!~

Spruik is Australian slang that arose in the early 1900s. It is of unknown origin. ~dictionary.com

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Take the Money and Run by The Steve Miller Band

Currently Reading: Hold on Tight by Stephanie Tyler.  ~Whew~ This series has some sexy heroes!  ;)

Currently Writing:  Plotting werewolf series.  Tyr & Ela's story is up first.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Happiness consists in getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.

Robert A. Heinlein
~Having had significant sleep issues in the past, I will agree with this whole-heartily!~ 

Monday Muse...

Laycie watched the water ripple as her thoughts tripped along, double time, triple time or no time, she just wasn't sure.  First tall then short, she spied tiny legs erupting in the tens of thousands from her small brown body, each shod with white bobbie socks and patent leather shoes. Wings unfurled from her portly little back impeding her escape into the wall, while the large white toothed grin of  danger danced her way.

"Feedyourheadfeedyourheadfeedyourhead,"  chanted her twenty siblings, whiskers flicking.

Perhaps nibbling on cheese marked with an 'Eat Me' sign had not been such a good idea. Where, oh where, was her White Knight?



A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.  Clearly my Monday Musing has everything to do with this song...hehe  I had the most amusing thing happen yesterday as we celebrated Mother's Day with my mom.  Three generations of women sat on my mom's patio, Grandma(my mom), Mother(myself) and Daughter(darling diva), when Darling Diva asked her Grandma to listen to the song she just put on her phone.  I suspected I knew what song it was and couldn't wait to see my mom's face.  So begins the song "One pill makes you larger...." and Grandma gets that fond memory look on her face...the one that reminds me of the relaxed look she sported in my youth on nights this song would play around my house. 

While not hippies in the strictest sense of the word, my folks partook of much in the late 60's and 70's.  Hell who didn't(ha...me, but only cause I naturally lived inside my head, tripping with my muse regularly before I even knew her as my muse...then she was just my imaginary friend.) 

Anyway, it only took a moment for Grandma to identify that her 12 year old granddaughter was listening to the same music she had, oh, forty years ago. Shock, dismay and age flickered across her face with a tilted grin found her lips.  I can totally empathize with my mom cause Darling Diva will do the same thing to me at times.  Songs I immersed myself in as a teen will come out of her room or phone and I'll think back to when it came out...quickly realizing it had to be 30 years ago.  How time does fly...

Currently Reading: Hard to Hold by Stephanie Tyler

Currently Writing:  The Submission (rewrites) Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  Tell them a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you the call...
~ Grace Slick, White Rabbit

Friday Retro...

~~Johnston, Frances Benjamin,, 1864-1952,, photographer.

[Boston Horticultural Society Exhibition, Horticultural Hall, Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. Wildflower exhibition garden]

[1921 May]~~ http://www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/7141871201/in/photostream 

What a gorgeous display!  I can totally see a delicious bout of sex happening right before my eyes in this love cocoon.  For me, waterfalls are always sexy.

A Day in the Life of Serena 
 
Song of the Day:  Falling in Love for the Night by The Charlie Daniels Band & Crystal Gayle.  Hmmm, falling in love for the night at the waterfall.  Oh yeah!

Currently Reading: Speak No Evil by Allison Brennan.  Ms. Brennan writes the creepiest serial killers.  They give you the heebee's, but at the same time you just can't stop reading.  The mark of a really good author.  :)

Currently Writing:  The Submission (rewrites) & Dom and Jada's story from Talbot's Peak.  Here's a couple of flash fictions introducing these two characters.  First and Second.  Editing:  The Submission

Quote of the Day:  The past is never where you think you left it.

Katherine Anne Porter

 
 

Wednesday Word of the Day

 

Pettifog \PET-ee-fog\, verb:

1. To bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters.
2. To carry on a petty, shifty, or unethical law business.
3. To practice chicanery of any sort.

~Now isn't this a word!  I would never have put this word with the definition, it reminds me more of Southern belles and puffy skirts...not bickering and shiftiness.~

Pettifog comes from the Middle Dutch word voeger meaning one who arranges things and the word petty meaning insignificant. ~dictionary.com

A Day in the Life of Serena

Song of the Day:  She by Green Day  "She... She screams in silence.  A sullen riot penetrating through her mind"  You know what I love about this band?  Meaningful poetry set to loud, driving rock music.  Yep, a fabulous combination, IMHO.  :)

 

Currently Reading:  More Than a Mistress by Mary Balogh.  A fabulous historical with strong main characters.  An enjoyable read, for sure.

 

Currently Writing:  Ideas and plot for werewolf story.  Editing:  The Submission - still working through those "was'" or would that be "was-i?"  That one's for you Darling Diva!  lol

 

Quote of the Day: 
Imagination is the golden-eyed monster that never sleeps. It must be fed; it cannot be ignored.

- Patricia A. McKillip

 
.

Cold Nose & Sweet Nuzzles

How do you like this for a good morning, I love you my fur-less mommy wake-up!  Hehe  This is Russet, one of my furry buds showing me love this AM.  He knows I'm a little on the loony side and accepts me anyway.  ~wink~

This morning was especially crazy.  Mainly 'cause I didn't sleep well last night and unfortunately it was not due to some wild, must write urge.  Nope, I was a sleepless wonder because my Darling Diva spent the night in a different state! 

Confirmation retreat...I thought I'd have more time to prepare myself for her being this far away from home.  Okay, technically, she's only about a hour away...but she did cross the border so it feels like she's a million miles from me!  LOL, yes I'm being a total mom about this, but now I need to try to get some work done, right...take my mind off her not being here.

Wish me luck! 


A Day in the Life of Serena

Song of the Day:  Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down  

 

Currently Reading:  The Guy Next Door by Lori Fostor, Susan Donovan & Victoria Dahl

 

Currently Writing:  A Talbot's Peak short story (Hawke & Ally) & ideas for a new Talbot's Peak story  Editing:  The Submission 

Quote of the Day:   My wish is that you may be loved to the point of madness.

- André Breton

 

Friday Retro...

So, I'm not exactly sure how this ad would sell me on buying a soap?  I always preferred my Darling Diva being safe in her bath...


A Day in the Life of Serena

Song of the Day:  No certain song yet today, just a collection of snippets of songs... 

Currently Reading:  Flashfire by Deborah Cooke  Hmmm, another dragon tale...I adore this series.

Currently Writing:  A Talbot's Peak short story (Hawke & Ally)  Editing:  The Submission 

Joke of the Day:  Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?   Because they spend years at sea!  hehe  Okay, cheesy but chuckle worthy this Friday morning.  :)

Quote of the Day:   Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.

- George Sand

Wednesday Word of the Day

Piacular \pahy-AK-yuh-ler\, adjective:

1. Expiatory; atoning; reparatory.
2. Requiring expiation; sinful or wicked.

~Sinful or wicked...yep that's me, piacular!  muahahahah~

Piacular is derived from two Latin roots: pia, which is related to the word pious, and a variation of the suffix -cule which denotes a diminutive nouns, like particle.  - Dictionary.com

~~~ 

A Day in the Life of Serena

Song of the Day:  Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot.  Again, I awoke with this tune in my head.  How different from yesterday's fare...

Quote of the Day:  We are of opinion that instead of letting books grow moldy behind an iron grating, far from the vulgar gaze, it is better to let them wear out by being read.

- Jules Verne

Currently Reading:  Wish You Were Here by Amy Garvey

Currently Writing: More work on Friday's Shapeshifter Seduction blog.  Join us for the Cupid's Choice Blog Hop.  Editing:  The Submission 

Yummy Food Find: Ham wrapped pickles.  Ham slices topped with cream cheese of choice (I like a good plain) and rolled around a full size pickle.  Slice it in rounds and serve as an appetizer.

Tasty Tuesday: Peppers & The Ho-Hums...

What?  You thought this was about those deliscious veggies that come in a rainbow of colors?  Well it is, only further down the page.  ~wink~

See, I'm kinda bored with my blog.  Oh, I like several things about it, the look, the colors, my sections and pages, but the content is giving me the ho-hums and if it's giving me the ho-hums what must it be doing for my readers... 

So I need  your help.  What would you like to see more of, less of, none of...tell me what you think, I can take it.  :)

First change, more personal - day in the life of Serena!  Boy do I hope not to bore you.  LOL

Song of the Day:  If You Have To Ask by the Red Hot Chili Peppers...I woke up this morning with this tune in my head...know the song?   It's a funky little freak of a wonderful song...hehe.
**Interesting line..."Thinkin' of  a few...Taboos that I ought to kill."

Currently Reading:  It's About Time by Erin McCarthy from the Bad Boys of Summer Anthology.

Currently Writing: Friday's Shapeshifters Seduction blog post for the Valentine Blog Hop.  Editing:  The Submission 

Yummy Food Find: Fresh red and yellow bell peppers on my salad.  Yes, technically, I'm old enough to have had them before now, but I'm finding that things I didn't previously care for are really appealing to me.  :)  Darling Diva doesn't buy it, yet.  But I keep trying.

Have a plentiful day!