Vampire Energy

It sounds cool but this isn't like "V" on True Blood or some supernatural source for a metabolic high. This Vampire Energy is a bad thing. And I haven't thought much about it.

Probably all of us have appliances plugged in that we aren't using. Well, did you know that those appliances are secretly sucking energy out of those cords?

In the US alone, unused appliances suck up over 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and cost homeowners more than $100 each year!

That's not only bad for your wallet, it's bad for the environment too. So take a quick walk around your house and take a peek at those wall outlets...are appliances plugged in that you aren't using? Unplug them.

You'll be saving a little money for yourself and helping the environment at the same time.

TERRIFYING TUESDAY - UNDEAD Series

Okay, if you’ve looked over at my sidebar under “Books I’ve Read in 2009” you know I have a thing for Vampire stories. Can’t help it. Always have.

Stephen King introduced me to Salem’s Lot and I’ve been hooked ever since. Shame on Stephen.

I read the Twilight series in no time, followed it with the Sookie Stackhouse True Blood novels, so much fun!

Now, I’m onto the UNDEAD series by Mary Janice Davidson and, believe me, she is a hoot. Anyone who can mix death with romance and make me laugh along the way is a horrifically talented author. I just love some of her phrases in the books. In fact, I had to read a couple of them OUT-LOUD to my husband because I thought they were so funny.

He is definitely not a FANpire like me, but even he smiled.

SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read on, if you are going to pick up the books and read them yourself. Oh…these aren’t big spoilers so you could still pick up the books and read them—and you won’t be disappointed. REALLY.

I love that the Spawn of Satan is a goody-good ‘cuz she wants to rebel against her parent. How funny is that? Pretty funny, if you ask me or if you're the parent of a teenager.

I love that “Elizabeth Taylor” is the Queen of the vampires – no relation to the movie star. ;)

I love that she (ET - no connection with the alien) gives us makeup advice – and she’s an undead woman. You'd think she'd have other things on her mind, I mean who cares that “you shouldn’t wear true black mascara because it makes your eyes look small and squinty.”

Maybe most women--that's all. And, now we know, even the undead care about makeup.

Or the fact that she talks about “…the holy grail of footgear.”

She even considers selling her soul for a pair.

She says, “Would I sell my soul for shoes? Of course not. The very idea was absurd. And the gleam of the garnets didn’t call to me, the very idea of selling my teeny little soul wasn’t a bargain at any . . . no!”

Now, I’ve never been a girl who was ever interested in clothing, handbags or footwear (maybe I was meant to be a boy—who knows, I mean give me a fast wakeboarding boat or…but I digress from the story) so I have to use my imagination a little—okay, maybe a lot, but I thought the idea of selling your soul for a pair of shoes, even if they were garnet heeled shoes, was hilarious.

Okay, I’m a little sick, I know. But, I thought this line was so funny:

“And a real”—the corners of his mouth turned down, as if he was contemplating a fresh dog turd instead of getting married—“wedding…would help you feel it?”

Maybe I thought that was so funny because when my husband asked me to get married—I got a little sick to my stomach. I had to lie down. Right there. On the floor. He was so excited. He wanted to call everyone and tell them. I said, “Hold on. I think I’m going to throw up.”

Okay, we’ve been VERY happily married for well over 26 years—so don’t make any assumptions here. I’m just saying it made me sick. The idea of getting married. It was just the commitment—I think. It Freaked me out—with a capital “F”.

I also loved the line:

“But I—I—” I managed to wrench it out. God, this was hard! “I love you.”

“Of course you do,” he said, totally unsurprised.

“What? I finally tell you my deepest, most personal feelings and you’re all, “Yeah, I already got that memo’? This, this is why you drive me nuts! This is why it’s hard to tell you things! I take it back.”

“You can’t take it back,” he said smugly.

“I do, too, take it back! And don’t you dare kiss me again!” I cried when he leaned forward. “Why do you have to be so annoying and smug all the time?”

“Because with you by my side, I can do anything.”

(I think these books are so funny—well apart from the vampire killings, those aren’t the funny parts)

But you should read them. They are page-turners for sure.

Here's a list of the one's I've already read:

Undead and Unwed

Undead and Unemployed

Undead and Unappreciated


So many books :) so little time :(

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

I sat down a few weeks ago to watch a show with my husband and daughter, which is a rare occurrence in my house. Usually, I’m reading a book or writing. Anyway, we were watching True Blood on HBO, when I got a little uncomfortable. I mean I turned to my 20 year-old daughter and said, “Can they do that on T.V.?”

She shook her head, like I must be an alien pod person, and said, “It’s HBO.”

I said, “Yeah, but can they do THAT on t.v.?”

She looked at me like I’ve been living in a cave or something and groaned, “Duh. They can do whatever they want.”

So anyway, I’ve been enjoying the series but a friend told me the books are even better. So I ran out to my local Borders and bought Dead Until Dark.

It’s a quick read at 292 pages. And I read the entire book on my airplane ride from North Caroline to Portland, Oregon.

So, you can grab this story and finish it in no time. And, to be honest, I liked the story better in the book than on t.v. Not that the actors aren’t all gorgeous on HBO but Sookie Stackhouse comes across as a smarter character in the book – at least to me. And, Bill Compton seems stronger in the novel than in Hollywood.

This isn’t a Twilight experience even though it has romance and is a vampire novel. It’s more complicated in some ways.

In Dead Until Dark the vampires have “Come Out of the Closet” and are living amongst the humans. They drink synthetic blood – or at least the ones who are “mainstreaming” and trying to live their lives without sucking off the humans around them. Plus, there are more characters with special abilities than were found in Stephanie Meyer’s books. Sam is a shapeshifter and Sookie is a clairvoyant and – I have a feeling – there’s more to it than that.

VB (Vampire Bill) and Sookie seem like star-crossed lovers. They both are unique and drawn to each other. But, VB isn’t all good. He’s got one wicked temper when pushed too far. And, with super human strength, a bad temper is a real BAD thing.

I just bought the second book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas, and I’ll update you all after I read that story.

But, if you like a quick story that keeps you turning the pages, Dead Until Dark is a fun book to pick up. And if you don’t have time for a quick story, you can always turn on the t.v. and watch the HBO show. But, remember, the books are better.