Can Sleep Make You Tired?
I’ve tried going to bed at different times. I’ve eaten and not eaten before bed. I’ve taken my vitamins and fish oil, and forgotten to take my vitamins and fish oil.
I’m still dreaming about paranormal creatures every night!!!
image courtesy flickr CC – Mrs. Inman
(amazon.com)
It started after my boyfriend, Joe, made me watch the movie The Prophecy. That night I dreamed that I was in battle with both good and bad angels. And their creepy void eyes just kept staring at me!
But I also learned, that just like Michonne on The Walking Dead, I’ve got made skills with a katana!
After that, I had the most bizarre dream starring several of my coworkers. I’m sure it’s totally normal for a retail sales manager to be sent on a paranormal investigation of an abandoned building. BUT, my coworker clearly did not watch horror films, because she broke the rule about not taking anything from the house!
After discovering the ghosts of 3 young children, my coworker took from the house 3 dolls that looked rather a lot like said children and for God knows what reason – PUT THEM IN MY ROOM!
So as my dream continued, every time I went into my room one of the dolls was in a different spot. The little boy would be sitting on my bed, a little girl on my desk. I was freaking out! And what was worse, I didn’t know if my coworkers and boyfriend were working together to mess with me or if in fact my coworker had unleashed 3 ghost children in my house!
The next morning, I woke up so exhausted and definitely gave a few of my coworkers skeptical looks on the job that day.
image courtesy flickr CC – Mrs. Inman
All zombie fans will know that last night was a new episode of The Walking Dead. This fantastic show has become a regular date night for Joe and I to enjoy.
But zombies were in my dreams last night!
I love paranormal stories, you guys, but how do I stop dreaming about them? My epic nighttime battles are making me wake up exhausted!
Perhaps tonight I should watch a happy movie. Anyone know where I put my Shirley Temple collection?
image courtesy flickr CC – Mrs. Inman
And don’t forget to leave me a music suggestion for The Ultimate Mix Tape For My Mom! My blog-swapping, cd making contest is still happening, and YOU COULD WIN!!!
What I Learned from Zombies and Tapas…
Hey there, ROWers! Another week by and some of you are gearing up for NaNoWriMo with a vengeance! Others are creating and maintaining meal plans. And there are some of us (raises hand) who are just trying to get by each day to the best of our abilities. Well, fear not! There’s always great work being done in our learning moments. I for one, had been whining that I haven’t written anything recently on my WIP, but you know what, the time away from it made me realize where I could strengthen the plot and change some characterization in places. It was good to go away for a little bit. It’s made me miss my work, dearly, but now when I have free time I’m really excited to visit it again!
What I am excited for completing this week has been in reading. I finished reading Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer and will be helping run the Great New Books final discussion on this title today! Stop over and participate! The more the merrier!
This book is unlike anything I’ve encountered. It’s a love story set in the language of space. A perfect housewife with a hidden identity, a man with Asperger’s who only knows how to communicate with robots. Together, this couple will defy the odds and demonstrate a very real, albeit unique, kind of lasting love.
There was also some great ROW updates this week and I’m sharing my two favorites!
ROW(Models)
First up is Christina Olson who participated in the Run For Your Lives 5K race in California. The race, for those that may be unfamiliar, is your typical obstacle course run with walls to climb, puddles to cross, hills to speed down – although you’re doing this while zombies are trying to attack you! Isn’t that brilliant? I love it! Christina participated as a zombie this year and takes us through the make up process of her zombification. (complete with pictures!) She may not have gotten all her writing done, but it sure sounds like Christina gave herself a little play time that recharged her, supported others, and made her confident to tackle her goals for the next week! Sometimes we need that! Way to go, Christina! Loved your zombie post!
Next up is Tia Bach from Depression Cookies, a fabulous mother/daughter blog. After a dinner out for tapas with her husband, Tia took her dinner home and made it a writing plan! With the notion of writing small chunks of plot plans and character sketches, this pantser writer started…*gasp* outlining! And because she’s my idol organized, she also packed a NaNo bag! Curious? You’ll have to head to her post to see what’s in it! But this girl is motivated and moving forward! Way to go, Tia! You didn’t even need zombies chasing you to get your write goal in! 😉
Plus, I’m a total fan of tapas! Check out my rumchata tapioca parfait I enjoyed last weekend!
How did your week go? What were your learning lessons?
And don’t forget!
This friday, Marcia and I are interviewing our first author for The Redhots! His book has been getting lots of 5 star reviews! Tune in on October 26th to see who it is!
Until then: We’re kicking off Halloween with a fun photo contest! You could be a winner of one of 6 prizes!
From my brother’s Wicked-Themed party 2 years ago!
What you need to know to enter:
1. There are three categories you can enter one time each:
- Costume – your best ever, be it scary, cute or funny
- Outdoor decorations – your scariest or most creative
- Party room decor – you can include your Halloween tablescape, your unique pumpkin carving, and your room decorations
2. Post your pictures, up to 3 only, at our Twitter hashtag: #TheRedHots between October 19th and October 30th. The winners will be announced on Halloween!
3. For extra chances to win, you can choose to do the following:
- “Like” Marcia’s and my Facebook pages
- Tweet about the contest three times between the 19th and the 30th linking to our posts
- Subscribe to our blogs
The prizes:
- Grand prize will be an autographed print book by our indie author plus a Halloween Goody Bag.
- 5 bonus prizes of a Kindlegraphed ebook from the author
Good luck!
The Walking Dead: Best Commercial Free Zombie TV
Sunday night was the series premiere of Season 2 The Walking Dead. A small group of campy citizens has survived Season 1, and is fleeing the area under attack from the zombie apocalypse. With Emmy Award winning prosthetic make-up, Walking Dead made no disappointments in its premiere. *spoiler alert*
The episode opened with the group on the move. Almost instantly there is conflict. The roadway is bogged down with abandoned vehicles and dead bodies inside. With the quick decision to scavenge for supplies, everybody files out of their cars and begins searching the road on foot. Enter zombie mob.
Interestingly enough, the show never refers to the undead as ‘zombies,’ but rather “walkers.” Minutes onscreen can equate to hours of make-up application for the actors playing the walkers. Our travelers know a few rules that apply to the undead:
- No loud noises. Conserve your bullets, they can attract more walkers.
- The smellier the better. Masking your ‘live’ odor with eau de zombie helps protect you should a mass of undead come stumbling after you.
- Don’t get bitten.
I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille.
The heroic leader of the ragtag gang is Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln), a Sheriff in normal world, who woke up in the hospital in Season 1 and fought his way to his family and the few other survivors. One intriguing dynamic is Rick’s relationship with Shane (played by Jon Bernthal), his old partner and another natural leader in the group. What Rick doesn’t know is that Shane had an affair with Rick’s wife while they thought he was dead (back in Season 1 – Who knew a zombie show could be so melodramatic?!)
So, we have an army of zombies headed straight for our survivor renegades, and their response to such oncoming doom…hide underneath the cars. Minutes slowly tic by without commercial interception as you see foot after bony, rotting flesh foot pass them. In fact, I think you can smell their flesh while you’re waiting.
Once they think the coast is clear, they start to crawl out from under the vehicles, but a child is noticed by the walkers and flees into the woods to escape. Rick runs after and diverts their attention from the child, saving her, and yet losing her at the same time. So that creates problem number one.
Problem number two is that the group is starting to lose morale. Especially Andrea (played by Laurie Holden). She was caught up in the zombie apocalypse while on a road trip with her younger sister Amy, who didn’t survive season 1. Andrea already tried to kill herself once, but was saved by Dale (played by Jeffrey Demunn), however she as of yet feels no gratitude for that kindness.
And problem number three is that Shane isn’t handling Rick’s reunion with his wife very well. His plan is now to slip quietly away from the group and face the odds on his own. Can he abandon his longtime friend, Rick, and leave things unspoken with Lori, Rick’s wife?
I won’t give away the final cliffhanger of the season premiere, but trust me, it was a “C’mon! You’re seriously ending it here!” kind of moment. We do know from the season 2 buzz that the group makes contact with more survivors on an abandoned farmhouse, but we have no idea what kind of dynamic these new people will bring.
Sunday’s premiere of Walking Dead also kicked off AMC’s Fear Fest this Halloween season! Sixteen days of your favorite Halloween movies! I know I’m pumped! See the listing of films by clicking the link above. Much to my surprise, I got a voicemail message from my local video store reminding me I hadn’t been in for awhile and offering me a free rental plus 14 days of 1/2 price movies. SC”ORE! Another opportunity for me to stock up on my favorite thrillers and gory flicks. I’ve already watched such classics as Carrie and The Shining this past week. And if you’re into the FREE route, you better tune in to AMC’s Fear Fest or visit your local library, which I’ve done and reserved many more spooky films.
For more zombie goodness, check out Sonia Medeiros’ zombielicious post The Zombies are Coming! Did I mention her post is about zombies?! Go check it out, there’s games and links and a vote for your favorite and least favorite zombie flick. She thinks of everything!
Your turn! Did you tune in for The Walking Dead premiere? What did you think? Were you totally on edge or what? Do you enjoy the zombie craze we’re seeing in the media (even Jane Austen has gone all Zombie Slayer)? What is your favorite Zombie movie? Tell me, and then vote on Sonia’s blog!
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 