Little Gifts, Big Heart December 27, 2012
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I loved this little cat video. Made me smile through the whole thing!
This Christmas was the first I’ve ever spent without my Grandma, but in keeping my promise to her, I celebrated with a lot of love and laughter. It was a beautiful Christmas filled with family, friends, and wonderful gifts.
One of my favorite things about my family is how we all put so much thought into the gifts we give one another. I don’t recall ever receiving a gift I felt was haphazardly chosen or thoughtlessly wrapped. No matter how small, they all mean something and are personal, which makes them that much more special.
My husband in particular puts an incredible amount of thought into the gifts he gives. Not only does he always find the perfect thing, but he is also creative in how he presents his gifts. I never know what to expect and this year was no different.
For a few years now, I’ve been an…
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‘Twas the Night After Christmas… December 27, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: A Christmas Carol, Black Friday, Christmas, Holidays, Scrooge, Shopping
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Surely I’m not the only one who is relieved when the holidays are over. So much work and anticipation and then the big letdown when it’s all over and somehow it failed to reach that magical feeling we remember from childhood. Maybe I’m just getting cynical in my old age, or maybe the fact that I reread A Christmas Carol every year makes me relate more and more to Scrooge, (at least Scrooge before his big epiphany), but other than enjoying everyone else’s holiday lights and of course the overload of Xmas goodies people bring to work, I think I could be very happy indeed to just bypass the whole thing.
I’m not ungrateful for all the blessings in my life, and I certainly don’t begrudge anyone their dose of holiday cheer, but more and more I see the whole season dominated by a retail frenzy that has people overextended both on the to do lists they have and the financial strain they take on in trying to stretch the ever shrinking dollar to cover the cost of making Christmas merry and bright. I find myself wishing it could all get slower and simpler. Less is starting to look like more, more peace, more calm, more contentment and more time to appreciate the stuff that matters.
Don’t get me wrong, I like shiny presents as much as the next guy, but time spent with loved ones, a full belly, a warm house, security, finding meaning in something we do, faith, that stuff is what means the most in the end. And none of that is on sale on Black Friday or the day after Christmas sales.
What? No Apocalypse? December 22, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: apocalypse, assassination, books, editing, formatting, government, Kindle, thriller
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Well, it’s December 22 and I’m still here. I guess the universe isn’t going to let me off the hook on all those unfinished projects I have hanging around. Shoot. I’m going to have to tackle the fun of formatting Dark of Night for Kindle. I love formatting. It’s a real treat, if you’re into pain and tedious detail work. I’m not.
Then come January first, I get to take on my one New Year’s resolution. It’s time to finally edit and format my novel The Payback Agency. It’s a thriller about a woman who is recruited by a secret government agency to do wet work, assassinating criminals our legal system lets off the hook.
It’s a very angsty politically incorrect work, which is why I write under a pen name. I’m sure once it’s out there for public consumption it will offend a lot of people. I figure my employer would probably not be pleased to have someone come into our facility, look at my name tag and point an angry accusatory finger at me, saying, “You! You’re the one who wrote that book!” That being said, I think when it’s done, it may be my best one.Â
I wrote it in June/July 2011 and since then, have been putting off the monumental job of whipping it into shape. Each month I’d procrastinate, telling myself I’d start it after I did this book, or finished editing that project. Now I realize it just isn’t going to go away, and I’ve run out of excuses. Damn. Even an apocalypse couldn’t save me.
So What Time is the World Supposed to End? December 21, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: Mayan Calendar, movies, nerds, Y2K
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OK, it’s 9:41 AM and I’m still here. Technically today started at midnight, so we’re nine hours plus into the apocalypse and all is quiet. Even the Yahoo news page is quiet on the subject. Remember the big Y2K thing when everyone was waiting for all the computers in the world to just bleep into oblivion? Big buildup, then big nothing. What’s up with that? How does this stuff get started anyway? Somewhere I suspect there is some sly little nerdy guy who puts these rumors out there and then sits back rubbing his hands together in glee, watching all the panic that ensues.Â
I believe in lots of things, probably a lot of things that would have you shaking your head, but why I should worry about something carved on an old stone I just don’t get. I’d like to know who figured out how to translate their calendar so accurately that they could pinpoint it to today? If you’re out there, please let me know if I have time to watch a movie marathon today, or should just limit myself to one all time favorite.
Free Vampires, This Weekend Only! December 14, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: books, celebrations, ereader, free, Kindle, leisure, promotions, series, vampires
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To celebrate book four in the Malmont Vampires Chronicle, Dark of Night, which will be coming out any minute now, I’m offering readers a chance to get the first book in the series, The Master of Castlemount, for free on Kindle. This weekend, Saturday Dec. 15 through Sunday Dec. 16, you can go to Amazon.com and download the book for free to your Kindle, or for PC with their free reader apps. Enjoy!
Out the Back Door December 8, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: astronomy, Maine, Milky Way, sky, sunrise
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I was taking the dogs out the other morning and this was the view out my back door.
The sky is one of the best things about living where I do. Central Maine is not exactly the middle of nowhere, but it’s pretty close. Sometimes I miss the stuff you can find in a big city, but then I walk out the door and see something like this and I forget about the fact that there isn’t any shopping, or fabulous museums around here. Surrounded by open fields I get a panoramic view of the sky. It makes me feel connected to nature in a way you don’t when you live in a city.
A friend and I were talking about astronomy the other day and she was surprised to hear that I can see the Milky Way at night. I step outside and there it is, right above me, no travel required. Just turn off the porch lights and voila! Day or night, isn’t it spectacular?
December 3, 2012
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I have to agree with what Niels Bohr said. Quantum physics is an amazing and fascinating topic. Not easy to understand by any means, but a real mind blower.
Relaxing with Monsters December 3, 2012
Posted by cynthiadumarin in Uncategorized.Tags: books, entertainment, Larry Correia, monsters, reading
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November NaNoWriMo madness is now officially over and the first draft of Dark of Night is complete. So I’m enjoying a well earned break and curling up with somebody else’s book for a change.
My mechanic, a great guy, honest and someone whose opinion I trust, recommended to me a while ago, Larry Correia’s book Monster Hunter International. I read it and loved it. Non stop action and funny too. It makes a great light read, never slows down even for a second and is filled with memorable characters.Â
Needing some serious down time after a month of non stop writing, I decided on the next in Correia’s series as a treat for all the hard work I did. I’m about half way through Monster Hunter Vendetta and it is proving to be just as much fun as the first one.
I know all the literary types out there are shaking their heads right now, thinking, what? Why would I want to read that? But really folks, what’s wrong with pure entertainment? Since when do all books have to have a message, or some socially redeeming quality?
I work in health care. I have enough reality, grisly depressing reality in my real life. When I sit down to relax the last thing I want is a social message or someone to bring me down. Give me fantasy any time.
And that’s what Larry Correia’s books do. They immerse you in a world where the lead guy in the book, Owen Zastava Pitt fights all kinds of monsters and evil things. It’s outrageous stuff, full of fun, and I can’t put it down. So if you’re looking for a good distraction from real life, pick up one of Larry’s books. I think you’ll be glad you did.