I'm Back For A Short Time Only

Hello blogging world!

Let me start by apologizing for being away for so long and not being a frequent flyer to your sites. Currently my life as been very busy and I'm not even able to catch a break or my breath.

Let me explain...

Back in August my company launched a new program to help with productivity and system problems. We had to hire 10 new people in my dept alone. And I'd love to say it went off without a hitch, but it blew up in our faces. While working 50-80 hour weeks, I'm finally able to think about blogging again... well at least one more time before the end of the year.

But of course, it's not all bad...

I did get to spend time with my cousin (whom I work with) and his wife and my soultwin Jackie, their son (who I also work with) and his gf, and my husband (who I also work with)! So it was quite the family affair. We played blackjack, sipped on some wine, ate some great food and had a blast!!

Hope everyone's has a great time during the holidays! Stay safe my friends!

~Dani

Spooktoberfest Entry - It's Not Too Late To Join

It's officially Spooktoberfest time, Oct. 24 - Oct. 28. It's never to late to join as long as your entry is entered during the dates.

To find out more about Spooktoberfest and Scattagories themed challenge, go here!

Here is my entry (for the fun of it of course)

The town bat, Lucifer, flew over our swimming hole, Lake of Fire looking for criminals to bust. Millie the mermaid watched on, downing a pile of sardines and sporting her new vintage corset. Her grandmother gifted her an antique garnet pendent which she twirled around her index finger, her tail flipped in and out of her small pool of water, splashing Talus, the town’s mayor, who floated by on his hovercraft, hoping to catch his daily glimpse of Millie.

Talus wasn’t watching where he was going and flew right into the only park bench in town, causing his whiskers to snap. Talus stood up but couldn’t quite steady himself. He spun in a circle, stepped on his coat tails, and crashed miserably to the pavement. Unfortunately for him, being a cat and all, he needed those whiskers for balance.

“Mr. Mayor!” Millie yelled. She waddled to his side, carrying her first aid kit and medical tape. “Here,” she huffed.

“Oh Miss Millie, you shouldn’t have. I’m quite alright.” He stood again, leaning against the bench. He tried to come off tough a manly but his knees buckled when Millie brush her delicate finger against his check.

She giggled, “Talus, would you like to come over. I’m having my daily snack right now. It’s sardines.”

“I prefer milk and cookies, but I’d be happy to sit with you awhile.” He blushed.



Go ahead, challenge yourself and see what brilliant flash fiction piece you can come up with. It might look daunting but it was SUPER EASY to fit all of the 13 topics.

A Day Late and a Buck Short

Celebrate the Small Things!hosted by: Lexa Cain, Tonja, and L.G. Keltner

1.) I remembered I needed to post! Granted it's a day and buck short but I have my post up now.

2.) Starting next week I HAVE TOO work 70 hours. In fact it starts today (10/24).  4 hours today and 4 hours tomorrow, then 10 hour days for the rest of the week. I'm not going to enjoy getting at work by 4 am but I am going to ENJOY the money!!! Christmas is around the corner and I need to get my Black Friday money ready.

3.) Did find some time to relax here and there this week so I was able to catch up on some of my TV shows and movies.

Fast Five Friday is a weekly blog hop created by, us, Cover Girls. Revolving around lists of five, its purpose is to connect with writers, readers, viewers, and bloggers.

Dawn of the Dead
30 Days of Night
Hocus Pocus
Jeepers Creepers
Monster House

Magical Spells and Thigh Highs

Hey Blogging Friends! Express Yourself is a weekly meme. It's goal is to help our fellow bloggers get to know one another better, to help motivate one another, laugh (or cry) together, in other words – stalk.




Oct. 19-23: A magical spell was cast on Halloween night to turn everyone into their costume forever, what would you be?

Seeing how I never dress up on Halloween night, I'd stay my old, cool self.

But for fun lets say...

Alice from Resident Evil; the one from Resident Evil: Extinction. I love the whole outfit. The duster is my favorite.

Celebrating Bat-Shit-Crazy

Celebrate the Small Things!
hosted by: Lexa Cain, Tonja, and L.G. Keltner

1.) We finally were able to get our family pictures taken last Sunday, and it was a beautiful morning! I'm now sick from being out in all of that nature... but it's worth it.
2.) We had busy day last Saturday; cousin's daughter turned 16 so we went bowling, the kids did laser tag and games. After that, I took the kids to the company fall festival, loaded with bouncy houses, great food, hard cider (for me of course) and hay rides.
3.) This week; hair cuts and hopefully going to Kuehnert dairy farm for some festivities.

Fast Five Friday is a weekly blog hop created by, us, Cover Girls. Revolving around lists of five, its purpose is to connect with writers, readers, viewers, and bloggers.

Oct. 16: Five things that drive you bat-shit-crazy:

• The "CRUNCH" sound people make when they eat chips.
• When my kids question me... "Cause I said so, that's why!"
• When people play dumb to get out of work.
• Slow drivers. Either find the peddle and step on it or get out of my way, I've got places to be.
• All of this PC malarkey; the different variations of being "offended" and walking on eggshells. If you don't like what I'm saying, put your blinders back on and move along.

Grab Your Pistol and Your Knapsack

Hey Blogging Friends! Express Yourself is a weekly meme. It's goal is to help our fellow bloggers get to know one another better, to help motivate one another, laugh (or cry) together, in other words – stalk.

Oct. 12-16: Zombies are busting through your hideout, you only have one exit, with little time to spare, what 3 items do you grab?

I love this question btw, Jackie!

Besides making sure my family is safe...

1.) My survivalist book (a gift from Jackie for my birthday.)

2.) My pistol & ammo (I'm mean, duh right?)

3.) Lighter

But lets face it, if you know me, then you know I only really need to grab two things... my pistol & bug-out-bag cause in reality the bag should have the ammo, lighter, survivalist book, a pamphlet on crops, a big-ol-knife, this cool fork/spoon/knife combo tool, clothing items, peanut butter, honey, & chocolate (cause those items last the longest without going bad), Lifestraw, compass, map, flashlight, etc. The bag shouldn't be too heavy and able to run with.

What 3 items would you make sure to grab?


And don't forget to sign-up HERE...

 

 

Celebrate 5 Small Costume Things

Celebrate the Small Things!
hosted by: Lexa Cain, Tonja, and L.G. Keltner

1.) My daughter had a successful 6th birthday party painting with her friends this past Saturday!
2.) My story for Spooktoberfest is finalized and ready to go.
3.) I have stayed on task with blogging.
4.) I have been pleased the weather is cooperating and allowing us to open the windows.

Fast Five Friday is a weekly blog hop created by, us, Cover Girls. Its purpose is to connect with writers, readers, viewers, and bloggers. With that aim in mind, we would love for you to join us! We're suckers for lists, so we thought it'd be cool to do a weekly blog hop where we list things. We've provided the topics for each week below, with five being the focus.
 

You're not required to post every week. You can pick and choose which topics you'd like to participate in. 

Whatever topics you decide to do, please include the link to your Fast Five Friday post in the comments section of our FFF post each week, so we can stop by and show our FFF love to you!

 

Oct. 9: 5 Halloween costumes you think are awesome! 

How adorbz is this outfit?! Her facial expression cracks me up!

Uber creepy which makes it so amazing! Plus the shear skill to walk around!

My daughter loves Nightmare Before Christmas! I don't think I can master stilts though.

Now this one is more up my alley, and I can see Jackie and I doing something like this... but with longer shorts.

Love this one! Put some tights on and I can totally feel as though I can rock this one!

The Haunted Graveyard and Two Stolen Trucks

Hey Blogging Friends! Express Yourself is a weekly meme. It's goal is to help our fellow bloggers get to know one another better, to help motivate one another, laugh (or cry) together, in other words – stalk.

Oct. 5-9: Where would be the scariest place to spend Halloween?

For me, probably in one of those overnight haunted house where they lock you in and see if you encounter ghosts.

Or a grave yard. One year my friends and I went to a graveyard on Halloween night to see if we could get any cheap ghost thrills out of the whole ordeal. We got a minor heart attack instead! A couple of guys that were supposed to go with us initially, cancelled at the last minute, claiming they had to take their siblings trick-o-treating. Well... instead they were dropped out at the graveyard ahead of time by another guy in our group and squatted until we all showed up later. While we were a few feet away from the pickup trucks, our two squatting friends quietly climbed into the trucks and took off in them.

Needless to say, we were all freaked out, especially us girls (cell phones weren't a thing then). We had no one to call until someone suggested we walk to the nearest house and call the cops. That's when, the one guy who dropped the two dudes off, had to come clean so no one got in trouble. About 15 minutes later, those two dorks, swung back by and picked us up.


Maybe I will tell the one about the Ouija board and the haunted jail later. I also have one which involves a Ouija board and a infamous haunted road.


And there is still time to sign up for Spooktoberfest HERE!

 

 

 

Books, Movies, and others things to Celebrate

Fast Five Friday is a weekly blog hop created by, us, Cover Girls. Its purpose is to connect with writers, readers, viewers, and bloggers. With that aim in mind, we would love for you to join us! We're suckers for lists, so we thought it'd be cool to do a weekly blog hop where we list things. We've provided the topics for each week below, with five being the focus.

You're not required to post every week. You can pick and choose which topics you'd like to participate in. 

Whatever topics you decide to do, please include the link to your Fast Five Friday post in the comments section of our FFF post each week, so we can stop by and show our FFF love to you!

Sept. 18: 5 books you’d like to see turned into movies/TV shows:

House of Night series by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
Splintered series by AG Howard
The Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer

Finishing School series by Gail Carriger

Not a Drop to Drink series by Mindy McGinnis

Sept. 25: 5 most anticipated books

 

Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs (Sept. 22, 2015)

Winter by Marissa Meyer (Nov. 10, 2015)

Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger (Nov. 3, 2015)

 

Sorry, that's all I could come with. I know, such a bookish disappointment.

Celebrate the Small Things!
hosted by: Lexa Cain, Tonja, and L.G. Keltner

1.) Let's start by celebrating that I signed up... again! I did Celebrate a couple of years ago but dropped off because life was cutting into my blogging time, and life usually wins that fight.

2.) How about the shear fact that it's October!! I really love this month!

3.) Weather provided, I get to bust out my sweaters and hoodies!!

4.) There is this store where I live called Darlington Holiday Warehouse (Seasonal Oct.- Dec.) where everything is $1.59 (unless it's calendars or candles) They have EVERYTHING from stocking stuffers, books, housewares, jewelry, makeup, electronic accessories, clothing essentials to bigger gifts. Jackie and I love this place!!

5.) And last but not least...
Don't forget to sign up for Spooktoberfest  HERE!

 

Because I Want My Daughter To See What I See

Hey Blogging Friends! Express Yourself is a weekly meme. It's goal is to help our fellow bloggers get to know one another better, to help motivate one another, laugh (or cry) together, in other words – stalk.

Sept. 14-18: What book/movie are you planning to read/watch next?

I have two books on my TBR next list:

Railsea by China Miéville
Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs

Sept. 21-25: If you could switch bodies with someone for 24 hours (like Freaky Friday) who would you switch with and why?

Just like in Freaky Friday, I'd want to switch with my daughter for a day, just to see if High School is really as drama-filled as she says.

And though my daughter dresses cute and sensible, I would wear an this boho chic outfit that I think looks amazing on her tall, thin frame. However, she has never worn it cause she says it looks horrible on her. Maybe it will open her eyes if she could see what I see when I look at her - pure beauty.

The daily struggles of being a parent.

Sept. 28-Oct. 2: What's your favorite kind of cookie and/or cake?

Fave cookie: Lemon
Fave cake: Chocolate cake from Granite City.



















And don't forget to sign up for Spooktoberfest!! HERE!

 

 

4th Annual Spooktoberfest

Welcome to the 4^th Annual SPOOKTOBERFEST !!!

This year we are switching things up, Scattergories style!



Copy & post badge on your page, Twitter, FB, etc. Thanks!

Requirements:

1. Copy and post badge on your page!

2. Follow this blog, Cover Girls and on Twitter: @covergirlsdj, if you don’t already. We do follow back.
          You can also find and follow our individual accounts: @jackiefel & @danibertrand

3. Your Flash Fiction piece must be 400 words or less.
 
4. You must use all 13 Scattergory topics in FF piece. Please highlight or underline them in your story, so we know where to find them. (See the mandatory 13 topics below)
 

5. Post your Flash Fiction piece any day from Saturday, Oct 24^th thru Wednesday, Oct. 28^th.
 
6. It’s a blog hop, so… hop around to other participating blogs and leave them some awesome comments (also part of the challenge – everyone deserves some comment love).
 
7. Have fun. Your flash fiction piece can be whatever you like, just be creative! You can use pictures to set the scene and/or a song to set the mood.
 

WINNERS & Runner-Ups will be posted on HALLOWEEN!

We will each choose a winner. That’s right – two winners!
And as an added bonus, we will also be selecting 2 runner-ups this year.
That’s a total of 4 prizes! AWESOME!!
 

PRIZES:

Winners - $20 Giftcards each

Runner-Ups – Either,   1.) a book from our bookshelves

                           OR    2.) a critique (first 10 pages)

 

Oh, and yes, this blogfest is international. So what are you ghouls waiting for? Sign up using the Link below and please, help spread the word (Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, etc).

Jackie and I will also be participating for the fun of it!!

 

Start the Week Out with 20 Questions!

How tall are you?

I’m a 5'2” shortstuff

 

Do you have a hidden talent? If so, what?

I can speed read.

 

What is your biggest blog-related pet peeve?

No response to questions posted in comments. It’s not that hard to answer a question, whether it’s in the comments section, email reply, or on the posters’ site itself.

 

What is your biggest non-blog related pet peeve?

Ignorance. All someone has to do, is a little research. Don’t be a jerk.

 

What's your favorite song?

Either Sweet Home Alabama or Summer Breeze. I’m a hippie at heart.

 

What is your favorite ETSY shop?

Ummm… I don’t… is Etsy big enough to have its own question? Now a good question for me would be, what’s a subject you pinterest about the most? And in this case I’d say, “Go here and you figure it out!” I’m such a jerk, I know!

 

What's your favorite way to spend your free time when you're alone?

Catching up on TV shows and/or movies, snacking, reading.

 

What's your favorite junk food?

Zebra Cakes… OMG, I’m addicted

 

Do you have pets?

We currently have two cats.

 

What are your favorite fiction and non-fiction books?

Non - I have several survival, herbal, science books

Fiction – Zombie/Fantasy/YA

 

What is your favorite beauty product?

Defining Gel and Eye/Lip Cream from It Works® products.

 

When were you last embarrassed?

Ummm… it happens on a daily basis so it’s hard to pinpoint just one. It’s usually because I’m accident prone.

 

If you could drink one beverage for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I would like to pick Pepsi or Mtn. Dew but I’d probably go with boring old water. No one like to be bloated or constipated. ßYes I went there.

 

What's your favorite movie?

This is like asking a kid if they like candy… “YES!”

I can’t pick just one movie but I will say, I’m currently addicted to all the Hobbit movies and watch them every time they are one. It will never get old. Just like the original Star Wars when I was little.

 

What were you in high school? Prom queen, nerd, cheerleader, jock, valedictorian, band geek, loner, artist, etc?

A socializing, nerdy, cheerleading, jock.

 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

Someplace where it is neither too cold, nor too hot. You find it, I’ll move there.

 

PC or Mac?

PC.

 

Last romantic gesture from a crush, date, boyfriend/girlfriend?

How about my husband… he ran some errands for me. I find those little gestures so much more romantic than flowers, etc.

 

Favorite celeb?

This living ones changes from time to time, so currently:

Living … Channing Tatum, Anna Kendrick, Jimmy Fallon, Rhonda Rousey, Randy Orton…
Dead … Heath Ledger, John Lennon, Freddy Mercury…


Which blogger do you secretly want to be best friends with?

Well I’m already BBF’s with Jackie @ BouquetOfBooks, but I’d love to add Morgan Shamy and Suzi @ LiteraryEngineer to my secret society.

 

 

 

I'm not going to tag anyone, I know - I'm no fun - but I figured if you lovelies have time, you would go ahead and make my day but answering these questions when you have time. If not, that is fine too, I won't judge.

 

Have an awesome Monday!!