On a limb with Claudia

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CHAPTER THREE

Five weeks later
February 8 – 11:45 A.M.
Denver, Colorado

Alex pressed the video link to her command and waited for her assistant to respond. She sat in her leather office chair in front of the red oak armoire that held her computers and the link to command.

“Name,” her Sergeant said.

“Fey,” Alex replied. She waited while security confirmed her face and voice imprint.

“Sir, you are amazingly popular today.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked.

“Seven messages. Would you like me to read them to you?”

“Just send the emails,” Alex said. “Is it…”

“Eleazar. There’s new intel out of Iraq about him.”

“We go through this every month. The eight of the month rolls around and suddenly everyone has something to say about Eleazar. Anything I need to know?”

“Officially?”

She laughed at his sarcasm. She wasn’t sure how they picked him to be her assistant, but he was a perfect counter balance. She was amazed at his ability to predict her mood then give her exactly what she needed. He even ran interference with brass.

“The Colonel would like to speak with you before you take the call.”

“Can you connect me?”

“He’s in a meeting but he said he would call you at 1200 hours.”

“Anything else?”

“I’ll email the messages. Do you know someone named Olivas?”

“Troy? I went to basic and Special Forces training with him. Why?”

“He’s left three messages saying that he’s at the Fort. He won’t tell me what he wants. He just says, ‘Tell the Fey that I’m at Fort Carson’. Sir, I ran his profile and…. Sir, he has a reputation for being wild.”

Alex laughed.

“There’s a new sim at Fort Carson. Afghanistan, I think. He wants me to beat it.”

[...]

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In the last six months, I’ve become a free software hound. It all started with a post about free software. My eyes were opened to a whole world of free and fabulous software. I wanted to share with you some of the software that I now use almost every day. And it’s free and fabulous!

Please note: ?I am not against people making money on their tools. I feel trapped by the endless updates. I don’t like the fact that some of my favorite and fabulous programs were jacked up by the latest update.?

Thursday 13
Free and Fabulous

1. Edit Pad Lite:?This is a simple text editor. I’ve used it for years. Pros: When you don’t use it for a few minutes, it goes into your bar. I know that sounds simple, but I can’t tell you how many times it’s saved me. ?Edit Pad Lite Page

2. Free RIP:?I have a number of CDs that were created by people that Windows can’t find the licenses for. Why? Who knows? So rather than carting my entire computer to bed so I can listen to my SleepTracks.com insomnia tapes, I used this program! Ta Da! ?Free RIP rips my CDs into WAV, MP3, Vorbis, WMA or FLAC. Free Rip page

3. Free Commander:?This program makes it easy to move files between drives or onto CDs. Again, this sounds very simple, but it’s wicked helpful. ?Free Commander Page

4. Plurk:?Plurk is like Twitter only better. You can have conversations with people from around the world. I’ve learned so much about… everything. I’ve made great food from recipes, learned programming tips, received fabulous software hints and… wow…. I’ve received tremendous support when I’ve needed it – and given it when it’s needed. ?Give it a try. If you like learning and talking to people, you’ll love it. Plurk Page

5. Gmail:?I received my first piece of email in 1996. In 1996, email was a fun way to connect with people. Now? It’s all about the business and spam. Sigh. Gmail has fabulous spam filters. I’ve been able to organize my email into different boxes that filter into “personal”, “work” and “writing” categories. If you haven’t tried it, you owe it to your life to get it. ?Gmail.com

6. GTalk:?This is a free program from Google. You can speak, computer to computer, with people around the world. You can also IM or Text message your friends. I use this program to keep up with clients and friends. GTalk Page

7. Google Calendar:?Why do I love this program? Google text messages me before every appointment at times I designate. So when I’m writing, I have time to return to the present. When you set an appointment you can email the person you are meeting. They confirm. After years of wondering if my client’s knew they had appointments? This is a god send. Google Calendar Page

8. Skype:?I’ve had skype for a long, long time. But I’ve only used it for voicemail. For example, I used it when I was on the Colorado Trail to keep up with my voicemail. I’ve started to use it, this year, to contact people around the world via computer to computer. I’ve had fabulous conversations with writers. When my husband was in Mexico, we chatted a few times a day. All free. ?Skype Page

9. Avast and AVG:?I have these programs on different computers. I haven’t had a problem with any virus or trojan with this caveat. I caught a trojan from a blog. Avast was on it immediately, but it took some time to get rid of the trojan. But hey, it’s free. Avast?or AVG

10. GIMPshop:?If you know me, you know that I hate Adobe products. I know. I know. They are everything and forty bags of chips. (Hey, I hate Apple to… go figure.) Adobe products make me nuts. I started using GIMP sometime last year and couldn’t figure it out. Recently, I started using GIMPshop. It has most of the tool bars as Photoshop, so it’s familiar, easy, and phew, not Adobe. ?GimpShop Page

11. GNU Cash:?I’ve grown to despise Quicken. In a fit of desperation (read Quicken screwed up a years worth of household accounting when I’m trying to do our taxes), I found GNU Cash. Ahhh… Easy tutorials and very straight forward interface. Plus, you can download from your banks, etc. I am now in the process of setting everything into it. Go ahead, spend another $90 updating your Quicken. I’m using GNU Cash for my personal and business accounting. GNU Cash page

12. Other InBox:??This is a fabulous product. It’s designed so you can make email addresses on the fly. For example, if I see a newsletter or an article that I want to read, but it requires and email address? I just use an other inbox address. I don’t have to tell other inbox that I’m doing it. As long as I use my account, it goes to the right place. I use it for all my website contact forms. ?Ok, here’s the true luxury —>it sends a summary of your email every morning<—- swoon! When you get hundreds of email a day, this is truly delicious! I have a beta release version, but the full version should be available very soon. Other Inbox page

13. Todoist:?This is a powerful project management/time management tool. I use it to track all of my websites and projects. You can set priorities (a la Covey) and hierarchies by project. For any busy person, this is a fabulous way to keep all of your “To Dos” in one place. Plus, there’s a delicious check the box and disappear into history function! ToDoIst Page

What favorite free programs do you use? Leave them in the comments and I’ll add them here!?

?

• “This cleans out the PC?s registry way deep inside taking out all registry changes some programs leave behind. I?ve used it well over a year on three different PC?s flawlessly.” The Walking Mark
• “The one piece of free software that I absolutely could not live without is Note Tab Lite, one of the most muscular text editors I?ve ever used. They have a pro version, but I?ve never felt the need for anything more than the freebie one. Best thing about it? One click lets you substitute it for Notepad in Windows so that it becomes your default text editor” ?Cameleon at Coffee Break
• “A free program I use is SparkPeople, which is like weight watchers but free.” All Rileyed Up, Los Angelista
• “I use ?SpyBot Search and Destroy. Oh, and Digsby! Yay for awesome free programs!” Mary?
• “I?m hooked on Pandora and also on Just Hear It, which finds any song you want to hear.” Los Angelista
• “About the only one I use is AdAware. Amazing how much garbage it finds every week!” Heather at Word Trix

Check out other Thursday 13ers?

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Some days, kindness comes easily. And other days, it’s wicked hard to be kind, think of the other person, believe that everyone’s doing their best and blah blah blah.

Why are these days so different from each other?

In my search to understand kindness, I’ve learned that the difference is me. I either believe that I have something to give or I don’t. Living kindly takes a lot of space and generosity.

Some days, the generosity runs out. I’m tired. I’m stressed out. I feel a lot of pressure. And most often, I’ve given too much.

I’ve learned that, on those days, the kindness thing I can do is work to refill my well. I might take a nap or knit for a while or plurk on nonsense with the plurkbuds, or….

What do you do to refill your well? How do you know when you need it?

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“Recently I read a story of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche,
the famous Tibetan Buddhist teacher. (….)
?One day he stood in front of the class and drew a V on a large sheet of paper.
‘What is this?’ he asked. ‘A bird,’ came the answer from everyone.
‘No,’ he replied, ‘it’s a picture of the sky with a bird flying through it.’”

–from Trusting Yourself by MJ Ryan

This story has been stuck in my head for weeks. I thought I would share it with you today. This week, I hope to be capable of seeing the sky AND the bird.

Happy Monday!

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And the winner is…?She became a butterfly as she was the thirteenth comment and the number 13 was picked by Random.org

Luckily there’s a contest every week. Our grab bag for this week is: a signed copy of the Fey, signed copy of Denver Cereal or some Honey. I’ve been working on getting us some other fabulous prizes. Hopefully next week? We’ll see!

Sigh… Unconscious mutterings… why do I love you so very much? Why?

You know how we do, just fill in your answers in the comments. That makes my day and enters you in the contest for fabulous prizes! ?Here are this weeks word prompts (created by Pea at LunaNina.com)

1. Carpet ::
2. William ::
3. Oh! ::
4. Board game ::
5. Sunlight ::
6. Delay ::
7. Winner ::
8. Concubine ::
9. Comatose ::
10. Satisfy ::

Here are my answers:

1. Carpet :: Bagger
2. William :: of France
3. Oh! :: My
4. Board game :: Bored game
5. Sunlight :: on my shoulders….
6. Delay :: in the game
7. Winner :: never
8. Concubine :: mother
9. Comatose :: from suger
10. Satisfy :: life

Happy Sunday!!

• Tara R at If Mom says Ok
• Perpstu at Popping Bubbles
• Molly at Survival of the Knittest
  
• Miss Riss at Wild Hair <–winner of contest!
• Andrea Daigle
• The Walking Mark
• Footpad
• Janet at Fond of Snape
• Tommie at Tuesday Update
• The CEO at Morning Meeting
• Claudia at Skipping Stones
• Jehara
• Los Angelista
• Dana at Awareness
• She became a butterfly

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CHAPTER TWO

Fourteen months later
January 5 – ?5:30 A.M.
Denver, Colorado

Alex lay somewhere between sleep and awake when John began stroking her naked body. She reached for him and he shifted on top of her. His lips brushed hers before moving to her chin. His tongue flicked the crease in her chin and his mouth began a biting, pulling journey down her neck. She giggled at the waves of goose bumps down her back and the rising warmth in her core.

She delighted at his weight, his lush male scent and shivered under his still moving mouth and skilled surgeon’s hands. Shifting her hips, she drew him into her depths. At the moment of union, he pushed back to look into her brown eyes.

“Good morning,” Alex whispered.

“And a very good morning to you,” he replied in his wonderful London accent.

He began subtle waves of movement that brought them luscious warmth. With deliberate motion, he flipped her on top of him giving him access to her full breasts. Alex increased the pace, moving with purpose, against him while he rubbed, bit and tortured her nipples. When she dropped her head back, he sat up to meet her. With his strong arms around her, he moved on top of her again pressing forward. They rose in tempo and pace.

Feeling her close to the edge, he said, “Promise me…”

“Oh God, I hate it when you do this.”

He kissed her lips.

“I’m going to buy a vibrator.”

He laughed. He moved his hips causing her breath to catch.

“Yes my darling?” He said imitating her American accent.

“What?”

[...]

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Let’s face it. I can be an all work/no play girl. When Dax Moy launched his Magic One Hundred program, I was excited. 100 work goals, right?

No.?

There’s an entire section on ADVENTURE.

…blink… blink…?

What?

Adventure?

Me?

What about… WORK?

No seriously, WHAT ABOUT WORK?

You can see that I have a fairly serious problem. In order to create a little balance in my life, I started to work on a list of Adventure goals. And came up with exactly… two goals.

So, I asked my friends, my family and the usual suspects. I now have twelve Adventure goals. (Applause please)

Here’s where you come in. I don’t have any idea what adventures lurk out there in the world.

Here are my twelve goals. I need twenty.

Help a girl out and suggest another eight. PLEEEEEEZZZZEEEE!!!

THURSDAY 13 -?Claudia’s Lame Adventure Goals for 2009

1. ?Plan one backpacking trip for the summer.

2. ?Ride the bike path from Idaho Springs to Georgetown

3. ?Go cross country skiing by myself (with Rose – of course)

4. ?Visit one national monument or park in Colorado?

5. ?Finally make it to Dinosaur National Monument (Very long story)

6. ?Visit the Denver Art Museums on a regular basis.

7. ?Learn to rollarblade (without killing myself)

8. ?Participate in one book club where either the Fey or Denver Cereal is discussed <–decidedly a work goal, don’t you think? See! I suck!

9. ?Go Bungee jumping <–stolen from every middle aged losers adventure goal list.

10. Do one thing I’m not good at every week.

11. Find new spot to rollarskate and go rollarskating.

12. White water rafting <–see #9

13. Please help a girl out. I’ll post your suggestions here with a link to your blog.

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The Open Grove is back in business. I haven’t let my breath out yet. I guess after all this time (8 years), I can’t really believe it.

But Tuesday, I signed an agreement that said that, as long as we stayed in holistic health and well-being (which is what we’ve always done), we could continue the Open Grove.

Unbelievable.

Keep your fingers crossed for me – will ya?

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“Sometimes, we hold the tightest to the things that God himself is trying to tear apart.”
–paraphrase from Diary of a Mad Black Woman

Happy Monday!

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