There’s a good all-purpose excuse!

Well, my horoscope for today has basically told me to quit slacking off and get to work on my creative projects. Guess that means I need to start writing more. And not use today’s excuse no matter how much I want to! LOL!

Now that the Olympics are over, I’m not quite sure how to act. Time to get back into the swing of other things. Tonight on TV, we have new episodes of Chuck and 24. I’ll be recording both so I can catch up on other things. Yes, I know it’s like robbing Peter to pay Paul but I don’t have enough hours in the day to do all I need to do today.

As promised from yesterday, here are a couple of pictures of the dishy Norwegian curler, Thomas Ulsrud. It’s not the dishiest pic but you can see the pants. *g* Here’s another shot of him.

Oh, and from the world of archaeology, the head from a “colossal” statue of Amenhotep III (King Tut’s granddaddy *g*) has been found in Egypt.

Reading: I’m not quite finished with Death at Bishop’s Keep yet, but I’m loving it and definitely plan to get the rest of the books in the series.

Stick me in a big underground tomb in the desert instead, ‘kay? Archaeologists in Egypt have recently discovered a huge tomb near Cairo.

On this date in 1914, the Ford Motor Company gave its workers a pay raise. They went from a nine hour workday for $2.34 (that’s per day not per hour) to an eight hour day for $5.

The first color newsreel was released on this date in 1948. It was released by Warner Brothers-Pathe. and was filmed at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.

Much to my surprise, we have new episodes of NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles tonight.

Wrote about one page last night.

Reading: I’m about halfway through Doppelgangster by Laura Resnick. Such a fun book!!!

On this date in 1922, the tomb of Tutankhamun (more commonly known as King Tut—and, no, he wasn’t really born in Arizona ) was opened to the public.

Movie choreographer Busby Berkeley was born on this date in 1895.

It was supposed to be rainy today. But the sun’s just come out. Yay!

Lots of Christmas movies on tonight. And I must watch Blackadder’s Christmas Carol because it’s such a hoot. Also we have Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

Reading: I’m re-reading Once a Thief by Suzann Ledbetter. Chubby middle-aged home stage professional Ramey Burke answers her door one day to find her uncles and aunt who’ve recently been released from prison standing on her front porch. The Other Dillinger Gang, as they were known, needs a place to live and Ramey’s house is it. Which is fine and dandy until the day a dead body shows up in Ramey’s front yard. This is a cute funny mystery with romantic overtones.

On this date in 1922, Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tutankhamen.

So, last night’s eliminations on DWTS weren’t much of a surprise. Michael Irvin and Mark Dacascos. But Aaron Carter was in the bottom three and I held out hope he’d get the boot, but no such luck. Oh well. There’s always next week.

Busy night tonight. Ghost Hunters, Criminal Minds, MythBusters, CSI: NY and the season finale of Destination Truth. Plus the World Series.

Wrote a page and a half last night until I got sidetracked by researching airship gondolas.

Reading: I’m heading to the library here in a bit, so I’ll have new reading material. Yay!

According to a story at MSNBC, archaeologists have uncovered an ancient altar at a Roman fort in northern England.

And on this date in 1909, French aviator Louis Blériot flew across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air flying machine.

I have a new obsession. Steampunk. I want to read it. I want to write it. I might have to live without that last one, though. I’m not at all sure I’m up to the job. But there’s something inherently fascinating about a world powered by steam and gears instead of gasoline and electricity.

Tonight is the season finale, I think, of Primeval and the series premiere of another show on BBC America called Being Human. The latter is about three roommates trying to get by in London. Oh yeah. One’s a vampire, one’s a werewolf, and one’s a ghost. *g* I’ll be recording both shows, though, so I can watch part of the Torchwood: Children of Earth episodes I recorded.

Much to my amazed delight, I managed to write a page and a half last night!

Reading: I’m back to reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde again.

Italian archaeologists have discovered an intact 2000-year-old container of lotion. It was found in the cosmetics case of an aristocratic Etruscan woman.

The parents went to Home Depot this morning in search of legs for my desk. I’m currently using two file cabinets as a base. I’m also constantly banging my knees because there’s not enough leg room, hence the legs for the desktop. Then it’ll be time to rearrange furniture in here. Again. For the umpteenth time. Surely, someday I’ll hit on the perfect arrangement. Right? Just agree with me. Please.

It was great to have Eureka back last night!

Tonight we have a new episode of Primeval which I’ll be recording. And I think I may use one or both of my PPV vouchers. In addition to Inkheart which I definitely want to see, they’ve added Bedtime Stories which I’ve thought looks very cute and Quantum of Solace which should have lots of action.

I managed to write a page and a half in record time last night. I managed the page itself in about 10 minutes!!! That never happens! Then I added the half page. We now know the identity of the killer! (Well, I’ve known for awhile now, but you know what I mean.) We just don’t know why. (And I’m waiting for elucidation—that’s my ten dollar word for the day—on that point, too.)

Reading: Finished up Making Money and have now started The Demon King and I by Candace Havens. One of Texas heiress Gillian Caruthers’ jobs is keeping demons out of our world and in their own dimension. But what to do about the hot new demon king who looks all too human?

On this date in 1934, six-year-old Shirley Temple signed a contract with the Fox Film Corp. which launched her career as one of the biggest stars of ’30s.

And on this date in 1937, aviatrix Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during their attempt to fly around the world. Which launched one of the biggest mysteries of all time.

We also have another nifty archaeology story.

Not much else going on around here. And nothing on TV as far as I can see.

Reading: Got to the library yesterday so I have new books to read. Right now, I’m reading Black Ship by Carola Dunn. This is the most recent Daisy Dalrymple mystery which is one of my favorite series.

We haven’t had anything from the world of archaeology lately, so for your entertainment, we have this story about bones found at Stirling Castle. Pretty cool, huh?

On a happy note, no celebrities have died since Sunday!

The weather has finally improved here. Or at least it had yesterday. The humidity was quite a bit lower. It’s higher this morning. Oh well. The Weather Channel is predicting highs in the 80s starting on Thursday. Probably because they’re also predicting rain. *g*

There isn’t a thing on again tonight. So you know what that means. More. Recorded. Shows!

Reading: Finished up Dead Sexy and now I’m reading Quincey Morris, Vampire by P. N. Elrod. This is a fun “sequel” to Bram Stoker‘s Dracula which I didn’t enjoy nearly as much. I’ve only read Dracula once. I found it really dull. LOL!

Geez Louise. I didn’t get to sleep until almost 5:00 this morning. Can’t blame the book I was reading this time. I just couldn’t sleep. Very annoying. And thus i slept until 11:00 this morning. Now my whole day will be spent trying to catch up.

Not a lot going on here. But my wireless Bluetooth mouse arrived in today’s mail. Hope that helps at least some of the trouble with my hands. At least I got it working. After I read the directions. *g*

And I think I’ve griped about this before but it bears repeating. Whoever came up with the idea of packaging stuff in plastic needs a good smack upside the head. They are never easy to open!

Here’s a tidbit of research info for your edutainment. If you’re writing a book set prior to this date in 1943, don’t give your characters a ballpoint pen. *g*

The only thing on tonight that I’m aware of is MythBusters. Of course, last night I didn’t realize until about 7:00 that there were new shows on National Geographic about ancient Egypt and Easter Island. Had to watch those.

Wrote a few sentences last night. The story is bouncing all over the place at the moment. I think my writing style could be described, at best, as chaotic.

Reading: Not quite finished with The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers but should finish that tonight. Not sure what’s next on the agenda.

First on last night’s DWTS’s results show, we got a fab encore of Team Tango’s performance. They rocked it again. Loved the “commercial” for Dance Match with Chuck & Julianne. *g* Then we had a “commercial” for PETD (People for the Ethical Treatment of Dancers). And then we had the boot-off. As one headline I read said, Chuck Got Chucked. *sigh* I was really hoping we’d finally be rid of boring Melissa. And, my, wasn’t she weepy at the end? What was up with that?

More news from the world of archaeology. New ancient Egypt temples discovered in Sinai. Cool stuff!

Ye gods. The president is having yet another news conference tonight. I know what I’ll be doing THAT hour. Watching something recorded. Then it’ll be Criminal Minds, MythBusters, CSI: NY, UFO Hunters, Ghost Hunters (one of those weird mid-season finales), Lost, and The Unusuals.

I wrote about one page last night. And made notes on another idea while watching Life After People.

Reading: Still reading Dragonsdawn. And enjoying it a lot.