As most of you probably know, we went to Oklahoma for Christmas this year. For an away-from-home vacation, it was fairly relaxing. We had a good time but it was nice to get back and sleep in my own bed again. Often when I return from a trip I feel like I need another vacation to actually relax. So, it was extremely convenient I received time off for the New Years holiday.

While I enjoy vacation, it’s also nice to get back to the normal routine. Ever since Thanksgiving I haven’t been exercising as much as I should. There just seemed to be too many interruptions. However, now that the holidays are over, I’m hoping to be a bit more consistent.

The two cats are doing well. Willow finished her last batch of vaccinations last week so hopefully I can stop visiting the vet on a monthly (and sometimes weekly) basis. I really had no idea that kittens were so expensive. Willow and Five aren’t best buddies but seem to be cohabiting in relative peace. However, some of Willow’s bad habits are rubbing off on Five. Willow recently introduced Five to the mysterious world of kitchen counters. I am less than thrilled by this discovery. Squirting them with water seems fairly effective but this means one must be able to find the squirt bottle . . .

This last month I went through a reading phase. I don’t remember everything but I’ll list the ones I remember:

• Poison Study by Maria Snyder – pretty intertaining book
• The Merry Gentry series by Laurell Hamilton – I find her writing engrossing but really felt that about half of the sex scenes could have been left out and thus the series could have been condensed to two books instead of four.
• Where’s My Hero contained novellas by Lisa Kleypas, Kinley MacGregor and Julia Quinn – a nice fluffy book, perfect for vacation
• The Final Key by Catherine Asaro – Interesting writer. She writes a weird combination of romance interspersed with hard SF. I like her books but am starting to get a tad confused with how everyone is related in the Skolian Empire universe. I believe Primary Inversion is the first in the series and is also my favorite.

Hmmm . . . I’m pretty sure I read more than that but I can’t remember any of the others. I’m planning to read Rebel Ice by S.L. Viehl (one of my current favorite authors). However, I need to remember to order it. I’m debating whether or not I should ask the library to buy this. However, they don’t have any of the previous books in the series and I think they’re only available in paperback. Have I ever mentioned that I’m annoyed most libraries discriminate against fiction that is only available in mass market paperbacks? I suppose I should go ahead and ask the library to buy it. However, I always feel a little guilty if a book I requested doesn’t checkout often enough.

Well, I think that’s enough babbling for one night. Good night.