Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Potato Chips and Cheese


Saturday mornings at our house are pretty mellow except for the alarm blasting at 7:30AM so Husband can go play tennis.  It's not my favorite time of the morning and usually I try to fall back asleep, but today I pulled myself out from under the warm covers placing my feet half on and half off the rug causing my toes to curl and immediately go cold.  Then I practically cough up a lung thanks to yet another whopper of a cold I've been nursing for two weeks.

I made myself a cup of ginger tea, something I do not like but have been told repeatedly is "good" for my cold, and I grabbed a half eaten giant bag of potato chips because a cold, in my opinion, deserves "comfort food".  With laptop in hand, I made my way to the TV room with a view of the street, propped myself up on the sofa with a few blankets, and enjoyed my "breakfast" while I read blogs.

Then I heard sirens!  A police car came screeching to a halt in front of the house directly across from ours, guns at the ready, as officers rushed to the front door.

Long story short, the house which as recently purchased by a young couple, was burglarized sometime in the night.  The new owners hadn't moved in yet, but the previous owner left behind a big flat screen TV and a huge impressive looking safe bolted to the bedroom closet.  The safe was busted wide open but fortunately was empty.  Score one for the homeowner!

The robbers clearly knew what was in the house and came prepared with a dolly to lug their loot out!  What they hadn't anticipated was that they wouldn't be able to open the gate to the driveway at the back of the house which meant they had to actually carry the TV out the front door and down many steep stairs to the street!  This unexpected exit route caused them to forgot to take their dolly which police hope is covered with their fingerprints.  Score two more for the homeowner!

This all gave me pause because our house was burglarized in late October.  Although different scenarios, a robbery is a robbery no matter how you stack it up and our little neighborhood has had enough.

I sat on the sofa with a mouth full of chips thinking about what else I could possibly do to make my home safe in what is clearly a hotbed for burglars.  I have a big, loud, new alarm system with all the bells and whistles, except one-- video cameras.  But really-- do I want and need to go so far as to video record the activities in from of and in back of our home?  Apparently so.

As I pondered this thought, drinking now cold ginger tea and practically inhaling potato chips at a frantic stress-related pace, I heard a knock at the front door.  Mind you, it was about 8AM and I hadn't even combed my hair yet let alone changed out of my pajamas.   And I'm pretty sure I had potato chip grease on my face with crumbs all down the front of my robe-- Not attractive.

It was the police asking if Husband and I had seen or heard anything suspicious the night before.  My mind raced to even think where we were the night before when I remembered I was actually on the exact same sofa eating the other half of the potato chips ala the FEED-a-cold-starve-a-fever school of thought.  (At least that my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)

I heard nothing and was of no help, but considering how I looked, I doubt a middle-aged housewife covered in potato chip crumbs was a credible witness anyway.  But, knowing how the homeowner felt I promised to keep a watchful eye out.

To say I hate that yet another home was robbed is an understatement.  This was not a "smash and grab" burglary like ours and others in the neighborhood, rather it was probably somehow tied to the countless people who have been in and out of the vacant house doing repair work who mentioned a 50" flat screen tv and fancy safe to a friend who knew a guy, who knew another guy-- you get the picture.  Regardless, it's nasty and unsettling.

So in the very near future, if you ever come to visit me, be sure to look into the cameras and say "cheese".  And bring a bag of potato chips.  Please and thank you.

Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com  -  Joanna Jenkins
Photo Credit: © greiss design - Fotolia.com

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Be Careful What You Wish For

Be careful what you wish for is the theme of a fabulous new book, In Blog We Trust, by Michael Infinito also know in Blogland as The Wizardry Of Otin.

It's about a young wife named Carrie Parker who posts a comment on a mysterious blog in response to the post "Tell Us How We Can Improve Your Life".  In a moment of frustration during a heated fight with her husband, Carrie posts a few unkind words about him in the comment section-- actually she says she wishes he was dead-- but she didn't mean it literally.  The next morning when Carrie realizes her "wish came true" and her husband was dead, the book takes off as she races to solve the mystery of this blog before anyone else is killed.  

I'm not usually a murder/mystery/thriller book reader but I was immediately drawn into this fast-paced read for many different reasons and found it hard to put down.  The idea that a blog was involved was a fresh storyline I hadn't heard before.  And, the twists and turns to the plot, as Carrie hunts down other commenters on the mystery blog, is intriguing,  

I'm not going to tell you more because you really should BUY this book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble and read it for yourself.  (It's available on Nook, Kindle and Smashwords too!) It's a good read worth checking out.  And, you'll be able to say you read the book because I wouldn't be surprised if Hollywood comes knocking on Otin's door for screenplay rights!

Happy reading!
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins
PS  I as not compensated for this review nor was I asked to write it.  I just really liked the book and wanted to support a fellow blogger.