Waterfall Wednesdays Chapters 24 thru 28

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Chapters 24-28

1. After Gabi is injured, the doctor gives her a tonic. Gabi questions the doctor several times what is in it but he refuses to tell. Would have you taken the tonic in Gabi situation?

I probably wouldn't have. I'm definitely suspicious by nature, but even more so, I can't stand hedging. When Gabi asks and the doctor won't answer her and just gives her a roundabout answer and she's just supposed to trust him because he's a doctor, I wouldn't have. I would have been like, "answer me and then I'll drink it". It makes the hubby so mad when I won't do something without a damn good reason or an answer. I so would not be the chick who jumps just because the boy tells her to, and luckily there is a pile of really soft sand to break my fall (Really Jasmine? How well did you know Aladdin?!). No, I'm the one who questions everything because I hate NOT KNOWING! Gah! The thought of it is making me rumble!!

I mean, that "medicine" could have anything in it to cow dung to a dung beetle. I don't do feces or bugs. I also don't do poison...because I like being alive. o_o

2. Before the games Gabi asks Lia to let Lord Forabosch win in the archery event as people especially Lord Forabosch are becoming suspicious of them. But during the games Lord Forabosch upsets Lia trying to throw her off her game. So Lia decides to win. Do you think she did the right thing by not letting Lord Forabosch bully her or do you think she took an unnecessary risk?

Are you kidding me? If I were Lia I would never have agreed in the first place. Growing up my father felt that men were basically better, stronger and smarter than women. It wasn't that women were stupid, just that men were smarter than, they. This has pissed me off to no end and I've spent my entire life proving that I was just as good, but aiming for better. My father has realized some of my genius *wink wink* and admits that I may be up there with one of my brothers.

All this is background for me being so extremely competitive with men [and women] it's not even funny. I would so kick Lord Forabosch's butt and not even think twice about the consequences. *shrugs shoulders* hang me for my amazingness with a bow and arrow? That's okay, at least I won. LOL!

3. When Gabi is dying and she and Lia decide to return to the tombs so they can get the cure at home but they have to tell Marcello the truth. Even though Marcello thinks that it is madness that they are from the future he believes in Gabi because he loves her. Do you think this is believable? What would you have done if you were Marcello?

I don't think Marcello fully believed what she was saying until he saw her disappear in the cave. I think he was humoring the one he loved because she was dying and he would do anything to make her happy. I do think he partially believed something was off, but if someone told me they time traveled, I'd ask them if they had recently done some acid. It's a plausible question.

4. In the end Gabi and Lia return home. Do you think Gabi will return to Marcello? Would you go back?

Being that this is a 3-part series, I had a severe inclination that Gabi would be returning. Let's be honest here people, Ms. Bergren's not so evil that she makes us fall in love with Marcello only to leave him and never return while also watching Gabi suffer through missing him terribly and knowing what she left behind. She'd be asking herself for years and years to come what would have been. Regret can be detrimental. Plus, like I said, Ms. Bergren's nice...not evil.

And to the second, I would have gone back. I've always been unruly lead by my emotions and hormones. I would have had to have gone back to see and feel everything with Marcello I could. Whether I could have stayed or not, I'm not sure. If Marcello treated like he did Gabi and allowed for the same things, I mayhap could have.

5. Looking back at Waterfall what was your favorite moment?

That's a toughie, but most of my favorite moments in books usually have something to do with the romance in said book. I think that's because it makes my heart pound and hope for new beginnings and better tomorrows. Waterfall is no different. I think my very favorite moment would be the first kiss, the stolen glances, the tender sweetness, the heart pounding feelings and romantic tensions from Marcello and Gabi. Sometimes, as a reader, I almost prefer the build-up and tensions of a relationship to make out scenes. Don't misunderstand me about the kiss, I still want it more than anything, especially if it's told just right with everything I've been waiting for as a reader, with touching lips that heat you down through your toes and make your heart beat just a little bit faster.Those new feelings and they way they make a person soar and float and walk around all day smiling...those are the best part about the beginning of a relationship. I love the beginning, it's apocalyptic.

Working Stiff (Revitalists No.1) by Rachel Caine Review

Title: Working Stiff (Revitalists No.1)
Author: Rachel Caine
Pages:306
Published: August 2nd, 2011 by Penguin

Synopsis: Bryn Davis knows working at Fairview Mortuary isn't the most glamorous career choice, but at least it offers stable employment--until she discovers her bosses using a drug that resurrects the clientele as part of an extortion racket. Now, Bryn faces being terminated--literally, and with extreme prejudice.

Wit the help of corporate double-agent Patrick McCallister, Bryn has a chance to take down the bigger problem--pharmaceutical company Pharmadene, which treats death as the ultimate corporate loyalty program. She'd better do it fast, before she becomes a zombie slave--a real working stiff. She'd be better off dead...(From Goodreads.com)

My Sentiments:

To preface my review I just want to say that Rachel Caine is one of my favorite authors. Her young adult vampire series, The Morganville Vampires, first stole my heart when I was a vamp newbie. Her Weather Warden series starring Jo and David are permanently rooted on my to-re-read shelf and David, with his devotion and copper eyes, will always be my first Book Boyfriend.

Working Stiff, Rachel Caine's newest adult series screams of murder, strength and a second chance at life. I feel that Working Stiff is the start of something sensational and may be some of Ms. Caine's best work yet.

Bryn Davis, the newest employee at Fairview Mortuary, has her life under control; she's finished her required time with the armed forces, she's graduated from college and she's just been hired on as the mortuary's funeral director. Everything seems to be going as planned, except Bryn's life never included her boss extorting money from the dead and when Bryn accidentally stumbles upon the underground operation, she finds more than she ever wanted to know. With Pharmadene, the creator of the drug Returne - a drug that brings the dead back to life - breathing down her neck and forcing her hand, Bryn will have to find the employee leak from Pharmadene's masses or they may terminate her membership to their "loyalty program". And after a rumbling series of events, Bryn is forced to closely examine her life and decide what it really means to her.

Working Stiff is powerful and poignant from chapter one, with a first hand look at the grief stricken, and sometimes cynical, families of the dead to death itself. Bryn is an easy character to relate to and looking through her eyes at the events that occur throughout the book was almost like experiencing them myself. Bryn is an exceptionally strong female lead and there were so many instances when I would have broken down into tears when Bryn was able to wade through the muck and grime and do what she had to while still remaining undoubtedly human at other times, making her character a brilliant mix of flawed emotion.

It didn't take more than three strokes. The saw was very sharp. As the head rolled free, Bryn saw the life desperately continue in those filmed eyes, and then dim...and then, finally, mercifully, depart.

Bryn dropped the saw, staggered, and put her back against the wall...
...
Her legs had gone numb, but McCallister helped her down the steps, past the line of ants, past the silent living room with its TV still playing, Scotch waiting.

Outside into the clean breeze, and the sun.

Bryn collapsed against him, put her arms around his neck, and wept as if her heart were breaking. "Oh, God," she whispered. "Oh, my god. I had to do it; I had to. I had to."

And Patrick McCallister held on just as fiercely. "I know." he whispered back. "It's all right. It's over."

Working Stiff is a novel that I don't think I can fully express my emotions on. The characters were wonderful, and full of life and love, and flawed to a finely executed degree. But the plot...OH the plot. It was like a cyclone, an action-adventure movie, a homicidal-megalomaniac, a scientist, a masochist and a hopeful zombie all joined together to become the plot of this book. Every unique aspect of the plot brought out different emotions, from me, all in all, creating something akin to a proverbial yo-yo of feelings. One minute my eyes were watering profusely and my heart was breaking and the next my jaw was falling to my knees because I could not BELIEVE "that just happened". In my opinion, this is where Ms. Caine executed W0rking Stiff with astonishing skill because as a reader I relish the high points of a novel when I'm forced to experience the low points. And believe you me, there was no shortage of low points.

The [clear] plastic bag slipped neatly over the man's head, and was cinched in place with a deft twist of the guard's wrist.

"No..."

She saw it from two angles, like some nightmare...from where she stood, watching the man's panicked eyes widen under the film of the plastic before his breath clouded the bag, and from inside the bag at the same time.... Panic roared up inside her, flattening her defenses. She pressed both hands against the glass, trying desperately to help him, help him, because she knew how it felt; she knew the agonized terror that drove him to suck in all the available air and compress the plastic around his skin.

I don't think I can fully portray the atrocities that happen in this book and what so many of the characters have to suffer through, the greatest of all, Bryn. Death runs rampant through the pages and on occasion lust and love find its way in. The relationship between Patrick McCallister and Bryn is a toughie. It's rough and raw and sometimes its there and sometimes its not. Ms. Caine does everything she can to fully develop our feelings for these two and doesn't let them rush into anything. It leaves us on our toes and melts our hearts every time one of them lets their guard down.

Working Stiff made me feel so alive and appreciate everything I had in a small simplistic way. It was rough and strong and moving and just...I don't know...genius. This novel, to me, was EPIC and if you decide to read any adult fiction this year, you should read this because it is EPIC...'nuff said.

Want to meet Bryn Davis and Patrick McCallister?

Buy Working Stiff: A Revivalist Novel

Waterfall Wednesday 4

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Gabi and Lia both face several life and death situations in these chapters, having to pick up weapons in defense of those they love and experiencing first hand the brutality of close combat. If you had the choice between picking up a weapon and standing on the front lines or staying behind to tend to the wounded as necessary, which would you choose?

In all honesty, I have no idea. I don't actually know how to use any kind of weapon, but if I did I'd probably be out there, fighting. I suck at waiting behind, even if it is for a good purpose. I would want to be up there knowing what was going on. Still, I'd be scared out of my senses.

2. Both girls get to wear extraordinary gowns to their victory celebration; what would your dream medieval gown look like?

I'd probably go for a sapphire blue with pearl-like beading over the top. I like the higher collar behind the neck and I liked the tight sleeve to the elbow and bell out from there. I also like the tie in that pic over there (points to the right). So, maybe that dress in deep deep blue and a gold sash about the waist...plus the beading. I have issues okay. I usually just prefer simple, but sometimes a girls wants to feel like a princess. *le sigh*

3. Gabi has crude stitches put in and must endure both their removal as well as the cauterization of the wound. How is your threshold for pain? Do you think you would have simply gritted your teeth as Gabi does?

No, I would not have gritted through the pain. Although, I'm not much of a screamer and my threshold for pain is high, I still don't think I could have done it as she did. I can only imagine the pain and I think I may have also eventually passed out, as she did.

4. Marcello wants to properly court Gabi after they express mutual feelings of affection, wanting to speak with her mother about his intentions. What do you think is the most romantic aspect of medieval courtship?

I would say that since they aren't out "getting it on" the men were more creative in their courting. Thinking of ways to be together and not get into trouble. Stolen kisses sometimes mean so much more than the blatant ones. That to me would be the romantic part...the thought behind it all. The point of making the time to be together.

5. Gabi and Lia find themselves with conflicting desires toward the end with Lia wanting to return home and Gabi hoping to stay. Do you think that Gabi is being unfair to Lia for wanting to stay, or is Lia being unfair to Gabi for demanding they go? A little of both?

I think I'm probably on Lia's side. I don't blame Gabi for wanting to stay, but that is a HUGE decision. To leave everything they have ever known, including their mother. I don't think that is anything I could have done permanently. I give Lia props for being the sister she was and not yelling at Gabi for making her stay as long as she did.

The Author: {Lisa T. Bergren}
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But the Books:

Waterfall: A Novel (River of Time Series)
Cascade: A Novel (River of Time Series)

Torrent: A Novel (River of Time Series)

My Book Boyfriend 6: Patrick McCalister

Hey everyone! It's Tuesday in September which means it's time for My Book Boyfriend hosted by Missie over at The Unread Reader. If you don't know what My Book Boyfriend is, it's where we pick a book boyfriend and tell you about him. For all the details, check out Missie's blog. She is an excellent reviewer and makes this meme really fun.

This week I've chosen Patrick McCallister from Working Stiff: A Revivalist Novel by Rachel Caine (review to post Thursday). Patrick McCallister is the head of security at Pharmadene, the pharmaceutical company that specializes in a very special drug. A drug that can bring people back to life. Working Stiff was FREAKING AMAZING and Patrick McCallister is the whip cream and drizzled vanilla on the banana cream cheese cake. YUM! I've chosen Jake Gyllenhaal as my Patrick McCallister:

As she sat up to get a better look around, the door at the far end opened, and Joe Fideli came in. He was followed by another man Bryn didn't know--younger than Joe, with black hair and brown eyes and skin a few shades darker than Bryn's.

...The other man, the one she didn't know, walked forward, pulled up a single aluminum chair, and sat down next to her bedside. Close up, he was handsome in a quiet kind of way, and a little older than she'd thought--probably mid-thirties.

He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders.

She stiffened and started to pull away, but there was something vulnerable in his face just then, and she stilled herself and returned his stare. Seen this close, he was much more handsome than she'd realized--fine soft skin, a dark shadow of stubble stroking his cheeks. His eyes weren't just dark; they were a rich, complex brown, rimmed with dark green. There were strands of silver in his hair...

...He was right up against her, his chest brushing hers, and she felt the tension in his hands as he continued to hold her. Instead of pulling back, he stayed where he was, as if he had more to say.

But he didn't.

"You can't really feel anything for me, can you? Because I'm not really here. Underneath, I'm...that."

"Underneath, we're all that," McCallister said, "Everybody's dying, Bryn. You're just maintaining it better than most people--that's all."

"You can't actually believe that."

"I do," he said. "I believed it from the moment I saw you wake up. I knew you were a fighter. I knew you'd break my heart."

He stepped forward, put his hands on either side of her head, and kissed her. His lips were cool, damp, sweet, and urgent on hers, and suddenly Bryn felt wildly out of control, but safe. Safe. It felt like such an amazing relief.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and pulled her into his arms. "I said I'd never let that happen to you, and I couldn't...I'm sorry."

So, what do you all think of My Book Boyfriend this week? Who's your book boyfriend?

And, I'll say it again. This book was so amazing. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes Adult science fiction, Rachel Caine and the living dead. I'll be posting my full review on Thursday, but I will never be able to fully express how much I loved this book. It was an emotional roller coaster. I think it may be Ms. Caine's best work yet. I'm really not just saying that. *serious face*

Want to meet Bryn Davis and Patrick McCallister?

Buy Working Stiff: A Revivalist Novel

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Pages: 316
Published: August 30th, 2011 by Tor Teen

Summary: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.(From Goodreads.com)

My Sentiments:

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake is a haunting story that begs for death and hopes for redemption. And while Anna will most likely haunt my dreams for months to come, all I can say is, it was totally worth reading her bone-chilling story.

The morbidity of Anna Dressed in Blood calls to me with its gruesome, twisted plot and exceptional character development of Cas, the narrator. Cas, fully named Theseus Cassio Lowood, is our homicidal-ghost slaying MC and he may exist among the breathing, but seems to be more comfortable in the world of death and decay. Most likely it's because he's been fighting ghosts since he was 14, slaying them with his father's wickedly, cool athame. I imagine it's also because anyone who has seen and felt as much death as Cas, doesn't relate well to those who flit through life in their bubbles of ignorance and petty grievances. Cas, who lost his father at the age of seven, brutally murdered by a flesh gnawing ghost, knows his place in the world. He kills the ghosts who kill others. It is his legacy, it is his purpose.

Handsome, sharp and clever, Cas has this way about him, this single minded sense of devotion to his cause. A devotion that seems to work its way into my heart and rough it up a bit because while I love Cas for all that he is, sometimes I wanted to kick him in the pants for his single mindedness to the point of his own possible destruction. In Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas' focus seems to narrow in solely on Anna:

Anna is descending upon me, coming down the stairs without taking any strides. Her feet drag horribly along like she can't use them at all. Dark purplish veins cut through her pale white skin. Her hair is shadow-less black, and it moves through the air as though suspended in water, snaking out behind and drifting like reeds. It's the only thing about her that looks alive.

Cas is weirdly drawn to Anna and as the book progresses I couldn't help but think he suffered slightly from Stockholm Syndrome *grins*. Which was made even funnier later on when Cas brings up his weird infatuation with Anna, himself. Therefore, blowing over some of the creepy feelings we have over the whole "relationship".

But, Anna...oh Anna...she's strong, so strong, but she's also dead. She kills anyone who enters her house, but for some reason she doesn't have to kill Cas, who ends up thrown in as a school prank by a bunch of egotistical pricks.

Anna is a macabre piece of the plot and never pretends to be anything other than what she is; a dead girl who has killed for the past fifty years and will most likely continue to kill. She has a sense of guilt, but it doesn't stop her from her demanded purpose - death. The scenes involving Anna are horrible and intense and hellacious at times with rotting corpses and tormented spirits. And all the while I was kind of sinking deeper into the gruesomeness of Anna while also catching these little glimpses of the this other girl, a girl who was alive and kind and never killed, a girl I kind of wanted to like. That is, when she wasn't dismembering bodies and shredding intestines into little bits.

But still...Cas sees this other side of Anna, this almost-alive teenage girl and while he spends most of the book attempting to kill her, he has an underlying understanding of her, too. As individual characters, I loved the sharp wit of Cas and the strength of Anna, but I didn't fully feel the direction the book took in regards to them and the emotions building between them. It wasn't because I couldn't relate to them as characters, because oddly enough I could, but because I think their relationship lacked development. I felt like there were all these hidden moments and stolen conversations between Cas and Anna that I missed out on because they weren't put into the book and without them their relationship felt slightly...lacking. And to be totally honest, a relationship between a boy and a dead girl really should never be skimped in the development department because instead of hoping for kisses, I was little bit creeped out. Don't get me wrong, I still felt something between them..that spark that makes a reader wake up and take notice, the one that makes you sigh at every glance, every accidental touch and every unsuccessful stabbing.

We're not children, neither of us. We don't believe in fairy tales. And if we did, who would we be? Not Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty, I slice murder victims' heads off and Anna stretches skin until it rips, she snaps bones like green branches into smaller and smaller pieces. We'd be the fricking dragon and the wicked fairy. I know that. But I still have to tell her.

"It isn't fair."

Fantastically creepy, Anna Dressed in Blood is a heart-pounding, spine-tingling ghost story that ripped me apart with its raw pain, gruesome corporeal details and its noble grasp of loyalty, strength, guilt and hopeless salvation. Author Kendare Blake's debut novel took so much, making me appreciate all it gave in return. And besides....I can't help but wonder what I would do faced with Anna and her bleeding white dress.

"Nobody gets to be anybody," I snap. "We are not ghostbusters. I've got the knife, and I kill the ghosts, and I can't be tripping over you the whole time. Besides, it's obvious that I would be Peter Venkman." I look sharply at Thomas. "You would be Egon."

Kendare Blake:
I tire of writing these things in the third person. So. I write fiction, apparently mostly YA. I didn't know this, but like Stephen King says, writers are the last ones to know what it is they've written. My first novel,Sleepwalk Society is the story of four college age friends coming of age post 9/11, stumbling through friendships and love, trying desperately not to screw themselves over. My next two, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares are teen horror. My short fiction can be found online in numerous places.

But enough about that. When I am not writing or reading, you can generally find me sitting around wondering what the hell I'm going to do with my life. That, or being a gastronome, plotting a new recipe. Perhaps on a run or hike, playing tennis or watching Big Cat Diaries with my feline. This summer I have saved a total of three turtles during attempted road crossings. (from Goodreads.com)

Buy: Anna Dressed in Blood

Buy: Anna Dressed in Blood for your Kindle

In Which I am Well Informed {2}

Do you find non-fiction objectionable? Do you loathe and abhor self-help books? Do you find memoirs so depressing you think you may go out and beat your neighbor to make yourself feel better? Well...that's how I feel. If you feel the same, you've found the right place. In my feature IN WHICH I AM WELL INFORMED I will be reading something of a non-fiction nature and I will tell you what I've learned from said item. No worries, this is going to be fun!

**I just want to preface this post by saying that all my thoughts are my own and are only meant in fun and not to be offensive. Sometimes life should be laughed at and not taken so seriously. It's better that way.**

This week's selection for In Which I am Well Informed is SLEEP by Infinite Ideas.

Are you tired of being tired? Have you suffered from insomnia for ages but are in the dark about how to stop it? Whether you are suffering from nightmares, insomnia, restless leg syndrome or sleep apnoeainsomnia, stress or your partner's snoring, the Sleep series comes to the rescue. Here Infinite Ideas reveals 10 brilliant and straightforward techniques to help deal with all types of persistent sleep problems so that you can get the sleep you deserve. More helpful tips can be found in Sleep 2: 10 more great tips for a perfect night's sleep

Okay, so why did I pick this book? I have a sick fascination with sleeping. Not that I really get to do much of it with 2 kids and a husband who feels I should be up with the friggin' rooster (if we had a rooster that is), but still...
And I don't know about the rest of you, but anyone else want to jump into that book cover? It looks so sooooofft!!

Anyway, what did I learn:

1. By far the biggest cause of insomnia is stress: This is something I'm not surprised of in the slightest. I mean, my mind is always moving a mile a minute because LIFE IS INSANE!

2.Most of us have 4-5 stages of sleep a night and each of those stages has its own 5 stages of sleep. Our deepest sleep is stage 5:REM Sleep: I've read up on sleep a lot, especially REM...this is because I'm a nerd. However, I don't know how many of you know this, but REM is when we have dreams. According to SLEEP, "your brain is as active as it is when you're awake. Your eyes dart about, while your heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure all rise and can be erratic--this explains moments when you wake up from a disturbing dream with your heart thumping." I HATE those dreams. The ones you wake up from and you swear you have a murderer/zombie in your room about to come get you and/or your children and eat what's left of your brain. *closet lights on*

3. Muscles are paralyzed during sleep: This I did NOT know exactly, but I did crack up because someone asked the question about men and their...uhhhh...morning greeting *giggles*

Q: If muscles are paralyzed during sleep, why does my husband wake up with an erection every morning?

Isn't that the age old question. No, seriously, this is something I've ALWAYS wondered. Don't all of you deny it either, you've probably wondered as well. Well, apparently they aren't quite sure why, but they do say:

A: No one really knows. Men get erections and women's vaginas become engorged every single time a person dreams, as often as three to five times a night. However, your husband is just as likely to be dreaming about diesel trains as what his secretary looks like with no clothes on. Sexual thoughts or dreams are not thoughts to trigger these responses.

Huh. Who knew. o_o I'm not really surprised. Those dreams of Zac Efron and My Book Boyfriends are present in my dreams more often than not. Movies and books really pop those kind of things into my dreams. A couple times I've had the BEST FREAKING dreams about a character I'm trying to write. Needless to say, those are 2 of my favorite scenes from the book I'm attempting to finish. Then again, I also dream a lot about weird volcano's and kidnappings. Who knew either could "engorge" my womanly areas. o_o

4. Ever wonder why sometimes you get tired in the middle of the day? Apparently our bodies have a drop in temperature and increase in sleepiness around midday until two in the afternoon. Interesting! I always thought this was because of eating lunch. This makes SO much more sense than that...well, unless I was digesting a GINORMOUS meal, especially one involving turkey.

5. I am an Owl: Um, not literally, metaphorically. *giggles* "Owls want to go to bed later and are slow to get going in the morning. They're normally seen running for a bus, still putting on their jackets, their stomachs groaning after missing breakfast." No matter what time I go to bed, this is me. Apparently my internal clock is just running "slightly slower than 24 hours and my daily cycle is longer". This is seriously good to know because sometimes my husband gives me way more grief than I deserve about my rough mornings.
If you are curious, there are also Larks whose body clocks "run slightly faster than 24 hours and their daily cycle is slightly shorter. So larks want to go to bed early, get up early and are irritatingly bright eyed and bushy tailed the minute they get up." Not. Cool.

6. Sleeping too little and too much IS NOT GOOD: Sleeping too little (less than five hours per night) makes sense, your body doesn't get time to recharge. Sleeping more than nine hours a night repeatedly (which is considered too much) is also not good. This surprises me though. I thought it would benefit your body, but it will actually shorten your life span. CRAZY!
7. Women seem to need about 20 more minutes sleep than men: Awesome. Anyone want to know why? It's because, and I quote, "Women use their brains in a more flexible way than men..." This means our [women] brains are working harder in the day which makes us more tired come sleep time. LMAO! Our brains are more flexible, rock on!
8. Women are better at coping with stress: Of course we are, are brains are more flexible, LOL! No, but in all seriousness, experts associate with some female hormones or because females talk it out more often then men which is one of the key ways to stop it. Interesting.

9. Insomnia is more common in older people and women are twice as likely to suffer than men: Awesome. o_o
10. Chocolate does NOT have enough caffeine in it to be considered a significant source of caffeine in regards to insomnia: Meaning, if caffeine is keeping you awake, chocolate would not be a contributor. Although, the darker the chocolate the more caffeine it contains. For it to have any sort of effect, you'd have to down "150g of dark chocolate, 30 bars of milk chocolate or 50 cups of hot chocolate". I don't know about any of you, but I now have a craving for chocolate.



Do all of you feel more knowledgeable now? Or do you just have a hankering for hot men and chocolate? Or are you feeling sleepy and would like to take a nap along with me whilst I dream of hot men and chocolate?

That's what I thought. *winks*

Sweet Dreams.