INSERT HEADER IMAGE HERE

Ah, Marcus. He of the beautiful face. Today, I’m posting a pic of Marcus that does not show off his gorgeous body. Instead, this candid shot shows off the beauty of his face. The man really does have exceptional bone structure. I’ve seen a few pics of him where he’s not as attractive as he is when they’ve got him all fancied up for the camera. But I’ve also seen some candid video of him where he shouldn’t have looked very attractive, but did. I’ve seen nothing where the man looked downright ick. I don’t think it’s possible for him to.

Toward the end of this post I’m going to tell the story of how my award came to be named the Marcus. I have another pic of Marcus to post with it. Those of you who are romance readers, especially historicals, will recognize the period clothing. Trust me, the pic goes with the story of the Marcus Award.

I’m feeling rather mellow after a weekend of spending my money on the internet. I’m excited, of course, to have all the goodies show up at my office in the arms of the hunky FedEx or UPS men. It’s nice when our cool mailman Tony brings it too, because he doesn’t leave it downstairs. He brings it right to my desk. Well, in all honesty, my desk isn’t far from where we stack the outgoing mail. But Tony knows me. He always asks me what I got on eBay this time.

There’s nothing like the personal touch. I like it that Tony knows the names of everyone in my office. I like it that the tellers at my bank know who I am. I like it that the people in my nail place how much I tip and that I’ll be be back in a week for either a polish change or a manicure/pedicure. I like it that our hair stylist remembers what she’s done to our hair in the past. That personal touch is something I find worthy of my business. Which is probably why I buy almost everything on the internet now. No one gives personal service any more, so I might as well just buy on the net and save myself the hassles of trying to find a parking place.

As a follow up to yesterday’s post, look for me on Blogs We Luv on March 11. Seems I was amusing enough in my 10 Questions answers that Tish came by to ogle the hotties post a comment. I’ve been blog hopping a little this weekend and looking at lots of blogs. I have to say that one in particular struck me in right in the funny bone as well as the brain. It’s funny and very sharp. If you’re interested in a blog that looks at the corporate life in a very different way, check out Jason X at The User Pool. I laughed so hard when I read this blog that I almost sprayed my Diet Ginger Ale all over my monitor.

Alright, time for the story of the Marcus Award. In the Bar Story, Alaric Kohl is physically represented by Marcus Schenkenberg, my favorite hottie. A couple of my earliest blog posts explain how I came hook up my character Lex Valentine with Alaric and why. During Lex and Alaric’s “courtship”, they get into a discussion of age and what Alaric was like during the eighteen century.

He took my hand and pulled me up. We walked upstairs hand in hand. “It’s weird to think of you doing the minuet and waltz and all those old fashioned dances,” I told him. “I woulda loved to have seen you in knee breeches and a cravat.”

He grimaced. “Dandy clothes. That was Luc’s thing not mine.”

I raised my eyebrows. “A Corinthian were you? The athlete?”

He shrugged. “More or less. Dressing up wasn’t as easy for me as it was for Luc. He’s still the best dressed Kohl. I’m not quite at the dressed down to Johann level, but somewhere between him and my brother.”

“But you do dance?” I questioned him as we went into the sitting room that adjoined our bedroom.

“My mother would have had a fit if I hadn’t learned,” he chuckled. “I waltz divinely. Even though I’m the size of a giraffe.”

“The despair of your mother because of your height hmn?” I quirked a brow at him and he made a face.

“Maybe. Still, I can dance.” He picked me up so my face was level with his and I wrapped my legs around his waist. “Does this qualify for dancing if I turn on a CD?” he laughed.

“Nope,” I told him. “Qualifies as foreplay. But only if I do this.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. He groaned and kissed me back.

So Lex finds out that Alaric’s mother called him a giraffe. After that there’s just a whole series of giraffe jokes and items throughout the story. I’m not quite sure how it happened, but I started picking up little giraffe items right about then. At Christmas, Jen sent me a beanie baby… a little giraffe. I promptly named him Marcus and took a cell pic of him on my bed in pride of place. That pic became the Marcus Award.

This week there are lots of Marcus Awards to give out. Susan and Mary were the big winners with 5 each. They were closely followed by Matt and Tempest with 4 each. Then we have Xahara, Mr. Fabulous, Nicholas, and Shiny with 2 each. Our one Marcus winners were: Harris Channing, The Gal Herself, Darla, tipsandstricks, Kat, Kaige, YummY, Malcolm, Mr. Grudge, the Libertine, Tish and Jennifer. And finally, although she wasn’t able to post this week due to some trouble with her laptop and then her landlord, Vixen of Vixen’s Den gets a Marcus too. She managed to post her prior Marcus on her blog before all the trouble hit. My fingers are crossed that things start looking up for her very soon.

That’s it for this Monday. Tomorrow we have a new tune, a hottie wallpaper for Mary, and maybe something from the Bar. Perhaps the slimy Macaire post unless something happens that I need to rant about. Happy Marcus Monday!