Today’s question goes along with my post from last week about how I have a house cleaner who’s going to be coming every other week. Having someone clean my toilets has always been a dream of mine. I don’t know that it’s the ULTIMATE dream, but it’s definitely a dream. Along with a personal chef, a personal masseuse, and someone who would wash my hair, give me a scalp massage, and style my hair every day. If I was rich, I would be AWESOME for this economy. I’d employ lots of people. I’d have the workings of a small town in my own home. SO! The question today is:

Which would you rather have at your disposal for five years:

A house cleaner/maid

A personal masseuse

A personal chef

A personal secretary

I’m debating between the house cleaner/maid and the chef. It’s not that I don’t cook well, it’s just that I’m thinking about what would free up more of my time. As much as it pains me to not be able to pick a personal masseuse (because would that EVER get old? Daily massages? I don’t think so.), I just don’t think a personal masseuse would be better than a personal maid or a personal chef. Though, as a blogger and someone with an online business, a personal secretary wouldn’t be too shabby either. I hate to make this choice, but I think I’m going to have to go with a personal maid chef maid chef maid chef maid chef. That’s my final answer.

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I was excited to read Ted Dekker’s new book, The Bride Collector, because, as you probably know, I’m a huge fan of mystery/suspense/thriller books. I know Ted Dekker has quite a few fans, and I was interested to see for myself how great (or not) he is.

In The Bride Collector, Brad Raines is an FBI special agent who is tasked with finding the serial killer that’s been dubbed The Bride Collector for his use of putting a bridal veil on the head of his victims. While working on the case, Brad and his partner, Nikki, uncover a connection between the serial killer and a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill people who are extraordinarily gifted. Brad and Nikki enlist the help of some of the more gifted residents: Roudy, a man who is able to see patterns others can’t, and Paradise, a young women who can sometimes see the last few moments of a person’s life if she touches their dead body.

Brad is racing against the clock to find this serial killer, as not only is he regularly killing women, but he target’s Brad’s partner, Nikki.

The narration alternates between Brad and the serial killer, Quinton. Quinton has a God complex and is trying to send these women to be brides of God. He thinks he’s doing them a favor. He’s a genius intellectually, so it always seems that he’s one step ahead of Brad.

My favorite part of the book was when Dekker showed the mentally ill patients interacting. I don’t think Dekker exploited this thread enough in the craziness of the mentally ill patients.

There’s a point in the book where I was like OH MY GOD Dekker went THERE. I was thrilled at the unpredictability I was finding, though it was at that point, about half way through the book, that the story went far more predictable than I like. I thought the ending was a little too tidy, and so it was the second half of the book and the ending that made it less than stellar. All in all, I liked the book, but found Brad Raines to ultimately be forgettable, particularly in comparison to Joe Pike or Elvis Cole.

Rating: 82 out of 100

Other reviews (there’s quite a few, so I just grabbed the first few):

Peeking Between the Pages

Jenn’s Bookshelves

Word Lily

This isn’t just any ordinary countdown widget! Click on sweepstakes and check out the cool contest! Also, if you pre-order a copy of The Bride Collector from Amazon, you’ll get a .pdf copy of Dekker’s first unpublished novel.

Book source: I received this book from the publisher.

One of the things that I’ve always thought was quite the luxury was having a house cleaner. It’s not something I ever thought I’d have, only because I figured I’d never own a house large enough to NEED a house cleaner. I mean, really, unless your house is 2,000+ square feet, what would you need a house cleaner for? Unless, of course, you had the luxury of being able to AFFORD a house cleaner, which I never anticipated would be my situation.

There’s also the added problem that I’m a very thorough cleaner, and I don’t know that even if I WANTED a house cleaner, that anyone would live up to my standards.

Well, circumstances have become such that not only would I like a house cleaner, I NEED a house cleaner. I’m working two jobs, and my second job is doing great, which is I’m thrilled about, except for the fact that I still have to work my day job, and so I’m left with extremely little time to do anything but eat, sleep, and, err…spend time with my husband.

I asked around to my friends to see if they had a personal recommendation for a house cleaner. I mean, aren’t house cleaners kind of like hair dressers, where if they’re good they’re booked, and if they’re not good, they’ve got plenty of openings? I’m sure that’s not true in all cases, but a personal recommendation would go far for me. I lucked out that a friend of mine has a house cleaner she adores, and this woman, Christine, has a few openings. As it turns out, Christine is trying to cut back on her business, but has a hard time saying no. So I made an appointment for her to come look at my house.

Now, here’s where things get guilt-inducing. If you stand in my living room, I could give you a tour of the house without having to move. My place is TINY. Less-than-1,000-square-feet tiny. So asking someone to help me clean this speck of a house is embarrassing! Am I really that busy that I can’t clean my own house? Unfortunately, I am.

When Christine said she would be willing to clean my house, I think a tear escaped down my cheek. A weight lifted off my shoulders that was getting heavier and heavier the busier I’ve gotten. Christine came over and told me what she’d do. She told me she’s vacuum the edges, and she pointed out things she’d clean, things that I would do if I only had the time, things I think most people don’t notice, but *I* notice. It’s like I’ve hired myself to clean my own house, and I couldn’t be happier.

The only thing I worry about is liking it so much that I’ll want to continue having a house cleaner even after I’m back down to one job. I guess I’ll justify keeping her when I get to that point.

Do you have a house cleaner? How much do you love it?

I’m a sucker for a great mystery/thriller, and this book has totally captured my attention:

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (July 6, 2010)

On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she’s about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor. The truth doesn’t always set you free. Still Missing is that rare debut find—a shocking, visceral, brutal, and beautifully crafted novel.

I love books where stories are told through the narrator to someone else, as opposed to having a third person narrator tell the story. I think there’s quite a bit of tension and suspense that can be built up if a story unfolds via the narration of the main character.

But I can’t believe this doesn’t come out until JULY!

*dies*

I think Wednesdays are officially my favorite day of the week. I was quite smitten with them before, but now I get positively giddy when they come around.

This week’s question is something I’ve heard asked before. Everyone went back and forth on this, so I’d like to see what y’all think.

Would you rather be loved or respected?

I want to make this harder by saying if you’re loved, you ARE NOT respected, and if you’re respected, you ARE NOT loved. You must make a choice, people!

To get the discussion going, I think I’d rather be loved. I think respect is extremely important, but “a life without love is no life at all.” (Name the movie that was in!) I think I could live without respect…I don’t think I could live without love.

Which would you pick?

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