Scary!

Isn't that a frightening sight?
This is my sister's dog, Nezzie. (and she only had the mask on for as long as it took to take the pic) Scary, huh? (Even scarier is the mask belongs to K2) Nezzie is the sweetest dog and so tolerant. The kids frequently dress her in fairy wings and dresses and she never gets annoyed.

Another scary thing?
The horrible odor in my house right now. A combination of K2's rat cage and an obviously deceased hermit crab. I hadn't planned on touching either since I have repeatedly asked her to clean "Spanky's" cage and from her comment this morning she obviously knew the crab had already died. Honestly, I don't know if I can take the stench much longer. It's amazing how a bad smell overtakes and reproduces. In just a few hours, it's gone from annoying to vomit inducing. Of course, it's warmer today than the past few days and I'm sure that has at least a little to do with it.

I guess it's obvious I figured out how to post pictures. See? I can be taught!

Happy Halloween!

Stink-o-rama Update: No dead crabs. After I wrote this post I couldn't take it anymore and went up to bring the cage downstairs. No smell from there and only one lonely hermit crab left. He has been relocated to a new home in K3's room.
So, yeah, all that stank came from the rat. I am happy to report things are back to normal now. The cage has been cleaned. Thank goodness.

This is what I need!

This! This beach!
We didn't get to go this year and next years trip will remain up in the air for several months yet. Let's just say we'll be lucky to find a way to go next year. I try not to think about that too much as there are several factors way beyond my control.

That doesn't stop me from missing what we missed. The beach trip makes the nonstop schedule we live with worthwhile. It brings balance, and perspective. There is nothing better than waking up to the sunrise - drinking coffee on the deck and watching night creep away.

I find I've been thinking about the beach a lot lately. Trying not to be too sad and trying not to worry too much about next year. I remind myself that the next time we go will be even sweeter - that the absence will definitely make the heart grow fonder.

I know I'm right but that doesn't help much.

Birthday Partying

I should have taken a picture.
A picture of what my dining room table looked like after 12 pumpkins were carved. The wind was wicked so we had to move the festivities inside. I had pumpkin seeds, guts and chunks littering my table and floor. I don't know how many times I had to remind that we don't throw pumpkin guts in the house.

K3 had a great day and the birthday shindig turned out well. Lots of noise, food and people and the best version of the birthday song ever. (Anyone from my family who is reading this will laugh. Our birthday song makes animals howl in the next state and gets worse every time we sing it.)

This is a busy birthday time for us. We'll be singing the birthday song a lot.

Random Things That Make You Go...uhhh???

1. I bought coffee cups. When I checked out, the woman asked: "What are you going to use these for?"
2. Once, I saw a pair of white silk panties on the sidewalk in front of a store. (there's a story to this, but it's best told in person.)
3. Why is it when people dial the wrong number that they blame you? I had a call the other day. When I told them it was a wrong number, the man kept saying, "This is the number he gave me." Well, I'm sorry, I think you've been played.
4. Why, and this happens every time, do I end up with a big zit on my face when I'm going to be around other people? First thing B says to me is..."Who's your friend?" I should name it. The darn thing is like a symbiant being. I think it's trying to take over.

Enjoy the weekend! We'll be birthday celebrating with K3!

I'm Here!

Not intentionally silent -
I am working, as you can see. Took off one of my progress meters because just looking at it stresses me out.

Busy week here. Birthdays, school parties, school treats for birthday, costume organizing and creating. And the usual stuff.

And, lucky, lucky, me - Cold germs are now inhabiting my body. I am not happy.

Shout out Happy Birthday to the fabulous VB! And Happy Anniversary to the daring duo of D and R!!
(The entire time I've known them, I never realized they shared a special day until this morning! How stupid am I? Wait. Don't answer that!) But, hey! I figured out the linky thingy.

Maybe I should go back to bed.

Shoes...

No bathroom oddities again this week. I'm becoming concerned. We went through the entire summer with something different every week and now...nothing. Well, besides the dirty clothes and toothpaste messes.

So, instead this Friday I'm going to complain about shoes.

I know we're a big family but what's the deal? Why are there always numerous pairs of shoes littering every available space on the floor? This morning I came downstairs to find 13 pairs of shoes. At least half belonged to K2 - she's a shoe diva - the minute she gets money in her hand, she's begging to go shoe shopping. I have trouble understanding this as I own very few shoes. I'd rather go barefoot and would love to move someplace where shoes are always optional. At the beach we go to, you don't even have to wear shoes in the grocery store! I don't recommend that, even though I normally forget to throw mine on. The floors are freezing. But how cool is that? That you can go into any store, restaurant, whatever, and not have to wear shoes! That's where I need to live!

But I digress. I wonder how this shoe phenomena happens? It's the same thing every morning. Why don't I see the shoes before I go to bed? I really think they gather while we sleep and party - passing out on the floor without returning to wherever they'd been stowed. Maybe more shoes than I see attend the shindig, but they make it back to storage before morning comes. Is that why a single shoe will be found in a completely illogical location? Or shoes that had previously been missing are suddenly found?

Is it gnomes, fairies or some other paranormal force? Or has my total exhaustion caused me to stop making sense?

More Long & Lasting Love

So I'm stuck in a groove here.

Since I blogged about B's parents, I thought it only fitting that I should mention my own folks. This past April they celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.

The really neat thing is that my parents still act like newlyweds sometimes. (yeah, and sometimes it icks me out too!) Right now, they're on vacation. Just the two of them and their camper - traveling wherever the wind blows them and enjoying each others company. That's a pretty cool thing.

I remember my parents dancing in the living room to "their" music. We were all offended back then, as my kids are now when B and I even kiss, but now I realize that they gave us the ingredients to maintain our own relationships. And they continue to do so with their semi-retirement adventures.

I guess that's one of the reasons I turned out to be such a romantic sap.

Romance Through The Years

I love a good romance.
Which is probably obvious since I write happy endings.

This past weekend my in-laws renewed their wedding vows in honor of their 50th anniversary. Their actual anniversary was about 2 weeks ago, but my father-in-law was in the hospital at that time so the celebration had to be delayed. Now, my father-in-law is wheelchair bound due to a massive stroke 11 years ago. The stroke did affect his brain and occasionally, he's not quite aware of what's really going on around him.

But he always knows the love of his life. After 50 years spent together, the love in their eyes was incredible to witness. The wedding pictures from their youth were not much different from the photographs taken Sunday. Sure, age factored in, but the expression of devotion and love was the same. Unchanged by 50 years of dealing with the world.

That's awesome. And awe-inspiring.

I'm not hiring update: The amount of calls I've received is pushing 70 now. The frustration level has skyrocketed. My phone just will not stop ringing and the ignorance of people is truly amazing. Not only are the same people who called on Monday calling back, but now I'm getting messages. My voice mail clearly states that I have nothing to do with the ad in the paper and that they should check the current edition for the correct number. And still...Still I get a message. A message stating that they realize they had the wrong number but they were really interested in the job and could I please help them find the right number. Umm...what?

I Am Not Hiring!

Sunday I had two messages on my cell phone. Messages inquiring about the position in the Sunday paper. Umm...what? I checked the classifieds and sure enough, there was a position listed and my cell phone number was the contact.

Yeah.
I couldn't get in touch with anyone at the paper on Sunday. Not that it would have done much good. First thing Monday, the phone started ringing. Constantly. I placed a message on my voice mail that explained they'd reached a private number and I was in no way connected with the ad in the paper. I stopped answering except for numbers that registered as someone I knew or appeared to possibly be the school.

And still, I got messages. I did get an apology message from the man who placed the ad. Which was nice. I called the paper first thing but Monday's morning edition was already out.

If I did happen to answer, I explained the same thing to the caller. Without fail, they would ask if I knew the right number. Umm...huh? I had an insane amount of calls yesterday. They did finally taper off - except the call that came in at 10pm. Now that's insane! And I've had two so far today.

I did get a few good laughs - friends that called and left wacky messages in reference to the job. That made the ordeal a little easier to deal with. Except it saddens me that now I cringe when John Mayer starts singing...and I used to really love my ringtone.

Grandbaby update: K2's baby wasn't the only one that suffered with the death of batteries. We still don't know how she did yet, but at least she's not worried she did something wrong.

My Grandbaby

Friday K2 brought home a "baby" for her Child Development class. The baby is programmed to cry at intervals and simulate how life changing having a baby is. To make it stop crying, a key has to be inserted in its back, turned and held there for 20-30 minutes. The baby has to be taken care of 24 hours a day and will cry if handled wrong.

The baby went everywhere with K2 all weekend. She had to immediately tend to it when it cried. Needless to say, she's exhausted.

So, the baby's name was "Dorothy". Only Dorothy was not a girl. Dorothy had boy parts. All weekend B and I called it our "Gender Confused Grandchild".

Yesterday evening, Dorothy died. She stopped crying. K2 is sure she's going to fail the project. She's sure she did something wrong and caused Dorothy's demise. We're very certain the batteries just died. She did a wonderful job taking care of the "baby" so I'm certain that whatever happened had nothing to do with how she handled the plastic wonder. But, the poor kid is stressed - exhausted and worried.

And next semester, K1 will have this very same project. I'm glad for plastic crying babies though. That's the only kind of grandchildren I want for a long time. Even though we're a large family, I don't think the older kids realized just how much care babies require. They've never had to get up and walk the floors with their brother and sister. Sure, they've been ripped from sleep by crying infants, but they've always had the luxury of going back to sleep and letting Mom or Dad handle the situation.

They've never had to find childcare or rearrange their schedule to accomodate a baby. K2 had a lot going on this weekend and had to factor the baby's needs into her plans. And she did a great job. She also, as much as she loves babies, says she's not having children for a very long time.

This is a good project.

Friday, The 13th

I am missing all my nifty buttons on the create post page! I can't change my font, spell check or anything! Anyone else having this problem?

So, anyway. It's Friday the 13th. Are you superstitious?

Not me. Though I will admit to a few quirks. I'm more apt to believe in "good omens" than bad ones. Guess that makes me an eternal optimist.

No bathroom quiz. Again. Don't ask me. It's not like the kids suddenly developed neatness genes.

I'll be back Monday will hopefully more to say. In the meantime, don't open your umbrella up in the house. Stay away from black cats, ladders, cracked sidewalks and be careful not to break a mirror.

Where Is My Good Luck?

Okay, so according to my horoscope - several different horoscopes - I was supposed to have an awesome past couple of days. I already told you my feelings on horoscopes, but it's not like I don't have reason to hope. I do have work out in different places.

So, Friday I was supposed to recieve a financial gain and take my friends out to dinner. Hello? Where's my money? Saturday's prediction was basically a copy of Friday's. I had my writer's group meeting and we do a 50/50 drawing - half the money goes to the chapter and the other to the winner. I lost! Can you believe that? The winner happened to be sitting right beside me and gave me back the dollar I spent, even though I argued with her about it. She insisted.

Thinking my fortune had to be bigger than the 50/50 pot and the dollar from my friend was a sign, I used that dollar to buy a lottery ticket. 20 mil. HA! The scratch off ticket I bought as a back up was a loser as well.

During the meeting, there were two other drawings for various things. Nope. No luck there either.

Monday, my horoscope said something about opportunity knocking on my door. Yep, you guessed it. Nothing. Tuesday I got depressing news and K4 ended up with a fever that lasted until late yesterday.

I just want to know what happened? Where is my luck and good fortune?

Days Off

Today is a school holiday. Tomorrow too.

My house is full of kids. Right now there are 4 teenagers and 3 youngers on the premises. The noise level is relatively quiet, considering. The house is not clean, mind you, just a low noise level that defies logic. At least for here.

And I have a list of things to do that also defies logic. Grocery shopping - a feat that seems ridiculous considering how many kids will trail through the store with me. I may not tackle that one until much later. House cleaning - a ridiculous chore but necessary. Tomorrow is our town's Halloween parade and as usual, we will have a houseful of onlookers. Food will be prepared, obnoxiousness will ensue. In all, a grand time, but much work for me.

What I want to do, instead of the cleaning and shopping, is work on my edits/revisions for the story I am burning to send out into the big scary world. I'm not sure that's going to happen today. It's possible, just not probable. And tomorrow will be much of the same - with probably some extra running thrown in - I'm not sure K3 has all the components for his costume he needs. He, B and K4 are in the parade and I refuse to drag the massive crew to costume land. The grocery store is one thing, the party store is a completely different beast.

Yeah, I know this is normal. It's a balance that sometimes I'm not too great at - family and writing. Some days are easy. Others are not. Today will be easy because I'll make it so. I will try for writing time but if that doesn't happen, I won't beat myself up about it. I will have fun and enjoy the day. And I hope you do too.

Monsters

With Halloween approaching, I started thinking about monsters and came up with these rambling thoughts.

1. No one wants to be chased my a maniac wielding a chainsaw, but really, what are the odds of that happening? Well, maybe if you're at summer camp and are having a hot affair with the counselor from across the lake. (As much as I hate slasher movies now, I was a big fan when I was a teenager)

2. What about Mummies? I mean, come on! They'd dead, drained of their body fluids and wrapped in toilet paper! Do we really believe we have something to fear from them? How much havoc can the wreak after having their organs removed with a crochet hook? Scooby Doo just unwraps them.

3. Vampires. Well, vampires fall into a different category. At least to me. They are mysterious and dead but not. Hard to kill, hard to escape from and once they bite you, you're one of them. If you're afraid wear a garlic necklace, use garlic as perfume and carry a wooden stake in your bag and you're protected. Of course, some vampires are sexy so getting bit would be completely up to you.

4. Werewolves. Silver Bullets. And not the beer - though I imagine if you got a werewolf drunk, he'd probably fall down and stop chasing you. Professor Lupin from Harry Potter taught us a lot. Even though he was a likeable guy during the day, once that moon changed he was lost to his curse. Staying out of the woods during a full moon would keep you safe though.

5. Frankenstein. The only thing I can say is: "Young Frankenstein".

6. Clowns. Sorry. They are scary - probably falls into the same category as talking dolls.

Utter nonsense but that's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I'll come up with more later.

You've probably noticed my status bars haven't moved. They won't. I am working my rearend off but it's editing the same chapters and writing a synopsis.

Horoscopes

I try to check my horoscope every day but it's not a big deal if I don't. I think it's fun and sometimes spooky - especially if I don't check until the end of the day and can see the parallels between what's predicted and what really happened. Actually, I prefer to check at the end of the day. That way I don't have any preconceived notions about what my day should be like.

So, this morning I checked my monthly horoscope on a site I keep forgetting about. It predicted great things for October and even greater things for November. (And, if I can add, what this great one said was not really in sync with the one I normally check) I would love for all of this greatness to mean something awesome for my writing career.

That's what made me think...Life is complicated. Life is layers of family, finances, hopes, dreams, careers, hobbies, friends, ect...So whatever good news is supposed to come my way these next two months might not mean a thing for my writing career. I want it to - doesn't that count?

The thing is, reading what I read this morning did more than just make me think. (I said I like to check in the evening, not that I always do) The predictions gave me hope - hope that the projects I do have out there will bring more than a rejection, hope that the project I plan to send as soon as possible will bring good news - you know what I mean...I think that's the important thing. Because no matter what the stars say, in the end what happens is directly related to my efforts, my attitude, and my belief that it will happen. Nothing good is ever going to happen if I give up, if I don't send material out, if I don't do everything I can to put myself out there as professionally and seriously as possible, and if I stop believing in myself and in my dream.

In the end, all the predictions in the world won't matter if we're content to just sit around and wait for good things to come our way. Just my opinion, mind you.

What do you call it...

When, in an attempt to save time, you decide to make dinner early and you end up with a bigger mess than if you would have waited?

When you know you have to clean the shower and instead of actually doing it, you waste almost and entire (brand new) bottle of cleaner just spraying the stall every time you go into the bathroom?

When you can't sit still for longer than fifteen minutes at a time?

I'll tell you what you call it...my day. And that's just the highlights. But in all, not a bad day. I can live with what I accomplished, even if it took me forever to actually finish.

Had to rewrite almost all of chapter two. Yeah, it stinks but I expected I would have to. I like the new chapter better so that counts for something.

Illusions

Yay, I finally have a title for my single-title paranormal. Illusions. Still basically a working title. I'm trying it on for a while. I like it so far. We'll see if it sticks. I started editing this morning after spending the weekend thinking about titles and what I'm going to do about my back log of finished work. Still no conclusions - except for the titles and the fact that I have to get more out there before I start my next "from scratch" project.

Also, a new title for the paranormal I'm revising. Amended Destiny. I'm considering reworking this into a single-title. Still thinking. The cool thing about this book is that I have four or five spin off books that I can write with the same twisted beginning events. I'm excited about that. I just need more hours in the day. And a better brain.

A better brain. What a concept...