Silly Thursday Stuff

This is my brother-in-law's band. He's the long-haired blond guitarist and the singer in this video. Enjoy it. I laughed my butt off. And you get a glimpse of the meadow, too.

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Went shopping for the retreat today! Whoot! We're ready to rock and roll!! I'm so excited!! (and how many exclamation points can I use?!! Alot. Apparently.) This time in two weeks, we'll be there - writing our tails off and enjoying being with other writers!! I am so ready. The world building/plotting on the new book is going well, and I expect to start no later than the first day of the retreat, maybe sooner. Still trying to decide on a title, but that'll come when it comes.

New Supernatural tonight. Don't miss it. I won't.

That's all.

Behave!

Answers!

What is this mess?
1. A mountaintop breakfast consisting of bagels, cream cheese, and mimosas while in Connecticut for one of the most fun weddings we've ever been to. Yes!! Hiking up with all of that food wasn't fun, neither was getting up super early after a late night of festivities, but it was well worth it.
2. An impromptu breakfast while traveling to Delaware the summer before last. We stopped by a pretty decent-sized creek to eat our bagels and drink our mimosas on the rocks beside the water. And laughed a whole lot. Never happened. But it's a great idea!
3. A mess we found at the creek. The containers were just left behind with food still in them and so was the cooler. They couldn't have been too far ahead of us. Someone partied hard and didn't clean up after themselves. That always pisses me off. Photo evidence in case we ever need it. Also never happened quite in this capacity!

That's all for today!
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Are we ready?

Okay.

What is this mess?

1. A mountaintop breakfast consisting of bagels, cream cheese, and mimosas while in Connecticut for one of the most fun weddings we've ever been to.

2. An impromptu breakfast while traveling to Delaware the summer before last. We stopped by a pretty decent-sized creek to eat our bagels and drink our mimosas on the rocks beside the water. And laughed a whole lot.

3. A mess we found at the creek. The containers were just left behind with food still in them and so was the cooler. They couldn't have been too far ahead of us. Someone partied hard and didn't clean up after themselves. That always pisses me off. Photo evidence in case we ever need it.

What's your guess?

Answers tomorrow. My whole day has been sidetracked by a kid with a hurting ear. Off to the doctor we go. But I have to report that my plotting for my next book is going quite well.

Behave!

Random Monday Madness

My cat just fell out of the dining room window. Well, maybe he didn't fall. I'm pretty sure he went out on purpose, but it's pretty high up even though it's on the first floor of the house. I ran out to grab him and bring him back inside, almost having a heart attack when I realized how close he came to landing on top of a broken window that we stuck back there over the winter. Same cat got out yesterday and almost got hit by a car. I swear he has a death wish. I lowered the window (can't find the screen) and he's yowling madly because he can pull the disappearing act again.
I went for a pretty long walk this morning - through town and then through the graveyard. I like to walk alley-ways and backroads because you get to see a lot more stuff that way. The mausoleum in the cemetery is very cool and very creepy. And you already know I like walking through cemeteries, so that shouldn't surprise you much.
It's hot here. I'm not complaining. Not really. But it's a little hotter than it should be for this time of year. Sleeping was interesting last night since I refuse to turn the a/c on quite yet. The kids played so hard this weekend, it was nearly impossible to get them up this morning though they went to bed at decent times.
Yesterday, B and I used my nifty bug zapper and waged war on the wood bees attacking our front porch. It's pure carnage, baby. There are at least 15 dead bees on the porch. Those bees get really mad when you shock them. It didn't take us long to learn how to whack them with maximum efficiency so we didn't get attacked.
Things I will do today:
1. Catch up on email, blogging, household paperwork. (nearly done already)
2. Read a book in my hammock.
3. Paint my toenails.
4. Retreat related administration duties.
5. Research on my next book.
Things I will not do today:
1. Play Sims.
2. Eat junk food.
3. Make prank phone calls to China.
4. Watch bad T.V.
5. Walk through broken glass.
That's enough, I think.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Saturday Edition

Friday was a really, really crappy day for me. Just one of those days where everything went wrong...started the day running late, ate a salad for lunch that made my stomach hurt, had to hustle to get K2's forgotten money to her so she could go on her retreat, B's mom ran out of gas on a busy road...and a bunch more stuff you don't care about.
Anyway. I have a little Feel Good Friday list.
1. K2 finally finishing and presenting her senior high project. Yay. It's done. She's been diligently working on it forever. She'll find out if she passed in a few weeks, but I'm sure she did.
2. Sunshine.
3. Bob bringing me lunch. (even though the cheese they put on it was mostly bad and made my stomach hurt)
4. Not cooking dinner.
5. Kids playing outside.
6. Knowing what I'm going to work on next.
7. The retreat. It's coming up fast.
That's it. I'm sure there were other good things in my Friday, but I'd rather not remember the day if I can help it.
Behave!

The Things I do...

Took the dog for a bath and trim today. My groomer is my brother-in-law's sister and she lives about a quarter of a mile away from my sister, which means, she lives at the meadow.

I dropped the dog off and took a walk. To the meadow. The walk there was easy...downhill. A ton of rain has made our summer haven a swamp. I trekked my way through, enjoying the peace and quiet and being all by myself. (trying to think about my next project and wishing I had a heavier coat and trying to avoid the mud and standing water) Obviously, it's uphill going back. I made it without dying.

As I got to the top of the hill, I turned off onto the cliff ledge. It's high. I'm not sure how high, but it pretty much drops off into absolute nothingness. Until, of course, you hit the rocks and water below. I stood there for a while, again enjoying the quiet and the view and tried not to let the wind push me off. (It's really, really windy here) As I stood there, I realized there was rushing water nearby. Not the creek, it's too far down to hear. So, I went in search of it. Through scrub pines, over rocks, carefully watching my step. I found the start of the waterfall, but wasn't satisfied with that, not when most of the noise was coming from below.

(This is where, if you know me, you'll be amazed at the fact that I actually listened to the little voice of safety.)

I wanted to see. (I still want to see!) I picked out a path, paying attention to the obstacles I'd face on my return trip. But every time I took a step, the voice of reason screamed I was making a mistake. I brushed it off and found another rock to step on, and the voice came back. (No, not a real voice. I'm not that crazy. Maybe I should call it the knowledge that I was about to make a big mistake.) Since we've had so much rain lately, the ground isn't exactly stable, especially around rocks and trees on a cliffside. I was slipping a lot. I realized I was about to be in a serious predicament. Alone. With only my cell phone and the signals not always there. No one was home at my sisters or her in laws. The groomer wouldn't hear me yell or call because she was busy with the noises of dog washing, trimming, and blow-drying.

So, I had to settle for this picture. Taken on my cell phone while holding onto a sapling and leaning out as far as I could. The falls are somewhere below that stick. If someone else would have been with me, I would have gone for sure.

I guess it's a crisis averted, but I still want to see that waterfall.

My dog is now clean and trimmed. I swear we could have knitted a king-sized comforter, pillow shams, and a couple of sweaters out of the dog hair left behind. No. I'm not kidding. When I stepped back into the shop it looked like the dog had exploded.

That's all I have for you right now!

New Supernatural tonight! I can't wait!

Behave!

Answers!

Okay...it was chicken.
Guess that one was a no-brainer, huh?
I'll do better next week, I promise!

It's been another long day and I'm no-brained myself right now. Tomorrow looks about the same. Joy.

Not much else to say.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Man. What happened to Monday?

Okay...here we go with Tuesday...

What is this?

1. Cut up chicken. Picture taken during K3's home cooking project for school.

2. Fish bait. Taken at the beach.

3. Cat food. I had a coupon for some premium, fancy cat food and it looked so weird coming out of the can.

Lame? Yeah. Probably. Considering that you know I took a bunch of pictures during Easter, I think they're still too easy to post yet. My little way of mixing things up. Ha!

So, yeah, I mentioned Monday flew by. It really did. I guess that's good for Monday. Not much to moan about. Too much running. But, ahh, it's over. Then again, we'll get to Friday soon and I'll be mentioning how quickly the weeks are flying by. ha!

****

My writer's retreat is coming up fast. I'm so excited! I still have a pretty long list of things to take care of (I'm the chairperson), but I'm at the awkward phase of it being too soon to do some of them. But I have my lists and my plan and I'm marking the days off. And trying to make a decision on what to work on. That's what today is supposed to be.

I have four or five different ideas swimming around in my head. Most of them are paranormal urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic. One is a paranormal urban fantasy with fairy tale elements. That one's already written, but would need completely re-written, so it might as well be new work. We'll see what I decide by the end of the day.

****

That's all!

Behave!

Random Saturday

What a beautiful day!
Of course...I've spent much of it inside...cleaning. And grocery shopping. And folding laundry.
But the house is clean, the last load of laundry is in the dryer and we're having pizza for dinner. Frozen pizza, but still. I did get some hammock time in as well. And, I'm feeling very organized and on top of things, which go a long way.
See the picture? Of course you do. That's my awesomely cool birthday present. Have I told you about "the mothinator" (which would be me)? I use badminton rackets as insect control while at camp. My mom saw this and knew it was for me. How cool is that? I can't wait to use it.
Obviously, I remembered to buy batteries. Hopefully, I'll have something interesting for Tall Tale Tuesday. We'll see...
That's all for now!
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

I think these Fridays are coming up way too fast these days. Every time I turn around it's Friday again! I'm not complaining, but holy heck, it's mid-April already! The year's moving by relatively quickly, don't you think?
Here's the Friday list:
1. The day - it's beautiful out. Sunny, warm. The kind of day that has my cat meowing at windows and doors just to catch a ray of sunshine to nap in. I know how he feels.
2. Goofing off - Since I finished my revisions, I'm vacationing until Tuesday. Maybe. Okay. So I'm vacationing for sure until Sunday. I have some house stuff to organize, then we'll see...Of course, I haven't done much in the way of house organizing today.
3. Older kids who don't mind dragging younger kids around with them. In fact, they ask younger kids to ride along on their errands. Pretty sweet.
4. Weekend plans. Sometimes I get sick of saying that. ha! We're heading out with some friends tomorrow night to see a local disco-type band. yee-haw. Disco's not my cup of tea, but my friend loves it so I'll go for her sake.
5. My very cool birthday present. Pictures coming. I promise.
6. My awesomely sweet and wonderful husband for pampering me so much on my birthday. He didn't have to go into work late. He didn't have to leave work early. He didn't have to do dishes and laundry, but he did all that and more.
7. Forgetting about K3 going to scout camp and then managing to pull it together and get everything done so he can leave on time.
8. Yogurt with granola and raspberries.
And I'm thinking about pizza for dinner...with mushrooms and lots of cheese...
That's all...
Behave!

What's On My Mind Today...

I can see you cringing! ha!
Here's what I'm thinking about right now:
1. I'm cold. But the sun is out for the first time in like 3 days and the temperatures are supposed to rise (finally).
2. Flowers. I didn't plant any last year and that makes me sad. I want red flowers this year and lots of them.
3. My poor gnomes. I should have brought them in over the winter, but sadly, I neglected them and left them to endure the elements. Some of them are broken and disfigured now. I wouldn't blame them if they staged a hostile revolution. I deserve their ire. But I promise I'll make it up to them.
4. Silence. It's really quiet in my house right now, though K1 is still snoozing floors above me. I don't quite know how to process the silence right now. Part of me rejoices and the other part thinks something must be wrong for it to be this quiet. I should enjoy it now, because it won't be quiet soon.
5. Supernatural. It's another rerun tonight, but next week is new. Thank goodness. I just read EW's write up and I loved it. K2 was sure I was going to be upset about the determination on not running for more than 5 seasons, but I'm not. I mean, I am, but only because I'll miss the boys very much. I'd rather see Sam and Dean go out in a blaze of glory than have to watch the storyline turn to cheese and eye-rolling ridiculousness.
6. How much I hate those flashy sidebar ads on my email program. I swear I'm going to have a seizure or something.
7. Retreat. A little less than a month! That's very exciting.
8. My pants. Yes, I said my pants. For one thing, they're falling apart and they're my very favorite pair of comfy. The other thing is that they're too tight (and my jeans are too tight, too), which is a huge problem. I need to shave off several sizes before August and my cousins formal wedding. No more excuses!
9. Socks. My washer is eating them, I swear. No one can find matching socks. They're just gone.
10. My birthday present. Sorry. No picture today. I stole the batteries out of the camera to use in my mouse and there isn't a fresh battery anywhere in the house. Look for the pic over the weekend. I hope.
11. New projects. My brain isn't dead, which is fantastic. I took a break to do another round of revisions on the project that's totally kicked my butt and now I don't know what to do again. I have a new idea. I have the other new idea. And I have a book that's already written that I'd like to re-write. And the retreat is coming. I don't want to start or finish something there - though starting isn't bad as long as I'm ready to start. Finishing would be bad, because by that time I'm totally wrecked and need a few days to remember my name. I'll figure it out. I'm taking a few days off to catch up around here - doing some critiques, tweaking my anthology story, cleaning my house, goofing off - so I have time to decide.
I think that's enough random for one day. Don't you? Ha!
Behave!

Answers!

Only one guess this week, and it just so happens it was the right answer!
3. The seat of my brother-in-law's Harley.
It's more of a gray seat - not as light-colored as it appears in the picture.

Tomorrow I might post a picture of my awesomely cool birthday present. Yeah, yesterday was my birthday. As far as birthdays go, it was a pretty good one. B went into work late so I could sleep in, and he came home early to take care of the after school stuff and dinner.

What else? Not much. It's been a weird week. And it's only Wednesday. Huh.

Also...more Easter pictures then...I think my brother has one of our woodland Easter Bunny.

That's all...
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Got a chance to add some odd photos to my stash. We'll start with this one.


What is it?
1. My brother's fancy cowboy boots?
2. A headband my niece wore?
3. The seat of my brother-in-law's Harley?

What do you think?
Behave!

Easter Wackiness

My Easter in a nutshell...
1. A 17 year old girl in a bunny suit hopping through the meadow. (pictures eventually)
2. Light saber battles.
3. Wet dogs.
4. Wii battles.
5. Hysterical conversations about tattoos/dragons/frogs.
6. Lawn chairs with seatbelts.
7. My sisters dog peeing on my leg.
We had a lot of fun.
So, how was your day?
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Wow. Made it to Friday again. Even with me constantly thinking yesterday was Saturday.
Here's the list:
1. Taking care of all of the errand running on my burgeoning "to do" list so I get to stay home all day tomorrow (and do laundry).
2. Not having to cook dinner.
3. Spiffy new phone/tv/internet service provider. Love it.
4. Looking forward to Sunday's gathering with the family. It's been far too long.
5. New ideas. (I'll explain later)
6. Ordering retreat t-shirts!
7. Counting down to the retreat.
8. Sleeping in tomorrow.
9. Having today go okay even though I overslept...as in...forgot to set my alarm overslept. ha!
That's all I can think of. I know there were a few more things I'd planned to mention, but I can't remember what they are.
Enjoy the holiday weekend!
Behave!

Geeze...

It's only Thursday!
I woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday.
Re-run Supernatural tonight. Dang it.
That is all.
Behave!

Answers!

Here we go!!

What's the deal with this picture? (You know...the one below!!)
1. Taken at the July 4th campout during a heavy rain that flooded everything. It was so bad we had water coming in the camper. Yes!!
2. Snow. Taken from my patio during one of the few pathetic snowfalls this year. The tree to the left is dying. One side has no branches left, except for a few spindly dead ones and it's a very tall tree. Nope. The tree stuff is true though.
3. Another retreat pic. I took the screen out of my room window to snap it. I was trying to get a shot of the little camp store and the ancient cabins across the parking lot. They're creepy and I want to go inside. Nope. I couldn't get the screen out of the window, or I would have!

There you have it. I'm beat today so we're done!
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Trying to get this done before the guy shows up to switch everything around.

Another lame week, which just proves I need to get out more.

What's the deal with this picture?

1. Taken at the July 4th campout during a heavy rain that flooded everything. It was so bad we had water coming in the camper.

2. Snow. Taken from my patio during one of the few pathetic snowfalls this year. The tree to the left is dying. One side has no branches left, except for a few spindly dead ones and it's a very tall tree.

3. Another retreat pic. I took the screen out of my room window to snap it. I was trying to get a shot of the little camp store and the ancient cabins across the parking lot. They're creepy and I want to go inside.

So there you have it. Apologies up front for the continual lameness of Tall Tale Tuesday. Easter's coming and there's sure to be blog fodder when the family gets together Sunday. Now if I can only remember to take the camera...and batteries.

Behave!

Blogging Slacker

Not on purpose though.
The weekend was pretty busy.
I'll sum up...
Saturday: My monthly writing meeting. Always a blast. Good speaker, lots of laughing that continued through lunch. It's always uplifting to be with other people who are going through the same things you are.
Then, we drove almost an hour away to hear a band - actually two bands. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and hang out. The place was rather interesting, and so was the dancing. We were out late, but it was worth it.
Sunday: The usual Sunday stuff with the addition of broken toilets and light switches. Tons of laundry and fragmented running. And editing. Oh, and a nap.
I'm still dealing with a bursting 'to do' list and not enough time.
Tomorrow we're switching service providers. Keep you fingers crossed I can actually get on the Internet when it's over. I'm hopeful this is a better arrangement for us.
That's all.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Okay - here's the list!
1. Friday. Duh. Seriously. What did you expect?
2. My favorite uncle on Facebook! (Mom, it's time. You must get a Facebook!)
3. Laughing with friends.
4. Supernatural! Last night's episode ranks as one of my all time favorites for so many reasons!
5. Work to do!
6. Going to see lots of friends and hear a great band tomorrow night.
7. A fantastic dinner.
8. Things working out.
9. Warmer temps.
10. Rain - even though it's wet and dreary. Rain means spring. Yay!
11. Tomorrow's meeting.
12. Having met my montly goal!
That's it.
Behave!

April Fooling

Seriously. I'm not a huge fan of April Fool's day. I've played my share of pranks (the last one backfired) and always participate with the "your shoe's untied" jokes with the kids. I could be motivated for a good April Fooling though, if I had a really good idea.
Which I didn't.
I think I had enough April Foolery anyway. My day went something like this:
1. First thing in the morning - viciously backed up and unresponsive to all attempts to unclog toilet. Great fun that. We were late. It was gross. 'Nuff said.
2. Horrible neck and shoulder pain - stress related, I'm sure. Bad enough that moving my head brought terrible pain. (better now, but still there) Woke me up a bunch of times during the night, got worse as the day went on. Urgh.
3. Just as I returned home from running around like an insane woman, my mother-in-law called. She'd wrecked her car and needed me to pick her up. She's okay. Her car is not. Oh, and she'd just gotten brand new tires yesterday morning. By the time I'd finished supervising the towing of her car I was covered in mud.
4. A friend gave me this nifty bag filled with rice. You stick it in the microwave and can then put it on whatever spot ails you. (like my aching shoulder and neck) I'd been using it all evening and stuck it in the microwave to give it a final shot of heat before bed not taking into account that it was already partially warm and didn't need to be in for so long. Yes. I did. I caught it on fire. Not flames fire, but a smoldering mass of blackened rice.
I *think* that's it. There were a few unmentionable things that I won't mention. Ha!
So there you have it - a few laughs at my expense. I wish I could say "April Fools", but sadly I cannot.
Behave!

Answers!

Here we go! Lots of good guesses!
Okay, obviously it's a screen, but what's the story behind it?
1. Taken from inside the camper during a fantastic thunderstorm. I was trying to get a picture of the lightning over the creek and how quickly the water was rising. I do have pictures of such storms, but this isn't one of them.
2. The view from my room at the retreat. Again, it was raining and I was lamenting the fact that we couldn't take another walk through the very cool cemetery. YES!!
3. Through my back screen door. I was trying to take a picture of our friend dancing in the backyard. I knew if he saw me with the camera, he'd stop. It was way too funny not to document. Or you know, try to document. Again, it's happened. Just not in this picture!

Thanks for playing! I can't wait until I can start giving prizes!
Behave!