Blog Visiting...

I'm over at Julie Doherty's blog!
She put together some questions for Ben, the hero in Cursed Fate.
I had a lot of fun with the questions, though things were so crazy when I was answering them...
Stop by and learn a little bit about Ben!
Behave!

Monday Random...

1. Today is the first day of school. Which means earlier mornings for all of us, more planning and organizing, less sleep, and a schedule. I'm looking forward to the structure, but almost shed a tear at the fact that my babies are a senior and a freshman.
2. We had an absolute blast at the Renaissance Faire this weekend! We stayed all day, then stopped for dinner on our way home. It was an exhausting, but amazing day!
3. Sunday dinner at Mom's was good. Not all of us could make it and we didn't get to stay long due to getting ready for today, doing a ton of laundry, grocery shopping, and the work waiting in the bathroom (painting, mirror hanging). But I got to be with all four of my K's, which was very good.
4. Baby B is a riot.
5. The dog is weirded out by the new schedule. She's been walking around here crying for the last several minutes. Funny, because the kids were usually never up at this time.
6. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to Fall.
7. Writing. I had enough time this morning to get a few words done. Awesome.
That's enough random. I'll be back later to let you know where to go and check out my guest blog spot.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Last Friday Before School Starts Edition

Hey! Look at that! It's actually a Feel Good Friday!
Here's the list:
1. Living through the busy work week! Crazy! But I do still love my day job!
2. Shopping with K4. We had fun even though we were both exhausted and it cost a small fortune, and I didn't get the right notebooks for K3.
3. That Man getting his car back, even though it's still not quite right.
4. My truck coming home next week! I have missed it so very much!
5. Weekend plans!
6. Weekend plans, that include having to do the Ice Bucket Challenge. I've been nominated twice, so has That Man, my sister, and my brother-in-law, K3, and K4. We will do it, but also donate, because that's how we roll...
7. A new grandbaby on the horizon!
8. Kitty Boys and Baby Puppy! The boys are getting big and they are very bad. And the baby puppy isn't so much a baby anymore at close to 90 lbs, regardless of being in her second or third puppy stage... Oy! She's so adorable and she really is a good dog, even though she has to go outside on a leash right now!
9. Writing. I miss it so very much. I so very much want to be able to stay home and write!
10. The New Normal. Routine will be good. Routine is what we need. And looking forward to Christmas at Mom's... Yeah, it's August, but we're already making plans...
That's all for now...
Behave!

Winding Down...

Summer, that is...
We have precious days left... Tomorrow. Saturday. Sunday. That's all.
Tonight we went to Back to School Open House. Dealt with some frustrating information relating to K3's summer school - none of it makes sense, but they're investigating everything and have promised us they'll make things right. K4 got to meet a few of her teachers and some other students, she finally chose her electives and despite the classroom structure being different from what she expected, she's willing to give it a shot and see how it goes. K3 is happy to get back to his friends and his senior year!
Tomorrow night is school shopping. We haven't had time to do it yet. K3 doesn't need much. K4 needs pretty much everything. It's going to be a long night.
Saturday is a trip to the Renaissance Faire. We are so excited! We haven't been yet this year. This won't be our last trip. I got our tickets today!! I'm very grateful we have someone to stay with the pooch all day. Otherwise...
Sunday... well... That's kind of up in the air at this point. We're supposed to do Family Dinner at Mom's, but with everyone going back to school and a lot of us having to complete The Ice Bucket Challenge -- I don't know what we'll end up doing...
Writing... Yes, I am writing. It's slow, but I am.
The new routine will be welcome, I think. I hope. I think it's time for the new normal...
Behave!

An Award...

Okay, so I was actually nominated for this ages ago. It all came down while Dad was sick and then I lost the link and then ignored the repeat email for far too long, but here it is now...

SO HERE ARE THE RULES (CUE ECHOING EFFECT)

1. Link back and thank the blogger who nominated you in your post. Thank you, AVA! (Ava has apparently been kidnapped by Carnies, again. It's a trend. You learn to live with it! lol) 
2. List 11 random facts about yourself.  (I'll do the best I can...)
3. Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you. (Okay, then...) 
4. Pick 5 – 10 new bloggers to nominate. (Everyone I know has already done this... especially since I'm so late with this...)
5. Ask them 11 new questions. Do not re-nominate the blogger who nominated you. (not going to happen....)
6. Go to each blogger’s site and inform them of their nomination. (Also... not going to happen...)

Eleven Random Facts About Me:

1. I am the middle of five children - two older brothers, two younger sisters. I like to think that I'm the boss of them - always have - but that's not true.

2. I married my high school sweetheart. I didn't like him when I first met him. I like him a whole heck of a lot now... :)

3. We have four children, and a son and daughter-in-law who our like are own. 

4. I miss my truck! It's been in the shop since May. Anyone have any tires for cheap?

5. I have a secret that I can't tell you yet...

6. I can't sing. Luckily, my kids can and they're good!

7. I hate crowds and tight spaces.

8. I love camping. 

9. We have three cats (2 kittens and an antisocial grown cat), and a puppy (10 month old Elsa - who is in her second puppy stage at the moment...OY!) I don't know what we were thinking...

10. Oh, Really? Only at 10? Ugh... I was once bitten by a shark on the North Carolina coast...

11. Ten is a lie... No really...

So onto the next part...

11 QUESTIONS From ava: 

1. What is the most unusual thing you've had a character in your stories do? Step on a skull. (That one is still a work in progress...)
2. What is the craziest thing you've ever done in your life? I really don't think you want me to answer that... 
3. Using the ancient form of Haiku (17 syllables) describe your blog. Suck, suck, suck, I try, But mostly suck. Want not to suck. But I still do...
4. What type of a vacation would be absolute torture for you? A stuffed-full amusement park with two hour long wait times.
5. Why did you start to write? Because I couldn't not. 
6. What is one thing on your bucket list that you haven't crossed off yet? Too many... Biggest one could be Venice. 
7. What is your favorite comfort food? Captain Morgan. (not food, but should still count.)
8. What charity or non profit is closest to your heart? Cancer Research. 
9. What movie had the best movie kiss ever? That's a complete toss up. There are so many... Most favorite though... Aragorn and Arwen in Return of the King. 
10. Star Wars or Star Trek? Old or new? Old Star Wars and New Star Trek, but I do love the old Star Trek, too. There are good things about all... Don't get me started...
11. Make up any question you want and answer it here. Why am I doing this? I don't know... LOL  

Okay, so that's it.

Behave!

Wow... I Suck... Feel Good Friday... The I'm Trying Not to Suck Edition...

I thought I posted at least once this week, but as I think about it... I didn't. This week was crazy! But... let's focus on the Feel Good part of the week...
1. Hanging with Mom tonight. It's been nice. Pizza for dinner. A little Captain. Teaching her how to use her new smart phone (K4 is mostly in charge of that.) The boys are at home - working on stuff and dealing with the pets, and us girls are hanging. Nice.
2. K3 finishing summer school! Yay! The deadline is today and he finished at almost 9pm! I am so glad he's done. The poor kid has had no summer whatsoever. He's spent 97% of his time (when he wasn't sleeping) working on school. UGH! (and there are only two weeks until school starts again! How unfair is that?)
3. It's Friday. This was a very, very long work week. OT and insanity. I still love my day job though. I'm just glad for the weekend rest.
4. Writing time this week. Not much, but it's a start. My hope is that once school starts, I'll be able to get into a real schedule. I'll probably write in the morning once the kids leave for school since I'll have about an hour and a half until I have to leave for work... We'll see how that goes... I'm not setting anything in stone at this point...And I'm not stressing out about it yet.
5. Renn Faire in our future. Don't know when yet, but I can't wait! It must happen for all of our sakes!
6. Our chimney being repaired after the tree damage. Next is the roof... But, we're ready for that. We need it to happen soon.
7. Hearing awesome news from an awesome friend!
8. Granddaughter time coming this weekend! I miss my girl!
9. Grandson time this week. He is so adorable and has started to say NaNa! Aw!
10. And... ummm. Shawshank... Love this movie!!
That's all for now... I do have a blogging award to do. Hopefully I'll get to that tomorrow...
Behave!