Friday the Last

Last day of August!

It's no longer 200 degrees outside. Yay! Except now it's raining and I have places to go and a Jeep with the top down. Yeah, I could put it up, but that's a pain. I'd rather wait until the rain stops.

I took a vacation day today. I needed a break from the daily grind of work. Yes, it's been that insane. It was either take today off or start a series of small fires on my desk. Ha! (I am just joking!) Besides my reps were all off today and all of my work was caught up, so it made sense. Plus. I needed it badly!

So far I have made important phone calls, scheduled appointments, paid bills, organized my desk, updated the calendar, taken care of estate stuff, laundry, and organized stuff for this weekend. And it's not quite 10:30! Ha!

I will tell you that trying to pay bills and do computer work with the kitten is next to impossible! I have a new series of scratches on my hands and have to constantly remove the little beast from my keyboard! He stole my mouse at one point and didn't want to give it back. He's lucky he's so stinking cute.

K4 is coming home this weekend for the holiday break. I think she's had a mostly good week, except for the puking. On Wednesday she texted me and said most of the dorm was puking now. Ugh. Hopefully she'll be able to take her own car back to school. That Man needs to do one more thing to it and then she should be good. I'm not sure when she'll come home again and neither is she, but that's okay. She's been doing her thing at school and that's awesome!

Being empty nesters is pretty awesome! It's quiet. There are no random dishes left behind on tables or the floor or wherever. The laundry load has decreased significantly, especially towels. I would like to say things stay where they're put, but that's not necessarily true with the kitten. He likes to take things and make them his own. We're still getting the hang of it though. It's only been two weeks, so we don't have our routine yet and we haven't had the opportunity to even think about socializing much.

Well... since it's raining and I had to change my plans, I'm going to get some writing in.

Have an awesome holiday weekend!

Behave!

Two Hundred Degree Tuesday

Seriously! That's what it feels like!

Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Sticking to things. More sweat. They have no ice at the store. Ha! (not kidding though) More of the same is in the forecast for tomorrow. UGH! After that, it should get better. I hope!

Driving the Jeep with the top down was pretty awesome, especially after dark. Thankfully, I didn't get stuck in traffic in the blazing hot sun!

Sleeping last night pretty much sucked - even with AC. I ended up grabbing the industrial fan and plugging it in around midnight. After that, it actually got cold enough to use a blanket. Nice. Except That Man took it and I kind of froze for a little. Ha! The industrial fan is still plugged in and currently running with the ac. I'm heading there in a few because there is no way I can write downstairs. I feel like my face is burning off.

Another brutal work day. But whatever. It is what it is.

After work, I met up with my writing buddies for dinner. It was an awesome time full of laughter, smiles, information sharing, and story telling. I'm so glad I went. Also, I have a book signing coming up now! Yay! It was worth the drive and little bit of traffic. For sure.

Halfway through the work week tomorrow! Yay! Looking forward to the weekend!

Time to move my stuff and write in my cool room!

Behave!

The Last Monday of August...

How weird is that?

We're pumping into Fall! Yay! It's not so much about pumpkin spice everything, though I do love me some pumpkin spice (especially coffee creamer)! It's more about cooler temperatures, fall leaves, sweatshirts, crockpot cooking, and just nicer days. Oh and Halloween and Thanksgiving.

It's freaking hot here! Like you go outside and immediately have sweat dripping into your eyes. Gross!

We're back to being empty nesters. For now. K4 went back to school last night - got stuck in traffic for an accident for almost an hour - and then got some kind of stomach bug. She missed classes today and was so upset about it. But what do you do when you're up all night puking and still puking when it's time to get ready for your day?

She'll be home this weekend for the holiday and then she doesn't know when she'll be home again. They have lots of campus stuff going on in the next few months and she's excited about it.

So, I have a title for the contracted book! Redemption: Sector One. I'm so excited. It's a dystopian world-thing with a tough as nails heroine and an amazing hero. I'll give you more info when we get closer to release day!

I'm also writing the anthology story! Getting there. Digging the new story. A lot! I'm about a quarter of the way through! And I hope to be done with it by Friday! (It's a short story)

So our weekend plans were helping That Sister put in this super cool bay window in her dining room. That Man's work donated the window to her. Amazing. (like seriously) And we all got together to get it put in for her. I was a supervisor. And cook. And clean up crew. The window is absolutely gorgeous and she cried. (I cried too) We had a lot (a lot) of laughs, great food, great conversation. And B ended up coming home with us overnight so his folks could have some time together. That was absolutely fine. K1 works all of the time and J rarely, if ever, gets a break. We were happy to do that. When we got back home, B and I giggled over silly things for a while before he fell asleep, which was awesome. We haven't done that for a really long time. It's super cool to be "just" a grandparent again!

K3 came over on Sunday and we hung out and laughed and talked. It was great. And then it was too soon to be Monday again.

Today was brutal at the day job. Four call offs. And an insane work load. That Man had dinner started when I got home after buying nine-million dollars worth of pet food since we forgot to buy it last night. Oy!

Okay. That's all I have. It's too hot to stay up any longer.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Yay Friday!!

It was a hell week at the day job! Seriously! We were insane by the end of the day today. We were super silly and raucous! It was great and awesome!

Here's the list:

1. K4 is home! She came home for the weekend and to do laundry. She and her dad are having an epic conversation about tools and shop and classes. It's amazing. I love it. She's enjoying school and getting through the stuff that's not so great.

2. Not cooking dinner. Ordered and picked up. Yay!

3. Ordering the last of the tools. Oy! Open a vein and bleed me dry. Seriously.

4. Writing! Yay!

5. Weekend plans.

(I'm going fast because my battery is going to die and my charger is far away)

6. Weekend! I'm not going to get to sleep in tomorrow, but that's okay.

That's it for now. (see above)

Behave!

Tonight I Wrote...

You may not think that's a big deal, but it really is...

I've had the WORST dry spell lately. I've totally sucked at putting words on the page and making sense out of my ideas.

All of that changed.

I re-started my third sentence anthology story. (the one we're writing for charity). For the fifth time. And this time, I am pretty sure I have a story that I love. I wrote a lot of words for the seriously long time it's been since I actually focused on writing and I feel awesome!

THIS is what I am meant to do. I am meant to write stories. And that's what I will do.

Today is Thursday. One more day until the weekend.

Our weekend includes K4 coming home to do laundry, spoil her kitten and dog and relax, us helping That Sister with a new window for her house (it's an epic HUGE, beautiful window, but there will be partial wall removal and lots of construction, so we don't know how long it will take). It'll be fun though. Tomorrow night is K4's choice of dinner. She hasn't decided yet.

Other things:

Talking to both of my boys this week. K3 is coming over Sunday and is doing theatre work again . K1 has turned into a NY driver because of work. Both are awesome and it was great to have extended conversations with them.

That's all for now.

I should be back with Feel Good Friday tomorrow!

Behave!

Mid-Week Insanity...

I "think" the new book title is found. I will tell you as soon as my editor approves.

It's been a crap week at the day job. The other night, we stood outside in the rain hoping to wash the "hate" off. LOL. It's been insanity. No lie.

The kid is managing at college. Dealing with some home sickness and crappiness, but on the whole doing well. Classes started and she's loving it. Roommate situation - not so much, but there is hope that it will get better soon.

She made an emergency trip home last night for discussion and opinions. Which was good and fine and I think we sent her back to school with a good perspective. She drove back through an insane rain storm and did awesome. She'll be home this weekend for laundry and home-cooked food. And to hang with her kitten and dog.

This dog has been having the worst time with K4 away. She is into everything during the day. She has her "baby" and her ball and still is getting into things we didn't think she would get into. Today was better. She just cried when I came home. Poor Floofy.

Next up is my anthology story for charity. I've been toying with ideas - okay, let's be honest... I've started this story four different times in at least three different points-of-view and what I was thinking isn't working. I need a new idea, which I "think" I have, but aren't sure yet. Still working on it, but hope to really start on it tomorrow night. Whoot!

That is all for now...

Behave!

First Weekend Empty

We dropped the kid off at college on Thursday.

That was very bittersweet. Of course, we're going to miss her (we already do), but we're so excited for this next chapter in her life. She's already doing awesome. Taking care of stuff, making friends, getting organized.

Friday night we went over to K1 & J's for the baby gender reveal. They got pizza and we hung out and laughed and talked. They are having another boy. K2 is having another girl. It's all awesome the whole way around!

Yesterday That Man and I hung out all day. We felt like we were on vacation, or at the cabin or something. Just the two of us doing whatever we wanted - which happened to include weed pulling and housework, but whatever. We hit the grocery store, auto parts store (K4's car started acting up on Monday before she left. She and That Man had to switch cars until he can figure out what's wrong with hers), and had an awesome dinner of grilled steaks and veggies.

Today we've been pretty much home all day. Ran out to the grocery store because we forgot we were supposed to make dinner for a friend who just had surgery. That Man worked on K4's car. I'm working on laundry. We made the dinner and put tomorrow's dinner in the crock pot bowl to be started in the morning. It's been raining all afternoon, which gleefully prevents more weed pulling. I don't think my back can take anymore!

So... the news I commented on in my last post is that I just signed another book contract! The book has to be re-titled, but I am so excited!! I absolutely love this book and am so happy it's getting out into the world. And I'm so happy to get back into writing and my "real" career!

That is all for now. I'm off to work on a new title for my new book!

Behave!

College Prep... OY!

In 48 hours, the kid will be delivered to college.

In the meantime, this house is like chaos incarnate!

My dining room table is filled with all sorts of things - boots, tools, a tool box, more tools - more tools than you can imagine. Seriously... Bathroom items, book bags, socks, socks, (yes, different socks) underwear, binders, notebooks, ramen, mac and cheese, granola bars... you get the picture.

I've had to open a vein to purchase all of the items. Like I said previously, we've only known she was going for about a month, so we didn't have a lot of time. But we pulled it off. (I think and hope) She still has some stuff to get, but she has her list and her cash, so I'm good there.

We did a camping trip this past weekend because she wanted to and even though we had all of this stuff to do, we let her make the plans and had a great, relaxing time... just us. On Sunday, we came home to find her room filled with fleas. We knew the kitten had them. We were battling them - bathing him, vacuuming like crazy people, but she must have had a hatch or something in her room. A ton of vacuuming and bedding washing later (don't believe all of the bedding has been washed yet. I'm not freaking super woman here. Ha! It's getting there though), and...ta da... we suddenly found ourselves farther ahead of the game than we thought we'd be. Her room is clean and the laundry sorted. We were sweaty, cranky, and exhausted, but finally went to bed feeling good about our progress! The kitten has been vet treated for the fleas, and all of the other animals are too, so we should be good there.

Our little boy is over two pounds now. He's still a demon, but he's hysterical and he can be super loving and affectionate. He cracks us up daily.

And her room will be my office very soon. (No, we're not kicking her out. She's moving rooms) Yay for having an office!! I've been waiting for this for a super long time.

I have big news that relates to the needing of an office, which I will share as soon as I can.

Other than that...That Man and I are suddenly facing being Empty Nesters and I can't say we're sad about that. Yes, we will miss K4. A lot. But this will be the first time in about thirty years that we'll be on our own... Weird. But awesome! It will definitely take us some time to adjust, but I think we're up for the challenge.

Oh. And as soon as this week is over, the writing is on! I have books to write! Whoot!

That is all!

Behave!

What Else Has Been Going On?

Oh geeze! More than I will probably remember... Here's a list.

1. College prep. Oy! She's only been accepted for about a month - which cuts our time and cash short for getting her all of the things she needs. We're still working on tools. We had a very generous gift from one of my co-workers, which helped. And my uncle sent home some tools, which also helped. But we have many more to get. Books - Oy! The bill stacks up. And how. We still have dorm stuff to get. And supplies. And guess what? She leaves next Thursday. To say I'm stressing a little is an understatement.

2. Our dog got sprayed by a skunk last week. It still stinks in here. She's blocked from the upstairs and our beds. She doesn't understand why no one wants to be near her. Poor baby. And yes, we've tried all of the stuff. The skunk sprayed her in her eyes and nose, so that's a tough one. From what I understand, it'll be a few more weeks.

3. My oldest niece is expecting! Woo Hoo! We are all so excited. My brother is beside himself. He's going to be PopPop, which is freaking awesome! My sister-in-law said she got the best birthday present ever! And she did! By the end of February, we will have three new babies in the family, which is just what this family needs.

4. Oh yeah... Did I tell you that? I'm going to be a grandma again. Twice. In December. Within five days of each other. K2 knows what she's having but hasn't told yet and J will find out soon. Whoot!

5. K1 and family have moved on to their own place. I don't think I ever officially stated that they were living here. But they were. Since January. K1 and B lived here the entire year before. (they worked things out. Things are good.) Anyway. They first moved in as "temporary" and then bad thing after bad thing kept happening and it turned into seven plus months. It's quiet now. Just That Man, K4, and I... Things are different. I'm excited to be a grandparent again and not a "co-parent". And it's about to get even quieter and different-er when K4 goes to school. That Man and I have not been by ourselves for twenty-nine plus years. It's already different to cook for just three as opposed to six. That's going to take me a very long time to get used to.

6. Our kitten is officially weaned and using the litter box like a champ. He is still the devil incarnate, but he has his sweet moments. Granted, those are few and far between and the scratches on my legs and hands will attest to that. But he's always happy to see us when we get home from work or get up in the morning.

7. Writing again. Well, no. I haven't officially written anything in a few weeks, but my brain is turning. I decided to stop working on the story I have been struggling with because it's just not working. It took me a long time to come to that realization. I'm working on the Third Sentence anthology story, too, and I know I will be starting over on that one, too. That's just not working out. But my head is in the right place now, so I'm excited.

And... My brain is done. I'm sure there's more that I can't remember on a Tuesday night after two crazy days at the day job and a lot of insanity at the homestead.

Behave!

August the What?

I promised more on our trip... Beyond the tragedy.

We left Friday night. Loaded up into the concrete jungle of our rented Tiguan. Car looks super nice. The seats are made of lead. Wait. Even lead would be softer. No way (that we thought) to put the back seats in recline. We seriously thought about driving this car off a bridge.

Wasn't so bad if you were driving or in the passenger seat. Really, wasn't so bad at all, especially after we learned to recline the back seats and found pillows to sit on, but that was not until the way home.

Anyway.

The frivolity started almost immediately. I had purchased some candy and the boys immediately took that candy into a direction that it shouldn't have been. We laughed so hard we were crying. We were excited to get on with our trip and were texting the others to find out where they were and when they were leaving.

It's a long drive. Like 16 hours, with a time shift. It took us about 18 hours, but we stopped for a real dinner - after stopping at a place we thought would be good, only to find their prices super, super ridiculous. We made an exit plan and only some of us actually kept to the plan. Ha!

Finally some decently priced food. Hit the road again and drove with a few driver switches.

Stopped for gas. Stopped to pee. Stopped when we got the call about our brother. I had been driving and I wasn't driving any more after that.

Arriving, beyond the news, was good. It was good to be back there. Awesome to see my aunt and uncle. We visited, sat in the hot tub, visited with the cousins, and generally relaxed.

The rest of the crew arrived early the next morning. They had a very eventful trip that included a flat tire and a long wait for road services. They were dead tired and once they got semi-set up, slept for several hours.

Family came to visit. Good food. Good conversation. Any my aunt gave me a coveted recipe that I can't wait to try!

Monday was finding out the funeral was Tuesday. My nephew called and asked us to come. We spent all morning searching for flights/return flights - finally finding what we needed at zero hour. Showered and got in the car for the hour long drive to the airport.

As old as I am, I had never flown before. Of course, I knew what to expect for 99% of it, but I'd never actually done it. Now, I've flown four times - all within a 24-hour period of time. It was okay. For three out of the four flights, I thought take off was pretty cool and landing sucked. For the last one, take off was horrifying and landing was good. Looking out the window was pretty much impossible on the first three flights. On the first one, the guy would block the window every time I looked. Jerk. He seemed to, gleefully, think it was a fun thing to do. On the last flight, I had a window seat. In the back of a smaller plane. It was dark, but still cool.

Anyway, we flew into an airport about an hour away from my house, rented a car and drove to my house. Slept for not even an hour and then headed out for the funeral. Once the reception was done, we drove the hour back, turned in our car, and went in search of food. Found an awesome little restaurant and had some amazing cream of crab soup. Then, we started our journey back to vacation.

Finally got back to our uncles after midnight. Sat and talked for a few and then off to bed since there was maybe an hour of sleep gotten.

The rest of vacation was good. Lots of food, laughs, and silliness. Then the long drive home.

I'm sure I'll have more stories to share in the future. For now, I'm trying to get stuff in order in my house and get writing done.

Behave!