Still With the Polar Vortex!

Come on already!

Yes, I know it's January and it's winter! But it's currently 3*, but feels like negative 5*. It doesn't start getting better until late Saturday afternoon! And there's a chance of snow tomorrow. I don't mind the snow, but this negative temperature stuff... nope.

That Man took me to work today so I didn't die. That was nice. Though tomorrow, I have no choice but to drive myself, and I just might die. We're working OT right now, so I'll be going in right as it starts to get light out. And I probably have to stop and get gas in the morning... brrr...

We had to hit the grocery store for breakfast components on our way home. That Man's work has a big employee appreciation breakfast every few months. He's making a big old casserole with ham, eggs, cheese, and potatoes. (Reason why he can't take me tomorrow. He has to go in super early and he has to get up super early to cook.) Had a quick dinner. K1 needed a ride home after dropping his car off to be inspected. He hung out for a little, ate dinner, and then he and That Man took off. I took care of some estate stuff, paid the bills, laundry. I still have more estate paperwork to do, but I need a notary, and it was such a long day... I just couldn't do anymore thinking or numbers. (I worked overtime today and my brain is broken... and it's been a super long week. Of course, you know that by now.) Tomorrow I'll talk to our work notary and see when he's going to be in next week and it'll be done.

The weekend is coming though! Yay! Writing meeting on Saturday! Looking forward to it. Also, looking forward, we've also reserved our spot for a cool event my sister's involved in, and we've reserved our hotel room for the Bantam Jeep Festival. This year we're going as observers so we know what's cool to do next year. I'm looking forward to it!

That is all. I'm fried.

Behave!

Freaking Polar Vortex!

Holy Mr. Freeze!! It's freaking cold out!!

Currently it's -11*. Yes, negative eleven. We have an advisory until late tomorrow for wind chills of -20*. WTF?

The Jeep never warmed up enough for me not to feel like my fingers were going to break off. Partly due to the fact that I ripped my back window up pretty good the other day (stupid groceries). I mean, ripped it again. I can't unzip it, bring it in and patch it in the warm, because the zipper is too worn to re-zip. I need a new top, which is on the agenda for this spring. It's a waste of time to get one now. But, the temperatures are supposed to hit the 50's on Sunday, so hopefully we'll be able to complete a patch job.

Plus, I'm pretty sure my water pump is going out (and maybe my thermostat). It's literally one of the only things we haven't replaced, so it's logical, but also a pain in the butt.

Anyway. The day job is crazy, but we have some optimism now. The bosses have a plan to help and it seems like they are actually listening to us. They've made some changes to work flow and listened to our suggestions. It's still going to be rough for the next little while, but we're hopeful. And they've opened up overtime, which will help.

They made a change early this week that is just not working, but I'm hopeful that we'll get it figured out. It was a great idea, but it's resulting in much more work for me especially - though I can't figure out why.

I'm going in early tomorrow. That Man is going to drop me off so I don't freeze to death on my way in. I have an hour to make up from the forced snow day, and the rest will be overtime. I've already taken my shower so my hair doesn't freeze and break off in the morning. I'm not excited about getting up an hour plus earlier, but I'm happy to get caught up and have a little extra cash in my pocket.

So early bedtime now...

Behave!

Snow!

Early dismissal from the day job thanks to the white stuff! Yay! The drive home was absolutely fine, but I'm glad they let us go when they did.

Especially since I was able to make some estate phone calls and get some much needed information when I got home. I feel a little more confident in my project now, though it's still a huge pain in the butt! Such a process and I'm doing it in triplicate. Oy! I will be so glad when this, and my other estate project are over! And, I don't have to think about taking a day off this week to do this stuff now. Granted, I will have to take a day once I get all of the information back and need to get it processed, but that's in maybe a few weeks or sooner, so...

I had put dinner in the crockpot before leaving this morning, so I didn't have to worry about that. Threw a load of laundry in, took out the trash, and felt pretty danged productive.

I think we may have gotten between 2-3" of snow. It's pretty. But I'm not looking forward to the major freeze that comes next. It's supposed to be bitter cold the rest of the week and who needs that? I'm definitely against that kind of cold. 

The day job has been so stressful this week. I cannot even describe how much so. It's so brain draining and anxiety-inducing. I don't know what's going to happen next. No one does. We are completely over-whelmed with work and phone calls, and that's only a tenth of it. I'm not ready to walk yet, though, I want to think this is the tipping point of some much needed change, but we shall see.

I was asleep by 8pm last night - probably because it was such a draining day. And I easily could have slept another couple of hours this morning. Making progress with home stuff today has given me a little boost to take care of other home things, but I am fading now. I will get some words done tonight, but it will be another early bedtime.

That is all!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

I know I missed Feel Good Friday.

There wasn't a lot of Feel Good going on. It was a super rough week at the day job. And not regular super rough, but unbelievably bizarre and stressful. One person put their two week notice in, and another person informed the rest of the team this morning that she's not coming back. I am incredibly sad and scared and worried, as we all are. Tomorrow should be an interesting day, to say the least.

I spent Saturday trying to get some estate stuff done and napping. That kind of stress drains you big time, I guess. I did make a a pretty good dinner, though.

Today was lunch with my grandbabies. I was spit up on, wrestled on, piled with blankets, told crazy stories, and hugged. That's good stuff.

In the midst of that were numerous texts from the work family. We're all stunned and sad. Even my old boss. We have no idea what is going to happen next. And, no, I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

Now we're just chilling. The laundry is done. The vacuuming is not. It's leftovers for dinner and probably an early bedtime. Not that I think I'll be able to sleep with worry over work.

That's about it...

Behave!

Just Thursday?

And it's been a short work week for me!

But the work week I've had has been insane. Our boss is in this week. From NC. It's been kind of weird. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't even know how I feel yet. Lots of stuff and strangeness and unmet expectations.

Tomorrow is Friday though. That's good, right?

That Man and I have had a good week together. Working together. Doing our thing. The house needs vacuumed, but other than that, it's clean. Laundry is done. Dishes are done. We even did super good portion-wise with our dinner tonight. (only a lunch portion of leftovers! Whoot!) We've spent a lot of time with the TV off and reading/writing, which is also awesome. I guess it's slow progress? Adjusting from four to a part-time one is a lot.

I have done the critiquing and the writing. I started the newsletter. I attending the amazing board meeting. (It was so smooth and awesome!)

That's all I have. Looking forward to the weekend...

Behave!

Frozen Tuesday...

Holy Mother of all that is Holy, it is freaking cold!

Or it was. Not so much now, but yesterday... OY.... That was nine kinds of ridiculous, and this morning... It was ten degrees when I left for work. I am fully aware that it's January and it's winter, but come on!

We're supposed to get freezing rain in the morning. 10% between 7 and 8 am - just when I'm going to work. The temperatures are supposed to be in the 20's. Just get me there, though. Temps are due to rise throughout the day, though it will be raining and temps will be under freezing, and be 42 and raining by the time I get off work.

Let me just ask... what has happened to a true and epic snow storm? Or even an ice storm? I'm all about either, but... Nooo... it never ever happens.

Whatever. Mother Nature. You need a Snickers.

In other news. I am a Great Aunt. (Not for the first time, but every time with being a great aunt is like the first time - you'll know when it happens to you! ha!) The little adorable baby girl was born yesterday. She is so stinking cute and my brother and sister-in-law looked amazing in their picture with her. I can't wait to meet her!

That's all I have for now. I have more swear words than actual words, which means it's bedtime...

Behave!

What a Letdown...

Some storm... Blah!
Yeah we got some snow, but then it turned to rain. Not the up to a foot or more we were told and I wanted. Now it's freaking cold and getting colder. Total disappointment though, weather-wise. Other than that, it's been a pretty decent weekend.

Dinner with friends on Friday. That was a lot of fun and I'm so glad we could all get together. We laughed and talked for a few hours.

Then, I hit the grocery store. It wasn't as crazy as I expected, but they were out of weird things. Luckily, I wasn't in the bread, milk, eggs, and toilet paper crowd. Just needed a few things to get through the potential of not wanting to go anywhere.

Up early Saturday, though I did sleep in a little. That Man had gone to the hardware store for stuff he needed for the snow blower and made sure it was ready to go. I think it was maybe ten minutes after he'd parked it by the back porch that we found out the forecast had changed. He shoved it back into the shed.

We pretty much just hung out - did some laundry. That Man made brunch, which was delicious. K4 decided to go and hang with her cousin for the supposed weather event, leaving us all alone. We both spent a lot of time reading with no television on. Then, when if finally did start snowing, we took a walk and ended up at the pizza shop downtown for dinner. That was a snap decision and a good one. Took our time walking back home. Took up our books again.

Was texting with my old boss who happens to live about 3 blocks away and she ended up coming over for conversation. Work has been pretty stressful and she needed to talk through some stuff. That was fine and we had a lot of other great conversation too.

Today has been very relaxing. I did sleep in, which was awesome. All of the chores were done yesterday. We're still in our jammies. I finished my book. That Man's book is ginormous so he's still reading. We have music on. The dog is sleeping between us. K4 made it home and has disappeared into her room. The wind is crazy. There are candles lit.

I'm not cooking. That Man has to have one of those tests you are forced to have once you hit 50 tomorrow and he's on a clear liquid diet today until he starts his prep for it. I had just planned to find something to eat and hide away to eat it so it didn't bother him, but he seems unaffected at this point. He even offered to cook dinner for K4 and I. Instead, we will be ordering a pizza (and maybe hiding in K4's room to eat it) Ha! I am off work tomorrow to handle That Man after his appointment.

Next is writing or critiquing. Not sure which. I took a complete Internet break yesterday, except for harassing my co-workers on our group page. (I had no choice. It was a necessary and hysterical thing.) Now I have some emails to answer and a newsletter to think about putting together.

And that is all...

Behave!

Guess What?

It's snowing and it's Thursday! Whoot!

We may or may not be delayed for work tomorrow. Whatever.

I have plans with my writing friends for dinner tomorrow night. Looking forward to it - last time we were missing over half, so I'm glad we found a night that works for all of us.

We'll either head out for the grocery store tomorrow night or first thing Saturday. Joy, but an adventure to be sure.

We ordered Chinese food for dinner tonight. We did have a plan for dinner, but we got home at the same time and neither of us felt much like cooking. It was a good choice.

I had my work review today. Which was good. Little raise. Little bit of compliments. I'll take it. It was a crazy, crazy day though. It didn't look like I did a lot of work by my metrics, but let me tell you that's not true at all. I felt like a crazy person.

That is all...

Behave!

Please Let it be True...

Oh yeah with the snow in the forecast.

Tomorrow night - well, whatever. I'd rather it not snow too much during the week anyway. It messes up time and work flow and uses up valuable paid time off. Not to say I wouldn't take it if Mother Nature decided to dump on us mid-week.

But the weekend - it will depend on the temperature, but the potential for a major snowstorm is there. (Wait for me to whine about it being just rain or a tiny bit of snow on Sunday, because if we don't get the storm, I will be whining and crying.) I really, really hope we get dumped on though!

That Man and I just realized we'll need to go to the store. I mean, we'll need to anyway, but our timeline will need to be backed up if the major storm is a go. Typically, we go on Sunday.

And that's not going to be a fun time. We'll skip the bread, milk, eggs, and toilet paper sections since we don't need any of that. Well, maybe eggs, but that's a normal. Okay. Wait. We need bread, too, but we buy a loaf every week, so there. And we're talking about our normal shopping anyway. We never have milk since neither of us drink it and we're good on the toilet paper.

Whatever.

I'm so excited! That Man typically plows snow and he's rarely here for a storm. The fact that he will be is awesome! I'm thinking about what cool things I want to cook. I'm thinking about how to structure my writing days. I also have some critiquing to do, so I need to fit that in there.

I know. I know. I'm getting myself all worked up over something that might not happen.

But it might...

Behave!

Oh...Tuesday.

Too much like a Monday. Just saying...

We're due for more winter weather. On Thursday and again this weekend. Thursday is just supposed to be a fly by, but I'm so hopefully for the storm this weekend! The first report I heard was that  it was supposed to be massive and I'm holding to that. Snowed in! That's what I want! I'm not kidding!

I will prep for being snowed in and I might just pretend I am snowed in this weekend. We'll see what happens! Ha! It's only Tuesday, so...

Writing is commencing. My house is warm. My bed is waiting.

That is all.

Behave!

Snowy Sunday...

Yay, snow!!!

It's not much at all! Definitely not a snowpocalypse or even more than a nuisance snow, but it's pretty and I like it. So does the dog.

Got to see the Mr. B's yesterday! Thursday was big Mr. B's birthday, so we gathered presents and went to see him. We hadn't seen them since Christmas day because of the sickness with the exception of K1 stopping by on occasion. So that was good.

I did sleep in both days, and despite my goal of taking a nap today, it didn't happen. I tried though. That Man made an awesome stew for dinner. K4 did her laundry and so did we. I stayed in my jammies all day, finished Simon's critique, wrote words of my own, updated the check book, cleaned house a little...

Now K3's friend is here working on Dungeon's and Dragon's stuff with K4. K3 is not here yet. But he should be soon.

Tomorrow is back to the grind. Not looking forward to it. At all. Though I am looking forward to the potential for good stuff coming along soon.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday... The Last Monday of the Week...

For this week. I'm pretty sure next week is also going to be another week of Monday, but it's too soon to know for sure...

Let's get to the Feel Good list...

1. K4 home for the weekend... Orthodontist appointment that fit perfectly into her schedule, Good first week of the new semester. But a cold coming on - at least she gets to semi-rest this weekend. She has commitments and other commitments, but it's all good. She gets to sleep longer than normal, which is important for the cold. She just took medicine and went to bed, so there's that.

2. That Man finally feeling better. Neither of us are back to 100% yet.  What kind of illness does this? It's been over two weeks now? Granted, we're doing our thing, but the exhaustion is real. We feel lame and stupid for not doing the things we really want to do. But sleeping... Oy!

3. Not technically cooking tonight. Only a tiny bit of prep. We had planned to get the pre-cooked fried chicken at the grocery store, but the dude who makes it was on break. When he returned, he said it would be twenty minutes. I'd already been at the store for longer than that, so I bailed and we did make your own subs for dinner, which was fine and good, but why the hell don't you have fried chicken at 5:45 on a Friday night? Ridiculous!

4. Co-workers. The only way any of us actually live through the day job is because we're a solid team. It's the truth.

5. Sleeping in tomorrow. Yess!

6. The potential for snow this weekend. I am all about that!

That is all!

Behave!

Another Monday!

Yeah. It's Thursday! But it was still like Monday! It's been a solid week of Monday!

I'm not kidding.

So, It's freaking, freaking cold out. Like the wind will rip your skin off your bones cold. That's no lie. Well. Maybe it's an exaggeration, but it's still no lie. I need to get gas in the morning, and I'm angry about that. Plus, I lost a glove! Yes, I have other gloves, but these gloves are super warm and super special and I'm pissed about it!

Talked to my aunt tonight. She cracks me up. She's dealing with clearing out my great uncle's house and her stories are incredible.

Today is Mr. B's birthday. He's 6 now. He's an amazingly smart and funny kid! We video chatted tonight and... he makes me laugh hysterically. We also got to see little Mr. B through chat! That was cool. We haven't seen either of them since Christmas due to the evil flu! Yeah, I know it's been about two weeks, but that flu was so evil there was no way we were taking chances with our babies!

Tomorrow is Friday. This weekend is pretty chill with I hope some sleeping in and a bunch of writing.

That is all.

Behave!

Second Monday...

Seriously, It is!

It was quiet this morning at the day job. That didn't last too long. By afternoon I was crazier than a one-armed paper hanger and that's no lie. It's like everyone and their brother decided today was the day to send their emails, make their phone calls, and get stuff done.

Oy!

Tomorrow will be more of the same. My reps were on the road today and all said that they needed copious office time due to their phone calls and emails, so more is coming. One of two of them work in the evenings on occasion, so who knows what I'll face in the morning?

The best part about this week so far is talking (in some form) to each of my kids. K1 stopped by for some stuff tonight. K2 and I instant messaged last night. K3 and I talked last night. K4 and I talked after I got off work yesterday. That's all good stuff right there.

It's not quite time to look ahead to the weekend. I've heard there's a chance of weather. Yay! I really hope it snows its behind off! But I doubt that will happen!

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I hope I survive.

Off to try to get a few words on the page...

Behave!

Ugh Monday...

Today was on of those days that felt like we'd already been at work for twelve days. And it wasn't just me. We all said it.

It's freaking cold. And it's supposed to do some winter stuff overnight. We'll see. It's super damp out, but so far nothing. Bah. Come on, Winter! Do your thing! I want snow!

The dog was bad today. We were pretty sure she would be. It's her first day without someone in the house for over three weeks. We made sure the doors were all closed (except for ours, she knows how to open it anyway and she totally unmade our bed and slept under the covers like she does). And that the sink was empty of dishes (she has taken lunch containers out of the sink and eaten them), and that there was nothing she could get into. Or at least we thought. The bag of candy canes... They were for Mr. B. I left them on the counter. There were at least ten of them. I picked 3 up off of the floor... Dang it.

Working on writing group stuff. We have an amazing new board, which I am a part of (but not the part that makes it amazing. Ha!). Everyone is full of ideas and spunk. I've been on the phone and on email every night since the meeting. It's good and productive.

So... Writing. I was working on something on a whim and I've come to the conclusion that it's time to put it away. I'd given myself a deadline to get it done, and while I'm making huge progress, I know I'm not going to make the submission deadline. There's not enough time to finish, edit, critique, etc... So it's time to put it away and go back to my project. I can pick this one up again for the next submission call. I'm only a few weeks behind on it, so I think I'm still in a good place to meet my original goal, or at least get it a week or two after my original plan. So, that's what I'll be doing. My new book comes out in July, so my original plan gives me plenty of time to edit the new release, edit the new book, and make a plan for the next one.

That's all I have! It's writing time and then bed time! Come on, snow!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Tomorrow is Monday... Ugh! This weekend definitely wasn't long enough. I know they never are, but...

Breakfast with my ladies Saturday morning and the off to the meeting. The meeting was awesome! We haven't laughed like that in ages and we were super productive, too. New board. New blood. It's going to be good. After the meeting, I had lunch with my tribe. Well, most of them. We had an amazing time.

After that, I hit the grocery store and then ran home to put away the groceries (not that I got a lot). Then I went to pick up That Man back from his trip. So glad he's home. He's feeling better, but not awesome yet. I'm telling you this flu is the devil.

K4 is back at school. It seems like she was home a lot longer than she actually was. I know it did for her, too. She's all moved back in and is getting settled into her room again. They had them take everything home over the holiday so they could clean and do their pest control. She didn't take nearly as much stuff back with her. She's generally home every weekend, so it's not a huge deal. Classes start tomorrow.

I don't think I mentioned That Man's car crapping the bed the Friday before Christmas. Something with a belt and pulley. Of course, we had to order that part in and it didn't get here until Saturday. It's all fixed now and everyone has their own car back. I'm done with all of the car issues though. I don't even want to think about the amount of money we've spent on car repairs in the last few months. It's sickening.

Got most of the decorations taken down. Well, the tree is out and the living room is back to normal - except for the boxes that need to go to the basement. It's going to take me a while to get everything back where it's supposed to go and that's okay.

I'm tired. Early bedtime for me, but first the writing.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Thank you, Friday.
We've already agreed it's been a long week, even with the day off. It's the truth, though.

So here's the list:

1. Co-workers and Sales Reps. They are seriously the only reason I made it through the work week.

2. Quick grocery store dinner last night. Take out tonight. No dishes. No cooking. Yay!

3. The furnace coming back to life. I fought with it until almost midnight last night and fully expected to come home today to a freezing house. I even stopped and bought fire logs, but we didn't really need it. It somehow resurrected itself. I'm still kind of fighting with it, but it's warm in here and the coal is cooking. I swear the coal was cursed.

4. Laughing with a friend on the phone after work. Much needed.

5. Texting with That Man. He's at the place. He's feeling better. He'll be home tomorrow. I wish I would have gone along. Now that it's too late, I realize I could have gone. Dammit!

6. Getting words on the page. I've done pretty well this week even with the bone tired fatigue.

7. Writing meeting tomorrow. Yay.

8. Sleeping in a little tomorrow. Also, Yay! And I hope to get to bed far earlier than I did last night now that the coal has lost its curse.

9. Taking K4 out to dinner before she leaves to go back to school on Sunday. We have a delicious plan!

10. Hopefully getting the Christmas decorations taken down this weekend. I'm apathetic about the whole thing though. I just don't care. We put everything up so late, that I don't mind that things are still up. Except the tree is dead. I haven't put the lights on since Wednesday. I want to because I love it so much, but.... dead is dead and dead is dangerous... Eventually, I would love to be able to put the decorations up right after Thanksgiving so that by now, I'm sick of the whole thing and have taken it all down, but I don't foresee that happening for a while... Ha!

That is all...

Behave!

Thursday...

It's been a super long week. I know! We had a day off, too!

Tomorrow is Friday, though.

That Man is getting ready to head to New York to attend a funeral. It's the grandmother of a good friend. I can't go, but he's going with our brother-in-law. It's a long drive, but necessary.

I also have my writing group meeting this weekend. Good stuff. I can't wait.

First I have to live through the work day tomorrow. It's going to be long.

K4 heads back to school on Sunday. She's not ready. But she will be.

I'm still exhausted and feeling crappy. Seems like this thing has circled back around. That Man is still feeling crappy, too. Last night I was asleep by 7 and in bed by 9. I'm not far from bed now, but I need to hit my word count.

That's all I have for now!

Behave!

Happy New Year!!

Whoot! 2019! Bring it!

I have no idea what this year has in store for us. I'm looking forward to it though.

Huh! Where did that positive outlook come from? I like it.

My word for the year is "Commitment". This applies mainly to my writing, but I can see how it will apply to regular life as well. I'm keeping it.

It's a quiet day around here. That Man is napping. So is the dog. K4 is at her cousins. We're watching Lord of the Rings, Fellowship. We were supposed to simul-watch like we usually do with my sister, but her kids jumped the gun and, not only that, they started with the wrong movie. Huh!

We did go to my sister's for a little bit last night. Both of us felt like poo after working all day. I worked the latest and then ran around gathering things so I could get up there. We didn't make it long. We were back home before 10. Though, on a whim, we decided to walk downtown to see the wrench drop. I had never been and it was pretty warm out, so why not.

It was fun. Small crowd. Ran into friends and had a blast with them. Walked home and went to bed.

It's so weird though. I really think this is the first New Year we've ever actually been alone on the Eve. And, really, the day too. That Man got up early and started the pork and sauerkraut. I slept in. Nice. Started laundry. Did some household administration stuff and some writing administration stuff. Made pasta salad and put the blackeye peas on to simmer. We took a walk, which was nice. Ran into our neighbor and chatted with her for a few.

Now it's time for me to nap and then I will write.

Let's Go, 2019!!

Behave!