End of the Weekend...

And Kittens!

Saturday was a blast! Road-tripping with my peeps! We laughed hysterically, talked about some deep stuff, laughed more, ate, and had an awesome time in the car!

The event was beautiful. The winery was adorable. I didn't taste any, though the merlot milkshake looked pretty amazing. I wanted to try it, but never got around to it. I met other authors who publish at my same publisher, so that was awesome. Talked to people. Didn't read because it was too freaking cold. No one did. It was a lot of fun and I'll be back there next year! It's already confirmed.

The trip back was equal to the trip there. We stopped at an amazing place for dinner. We were starving! Got home around 9pm and hung out with That Man, did some edits. K4 was at her cousin's house. That Man had kitten duty all day. He didn't mind. He also did Jeep maintenance, which was needed.

Oh! So the babies went to the vet Saturday morning. My Fred is the biggest at 13 ounces. No surprise there. The smallest is Bootsie/Socks at 10 ounces. That was unexpected. We thought either Spurt or Regi would be the smallest. The vet gave them a clean bill of health and said they look great. They are doing amazing. They are all using the litter box now. Awesome! They are eating fantastic, playing, and showing their personalities. Fred is a snuggle bug. Regi is a ninja. Goblin is the leader. Bootsie is an instigator, and Spurt is the most playful.

Things are changing fast. And so much has changed just in the week since we've had them. They are awake equal to their sleep time. They play. They are noticing their environment and interacting with it. Spurt keeps seeking out Max. Max is not ready to deal with any of them yet. But he hangs out to see what's going on. Elsa is on "mom" duty. She hangs out near them, looks at us with expectation if she thinks we're not responding to their cries fast enough and is super gentle when one of them is near her - but she's not particularly fond of that.

Tomorrow is back to the grind. Oy. Totally not looking forward to the work day and I hate that. I have a writing chat thing I'm in charge of tomorrow night. Once a month we have dinner together and discuss our stuff and things. Different people "host" and tomorrow is me. I'm looking forward to it. Though I really need to do the final read through of my book before I send it back to my editor. I thought I was done with it and then I read her notes again and I am so not done... Also, I need to finish the newsletter for my writing chapter and I'm so very late with it! Yikes!

Today is the anniversary of That Mom's passing. That Man and That Sister went to the grave-site today. It's rough. He's okay. I'm okay. That sister is okay. So is That Brother, though none of us have actually been able to talk to him today at this point. But the memories of what we were doing this time last year are huge.

Coming up... Another long week at the day job. Doing my final read through and getting my edits back to my editor. Hopefully getting my final cover to share. Prepping for our Jeep event in May. Raising kittens...

That is all!
Behave!

Feel Good Friday & Kittens...

It's Friday...

There is no sleeping in for me tomorrow. I need to be up, showered, and ready to go by 7:15 or so. I am meeting my peeps at 7:30 for our journey into the wilds of New Jersey. I'm excited. And I'm nervous. I have to read and I have no idea what I'm going to read.

So let's hit the list:

1. Kittens getting fatter and fluffier. They are doing well. They are going to see the vet in the morning. Some are pooping too much. Some are not pooping at all. I think they're fine, but they are so little that there is no risk taking at all.

2. Getting the edits done. I'm so very close to being able to send the document back to my editor, but I want to check one more time.

3. Cover Art! It's gorgeous! Just waiting for the final so I can share!

4. Getting caught up at the day job! It's an insanely awesome feeling. I haven't been caught up since January.

5. Going to NJ tomorrow! I'm not ready, but I am ready. But I am super excited!

6. K5 last night! We went to the buffet Chinese place - her choice. She talked our ears off the whole time while she ate sushi and fried shrimp. We left there and went to the super store to try to find her a hoodie like the one she lost when the slime exploded in her backpack. No luck, so she got shorts, sneakers, and random stuff. We had a blast! She is so super cool. So smart and full of amazing ideas!

7. Chill night tonight! I was super stressed when I got home. I'd hit the grocery store for stuff, but ended up forgetting major stuff - like dog food and toilet paper - (they weren't on my list!) I paid the bills, did the laundry, and still have not eaten dinner. Though I am going to once I'm done here. We got subs at work at they came late, so I wasn't hungry at all until now.

That's all I have right now...

Behave!

Kitten Post #3

The babies are doing well.

They are eating and growing. Not pooping much yet, but that's to be expected with the nutritional state they were in when we got them, them getting used to formula, and their bodies using every bit of nutrition. Some of them do, and some of them are interested in the litter box already, which is good.

We're kind of worried about little "Spurt". He doesn't eat as much as the rest and he struggles when he does eat. But he's adorable and active, so the hope is that he's okay. Most of them will latch onto the bottle, but a few do struggle. Max struggled as well, so that's not an indication of anything.

I will call the vet tomorrow since K4 has not had any luck getting through to them. She wants to take them in to be checked out and hopefully pooped. Our vet is awesome in that she doesn't charge for that with rescues. And she's reassuring.

Yesterday I helped K4 before we both had to go to work, and then helped again when I got home. K3 and A came over last night and they played with them for a while which helped tire them out. This morning, it was That Man and I on duty since K4 had to be at work super early. Well, a lot me, since I didn't wake That Man when K4 woke me and told me they were awake and by the time I got in there, they were all over the place.

We're just waiting for the final feeding so we can go to bed... Ha!

My first round edits for my July release came. I got through all of the easy ones tonight - mostly em dashes and ellipses (my habits) - I have about 10 harder comments to ponder and work on. And then I'll send it back to my editor for another round.

I also got my first look at my cover art. It's gorgeous, but needs a few tweaks. I will share as soon as it's been finalized, but the cover artist definitely captured my vision for it!

The day job has calmed for me a bit. At least for today. I'm pretty much caught up, but I'm the only one. I have some rushes to take care of tomorrow and then I'll start helping everyone else dig out. That's the way it goes. I'm still working the overtime, though tomorrow I will likely go in close to normal time. The kittens need their morning routine, K4 works before me - so I will help her before I shower, and I have to stop at the store, so...

Thursday night we have a date with our granddaughter. A quick dinner out since she has PSSA's at school and needs to be in bed on time. But it will still be fun. She's dying to get here to see the babies and stay overnight, so we'll make that happen soon, too.

On Saturday, I will be in New Jersey for a book signing at a winery. It was a last minute invitation that I gladly accepted. I'm excited. I will be reading, which kind of freaks me out, but I know I can do it. I will also be riding down with friends, so that will be a blast.

And I hear babies moving, so it's time to make the formula...

Behave!

Easter and Kittens...

Today was also a good day. 

I went to the religious institution with That Man this morning - like way early, too... Also with That Sister and That Sister's Husband. It was good. I saw people I haven't seen in ages. I haven't been to an Easter service since the Easter before my momma died and she went with me. It was the first Easter after my dad died and it was rough for all of us. Mom was a trooper though... I did spend part of my morning thinking about both of my momma's - his and mine. And missing both of them. Both Momma's loved Easter so much. I don't care what your religious beliefs are, when your momma loves Easter, you also love Easter. And I do. And I cried this morning because of both of my mommas. I feel okay about the whole thing after though, so there's that. 

After that, we stopped for kitten supplies and headed to my sisters. 

The day was good. I finally got to meet my great niece. We had stayed away because it was so bitter cold right after she was born and then we were all sick constantly. There's no way I wanted to make my first great niece sick. She is so stinking cute though! I love the fact that the cousins all look so much alike. 

We had so much awesome food! The little kids had an easter egg hunt. There were only two of them, but they still had fun. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The clouds were amazing. 

And the kittens... They all have homes to go to once they are weaned and ready. My sister is taking my little black and white buddy. That was unexpected, but awesome. We are also keeping two now. My little orange Fred and his little buddy Regi. Yeah... it happened that fast.We still have a few weeks of bottle feeding though 

We're still working out our schedule for the week,...

I did write, so that's also a huge bonus. 

That's all...

Feel Good Friday - On Saturday...

I started a post last night... I couldn't finish it because I was called to help care for our new foster kittens.

Yeah. You heard that right.

We are now the foster parents to a litter of five kittens.

They are so stinking cute. I can't even tell you how cute! There is an orange one, and he is mine. His name is yet to be determined. But he will be staying. I will post pictures as soon as I have good ones.

K4 is doing most of the work. Bless her. She loves it. I see her fostering kittens for a long time. She knows what she's doing and she's good at it. Currently, she's at my sisters with all five kittens. Giving us a break from what's about to be a long three or so weeks.

The little guys are about 3 weeks or so old. They are tinier than they should be. Their mom was severely malnourished before she ran off. Trust me, we waited as long as we could hoping she would come back, but she didn't. The babies went for almost too long without food. This was a process of checking and checking again and checking more to see if momma would come back. It would have been for the best if she did, but that didn't happen.

They are eating and sleeping and doing the bathroom thing though. All of them appear healthy. They all certainly have voices... lol

Max, the previous rescue, is not sure what in the heck is going on around here. He's avoiding the situation as best he can. We're hopeful that he will step up and be a good influence on the kittens. We'll see. Spenser is disengaged per usual. Elsa is being a kitten mommy. She has to be beside their basket at all times. When they cry, she's making sure we notice. She is so funny.

Anyway.

Today was a good day.

I took care of estate stuff this morning. Had to stop and get big envelopes and then to the bank and then ran home to grab numbers and paperwork that I didn't realize I needed. Then to the post office. Thank goodness. This huge steaming pile of crap is finally out of my hands. I'm hoping I did all of the things right... I guess we'll see...

Then to the grocery store. What a crap show. So busy. And couldn't get everything I needed. Oy.

Stopped by my friends to drop off some things.

Back home to make food and clean. And clean I did. Well. Kind of. Sort of. The entire house is vacuumed. The laundry is still in process. The dishes are all done. And there is a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake chilling in my fridge.

K4 jetted to my sisters. That Man and I went to dinner like we were supposed to last night. It was a good place. And then we hit the mega mart for Easter stuff. Candy for the plastic eggs. Turkey for the sandwiches. And watching people shopping in not only their pajamas, but in their boxer shorts as well... So freaking weird.

I did the writing. I also did the writing last night in between kitten feeding and snuggling.

Last night and today have pretty much washed the work week drama out of the way. That's always a good thing.

Happy Easter!

Behave!

The Thursday Monday...

Yeah. Another one of those weeks... Seriously... When will it end?

We lost two more people this week. One by their choice. One not by their choice. It was weird and stressful. We also had super productive meetings, insane laughter, and our boss was in this week. We did further connecting and collaborated on many things. That part was good. I'm still sooo far behind on my work. It's making me crazy.

My reps were in and brought me birthday presents. I also got a card from my NY rep. Nice! I love these guys!

Tomorrow being Friday is also good. I will work more overtime. That Man and I will go out to dinner just the two of us. We already have a place we want to try.

I have done the writing this week. Just not nearly as much as I wanted. I am exhausted though.

There might be kittens...I don't want to say more about that... It's probably not a thing anyway.

That is all!

Behave!

Oh! What? A New Monday! Oy!

Yeah. Well... here we are again.

I'm ready for bed and it's not even 8pm...

So, I had a birthday. It was nice. That Man cooked. He also got me the most awesome tabletop ice maker. I know I'm a nerd, but I'm in love with the thing! I don't know what it is about ice, but I am always super happy about it. (Remember the glee over the retreat ice machines?) He also got me a really cool Jeep bag, which is super cool. I took two naps and stayed in my jammies all day long. I also stayed off of the Internet.

Next weekend is Easter. We're gathering at my sister's house per usual. It will be nice.

Other than that... same old overtime. Same old crazy day job.

It's so crazy windy outside. Stuff is blowing around all over the place. It was kind of scary when I was at the grocery store.

That's all for now...

Behave!

About That Sleeping In...

Ha!

That Man cursed us both last night. He said something to the effect of - watch. I can sleep in tomorrow, so I'll be up before I am on a regular work day - and he was. I made it a little longer, but still up at least an hour and a half before I wanted to be.

Oh well...

That Man is doing the laundry. I have already written my first round of words (just in case I don't get any more writing time today), taken care of writers group stuff, and organized my estate folder a little better.

We have to help out at a memorial service this afternoon. We knew the man - not well - but enough to know he was a great guy and cancer is a jerk. He was younger than us and left behind the sweetest woman. We feel honored to have been asked to help out and as sad as his passing is, his wife wants this to be a celebration of his life.

I'm trying to convince That Man to take the Jeep today with the top down, but he's got a list of reasons why that's not a good idea. Mainly - rain. Ha! It's supposed to be in the high seventies today! What?

That's all I've got. I don't know what else we're going to decide to do today, but I should probably take a shower and get dressed.

Enjoy the day!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday (The Last Monday)

Thank Goodness this week is done. I can't say I believe next week is going to be any better, but I can't think about that right now. Right now... It's the weekend. It. Is. The. Weekend. Thank Goodness.

Today was crazy at the Day Job. Started early. Lots of stuff going on. One of my reps brought stuff up to the store, so he took me and the bids guy to lunch. That was fun and a much needed break. We laughed a lot. Back to work. Lots of training. We also lost one of the new girls. Not a huge surprise, but still an adjustment.

So let's feel good, shall we?

1. Friday. 'Nuff said.

2. Sleeping in a little tomorrow. I can't go get my picture taken tomorrow since I have to wait for the "camera card", but my license is renewed. yay?

3. Ordering dinner. No cooking. No cleanup. Nice.

4. Getting the bills paid. Also, ordering swag for our Jeep event. Organized the budget, too.

5.  Talking to the adopted sister tonight. We had a great conversation! It's been too long, but as usual, it can be months or hours and we always have the same connection.

6. The weekend. Some plans. Mostly no plans. Just want to sleep and relax. I have no plans to work the Day Job this weekend, so there's that.

7. I do, however, have plans to kill the 50/50 challenge this weekend. We start today and I'm going to write my words next.

8. Sleeping in on Sunday, too. Nice.

That's all I've got.

Behave!

Thursday - The New Monday

Yeah, I joked about it, but it's true. This truly has been a week of Mondays, at least Day Job-wise. But there's really nothing more I can say about that. You've heard it all, though today it appeared to get marginally better in some aspects. But that progress is tenuous and can be snatched away in a heartbeat.

Anyway. I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically. Who knew you could get physically exhausted by being in a chair all day? Probably from the tension, I imagine.

Came home tonight to an awesome dinner prepared by K4. She did the shopping and the cooking and also, the cleanup. I could get used to this!

Tomorrow is Friday though! And it's my birthday weekend, so...

I need to get my drivers license renewed this weekend. I don't know why they make your license expire on your birthday. That's dumb.

We also have to go to a "celebration of life" on Saturday.

After that... I don't know yet. I'm not in a place to make any plans or decisions, so I'm kind of ignoring it all. It really doesn't matter to me. It's not a milestone birthday or anything. It's just a birthday. It is what it is...

Bah! I'm going to bed.

Behave!

Tuesday - Second Monday

Like I another Monday in my week! Today was like Monday, only worse... At least Day Job-wise.

Yesterday was crazy at the Day Job. We're so far behind. And trying to train new people... Honestly, the day was a blur. I worked early overtime and came home and literally crashed. I fell asleep on the couch right after dinner (dinner that was ready when I walked in the door). Took a nap and then went to bed by 9, and was asleep until 6am. Yeah, I was that tired. 

Went in early for overtime this morning. The day was super evil and frustrating. We were short a person - the other person in my department that has been there longer than me. So it was just me and the newbies. Training, answering phones, and trying to get my own stuff done. That didn't work too well. My frustration level was (still is) at one of the highest it's been in a long time. 

Came home. That Man and I went to the store for dinner stuff. As we were unloading, we ran into old friends we haven't seen in a few years. That was pretty awesome! We chatted for a few minutes and shared grandkid photos. It's so weird how you don't see people forever and can re-connect like you just saw them a week ago. That definitely made me smile!

After dinner, I worked for about an hour and ended up even more frustrated, which lead to a long email sent to my boss. I don't know if it will help, but I don't know what else to do. I can't keep doing everything I'm doing without losing my ever-loving mind. So we'll see what happens...

I did get some words on the page. My edits are coming soon and I want to be as far as I possibly can be before they get here. I think it will be good to write this book while I edit its predecessor because it'll help me keep the tone I want, but I can see how it's going to freak/stress me out at the same time. 

I started my current work in progress over, because, after doing my art sheets for the new release and thinking a lot, I realized I was missing key things - like a sarcastic heroine and some of the key elements I want to continue. I'm trying. It's hard to focus given the current Day Job situation, but it also helps me to get my mind off of it and get my headspace back. (And I need that to sleep)

Tomorrow is halfway through the week though. We have a meeting tomorrow night, so I won't be working from home, but I will try to get the writing in - depending on how long the meeting takes.

I'm not even thinking about all of the other stuff I have to do that I can't figure out how to fit into this current schedule! 

That's all I have...

Behave!

Feel Good Sunday...

UGH!! It's Sunday! Why can't we have one more weekend day?

I know I haven't posted since Wednesday.

The rest of the week was brutal and mean and rude and horrible. Thursday night was a computer break for me. I got on long enough to pay bills, and that was it.

Friday night - we went to dinner at our friends who've been in Mexico for the past two months or so. Awesome food, awesome conversation, awesome stories. We had a great time.

Saturday - Amazing writing group meeting. New members. Amazing lunch. I had to run the meeting because our president was at an author event in Virginia. I think I did okay. I had the other VP for support. We blazed through the business portion and had an amazing speaker. I learned a lot. I also learned a lot at lunch.

Got home and went to the grocery store with my girl. Oy! That kid always stretches the budget, but she's fun to shop with and she has great ideas, so...

Saturday evening - We were going to have a fire. We were going to hear our friend play in The Town. That Man worked all day. He was beat. I was beat. We ended up watching stupid TV and going to bed at a dumb time.

Today - That Man insisted I get up earlier than I wanted to. I was already awake, but gave him a hard time anyway. In retribution, he had to go to the grocery store with me to grab the few things I forgot yesterday. HA!

We deep cleaned 90% of the house today. Cleaning sucks. But my office is in good shape. The kitchen is in good shape. And so is the living room...

I did the paperwork for the estate taxes and wrote all of the checks for that and organized all of the estate stuffs. We mailed all of the tax stuff this afternoon. Nothing like rolling up to the post office with fifteen-ish envelopes...

I also confirmed my October author event! Whoot! Now I have to figure out how to get off work Ha!

We made banging Greek Chicken and Tzatziki sauce for dinner. OMG! It turned out amazing. I could eat that every day of the week! It was easy to make, too.

Talking to my kids today. That's always happy-making. In some way or form, I have talked to all four of them. And I got to hug and talk to my oldest grandson. He's so awesome!

So I bought these stupid things that are supposed to extract the pet hair from your laundry. Those people owe me $20, plus shipping.  What a freaking huge waste of money. I did like 5 loads of laundry today. The most the two things caught were a single little leaf off of our fern and a string... for real? ACK!!

That is all... Tomorrow is Monday again, which means all of the crazy day job crap starts again. I could have worked from home again, but I have to change my passwords, so...

Behave!

Wednesday...

Halfway through.

Oy.

I worked almost 11 day-job hours today. Went in early. Worked from home after dinner. Ugh. But I made progress, though it feels like bailing out the Titanic with a tablespoon right now.

And, I made dinner. Not because I had to, because I wanted and needed to. Cooking is good and relaxing. I kicked That Man out of the kitchen, though I did let him do most of the clean up. Ha! Not really - we did it together and very quickly, too. Shrimp & Pasta - and it was really good.

I also wrote. I'm still on word count goal, like amazingly so, which surprises even me. Super happy about that! It's like some kind of balance or something.

My eyes are broken though. Sooo much screen time. My old boss sent me a meme about not working more hours than you sleep. HA! I think I slept 6 hours last night and I've already worked - between writing and day job - more than twice that. No wonder I feel like I'm living in some alternate reality zone. And I do.

Tomorrow I will go in early to do the day job, but I think my allotted overtime hours for this pay period are soon done. Which is kind of a relief as far as killing myself trying to get us caught up. It might mean a normal day on Friday, which would be weird.

Also, I am moving my desk tomorrow to be more accessible to the newbies. It's going to be weird, because I'm all by myself right now with no distractions. I'm moving directly into the lions den with all of the noise and distractions. I know I'm going to regret it, but I really have no choice. There are two of us legacy employees and four new people... And no real way to keep track of them... Ugh...

And...it's time to try to sleep. I think I need to cut back on the caffeine... I'm still rolling like it's nine in the morning, which is a real problem... I mean, I could do laundry. Vacuum. Organize my office. But I must sleep. Ha!

Behave!

What's Weird About Tuesday?

It's a weird list! Ha!

1. Not Tuesday weird, but mentioned on Tuesday because it was the resolution... I went to leave for work yesterday and I had no brakes on the Jeep. Like. No. Brakes. I backed up and parked (with the EBrake). Called my old boss for a ride and That Man took it (even though he put a whole container of brake fluid in it and was out by the time he cleared the end of our street) to our mechanic this morning. It was ready to be picked up after work - some cylinder exploded or something. We saw the spray in the wheel-well over the weekend and thought it was something else, because whatever happened is not something that usually happens, which is just our kind of luck.
But it's all good now.

2. Meetings with the boss with just the Legacy staff. There's a lot going on and a lot that must be done. We got the low down. Got to give our opinions. Guess we'll see what happens next... We are working as a team though, so that's something... But it's so freaking weird.

3. So... K4 and I went to pick up my Jeep. My plans were to work from home when we got back. I tried to log in over and over. Reset the router about ten times. Finally gave up and decided it was a writing night.
...And I did write! But just as I hit my projected word count, the Internet came back up...
I love that.. because obviously I needed to write tonight. I do know that my brain needed a break from the work stuff...

Tomorrow is Wednesday. Halfway through the week... Let's see what other weirdness happens...

Behave!