Holy Cow!

I definitely didn't mean for there to be that long of a silence! 

Sorry about that! 

So what's been going on? 

Insanity! Or maybe just chaos. It's hard to know for sure.

We have like 2 weeks until Christmas. I'm not ready. I'm not even a quarter ready. Our tree is up, but that's about it. And it's a fake tree for the first time ever. It was kind of a necessity for a few different reasons. 

Every weekend is full from now until Christmas. And not just one day full. But it's all good stuff. 

Writing is slow. Very. 

That's all for now! 

Hopefully it won't take me another forever to come back! I'd like to do a more detailed post about what's going on.  

Behave! 

Oh Hi!

That was a little longer than I'd planned. And I won't say I'm fully back. There's a lot going on, so I'll do the best I can. Nothing has really changed with life. Same stuff, different day. 

Let's just jump right into to Feel Good Friday, okay? 

1. Sleeping in tomorrow. 

2. The work week not being as crazy this week. That's a nice break. 

3. Finally a weekend at home this weekend. Still busy, but at least we're home.

4. My office.  

5. Holidays coming up. This is our year with That Man's family. I'm not exactly sure what I'm making yet, but I'm working on it. 

This year is flying. I am stunned at how few weekends there are until the end of the year. 

That is all. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

I'm so glad the rain finally stopped. I love rainy days, but that was a little much! 

Okay, so here's the Feel Good list: 

1. Today is Friday. 

2. Sleeping in a little tomorrow. Which is good since I've been up and moving since 4am. 

3. Cooler temps.

4. Even though I've made little progress on my story this week, I feel good about the decisions I've made. 

5. Spending last Sunday with the grandboys. We carved pumpkins, played, and watched weird tv. It was a good day. 

6. Weekend plans. They aren't crazy, but they're good. 

That's about it. I'm sure there's more, but my brain is literally broken. 

Don't be surprised if I don't show up for a few weeks. I think I need to take another social media break. I'm weary, so I'll be on hiatus for the next month or so. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

Okay, enough with the rain already! I think I'm growing moss! 

In reality, I don't mind it so much. We did need it, and my plants are loving it. 

Anyway. Here's the list:

1. Living through the work week. It was a long one. 

2. Sleeping in a tiny bit this morning. It definitely wasn't long enough, but I did take a nap this afternoon. 

3. A phone call I've been wishing for. 

4. Realizing the old lady story needs something. Except even though I know what now, I'm not sure how I want to do it. Sigh. 

5. Getting stuff done around the house. 

6. Maybe sleeping in a little tomorrow. 

7. Having the boys tomorrow. We're going to carve pumpkins and hopefully do some plant rearranging. 

8. Mr. B winning his soccer game today, and him scoring every goal in the game and taking the title of the most goals in his league. 

9. Naps. Oh wait. I said that. 

10. Chicken Rice soup for dinner. 

That's all. I should try to figure this old lady out. 

Behave! 

New Beginnings...

I mentioned about my publisher closing down a few weeks ago. I'm still sad about this, but at the same time, I know it's time for me to spread my wings a little and go a different direction. It's been brewing for a little while now and things happening the way they did kind of feels like the push I needed. 

None of my books will be available after the end of the month. Though I will have my full rights back to each. I also get to keep some of the covers. I don't know what I'm doing with them yet though. Yes, I can self publish them, but that's a lot of effort that I could be putting towards other things. I'm still thinking. 

A few years ago, I had an idea while on vacation. It was definitely not typical of what I usually write. It was a story about the struggles, love, and life of a couple that met when they were teenagers and are now at the end of their lives. That's the Old Man story. Then, I wrote about an older woman re-finding her first love. The Old Lady story, which is what I'm currently editing. And now I have at least four other ideas for these types of stories. 

So that's what I'm doing at the moment. It's a very different direction and I find I'm super comfortable with it. I still love the post apocalyptic stuff and can't say I'd never write another one, but for now I'm writing what I guess you could call "family saga" or just women's fiction. 

And there you have it...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

 Yay for Saturday! 

Here's what's good. 

1. Sleeping in this morning! It was much needed after a really bad night of sleep Thursday night. 

2. Living through the work week. It was a rough one. 

3. Fall being here! Finally!

4. Getting stuff organized. 

5. Having most of my weekend chores done already.

6. Moving on to editing the Old Lady story. 

7. Lots of stuff going on, but feeling like I have a handle on things. 

And that's about it!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Yay for Friday! It has been an insanely long week! 

Here's the list: 

1. Managing to make it through the work week despite crappy sleep and overburdened schedules. 

2. Ticking off a few big things from the "to do" list. 

3. That Man's truck running again. 

4. Plans tonight to meet friends for dinner. We used to be neighbors and we saw each other every day. We talked on the phone every day even though we lived a yard apart. Our kids grew up together. H*ll, we grew up together. They moved away and we miss them. So we're meeting them for dinner tonight, which should be a blast. 

5. Saturday plans. They are necessary and organizational, but they should still be fun. Even though there is no food plan at this point.

6. Having the boys on Sunday. We have a surprise for Little B. After him riding my great niece's bike at camp, we managed to find him his own bike. He has no idea. And I can't wait to hear how school is going for both. 

7. This is not feel good, but waking up this morning to find unauthorized charges on my debit card. What a freaking pain! And what the h*ll is wrong with people? It's being resolved, but it has created a bunch of frustration for me. 

8. Finding time to write this week even though it was short and spotty. I'm getting there. 

That is all! 

Behave!

Oh Hi, September!

Yay for fall! I mean, it's not really fall yet, but it's coming! 

We had a good time at camp. We had both grandboys all weekend. We were tired--well, tired is an understatement. Little B did pretty good, especially since it was his first time at camp without his parents. And it was his first time away from home for that long. And no, he did not eat marshmallows all weekend. More like chicken nuggets. Ha! I took my little air fryer, and it was the best decision. 

The other big news is that my publisher is closing down. It was a shock. A very sad shock. I've been with them for ten years. I absolutely love my editor. I've learned so much from her and really enjoyed talking with her. It's going to be weird going forward. I have no idea what I'm going to do with my backlist yet, but I'll likely self publish them. I'm working on my plan. 

In the meantime, I am finishing the Old Man story. I've gone through all of my critiques and now just have my own notes and then a final read through. I also have the Chaos book to figure out what to do with. 

I'll get there. 

That is all. 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

I know it's been a while. The month is almost over! No excuses!

So what's been going on? 

Ha! Pretty much the same chaos as usual. 

Chaos is submitted and the Old Man story has been critiqued and is waiting for me to input the changes. I have two critiques to do first though, but I hope to get to it quickly. And then I have three ideas to write and another story of mine to edit(actually two more, but...). I'm getting there though. It really felt good to finish two books so close together. 

Camp is coming up! We'll have both grandsons for the weekend. It'll be Little B's first time for more than one night. The only thing he'll tell me he wants to eat is marshmallows, so this should be interesting. Ha! Most of the family will be camping, so it should be a good weekend. I still have no idea what to make for the picnic, but I guess I'll figure it out soon. I'm hoping the weekend will be cooler than this week is supposed to be! 

Nothing else new here... the day job is busy with no signs of slowing down. We had an epic company wide kickball game a few weeks ago and it was an absolute blast. Next up is planning for the Christmas party, and then my boss's retirement party...along with everything else. At least I'm not alone in the party planning. There are three of us to get stuff done. 

And that is all... Sunday is winding down, which means Monday comes too soon. Boo! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Thursday!

Yes, we're mixing things up a bit over here! Ha!

I just happen to be off from the day job today, so I figured I'd stop by and say hi!

I've been busy... washed the sheets and remade the bed, ran the vacuum, made a birthday cake for work tomorrow, and I have done a whole bunch of editing. 

But I'm also waiting for both the gas company and the water company to come and do whatever it is they need to do with our meters. That's why I took a vacation day today. That and I needed a mental health day. 

So here's the list:

1. Going back to bed this morning. I got up with That Man and after he left and the dog went potty, I crawled back in. That was nice. 

2. Being super close to the end of this book. I need to add some words, but the amount is dwindling. 

3. The quiet. I have had a few work related things pop up, but I knew the day was going to be like that and it's fine. 

4. Getting the laundry done. I mean, I would have done it tonight if it was a regular week, but it's nice that I don't have to now. 

5. Wearing a sweatshirt! Yeah, I have shorts on, but still. The fact that it's cooled off this much makes me happy. I even had socks on earlier and I shut the air conditioning off. 

That's all for now! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

It's hot again. What the hell? 

Anyway. Here's the list:

1. Making it to Friday. It was a long, long week. 

2. Air conditioning. 

3. Bringing back birthday cakes at the day job. People love it and we get cake!

4. Buy one, get one deals. 

5. Our grandson doing great with his eye surgery. 

6. Relaxed weekend plans. (I hope)

7. Sleeping in tomorrow. I need that. 

That's all... It's been one of those weeks. 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday!

Yay for Friday! It's been a long week! 

Here's the list:

1. Finishing and submitting the book. Now I wait. 

2. The heat subsiding even though it's only for a few days. 

3. An easy weekend? I think? We have nothing on the calendar. Which is good since the weeds are threatening to take over the back yard. Mr. B is supposed to come over and help so he can earn some cash. 

4. Sleeping in tomorrow. It feels like it's been forever since I've had the chance. 

That's about it for now. Ha! 

Behave!

Random

My intentions are good, but I never seem to find/make the time to post here!

Here's a random list of random things: 

1. I am sick of the heat. The last few days have been better, but still. I'm ready for fall. 

2. Finally meeting up with K5 to take her out to eat for her birthday, which was almost a month ago. That kid has been running all summer. We had a fun dinner. 

3. Watching Mr. B play soccer. He's amazing and I'm not just saying that as a proud grandparent. He now holds the record for the most goals in a season for his soccer club, and he came away from the tournament with 9 goals under his belt. 

4. Getting to hang out with Little B. He's such a crack up. He's now calling his pappy "grandfather". And he says it all fancy too. He makes me laugh. 

5. Being days away from hitting submit on my horsemen story. I have a few things to do and then it's ready. Then I'll round out the one I began editing on retreat. That one is close as well. I need to add a few more words, edit it, send it for critique, and then I'll be ready. 

6. I'm tired of our calendar. I thought we'd be in the "not busy" zone by now, but heck no. I would love a weekend at home to get stuff done, rest, and chill. It doesn't look like that's on the books for quite a while though. 

That's some of it! 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

I know you don't want to hear it because everyone is saying it, but I'm freaking sick of it being so hot!

It's impossible to get anything done outside. We had so many plans this weekend--tackle the weeds that sprung up while we were gone, work on the truck, clean up around the shed. We did none of that. 

Instead I worked on the horsemen story. Sent the last section out for critique and started reading through the story from the beginning. Made a lot of progress today. 

I mean, it's productive for sure, but it doesn't help the weeds in the backyard. 

That's all... 

Behave! 

Back Again!

 I'm back! Again! This time I was out of state! Like several states away from home! 

We went to see our aunt and uncle who live in the midwest. It's a very long drive! This time, however, we got a hotel room both on the way there and on the way home and that made the trip not as exhausting (thought it's still hella exhausting). I'm too old to drive straight through anymore, plus my hip hurts too much to sit in a car for that long. 

Anyway. 

We get up Sunday morning from our mediocre and slightly scary hotel, do our thing, and head out. Got a few miles down the road when the battery light came on in our big blue truck. Found an open auto parts store and grabbed an alternator. Debated about putting it on in the parking lot, and decided to soldier on due to lack of some of the tools we needed. The last two hours or so of the trip was hairy--winding roads and a quickly dropping battery--and no cell signal. And absolutely no place to pull over, not even a parking lot or gas station. 

We pulled in and everything just died. We had enough juice to barely put the windows up. Oy! But we had the part and putting it on was relatively quick. Except we didn't do that until Monday. 

It was a relaxing, but super hot, week. We basically did nothing but talk, eat good food, and talk more. Oh and we did some tasks our aunt hadn't gotten to yet like clean the hot tub, replace some door knobs, and fix the toilet in our space. We did go to the corner store a few times, and out to lunch and out on their boat on the 4th, which was nice, but so very hot. Almost lost the uncle to heat stroke, but we got him cooled down before he jumped into the lake. 

Left yesterday morning, hit a hotel with psychotic air conditioning and a room at least a mile away from the only entrance last night, and arrived home late this afternoon. The ride home is always far worse than the ride there. 

Our puppy was as happy to see us and we were to see her, and our orange cat who had gone a little nutso during the week is fine, so there's that. 

Now I'm just waiting for our air conditioner in our room to make it's magic so I can go to bed! Ha!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

We're back from the Wilds!

We took Mr. B camping this weekend! We were supposed to have K5 and him, but K5's schedule is out of hand so we had to settle for having her last week. 

But, damn, it was hot! Thankfully the camper has air conditioning. And thankfully, Mr. B has some good sense and decided not to be a "foil baby" in his tent. He crashed in the air conditioning with us, and it was good. He slept in and so did I! It was just the three of us in the Wilds and it was so much fun! 

Met up with J to pick him up outside of the mega-mart Friday night. Ended up shopping at the mega-mart because I needed a new air mattress. (Did I post about that?) We finally got out of there, came home, and ran around like crazy people trying to get everything and the dog packed. (The rv and the truck were packed like wild monkeys packed them)

Got to the Wilds late, made dinner (sausages), and got set up enough to sleep. Saturday was our friends anniversary/pool party. Which was a blast! Got to see friends we haven't seen in a while and swim. Mr. B got to hang with his friend who will be in middle school with him, and the anniversary part of the party was so sweet. (Think wearing your wedding dress for the first time in 25 years sweet!) The pool was also sweet and I got in with my regular clothes on and I have no regrets! (I forgot my suit)

We got back to camp late, made some food because there was nothing Mr. B would eat at the party and they had a ton of food. (Even though all he does is eat! I'm not kidding!) The dog fell off the bed while B and I were playing Rummy (he beat me so hard), and there was a lightning bug in the camper. 

After breakfast this morning, we packed up and came home. Did Mr. B's laundry because there was a lot and they don't have a washer and dryer. Dropped him off at home. Got back and started editing the old man story. 

Managed a lot of pages and added a lot of words. Got the laundry done. Took a shower. And now am prepping for the work week. Oy! 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday - On Saturday

It's a beautiful day out there! Actually, the weather this week has been very nice and I love it. Not looking forward to the high temps next week, but...yeah...it's summer. 

Let's get to the list:

1. Living through the work week. It was a brutal one. 

2. Having K5 overnight. She wanted to go to work with us and since her schedule is as crazy as ours, we made it happen. She helped Pappy with some stuff and earned some cash. We had a nice dinner the night before and she even got up on time. It was fun, but definitely not enough time. 

3. Sleeping in this morning. Man, I needed that. 

4. Making progress on my story. I just got through the whole thing again. I need to add a bunch more words, so hopefully I can make that happen on this next round. The story needs some empty places filled in, so fingers crossed. 

5. Plans with friends we haven't seen in ages tonight. We've had this planned for a long time. Except I forgot and kind of double-booked us, but we figured it out. He's already got the meat on the smoker and we put together some veggie kababs to add to our meal. 

That's about it for now!

Behave!

Retreat: The End

Things are wrapping up now. 

It's been a very lovely weekend. We have had lots of laughs, lots of serious, and not so serious, conversations. (There's a teepee in this house for kids, and we might have taken pictures in it) The writing, editing, and brainstorming we've done has been immense. Every single one of us has made fantastic progress. 

The family that owns this house lives right across the street and they stopped over this evening to say hello. They are the nicest people and we had a very nice conversation. Their kids are adorable. At first I was a little annoyed when I found out they like to say hi to their renters, but after meeting them, I'm glad to have met and talked with them. 

I did get through the entire manuscript and am over halfway through a second run. I had to cut quite a few pages of repetition and things that didn't fit, well, it was a lot of pages, so I need to add about twenty thousand words now. Which is fine. I still love the story and I'm so happy to be back in it.

I think I'm done for this retreat though. I'll be packing up and hitting the road in the morning, so I highly doubt I'll post again.  

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three

 
Last full day! 

I slept in, which was awesome. It's a gorgeous day. 

After I finished my book yesterday, I thought I knew what I was going to do next. Turns out, I didn't. 

I putzed around with a short story I'd started before last retreat, started working on the Sector series, but it was not going well, and I ended up opening the "old man" story. And that's what I need to be working on right now. 

I'm five chapters into editing and so far it's going well. I know it gets rough coming up, but that's okay. I don't know if I'll finish the edit this weekend (see previous about rough), but I do love this story, so...

Here's some pics of our view:

Lovely, right? And Cows!

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - Done!

The book is done! Whoot! 

I even took a nap, though it was a brief one. 

I will let this sit until I return home and then edit this last section to send for critique. I need a little space from it so I can edit with a clear head. 

The work stuff I thought would affect my time today didn't happen, so that's good. I only had a little bit of day job stuff compared to the parade I expected. 

I have titles for the newly completed book and two other projects waiting to be edited. And now I will move on to the next thing on my list! 

That is all! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two - First Full Day

Woohoo!

I slept pretty good and I slept in, which was amazing. That's not to say that I wasn't up a lot during the night. But it's fine. I can nap if I need to and I probably will, more because I can. Ha! 

I made good progress last night. I got a lot of words! I will finish this book! Maybe today? And then I will decide what to do next. I have an idea of what needs to be done, so there's that. 

I also need to get some titles nailed down, but that's on our agenda list to take care of, so I'll get there. 

It's a glorious day so far. The sun is shining. It's not super hot. The view here is incredible. I'll try to post a picture of that later. We also have a visiting kitty. We've named her "Debbie". She's very cute and dramatic. And obviously someone's pet as she's well cared for. 

And that is all for now!

Behave!

RETREAT! Day One!

Finally! 

I am here in a lovely home surrounded by my writing friends! We have unloaded our cars, chosen our rooms, put away our food, and chosen our spots in the living room. And now it's the talking part...

I will finish this book this weekend!

Tonight is our traditional "Nacho Dinner" and I am looking forward to sleeping in a little tomorrow. The bed looks super comfy!

That's it for now!

Behave!

I Suck!

I didn't mean for so much time to pass. It's just... life, I guess. 

It's been kinda crazy. Well, normal for around here. 

We went to the Wilds for the holiday weekend. It was a blast. My kids were there together for the first time in years! We had Little B in the camper with us and he did really well, except for being too excited to fall asleep at first. But once he settled, he slept well and he slept in. Then, just as we were preparing dinner Saturday night, the wind started, blowing pollen and making us all cough and sneeze. Then the rain. A lot of rain. It finally stopped, we finished dinner and got the clean up done before it started to rain again. The rain was fine. The mud was not. The grandboys parents went home and Mr. B stayed with us. And since it was supposed to continue to rain later Sunday into Monday, we packed up and came home after the picnic. And then it didn't rain. But it was fine. It was nice to be back home and have time to get stuff done before heading back to the day job. 

Since then it's been day job, stuff, more stuff...

I'm almost done with my book and it will be done by this time next week, because... I'm going on retreat! I am looking forward to it a whole lot! My original plan was to finish before I got there, but that's not going to happen (see above about stuff). I'm close, so I will finish and likely get through my critiques on section three and edits on the last section. I have no idea what I'll do after that. We'll see. 

And that is it for now! 

Behave! 

Funerals Suck!

We all know this.

We've been to two in the past two weeks. 

One for That Man's aunt, and today for our granddaughter's grandpa. 

Today's was especially hard for me. Today is my momma's birthday and also the day we had her services. So yeah... a lot of memories. A lot of memories anyway, but couple that with being in a pew for a memorial service, and yeah...

Our weekend plans got changed a bit, so we're home this evening and that is wonderful. I'm editing and new writing. We're making burgers for dinner and just chilling. 

And that is all for now.

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up

Oy! It's Monday again! Monday showed up too quickly and I don't like it. I definitely could have used another weekend day and some more sleep! 

It was a crazy weekend! 

A guy from work gave us some flowers, so on a whim and in the drizzle Saturday morning, we decided to plant them. Which meant clearing out the spot--removing a small tree and some vines. It took a little longer than we thought, but we got them in the ground and it looks nice. 

Then off to B's soccer game, which was good, except for the bathroom being six-hundred and fifty-two miles away. Ha! From there, food and flower shopping. 

Back home for a hot minute, and then off to a surprise birthday party for a former coworker. It was a lot of fun and it was so good to see some of my previous coworkers. We hadn't planned on staying long, but then we did. 

I did sleep in Sunday. K4 made me a german pancake for breakfast and it was so good. My boys and families came over for kebabs and hang out and it was fantastic. Lots of talking, eating, and laughing. It was a good day. I managed to get some editing done before everyone showed up and I'm making good progress with it. 

I'm tired today though. We have another busy weekend coming up, but thankfully, the week itself doesn't look too crazy. 

And that is all!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

What is up with all of this rain? I feel like I'm growing moss... Ha!

It's been a really long week! 

Here's the list of Feel Good's:

1. Making progress on the book. I am 3/4 written and almost 1/2 edited. The goal is to input the critiques on section two, edit section three and send out and then plow through the final pages. Got a little stuck on section three, but I think I managed to make it make sense. We'll see what my crit partners say. 

2. Retreat coming up in a few weeks. I want this book as close to done or completely done before then so I can work on other things. Still haven't decided what yet, but it'll probably be deep edits on two other finished projects. Maybe. 

3. Sleeping in tomorrow. Sleep has sucked lately. Though it's going to be a busy day starting at like 11am. Good stuff planned, but lots of running. 

4. Winning a gift card at work for knowing our company values. That'll get me some more flowers!

That is all! 

Behave! 

Well, Hi!

That was a longer break than intended... But it was much needed. 

But here I am! I can't promise I'll be on the regular. There's a lot of craziness and really unexpected stuff going on around here, but I'll try. 

Mother's Day is coming. 

I miss my mom. A lot. It always gets rough now since this is the time of year she died. It's especially rough this year, without a doubt. We had a fabulous, and surprise - for once in our lives - birthday party for her, and then a lovely Mother's Day together, and then she went to the hospital and never came home. I know I probably tell that story every year. And I probably always will. It was the worst and I often think about how I could have made things different. In a lot of ways. 

I also miss my child who I haven't talked to in quiet some time. And I wish I could tell them how much I love them and miss their presence. How I miss their sense of humor, their elegant and sometimes messy but always fun, chaos, their wisdom, and their opinion. I miss the way we could talk things through and how their refreshing perspective brightened every single thing. How we could respectfully debate life and understand each others stance without anger or judgement and come away with some different perspective that made me think. Also, how much everyone in this family misses them, despite the angry words thrown. I wish they knew how I think about them all of the time and how I wish things were different. How I lay awake at night and wish them peace, joy, and happiness. Like my mom, there are so many things I would love to share with them. But I can't. And how, no questions asked, I would welcome them with open arms and an open heart if they ever decided they wanted to. I currently have no way to say that to them though. So I will wait and hope and wish them happiness. 

I know that's heavy, but it is what it is. Life happens like that sometimes. It's happened in my past with my brother. It was so confusing and painful, and still is in a lot of ways. The way it broke our parents was awful and I feel that now in a way I cannot describe. My heart also broke for everything he missed, everything all of us missed, especially when he realized all that was needed was communication and all of those years being angry were wasted. But our parents died before those fences could be mended, and afterwards he tried to be the brother he wasn't for far too long, but it was too late. We had learned to live without him and live life without him. And then he died. And now because of estates and property, I cannot have the relationship with my sister-in-law that started the whole thing. And I miss that. 

So yeah... I guess you might be sorry I came back with all of this deep stuff. I'll try not to be such a downer in the future, but no guarantees. Life is heavy right now. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Yay Friday!

I've got nothing I feel like reporting, so...

I'll be taking an Internet break for the next few weeks. 

Have a lovely Easter weekend! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Yay! I am in my comfy pants and ready to spend the evening relaxing!

Here's the list:

1. Going to dinner with J, Mr. B, & Little B for J's birthday. We had a nice time, except J and I both got sick overnight. Some kind of food poisoning--has to be. We had items no one else did, so... Also, they had to remake Mr. B's burger, because they didn't listen to his request, and they charged us for both. Stopped in there and talked to the manager. He gave us some gift cards, though I can't say I'm eager to use them. Ha! I am feeling better, but still kind of weak and yucky. 

2. I didn't get much writing done this week because it's been crazy, but I'm heading there as soon as dinner is done. 

3. We have the boys overnight tomorrow so their mom and dad can have some alone time. We're going to color eggs, which is something we haven't done in ages. Our great-niece is going to come too! Should be a riot! 

4. Taxes are completely complete. I hated writing that check, but I'm glad it's done. 

5. Looking forward to Easter! I have my frozen potato cubes to make potato casserole! Last year no store had them, so i grabbed them when I saw them. 

6. Upcoming plans! Though the calendar is crazy! It's all good and everything will be fine. 

That is all... I'm thinking about taking another social media break here soon. 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Here we are at Sunday again...

I am not looking forward to the work week, but what are you going to do? 

Let's see... What happened last week?

Well, it was a lot. Too much to even start to list. 

But my Jeep is home. 

And I am tired. 

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

What is with this weather today? One minute it's sunny and beautiful, then next it's like a blizzard, and then it's not snowing but windy as heck. And it's cold! I hate it! Actually I'm super sick of the weather we've been having. 

Also, time change sucks. I will be happy with it being light longer, but the messed up sleep and all of that crap is not happy making.

And again, this weekend has gone by too fast! Friday was just a lazy evening. That Man made dinner and we just chilled watching a movie. 

Saturday we had plans with friends, which was a blast. Got to see people we haven't seen in a while and hear some awesome music. Also, good food. When we left, we went to pick up K1 at work since it was so late and they're down to one car. It didn't make sense for J to drag the boys out of their beds. We got home super late, but didn't really sleep in. 

I tried to take a nap, but it got cut short. That Man and K1 went to look at the Jeep and make a plan for getting it home. Not as bad as we thought, but it's still going to be a process and cost us a good bit. But it'll be done. 

Sent section two off for critique and now I'll start writing section three. It's going pretty good, I think. I still need to come up with a title, but I'll get there soon. 

This week is going to be crazy between the day job and everything else. 

And that is all! 

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up

 Ugh. Why does the weekend go so fast?

We're hours from a brand new work week and it's making my head hurt. I could definitely use another weekend day!

Here's the recap:

Friday - quick trip to the grocery store, then home for burgers and relaxation. 

Saturday - K4 and The Boy came home. They had last minute social stuff so we found out they were coming about two hours before they showed up. Which is fine. They did their thing and we did ours. 

We had the sibling dinner, which was good and fun. Our nephew is a crack up and had us laughing almost the whole time. Good food and lots of good conversation. 

Sunday - errand running, cleaning That Man's old car, listing it, and selling it within a half an hour of posting the ad. Wow! But that's done, which is huge! Made mac and cheese for dinner, packed lunches, laundry. Went through the critique notes I received back and organized my files. I have no more brain power today though. Kids are getting ready to head out. 

Back to the grind, I guess...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

 What a long week! The work week was absolutely insane! Like "what the what is going on" long. But I lived and it'll all be there on Monday, so there's that! 

Here's the list:

1. Participating in an hysterical practical joke on one of the coworkers. The other participants provided the photos and general gist and I got to take care of the rest. It was pretty awesome. 

2. The new vehicle being sorted. Though I was a little worried when all of the lights came on as I was returning from my post office trip, but they went off after less than a mile and... idk? Finger crossed though. 

3. Making progress on the new book! 

4. Youngest grandson hugs! We got a quick visit so J could pick up something K1 needed to borrow. He is so stinking cute! 

5. Tomorrow plans with the siblings! 

6. Easy dinners. Being warm. My dog. 

7. Taxes are done. I did do my feds by hand and it was fine. I mailed them even though it's not recommended, but I'm also not paying out the nose for something just because I need a few forms. Now all I have to do is send money, but whatever. 

8. Sleeping in tomorrow. (After a week of rough sleep, I am looking forward to it)

And that is all...

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...on Monday...

I started to post about four times yesterday but kept getting distracted. 

Got to see my kid this weekend, which was awesome. It's been well over a month since she's been home. She cooked dinner Saturday night and it was so, so good. She's been perfecting her fried chicken recipe and I'll tell you what, she's got it down. She and The Boy hung out with friends and chilled, and we also chilled while getting stuff done. 

Talked to K3 for a long time, too, which was also awesome. And That Man's sister stopped by to catch up. Always a pleasure. 

Still dealing with issues on the new vehicle, but hopefully they will be sorted this week. It's been frustrating on a lot of different levels, but the dealership is doing their best to help us out. 

Taxes - ugh. Do I need to say anything more? I think I've decided to do them by hand this year. I'm having issues paying a lot of money for the same result. (And yes, I do know what I'm doing)

Upcoming plans - This weekend is a sibling gathering at our sister's. We've been trying to plan it for months. Last time, snow stopped us, so I'm hopeful it'll actually happen. It's been a long time since we've all been together. 

That Man and I have our annual alone trip coming up soon and I am so excited. Lists are being made and components gathered. The house sitter has been secured and the work tasks are in the process of being distributed. 

The new book is coming along. I sent the first section out for critique and am almost done editing the second section. Once I get the critiques back, I'll make the changes to one, make sure things flow into two that I might have missed and get that out. Then start section three. It's in my head, so hopefully I won't have too many issues getting it down. 

And that's it...

Behave! 

Post Retreat Update

Yeah, it's Wednesday. I said I was going straight back from retreat to regular life. Yep. 

I said I got halfway through my new story. I'm excited. To make sure I stay consistent with the story threads and overall pacing, I'm pulling back to edit the first two sections and send them off for critique. I'm halfway through that now and, so far, it's holding together. 

On the last morning of retreat, I discovered my plan for the rest of the sector books! I'm going to do them in shorts like the current work in progress. They'll be in one book, like an anthology, and each sector will have it's own story. I have the premise for 3 out of the 4 and I know the last one will fill in as I go. 

So that's exciting. 

We did plan our summer retreat. Awesome. 

Anyway. I'm back in real life. Exhausted. A little overwhelmed with everything going on, but there's good stuff in there too. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three - PM

Winding down now.

I am officially halfway with this new story which is amazing and wonderful. It's going well and I am happy with it. It's coming together like I want it to. 

But I am fried. My head is killing me and my back hurts from the most uncomfortable couch in the world. (That I've been planted on pretty much all day, despite a failed attempt at a nap)

This has been an amazing and awesome retreat. Probably the best yet, and we are hoping to plan another one this summer. We'll hope and see if that works out. 

And that's all I've got.

There won't be a wrap up post tomorrow. I go from here right back into the real world.

So there you go! I'm going to bed! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Three - AM

It snowed!

Looks like maybe four inches so far, but it's still coming down. And it's blowy, so it'll be hard to tell how much we actually got soon. 

Everyone is in their spots and the writing is commencing. I've had my breakfast and shower and am on my third cup of coffee, so I'm ready to roll. 

Diving into part two of four now. 

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - PM

 It's rocking! 

I'm making fantastic progress on my new project. It's four sections each with a unique subplot, and I am done with section one. Whoot.

It's going well and I'm happy with my progress. 

Now it's going to snow overnight, which is awesome. It's late and it hasn't started here yet. 

But even with my awesome nap today, I am done in. 

So that's it, folks! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two - AM

Good Morning! 

It's the first full day of retreat! Wooo! And of course, on a day where I can sleep in a bit, I was up before my regular time. Oy! But that's okay. I can nap later. And believe it or not, I slept pretty good, and I usually don't on my first night away from home. 

The sunrise was gorgeous and the coffee is flowing. Bills are paid. Organization is underway for the homefront. I'll work on that in little bits over the next day or so. 

The new story is going pretty darned good. I have words and more than just a few. I have a plan and have done some really great brainstorming this morning. So in a few I'll be ready to rock and roll. 

After more coffee and a bagel. 

Later!

Behave!

Retreat: Day One

Here I am tucked away in the middle of Amish country for retreat! It has been far too long! 

It's been a hell of a week so far, so this is even more needed than previously! 

First off, the greenhouse event was fantastic! I had repeat readers, which is always amazing! 

So what else?

On Tuesday, on the way to the day job, we hit a patch of slush and black ice and wrecked my Jeep. It's pretty bad, but not unfixable. So it'll be our project going forward. There is no way I'm letting my Jeep go. We were both unhurt, except for the seatbelt bruises I'm sporting. The people at our work are amazing though. The guy I'm administrative assistant for got us a tow truck, and That Man's boss picked us up from the side of the road. By the time we got into work, every single person knew what happened and were so caring and concerned. 

At the same time, we'd taken the new vehicle back to the shop so they could address some of the issues. Which were addressed to our satisfaction, so that's good. Now we're just waiting to see if they'll help us with the unexpected bill for the wheel bearing. The nice thing is that the mechanic brought it to us, so we didn't have to get a ride to pick it up after work. 

Also, my cousin passed away this week. And one of my best friend's mom also passed away. 

So that's enough of that for now. 

I am here. I am in my comfy pants and gingerbread man fluffy socks that Little B got me. I have a nice cup of coffee and there's lots of talking, which is the norm for the first day. 

Getting ready to go to town on the new story. So we'll see how it goes! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Hey! It's Friday! 

And it's February! Yeah, I know it's been for over a week, but...

Here's the list:

1. Tomorrow is the annual greenhouse book signing. It's always a fun day regardless of how many books get signed. 

2. Sleeping in tomorrow. 

3. Having a lovely time away with That Man for his birthday. The mountains were beautiful and the relaxation was too. 

4. Getting stuff done - the critique is finished, the planning for the next book is going. The short however is not finished. 

5. Retreat coming up in less than a week! I'm excited! It's been a year since I've been on a writing retreat!

6. The work week flying by. 

7. The weather being gorgeous today!

And that's about it!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Ah, here we are at Sunday again...

This weekend was a blur. 

Well, back up a bit. The work week was chaos, but a decent kind of chaos. It went fast, so that's good. We're in crazy time around here and will be until mid-March. 

On Wednesday we went to look at a vehicle. That Man has had his eye on this particular type forever. We figured, what the heck? What do we have to lose? So we checked it out, test drove it, and said we'd think about it. (We had just decided we weren't trading in our Honda.) 

We went to K5's basketball game on Thursday, which is always awesome. 

Friday night we drove home in our new-to-us vehicle. That Man is over the moon happy. And I will say it's pretty damned sweet. 

Saturday was errands and the semi-professional soccer game with B. While we were running errands, we found out that B's first game of the season was in a few hours. We rushed to finish what we had to do and made it to his game on time. He scored two goals and his team won, which was super cool. Then we had less than two hours until the other game and we were an hour + away. And we needed to eat. So we met at a diner, ate, and made it to the game with minutes to spare. It was a lot of fun and B was so happy. They got to meet the team and then run onto the field with them. Home late. Exhausted. But totally worth it. 

Today we had to run a mercy mission for K3 and A. They have the 'vid and are not feeling well at all. A needed a prescription picked up and they needed a few groceries, so we got them taken care of. Got home and made chicken pot pie. Our nephew came for dinner, which is always good. Got some house stuff done and now it's time to crash... 

I have a critique to do. I've started on it at least three times today, but keep getting interrupted so I think I'm going to pick it back up tomorrow. My short story is going pretty good and the planning for the new series is also going well. 

And that's that! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

I'm trying! It's still insanity all around me... 

Here's my list:

1. Friday! Which means a bit of sleeping in tomorrow. 

2. Weekend plans to take K4's Boy to dinner for his birthday. The car repair fell through because the Boy has to work now, but that's been rescheduled and everything is as okay as it gets. 

3. Having dinner in the crockpot.

4. I started working on a short story and it's going pretty good. I also have a fantastic idea for four connected short stories that I hope to start on retreat. I'm letting Sector Two rest for now because it needs more work than I thought. I will brainstorm that on retreat and get the kinks ironed out. 

5. Not dying when I took the mail for work today. The roads sucked and I watched some guy slide into a stop sign and rip the bumper off his car. 

6. Oh yeah... it's snowing!

7. Getting caught up at the day job. Well, mostly. 

8. My dog not exploding the house yesterday. Yeah. We forgot to put the trash can away, and she helped herself. Somehow turning on the stove. We walked into the burner clicking as if trying to start, a burner on, and a house full of gas. We got her outside asap, cleaned up, opened windows, and thanked our lucky stars that the gas didn't ignite the propane heater. No long term damage from the trash eating or the gas, but yikes. 

9. No plans this evening except to veg on the couch. Much needed after this week. 

10. Upcoming plans to go to a semi-professional soccer game with Mr. B. It should be fun.

That is all!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up

Well... Here we are at Sunday evening. I say Boo to that!

We had a pretty nice weekend though. It snowed! Which was awesome, except that it changed our plans to get together as siblings. That was a bummer, but we do have a new date on the calendar (in pen). It just sucks that our schedules are so very different. 

Anyway. We spent yesterday hunkered down. Took Christmas down and stored it properly. Made some awesome white chicken chili. Took naps. My sciatica has been acting up (probably since all I've been doing is running around like a crazy person), so it was nice to rest. And I got some stuff organized, though I still need to clean my office and put away the wrapping paper. 

We've got the greenhouse signing coming up in about a month! Looking forward to that! I'm going to be starting on a short this coming week. Though I'm not sure what it's about yet. My brain is working that out. 

And that's about it. Tomorrow is back to the grind. We had inventory on Friday, so there's that to finish up, but generally, things are nuts. It's that time of year though, so it is what it is. 

Behave!