Holiday Weekend!

We'll get out of the day job early Thursday and then no work Friday. Nice. I don't think there will be sleeping in. We're picking up K5 early Friday and get to spend all day with her before taking her home early Saturday. 

Her birthday was last Sunday. It's so hard to believe she's 15. Her gift from us is two part. She'll (hopefully) get one of them Friday, and the other is still in the planning stage. 

I have gotten words this week. Not too many, but enough to keep my finger on the pulse of the book. I need to reread the original haunted campground to ground myself in the characters since it's been so long. Oh yeah, the new book is a haunted campground with the second sister from the first one. Not a sequel at all, but lightly linked. 

Weekend plans are to read Prelude, write, figure out what to do with the dead plants, and who knows what else. 

Today is the funeral for our work friend. His wife was our human resources person for nearly two decades. He was here for maybe five years, and his brother has been here for five years. His wife retired when he retired from the military. Needless to say, they didn't get the retirement years they hoped for and it's unbelievably sad. He used to sit in my office and get stuff off his chest because he knew I don't gossip and we had a running joke about what he was doing with the credit card. 

That's all I have for now. 

Behave!

Tuesday Already...

This week is flying by! And it's July already! 

So yeah, I didn't get any more words on Retreat (I knew I wouldn't). I slept crappily again and got up earlier than expected. So I went home. Which was good because we had a lot of stuff to take care of. I did squeeze in a little rest time, which was good and much needed. 

Back to the day job yesterday for a busy and fast day. At least it's a short week. 

Thursday is the funeral for our friend who passed away on Friday. Very sad. A bunch of us from the day job are going. 

That's about it. 

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three - PM

What an awesome day! 

Yeah, it got hot for a time, but this house has lovely air conditioning and I stayed inside. Well, except to go out and pet the kitty. And find baby bird feathers on the porch and a smug look on the kitty's face. 

Now it's storming and it's amazing. The thunder just rolls through the valley and the lightning is pretty epic. And the storm cooled things down, which was much needed. 

I now have a title for the new book and am a solid third of the way through. It's going well despite not really knowing where it's going yet, but I have an idea of where and I'm loving it. 

My brain is a bit broken though. But it's a good broken. 

I'm heading home in the morning. That Man and I have things we need to take care of and I miss him. So while the others will stay until early afternoon, I'll jet shortly after I get up. I'm okay with that. I need to recharge and think at this point and the home list is long. 

I don't know if I'll be back on here tomorrow or not. Don't expect it, but you never know. 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Three - AM

Last full retreat day!

I slept like crap. Well, I slept good when I actually fell asleep, but that took until around 2am. Ugh. So I slept a little later than I wanted, but that's okay.

A full day is in front of me and I have a really decent start on this new book. This book without a title and with only a medium-solid premise.

But...here we go!

Behave!  

Retreat: Day Two - PM

It's still day two for another hour! 

Today has been a little crazy for me. 

I chucked the book I thought I was working on. Submitted the book I had sent before I learned my publisher was closing, which meant I had to write a synopsis and query letter. 

Then I was lost. I took a nap and wandered around trying to decide what i wanted to do. I read through old story starts and old manuscripts trying to get a spark, but it wasn't coming. 

I finally stumbled on two sentences I'd written on an idea. And by the time we finished dinner, I had a full blown direction. And I've been writing it. 

One more full day and I'm hoping to fly. 

But first I should sleep. 

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - AM

Good Morning!

Wow what a difference in temperature! I think I might have to put my sweatshirt on and I love it!

Slept in this morning. Needed that. Well, I guess I slept the normal amount? It took me a while to fall asleep. But I was comfy and the room was cool, so there's that. 

Now I'm getting ready to get to work. Feeling kind of brain boggled and am not sure I'm heading down the path I want to go with the book, but I'll figure it out. 

That's all for now!

Behave!

Retreat: End of Day One!

Day One is in the bag... Kind of...

Two of us are still up. Just talking and being a little silly. 

I have five thousand words under my belt so far and I'm getting a handle on how this story needs to go. Currently I'm "pre-writing", which is what I do until I figure out my characters and what they're all about. Overall, I'm pleased and we brainstormed possible directions for this story, so all good. 

It stormed awesomely here earlier. And it cooled things down. It was amazing to watch the thunder clouds roll across the valley.

We had our traditional nachos for dinner and a lot of awesome conversation. 

And now I'm heading to bed. I've already advised everyone that I'm sleeping in tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that! 

More tomorrow!

Behave!

Retreat: Day One

Yay! I'm here!

I worked this morning for a few hours and then hit the very busy and dangerous road. I almost died. Twice. Once this big truck with a pod thingy on the back signaled and started for the exit. Last minute, he decided that was the wrong exit and whipped his truck back into the lane. Ugh. 

I stopped at the grocery store. I had added things from my retreat friends to my list. The store was closed. Then I miscalculated and ended up going the wrong way on a very busy and very touristy road. I mean, not against traffic or anything, but the wrong direction.

But I made it. 

We were at this house last year, so it's nice to know where everything is and have the same bedroom. Though they did rearrange it, and I think I like it better. 

I was going to stop for lunch, but was so frustrated by the traffic and my plan being thwarted that I didn't. But when I got here, everyone else was eating lunch so I had my cheese and crackers with them. 

And that is all for now. 

Time to get to work!

Behave!

Almost Time...

It's still hot and that sucks! Everyone is grumpy. Our bathroom is like the ninth level of Hell, complete with its own lava flow. The air conditioners aren't keeping up. Turning on a stove burner or the air fryer increases the inside temp far more than it should. 

Anyways...

This time tomorrow I will be in a very air conditioned house for the first day of retreat! 

I still have to pack. And go to the store. Well, go to the store again because I forgot stuff last night. And do laundry. 

I know what I'm working on and I'm ready to go!

Behave!

Wait For It!

You know what I'm going to say, right?

It's hot!

Yeah, disgusting. The AC's barely keep up. The dog is disturbed. The squirrels have been hiding out until almost dark. It's supposed to be like this for most of the week I think. 

On Thursday I leave for retreat. I'll work a few hours in the morning and then take off when our IT guy gets there to install my new computer. I'm still in the process of figuring out what kind of food I want to eat and how I want to pack stuff. 

I'm also super excited to start my next book. The Old Lady story is going to get one more read through and then sent to my critique partners (after retreat). I do have a little bit of this new book down, but I'm feeling like I'm going to start it in a different place so I'm probably just going to freefall with it.

I'm looking forward to a productive time! It's been a year since I've been on retreat and we're at the same house we were last time I could go. So I know what to expect and where everything is. 

That's all. I hope you have air conditioning! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

Let's get to the list:

1. The sun is out! Woohoo! (Though we won't talk about how hot it's supposed to be next week)

2. Finishing the Old Lady story! Woohoo! 

3. Deciding what I'm working on at retreat. And now I have this weekend and a few more days to rest my brain before I hit it hard and fast. 

4. An easy day yesterday. We had no obnoxious parkers. No one asked to use our bathroom or sit on our front porch. We worked at the dining room in the morning and then spent the afternoon together talking and stuff. 

5. Less than a week until retreat!

6. Friday! Some sleeping in is going to happen tomorrow for sure. 

7. Weekend plans. I'm not really sure what's going to happen yet. There are a few options and it's going to be hot so we'll see. 

That's about it.

Behave! 

It's Raining Again...

Is it ever going to end? 

I mean, the nice thing is that I haven't had to water. And the grass seed we just planted has been amply watered. But... 

That Man just cut the grass on Saturday and it's ready to be cut again. There are things we'd planned to get done this week and... And the constant rain has kept my groundhog remedy from working so he's eaten my cone flowers almost to the ground. 😠

This week is our town's huge street fair. Ugh. We decided to take the day off so we wouldn't have to fight to get home. (One year the rent-a-cop patrolling the end of our street didn't believe us when we said we lived here. He said "doesn't everyone?" We ended up driving around him to pull into our drive. What an *ss.) Another year, someone blocked our driveway and didn't leave until the next morning. Jerks. (I have so many stories) 🙄

Well, we're working from home for a half day. Both of us have to answer phones anyways. The whole company is shutting down early for the annual kickball game. Which we'll miss, but there's not much we can do about it. If we tried to go, we'd get home even later and that would be disastrous. If they reschedule kickball because of weather, That Man will make it next week, but I will be on retreat. I do feel sad to miss it. It's a lot of fun, but I'm also not giving up precious retreat hours.

I'm very very close to being done with the Old Lady story. 😁I'm ready to start the final read through before sending it off for critique. I'm excited to be done. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to start on retreat, but I have a pretty good idea. We'll see.  

(and yes, I just discovered I can put emojis in here.) 

That's all. I'll try to check in with anything interesting that happens on street fair day... It's supposed to be hot and thunderstormy. 

Behave! 

Happy Father's Day!

I miss my dad. I know my siblings miss our dad too.

It's been 11 years since he had to go. It's been 15 years since That Man lost his dad. It sucks and there's nothing else to say about that. 

I do have a lot of awesome dad's in my life. That Man is at the top of the list. My son, my brother, my uncle, my brothers-in-law, and good friends. I texted them all this morning. Well, texted most and talked to my son since we have his youngest all weekend and Small Boy wanted to talk to Daddy.

Not sure when they will get here. B won both games yesterday but they lost this morning, so I don't know what's going on yet. 

We're having a chill day so far. There's a list of things that need to be done and we're thinking about it. Ha!

That is all. I might update later...

We'll see...

Behave!  

Feel Good Friday...on Saturday

Yay for Saturday!

It was a long week, but I think you probably gathered that. Ha! 

Here's a list:

1. We have the Small Boy this weekend. His brother is in another state at a soccer tournament. Last time I checked the score, they were kicking butt. The Small Boy is currently running the loop around our downstairs. It's kinda rainy so... He's been so good and we're having fun. 

2. While there was no sleeping in this morning... The Small Boy woke up at 5am. We were in bed really early last night. There will be no sleeping in tomorrow either. 

3. Making super progress on the old lady story this week. I have a bunch of scenes to add and I have a critique to do, but so far so good on getting it done before retreat.  

4. Knowing we have a day off coming up this week. We took off for our town's annual street fair. Not to go, but to defend the parking. Our niece and a friend have to work a booth downtown so they'll be parking here. Other than that, hopefully it's a day we can get some stuff done. 

5. Dinner in the crockpot and a plan for tomorrow. I do have to run to the store, but that's a tomorrow problem. 

6. K4 and her man coming home this afternoon. Yeah, she was just here last weekend, but I miss her. 

7. Hopefully seeing K3 and A tomorrow. I know they have a full day, but their planning on stopping by to see That Man. 

8. I don't know when K1 and J and Mr. B will be back tomorrow. It depends on how the games go. If they win, they have an afternoon game. But we'll get to see them at some point when they pick up Small Boy. 

9. Getting a text that said Mr. B's team won the first game!

That is all...

Behave!

Tuesday...

I saw a meme the other day that resonated with me...

"Everyone complains about Mondays, but Tuesday can go f*ck itself too"

And yeah, that's right. 

We were at the grocery store earlier and the cashier (we usually do self check out, but I was too tired to fight with the 'put your item in the bag' bullcrap) asked how our week was going and I said 'long and I know it's only Tuesday'. Ha! 

Why do the work days go so slow and the evenings go so fast?

Which isn't entirely true. Today went fast at work, but I still was counting down the hours until we could leave. 

We got home to a strong smell of cat pee. Yep. My fat boy...displeased about something...God knows what...decided to pee on the kitchen rug. So that's outside and has been hosed off. Gross. I honestly don't know what his problem is. We've tried all of the things, including multiple trips to the vet. She gave him meds, but giving him the meds stresses him out even more, not to mention it makes him a zombie cat. He's such a sweet boy and I wish we could figure this out. 

Work on the Jeep is commencing. I'm so excited to have her back. It's going to be a while, but it'll be worth it. And the pile of parts will be gone from my living room. Ha! 

I took last night off from writing since I'd had a terrible nights sleep the night before. But tonight I kicked butt. I'm close to the end of what's already written, but I have quite a bit to add. My goal is to finish before retreat (two weeks!) so I can start something new and I think that'll happen. It might not be fully edited and ready for critique, but I'm okay with that. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Oh Sunday... Why do you come so soon?

We're in the last few hours of the weekend. I'm tired, and I want another weekend day. 

Let's get to the weekend list:

Friday night: Grocery store. Quick trip for just dinner stuff since neither of us wanted to go anyway. Good dinner. Writing. Bed early. 

Saturday: Mr. B's soccer game in the rain. Pizza shop for lunch. Actual grocery shopping. Jeep stuff. Writing. K4's man made dinner. 

Sunday: My boys coming to help take the old furniture out. Tacos for lunch. Hanging out with my kids and grandkids. Grass mowing. Plant tinkering. Laundry. Writing. 

Oh and I got a shot on Saturday. I haven't had a tetanus shot in probably twenty years. My old doctor kept saying I need one, but she never followed through. My new doctor, upon having an actual conversation with me and finding out how often I'm doing weird stuff in the yard and that I'll be wrenching on the Jeep, insisted I get updated. Let's just say I'm happy with the doctor change. It's really nice when someone actually listens to and hears you. 

That is all. 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Hi Friday! 

I know I've been lame and vague all week. It's been a busy one. Like every single evening there's something we need to take care of or do. 

Monday - Eye doctor appointments. K5 softball game.

Tuesday - Pick up Little B from school and wrangle him until his family picked him up. This meant a pizza shop dinner, a trip to the park, and ice cream. And dirt digging. And hilarity as he told me babies are blind until they're three and that there was a baby "looking at him like a psycho". 

Wednesday - Take the camper to get inspected. Grocery shopping. 

Thursday - Pick up camper after paying a ridiculous amount. I finally get some writing done. 

Now we're here. And guess what? We've got nothing. Well, except a mountain of laundry. 

I will say, everything was good except for paying to pick up the camper. It was a lot and I'm still stunned. 

I am looking forward to sleeping in a little tomorrow. And to clarify, when I say "sleeping in" I mean I'll get up at 7am instead of 5:30. It's very rare for me to sleep past 7. 

Mr. B has his last regular soccer game tomorrow, so we'll be going to that. And then it's Jeep stuff and yard stuff. And writing. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Here Comes the Heat...

It's currently 86*. 

Summer is coming! We have on air conditioner in. We'll get the rest soon. 

That's all. 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

It's Friday! 

I am very glad. I am very tired and have a massive headache. This is the first weekend in quite a while that we don't have any obligations except for what we put upon ourselves. Well, and that's kind of massive and comes with a ton of pitfalls, but it is what it is. 

We're talking about poison ivy and a lot of it. We've got to remove it. So that's what we'll be doing...among a ton of other things. 

Anyways... Here's the list:

1. The pup continuing to improve. She's graduated from the cone of shame. At least for now. If she starts licking again, it'll go back on, but the area is looking almost healed and she's left it alone consistently. 

2. The sun is out! (Shh... I know we're due more crappy weather this weekend. I don't want to talk about it right now)

3. Making progress with the old lady story. My goal is to get the edits finished before retreat so I can start something new there. If we do get the crappy weather, I can make mega progress, but we'll see. 

4. Apparently there's a bear running around our town. 

5. Oh yeah, and sleeping in tomorrow. I need that.

That is all!

Behave!

Short Week/Long Week

Why does a short week feel so long? I keep thinking today is Friday... 

Not much going on...just trying to get through. I have gotten quite a bit of writing/editing done this week. 

It's cold and rainy. Dreary. We had to turn the heat on last night. I'd like to see some sun, please. Of course, it's supposed to get pretty hot next week. 

Our pup is on the mend. All the swelling is down and she's acting like a normal dog. 

That's all I have...

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up!

I don't want the weekend to end! There's still so much I want to do. 

But here's the wrap up:

1. The dog is doing so much better. Her leg is still pretty swollen, but she seems to be on the mend. She hates the cone of shame, which is understandable. We only put it on her if we're not home or at night. Or the second she tries to lick. She's eating well and doing all of the dog things, though she's a little bit entitled now. Ha! Since her leg is no longer draining, she's back in bed with us. Which is good because she sleeps so much better. (and so do I) 

2. The kids were all here for dinner on Saturday. It was a really nice time. They helped with some heavy lifting and we had a chance to actually hang out. 

3. The wedding was beautiful. The weather, the venue, the grooms. It was very small, but everything about it was nicely done. We were honored to be invited and I can't wait to see their honeymoon pictures. 

4. We did a lot of yard work today and we're both done in. Also laundry and an excellent dinner. 

5. I got a lot of writing done too. I'm feeling pretty good about where I'm at. My goal is to be done and have this sent out for critique before retreat. That way I can start something new there. And I think I know what. 

That's all. Tomorrow it's back to the grind. At least it's a short week. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Long weekend commencing!

Here's the list!

1. It was a rough week. The old gal got an infection in her leg. We truly thought we were going to lose her. Her leg was super swollen and she did not want to move. There were no tail wags and barely any eating. Vet appointment. We had pre-warned the kids that she was not good. We really expected the worst. Two shots, antibiotics, and pain pills. She's on the mend, though her leg is draining like crazy. I'm really glad we don't have carpet. She's more herself today, though she has to wear the cone of shame. At least it's a soft one. Otherwise we'd be covered in bruises. Now it's draining since she licked it open. Blech.  

2. Sleeping in tomorrow. That wasn't part of the original plan. We were supposed to have Little Man tonight, but Mr. B's games were cancelled for the weekend. We would have still taken him, but with the dog not being great, we figured it was for the best to keep her as calm as possible. 

That Man has been sleeping downstairs with her so she's not stressed by going upstairs or trying to get on our bed. I think that will continue tonight since the thought of the wound draining on our bed is gross. 

3. We have a wedding on Sunday. K3's best friend. It's going to be a really nice wedding, I think. K3 thinks so too. He's in the wedding. They did something really cool. Instead of a registry, they had a "Gift us an experience instead of a toaster", so you could donate to specific things for their honeymoon. I'm looking forward to it despite only knowing the grooms, K3 & A, and maybe one other person. 

4. Getting a little writing done this week despite the stress. 

5. Obviously no camping. So much rain...

6. So that means...more yard work tomorrow. But we have help since K4 is home. 

That is all...

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Well...it's Monday again. 

The weekend was pretty decent. Here's the list:

1. Being able to get K5 overnight last minute. Coordinating seeing her has been a challenge due to her sports schedule and our schedule. The last time she stayed over was the week after my surgery. At her insistence. She said it was her job to help take care of me, which is super sweet. Friday night we watched movies and then Saturday we headed up to our camping spot because she wanted to fish. Then lunch, ice cream, and general silliness. It was awesome. 

2. We chilled Saturday night on the patio. 

3. Sunday was lots and lots of yard work. We trimmed hedges, cleaned out flower beds, mowed, and transplanted some flowers. (There's still so much to do) Made a trip to the mega mart, and stopped in to an open house for the new firehouse going up in our town. 

4. I tweaked my back. Picking up a shirt from the basement floor to put in the washing machine. The joys of getting old. It still hurts but not as bad. 

5. I didn't get any writing done, though I had the best intentions. 

6. It's starting to look like camping won't happen. If it rains this week, things will be a swamp. It was bad Saturday with squishy grass and standing water. We're going to continue to prepare as if we will camp, but...

7. It's kind of okay. We'll have Little B and he would be muddy. And we have the wedding on Sunday. 

That's about it. Now to get through the work week. It's a bit shorter than normal with an early dismissal on Friday, but it's still busy. Plus we have eye doctor appointments as well. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Oh Friday! 

1. That Man and I had the most wonderful time on our trip. It was just the two of us and we had awesome food, awesome beach days, and so much fun. We stayed in the same little house we did last year. It was even nicer because they're doing construction on the bridge for the main road, which is pretty much in front of the house. So once the construction workers left for the day, it was so very quiet. We got to watch Canadian Geese hatch and see their fluffly little babies take their first swim. So cute. The trip was much needed. 

2. Mother's Day was nice even though it was thrown together last minute. No one realized the date so ideas were being thrown back and forth as That Man and I traveled home, but they got it figured out and it was a nice day with my kids. 

3. We came home a day early because we had to go to the wedding of a coworker. That was nice. We found a funky but super cool gift on our trip. 

4. I don't feel like I've had more than two seconds to myself since we got home...

5. I have gotten a decent amount of writing in this week. I even got some done on our trip on the day it poured buckets of rain. 

6. Campout coming up! We'll have little B for at least one night since Mr. B has a soccer tournament. We also have the wedding of K3's best friend, so we'll miss the picnic, but I'm still looking forward to the quiet by the creek. 

That's all I have for now. The calendar is filling, but there are a lot of good things on there. I have my first and only writing retreat of the year coming up. We have one more wedding after the next one. And we have a ton of stuff to take care of in the backyard. 

Behave! 

Kittens...

Here's a few of the kittens when they were babies...

We called this one "Boots". He went to live with K4's friend.

Here's a baby Fred.

We called this one "friend". My sister adopted him and now we call him "Filth Collins". He is also very special.

Then we have the moustache cat. I can't remember what we called her. My sister adopted her too. She's tiny and a sweetheart. 

Here's the kitten train. I can't find an individual picture of Regi when she was that little...She's in the front here. There were five kittens in the litter we rescued. 

And this is Max. He wasn't part of the litter. We found him the year before behind my Jeep howling up a storm. His momma left him. We bottle fed him. He's a good kitty. Though he makes the rules. Ha! 

And that's all...

Behave!

Old Gal

Here's the old gal. 

This was taken during the pandemic when I was working from home. She's much grayer now. Not that you can tell from this picture...

Behave!

Cat #3

This is Regi.

She's from the same litter as Fred. She's one of the most normal out of the whole litter, though one eye is a different color. She's a sweetheart and she loves That Man. 

On this day, a ladybug had made it's way into the house and she was perplexed by it. She was going to eat it, but then changed her mind. Or something like that. 

Behave! 

Here's Your Sign

I meant to post this ages ago. 

We were traveling and stopped for dinner at I guess was a regional chain restaurant. The food was good and not overly priced. 

Upon returning from the ladies room, I spotted this sign...

Ha! 

Behave! 

Cat #2

This is my baby, Fred. 

I always wanted an orange cat. I love this chonky boy, but... He is seriously brain damaged. I really think it has to do with the severely dehydrated and near death state we found him and his litter mates in. Not a single one of those cats are normal...

I mean, I know orange cats are special, but Fred is a special kind of special...

And I love him...

Behave! 

Random

 I take care of the supplies for the day job. While doing my weekly inventory to see what we need, I came across this in the store room... I have no idea! 

Behave!

Cat

We bought the dog a new bed...

Behave

Tall Tale Tuesday

I used to do Tall Tale Tuesday when I had a lot of weird and funny things going on at the Homestead. 

Not so much of that happens anymore, though I might be able to come up with one a month. I'll have to think about that... And pay attention in other places. 

Like the day job. Because someone taking the center of a donut is definitely a Tall Tale moment. 

Stay Tuned...

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up

Heading fast for Monday morning... Oy! 

The weekend has been pretty good. Little B was a riot and wore us out with his constant-ness and hunger. Ha! 

We got a lot done but are completely wore out now. I have showered and now we just need to figure out dinner. 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Yay for Friday! 

(I hate that I feel like I'm wishing my life away waiting for the weekend!)

Here's the list:

1. Sleeping in a bit tomorrow. It's much needed. 

2. B's soccer game tomorrow.

3. Looking forward to keeping little B overnight. He very rarely gets exclusive Nana & Pappy time. He's a riot so this should be fun. 

4. The rain in the forecast. 

5. Gardening plans...providing it doesn't rain all weekend. 

6. Getting quite a bit of writing time in this week and hoping for some this weekend. 

7. Ordering dinner. 

That's about it. 

Behave! 

Stuff & Things...

Obviously I'm trying to do better with posting. But it's hard. I find I don't have a lot to say. I mean, I do have a lot to say, but this isn't the place for it. If that makes sense. Anyway. Here's a list of stuff & things...

1. Spam messages. I am so tired of them. I'm going to guess that out of all of the emails I get, only about 2% are actual good emails. The rest are spam. I hate them. On Sunday (for some reason) I must have deleted over 100 spam emails. 

2. In the same vein... junk mail. Well, a lot of mail whether it's junk or not. What a waste of resources. Please don't send me your catalog unless I ask for it. Political mail is the absolute worst. The day job is a place where I see a ton of wasteful mailings. One company sends their ginormous catalog to everyone who has ever purchased from them, even if they don't work there anymore. I'll get a mail bin full of these monster catalogs. I do my best to distribute them, but most of them get recycled. It's such a shame. 

3. To balance out the negative stuff... The glorious weather we've been having. My flowers and plants are all coming up nicely. 

4. That Man and I have a trip coming up. Just the two of us. I cannot wait. 

5. Grandboy time this weekend. 

6. We have two weddings to attend in May. I'm looking forward to both of them. We have another one in July. And I think that's it. 

That's about it. 

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up... On Monday

I was going to post yesterday. But I was too tired. Holy moly we worked our butts off this weekend! We still have a long way to go, but progress has been made. 

We left the day job early Friday, hit up the warehouse store, and then got to work on the driveway project when we got home. We still have about 11 feet to go, but it's getting there. We opted for an easy dinner, which was a solid plan. 

Saturday was many errands, which is funny because we weren't going to go anywhere, but then we started thinking about what we might need for Sunday and did we want to brave the crowds then, so we hit up the home improvement store. And then the farmer's market. And the recycle center for mulch. Thankfully we'd already planned our food for the weekend, so we didn't have to join the craziness at the grocery store. 

The front of the house is done, including transplanting ground cover to the new dirt and mulching. And scrubbing the porch. I'm going to need to do something with the cushions on the outdoor furniture next year. The fabric has eroded so horribly and cushion is showing. The rug will need replaced too. Which is all fine because we're going to have to repaint next year. 

And the carpenter bees!! Holy moly! There were dozens of them buzzing around! We've been fighting them for years and so far this is the worst we've seen them. We're not going to have any wood left if they don't back off! 

Sunday was more working. We got the big flower bed taken care of and moved some things around so we can see the flowers along the shed. It was a beautiful day. Well, both days were. We had good food with little clean up and then rested. 

The only downside was that I didn't get any writing done. 

That's all I have!

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Here's the list:

1. Short days.

2. Sleeping in.

3. Lists.

4. Getting stuff done. 

5. Warmer temps.

That is all...

Behave! 

I Guess It's Thursday...

This week, man. It's a weird one. The days pass by quickly. And slowly. I don't even know what to think. Today is Thursday. Part of me wonders how that's possible and the other part wonders why it took so long to get here. 

Tonight is errand running. (Again) We have no plan for dinner yet, though we have chicken in the fridge to cook. We have to go to the mega mart. I have a list. We only go there maybe 3 or 4 times a year because we both dislike it. I've been sending him meme's all day...you know the ones I'm talking about. Ha! 

Tiny progress on the Old Lady story. 

We get out of the day job a little early tomorrow, which is nice. Hopefully we'll have all of the running around done before then and can focus on our chore list. We'll see... Ha! 

Obviously I decided against posting my social media rant. Well, maybe just decided against for now. And again, I don't say anything mean, call anyone out, or say anything even remotely controversial. I think it's just that there's already so much negativity going on...maybe I just don't feel like adding to it? That's probably it.

And that's all for now. 

Behave! 

Tuesday Tax Day

Did y'all get your taxes done? 

We did ours old school and on paper. I refuse to pay for "extra forms" for one line on each of the forms, especially when we typically owe. I can do them just as efficiently without paying so much more.

The face is healing but still hideous. I don't want to talk about it. 

I guess Easter is coming? There's nothing going on for us this year, which is fine. Easter is my least favorite holiday. The mere thought of it makes me groan and I'm not a fan of ham. We're staying home to finish up some projects we've been working on and we'll probably make something on the grill for dinner. I imagine we'll see the grandkids at some point over the weekend, but likely not until B has a soccer game. 

This week is a lot of running around. I hope to get back to the Old Lady story tonight, but we'll see how long it takes us to get the choring done. Ha!

I think that's it for now. 

Behave! 

Face Plant Sunday

I'm not going to show you the picture, but I screwed up my face. I tripped over a brick, hit a metal flower pot, and then got tangled with another big flower pot. And I went down. On my face. Hard. I have scrapes from my forehead to my chin. My glasses dug into the bridge of my nose and my eye is super swollen. So is my lip. It hurts. I also have a giant bruise on my surgical leg. Everything else seems fine with my leg though. It happened so fast! 

We got so much done before that. We made a potting area beside the house in an area that usually gets forgotten. We laid cute little rocks, a solar light, and an antique sink. We worked our butts off and it looks so awesome. I love it. I repotted a bunch of plants and we split some of the big hostas and moved them. Today was a trip to the big hardware store -- yeah, I went looking like I did sixty rounds with a heavyweight. That man has been working on his driveway project and I've been bopping around here and there. I helped stack some bricks, made some soup, did laundry, among other things, and so far I have taken two naps. 

My face hurts. 

The soup is for our dinner and some will go to our friends. He's been given less than two months to live and soup is one of the things he can keep down. She asked that we not bring too much because she doesn't want it to go to waste. It's so sad. 

I got a tiny bit of writing done, but concentration is difficult. And I'm going to have to explain why my face looks like this over and over tomorrow at work. 

I think that's it for now. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Happy Friday! 

The weather is yucky and I do not like, but other than that...

Let's just get to the list...

1. There's 100% chance I'll be sleeping in tomorrow. 

2. And Sunday. 

3. Weekend plans - they are light and home related, but need to be done and are not unpleasant. 

4. The plans revolving around food for the weekend. We're trying out some new recipes on ourselves before we think about exposing others. Ha! 

5. There's also 100% chance of writing time this weekend. I've done pretty well throughout the week, but had to take a break to do an emergency read-through for a friend. 

I can't think of anything else worth sharing here. I'm still working on my social media post. I'm just not sure if it's worth posting. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Tuesday Thoughts

It's cold. 

My plants all had to come back inside. Instead of the impossible task of dragging them all back upstairs, we sequestered them in the dining room -- closing the doors and hanging plastic over the smaller door. That has made the feline population insane. They are currently working on a plan to get into the dining room. You can see it on their faces. 

This weather is making me crazy. I'm so tired of being teased with a warm day only for it to turn arctic overnight. Yeah, I know it's spring. I know it's like this every year. I'm just over it more this year, probably because of the way this year has gone so far. 

I'm working on a ranty post. I don't know if I'll actually post or not. Suffice it to say I'm fed up with social media as a whole. 

In an effort to balance the negativity of above with some positives... I have been a machine of productivity today, which feels awesome. I hit my step count by like ten am, which is also awesome. I have texted with many of my beloved family over the last twenty four hours, which is always awesome. Those things make me smile. Well, I'm smiling on the inside at least. Ha!

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up...

We're at the dread time of day. Dreading tomorrow being Monday and dreading the week ahead. Oy. I hate it. There used to be a time when I looked forward to Monday because it meant my family went back to their obligations and I got to write all day. But what are you going to do except what you have to? 

The weekend was busy. We got a lot done, but there's still so much to do. Managed to get my huge plants outside with the help of K3, but now I hear we're supposed to have super cold temps Monday and Tuesday nights. Oy. We'll have to see if we can get them inside ourselves, or have one of the boys come back over. When I say they're huge, I mean, they're huge. 

The grandboys were here for chaos and snacking last night. Mom dropped them off on her way out for the evening and Dad picked them up after work. We painted suncatchers, made popcorn, and smoothies. B had his first game of the new season, too. We couldn't make it, but I wish we had. They won by a landslide, with B scoring a solid third of the goals. 

We also got to see K5 for a few minutes yesterday. And K3 & A came over for dinner today and to help with plants. It was a good time. It's always a good time. We made burgers and macaroni salad. 

I got a decent amount of writing done while That Man worked on the driveway project. All in all, a pretty good weekend. I just wish there were a few more days of it.

And that is all. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Woot for Friday! 

Let's just get to the list...

1. Sleeping in tomorrow. Though I probably won't sleep in too long. We have a crazy couple of days ahead of us, but not having to get up at the buttcrack of dawn will be lovely. 

2. Hopefully checking some stuff off of list. Our list is big. 

3. Potentially seeing K3 and A this weekend. And the grandboys, and maybe even K5. It just depends on how things work out. 

4. Maybe getting some writing done this weekend. I've been progressing, just not fast enough for myself. Not to mention the discouragement I talked about yesterday. 

...and that's all I really have. The rest is sad - a friend passed away, another friend was given two months. I'm struggling to wrap my head around it all. 

Behave! 

April Showers

It's raining right now, but it's supposed to clear up and make it to over 70* today! Whoop! Things are already turning green. It's going to be awesome with the higher temp. 

I brought two plants outside already. Yes, I'll watch the weather and bring them back in if needed, but they were looking pretty sickly. They always do in spring and they are pretty hearty so I don't worry a ton about them if the temps drop after they're outside. They had also grown enough over the winter that they assaulted you while you were doing anything in the bathroom--tickling the back of your neck, tangling with hair, generally getting involved in areas they had no business. Anyway. They are happier already. 

It's Thursday. I hate wishing the week away to get to the weekend. But that's what I've been doing. I need to stop and find the fun and joy in the weekdays too. We're not quite in crazy busy mode yet. Which is good because there's a lot we need to get done before that happens. It's coming though...

Writing is going slow. I'm in a discouraged place. It's not the book at all. It's my own emotions and frustration. But I'll soldier through it and hopefully have this book out for critique soon.

And that's it for now...

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up...

Well, it's Monday again. 

The weekend, as usual, went too fast. 

The book signing was a lot of fun. I didn't do so hot as far as sales. My content isn't something the folks there were into and that's fine. One woman asked what kind of books, with a book in hand, and when I said "the one you're holding is paranormal"...well, she couldn't put it down fast enough. And she wasn't the only one. It's okay. I still had fun. 

Tomorrow starts April already! What the heck? 

Our poor old pup is declining pretty rapidly these days. She's 11 1/2 and a large breed. She's such a good dog. Her hips are not good and she's prone to falling. And accidentally urinating when she's super tired. She's also far less tolerant of chaos and loud noises and she's sun downing in the evening. K4 came in late on Friday and she didn't recognize her at first. It was pretty heartbreaking. We have to make sure to tell her to "go potty" on the last potty break of the day or she'll just stand there. She has a vet appointment soon, so we're hopeful that we can at least manage her pain and symptoms and give her the best quality of life possible. I don't want to talk about the rest. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Friday!

Yay! It's been a long and cold week! This weekend is supposed to have amazing weather, but we'll see. 

I have a book signing tomorrow. It's about an hour away from home. We'll see how it goes. I'm doing this one as a favor to a friend. I don't plan on scheduling future signings at this point. I only have a few of most books left, none of some, so it's not like I have too much to offer going forward. It's sad, but I'm doing all I can to get back out there. 

Not much else. Life is pretty much back to normal these days and even if it wasn't, I wouldn't post about it here. (I had a little rant I was going to post, but changed my mind.)

Behave! 

 

It's Thursday!

And it's the first day of spring! 

We've been doing little bits of yard stuff all week. It's been so nice outside! We transplanted a few of the heartier plants and cut down the dried ornamental grasses. And, since the parts finally came in, starting to dismantle the wreckage from my Jeep so we can repair her. It's going to take a minute so I don't know if it'll be back on the road this summer or not. We'll see... 

We have a huge list of things to get done this summer. Last summer ended up being a wash for health reasons and it sucks. But we'll get there. 

I'm managing pretty good these days. Still some muscular pain, but it's not constant. Some stiffness, which is normal. I'm still pretty weak with that leg, so I'm working on it. And trying really hard to give myself grace when I get tired sooner than I used to or forget something. This healing is a process on many levels. 

That's about it. We have a crazy weekend coming up with grandboys, soccer games, and house stuff. The weather isn't supposed to be as awesome as it's been the last few days, but I'm hoping it's better than they say. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

I'm cold! I thought it was going to be a nice day today, but while it's not freezing and snowing, it's still chilly and raining. 

Anyway. Here's the list:

1. Sleeping in a little this morning. 

2. Cozy evenings with That Man. 

3. Backyard plans. 

4. Living through the work week. 

5. Getting writing done this week. 

6. Getting my mess of a pantry cleaned out. 

That's about it. I need a nap. 

Behave!

This Day...

My day started with me dropping my clean socks into the toilet. The toilet that was not clean. (well, it wasn't utterly disgusting, just not flushed)

Then, I went to pay a parking ticket for work and paid the wrong municipality. Though in my defense, I googled the correct one, but I clicked on the wrong link. It got worked out quickly, but I feel like a noob. The names were very very close. 

I've been submitting a lot of queries for the old man story. Got a rejection today, so that sucks. To be honest, I've probably gotten a rejection each day this week. 

I'm kind of afraid to see what else happens. 

But on the upside, I've written a bunch this week. Monday I did some on the old lady story, and yesterday and today have been a different project that I'm not 100% sure of yet. I like it so far. But yay... that's something! 

Tomorrow is Friday, which is also upside. 

The weather has been pretty decent and it's lighter longer, which barely begins to make up for the missing hour. 

That is all...

Behave!  

Weekend Wrap Up

Well, it's Monday again. Sigh.

And we moved the clocks ahead. Sigh. 

I'm tired this morning. It took everything I had to crawl out of bed. Why is it that Monday ends up being the morning you could really sleep in? 

So in reality, there's isn't much to report from the weekend. I didn't get any writing done. 

I did get to see K3 and A, which was awesome. 

I did sleep in a tiny bit on Saturday. We did a lot of chores. 

That's all I have to report. 

The promise of beautiful weather is out there. The only upside of the time change is that it's lighter later, which is good. Soon it will be time for plants. 

That's all I have...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

Yay Friday! It's been a long week! 

Here's the list: 

1. Monday's very positive surgeon visit. I'm still having pains, but they are muscular and related to new shoes and things healing. 

2. Visits from nephews and friends. We had a wonderful dinner with them on their road trip journey. 

3. Making progress with the writing. I'm still not sure I've started in the right place, but I'm getting there. 

4. Summer retreat house is booked! Whoot! 

5. Light, but not light, weekend plans. 

6. The forecast next week! Seventy by Tuesday? Yes, please!

7. Sleeping in tomorrow. At least for a little. 

8. New shoes. 

That's about it. 

Behave! 

Hello March!

Yeah, I know March actually started on Saturday. I was busy! Ha! 

I got tricked, too. It was so lovely Saturday morning and I am so sick of cold weather, that I let myself get lulled into "false spring". I planted flowers. Outside. The pansies are okay. It's the other "hearty spring flower" that are dead. Yeah, I know. I'm an idiot and should know better. But my porch looked really cute for a few hours. All of the snowmen/snow themed items were removed and spring showed up. Now it's dead spring. 

Saturday was hella busy. We ran errands, did house stuff, ran more errands, went to dinner, and then to B's soccer game. What an amazing game. It was intense. B's team won 3-2, with B making two of the three goals. But talk about a good game and awesome sportsmanship. We won't talk about the uncomfortable metal bleachers. I sat on my puffy coat (because by then, the wind was so cold it would cut you in two and I needed a puffy coat to survive), and it still wasn't enough. Lesson learned. I'll take a chair next time. Also, on this day, I hit the highest step count I've had since my hip started hurting in December of 2023. And with only a little muscle soreness. 

I don't have to go back to my surgeon for six months! He said everything looks awesome and I have no restrictions. Just do what I think I can do and work up to the rest. My xray's looked great and he was pleased with how I'm walking. 

And that is all. 

Behave!

Last Day of February!

Good Riddance! 

February seemed long. I don't think I'm the only one who feels that way! We have about three weeks until it's finally Spring! And I don't care what you say, March is a horribly long and awful month too. It's warm one day, cold the next, there's mud everywhere, flowers start to come up and then die. Our thoughts turn to gardens and planting, and then...it snows. So yeah... 

Let's do the Feel Good. 

1. Healing coming along. I can put my own socks on now! Still sore at the end of the day, but it's a "muscles getting back to normal" sore. I'm not doing steps like a normal person all of the time, but I'm getting there. I have driven an automatic, but not our manual shift yet. That's coming. I'm ready. Doc appointment on Monday. 

2. Writing. Well, I'm hoping to get back into things this weekend. I figured out that I started in the wrong place, so that's a help to me feeling stuck. I also know the surgery/healing has a lot to do with everything and I had already promised myself I would take the time I needed to not feel like I'm forcing myself. I know I've had successful days over the past six weeks, but not so much lately. I do feel like I'm ready though. So there's that. 

3. Not so feel good is that my besties are all on a writing retreat this weekend. I so wish I could have joined them. I wasn't sure what kind of shape I would be in when the plans were made and I didn't want to burden them with having to help me so much when it's their retreat. I know they would have gladly helped me, but I just didn't know where I would be physically and mentally. And I didn't want to stick them with my cost portion if I realized I really couldn't go. I know I made the right decision, but it's sooo hard! I think (hope) we're planning one for summer, so that's a definite for me. 

That's about it! Life is not that exciting right now. I have a few things on the calendar to look forward to. One is a booksigning at the end of the month, and the other is an alone trip That Man and I have planned. And that's it. Like I said before, I know very soon I'll be lamenting the fullness of our calendar and wishing for the quiet time. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Silence...Well, Some.

Sorry for the silence! Though I guess it's only been two weeks! Only. Ha!

I'm healing. It's been almost 5 weeks. Sleep is getting better, but is still an issue. The old pain is gone completely, which is amazing and wonderful. However, I still have weird and random pains. Every day is different. I know it's from the actual surgery and the fact that my muscles were cut, etc. And my knee is figuring out how to support me correctly again. I keep feeling like my foot is turning inward, but it's not. Like I said, every day is different, but it's getting better every day too.

I can almost put my socks on by myself. I have to be careful to not over do physical activity and to react slowly in certain cases. I can get into our vehicle without my step stool, though I still keep it handy just in case. I'm not doing the stairs like a normal person yet, but that's coming. I still have a little swelling, which is normal.

Other than that...This particular long dark of winter is incredibly obnoxious for me. I'm equal parts stir crazy and snuggled in. I'm not quite sure how to explain it, but I'm ready for warmer weather, sun, being more active, and for some of the stressors to go away. 

Come on, Spring! 

Behave! 

Snow Day!

Well, not really. It's a work from home day. 

We got ice. I'm not sure how much. All I know is that we received an email last night saying we wouldn't open until after 9am today. Then, this morning, there was another that said to work from home. So we did. 

And yeah, I'm back at work. Since my job is a desk job, the doc was fine with me returning. My brain was atrophying. Ha! 

My healing is going well, but it's a process. Every day is a little better. Sleeping has been an issue, but (knock on wood) that was better last night. I just need that to continue. 

Looks like we're supposed to get more bad weather over the weekend, and then again next week. I say bring it. 

That is all. 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

It's rainy here. And chilly. But I'm snuggled up in my chair with a blanket. It's quite possibly my last Friday home. I go to the doctor on Monday and we'll see what he says about clearing me for return to work. 

Let's do the list...

1. Making a successful trip into the day job yesterday to say "Happy Retirement" to my boss. It's bittersweet. He was a great boss and I'll miss him, but I'm happy for him to get to enjoy his retirement too. He's been talking about it since I started over 5 years ago. 

2. Feeling pretty confident in my new boss. He definitely has a different style, but it's good. I think things are going to be just fine. 

3. Putting on my very loose comfy socks all by myself. It took a very long time and the help of my grabber thingy, but I did somehow manage to get my left sock on. It's crooked, but my foot is warm. 

4. Getting writing done. I have made decent progress this week, and I will continue to make decent progress. I am re-finding my focus and my spark so that's something. And I'm doing my best not to overdo it and burn myself out. 

5. Working hard at not overdoing things. It's absolutely amazing to not have the pain level I had before. It's super easy to forget that my body is still healing. And that I do still have pain that shouldn't be ignored. I am mindful though. 

6. Starting to look forward to upcoming things. I feel like I haven't been able to do that for a little while. And yeah, I did look forward to the holidays, but not without a huge amount of trepidation and frustration over how I was going to get things done and survive with the amount of pain I was dealing with. Now it's with more of a "I should be able to do that" attitude. If that makes sense. 

That's about it. 

Behave! 

I'm Here!

I'm not even close to 100% yet, and that will be a while, but every day is getting better.

The pain of the bad hip is gone. Whoot! Now I'm left with surgical pain - or you know - someone reaching their hands inside of my body and taking out my bones pain. And there's a lot of that! Ha! The bruising was epic. So are the muscle cramps. Mostly gone now, but there's still a little. My scar is good. Healing nicely. Sleeping is a crapshoot, but it always is. Ha! I'm walking around the neighborhood some and can do steps better than I could before though I still have to take it slow. 

I will be venturing out for the first time in two weeks on Thursday. My boss is retiring and I need to go to the shindig. It's at work, so it should be easy and there are plenty of spaces for me to rest if I need to. Then I see my surgeon on Monday and hopefully he'll release me to go back to work. 

In the meantime, I'm in my chair watching dumb tv and organizing stuff. I haven't gotten back to writing yet, but that's today. I hope. 

That's all I have! 

Behave!

I'm Back!

Sorry it's taken me so long! 

I'm doing well and making progress!

I'll post more detail soon! 

Behave!