Where were we?

Let's see...
I last posted on Tuesday... That seems like a lifetime ago...
Wednesday was crazy. Running around and trying to get stuff done.
Thursday I took a very much needed break and went out with friends to see Magic Mike XXL. We'd all gone to see the first one and had made a pact that if they released a sequel, we would all go. Dinner was really nice - great food and company. The movie was surprisingly good. I expected it to be as dark as the first one, but as it turns out, it was a really feel good, women empowering, sexy men, buddy, and growth movie. I really enjoyed it, and for more than the beefcake.
Tonight we sanded, cleaned, and put another coat of polyurethane on our floors. Fingers crossed! It already looked better when we cleaned up and left. Got back to mom's and ordered food. I got my edits and looked over them. I'm good with everything, so just need to make it happen.
Tomorrow is crazy busy. I have to be in Ship first thing to take care of Estate bank accounts. The way things are written, my s-i-l and I have to be present for every transaction. What a pain. But once we get the account open, we can start paying bills. Once we get the vehicles transferred, we're good for a while.
Then we head to my sister's to help with their annual wing cook off competition. Should be fun. And work.
Sunday I will start edits.
I was supposed to take some time off from the day job next week. Was looking forward to it for editing time until I realized I might have to let my time go for someone who needs to lose time since OT is not approved right now. Damn.
I'm a little... okay, a lot... overwhelmed right now... I have a hard time shutting my brain off these days, which makes sleeping interesting and makes me teary during the day. I think it was after two until I feel asleep last night and it's been the same all week. I keep a notepad beside my bed so I can write stuff I don't want to forget down, and I end up with a lengthy sticky note on my phone by the time I leave work. I check one thing off and add three more...
This, too, shall pass.
Behave!

Wow! I Suck! Feel Good Friday!

Okay. I do suck. I try to be better about posting and then... Well... I guess life or something happens and the next thing I know it's been way too many days...
I'm not sure anyone is still reading this... *crickets*
Anyways...Just in case...Here's the Feel Good Friday list...
1. 5 days until Retreat!!
2. The promotion...new desk...new title...pretty good so far...
3. Hey...it's Friday. And my God...Am I glad!
4. Making it through this week - a million and a half things done...did them all. Still have a million and a half things to do.
5. 5 days until Retreat!
6. Sleeping in tomorrow.
7. Supernatural tonight!
8. Catching up on Castle! (Or kind of...catching up on email and this while I watch)
9. Tomorrow's plans - head will be down, work will be done, retreat shopping will be finished.
10. Sleep - which I must do now or # 9 will not happen and it must!
Behave!

Snow Saturday!

We had snow around here!
Enough to keep that man at his snow plowing gig all freaking day (like for 17 hours!!)! He is one tired man!
That meant our shoveling fell to the people living in this house... namely me...K2 has a bum wrist (one that will most likely require surgery, but we won't know until she has her ortho consult. And it hurts her. A lot.), K3 is still under the weather thanks to the stomach flu (not to mention, he has a mondo science project due Monday). K4 helped a lot. More than she thinks, but I shoveled my rear end off (one could only hope) today.
I slept in. (That was wonderful!) Made three pots of coffee, did laundry (even though my washer is now spewing water all over the floor! Gah!) And we took the rest of the Christmas decorations down. (Thank goodness) And played a lot of video games (I stink at that). And cooked. And cleaned. Plus, I did a little bit of editing. Okay, more than a little bit, but still...
Good weekend. So far.
How about you?
Behave!

Three Strikes, Making Progress, and Stupid Things I Do...

Remember when I posted about the rude clerk on her cell phone? I stopped there today to get gas and let's just say I'll never stop there again. First, they charge ten cents a gallon more if you use a card. Really? No one does that anymore. Second, the rude clerk. Third, and this one is totally on me - I had some kind of brain moment or something and couldn't seem to get my truck parked on the proper side to actually put fuel into it. And, of course, the place was packed so everyone inside saw my shame. The first two things are enough to cause me to never go back there. The third is just icing on the cake. (Number three also ties into the last part of this post...)
***
I'm doing well with my edits. I finished one pass last night and must go back for a major one before I read through it one more time and send to my trusty crit partners. While doing these edits I alternate between absolute love for the story and feeling like I suck something nasty. It's exhausting. The eye strain I've been dealing with this week does not help. At all. If my eye isn't twitching, then I feel blind, and I have a headache. Yes, I know the logical thing to do would be to take a break and give my eyes a chance to rest, but I must get this done. Must. There is only a little over two weeks before my next meeting and I made my goal rather steep this month. So...no break for me.
***
Stupid things I do...I know the only reason you're still reading is because you had to know what I have done.
The gas thing is one of them. I felt about two inches tall. I've been driving my truck and putting gas in for something like ten years now!
I was using the blender and instead of shutting it off to add more ingredients, I let it run. As a result, I am now sticky and smell like pineapples. The truly sad thing is that there is no liquor involved.
This morning I found an empty water jug in the fridge. Totally me since I was the last one to go to bed and had filled my water glass right before I went up.
I took that man I live with's vitamin by mistake. No harm done, and hey, my prostate feels great.
Usually I write the bills out Thursday or Friday and mail them the day after. Except this week. I forgot to stick them in the mail. They're still sitting beside the printer. Must remember to put them in the mail tomorrow.
Okay...that's enough stupid me. And yes, everything happened this week. I don't know. It's really been a weird week so far and it's only Wednesday! Yikes!
That is all.
Behave!

Things...

that were awesome about today.....
1. CPRW meeting this morning. 500 kinds of awesome! (even though I missed lunch!)
2. K2 coming home!
3. Rain! And it's still raining!
4. Writing...only a wee little bit, but I still touched it...
5. Naps.
6. Homemade pad thai for dinner.
7. Talking to the bff.
8. Movies.
9. The weirdness of that man I live with.
I hope you had a good Saturday, too!
Behave!

Things...

I'm thinking about...
1. How totally sad I am that the RWA National Conference started today and I am missing it.
2. How hot it is again! Though I hear we have a beautiful weekend on the horizon. And maybe some thunderstorms tonight.
3. Why on earth I wore a white t-shirt to eat spaghetti.
4. How many people I know with birthdays this week.
5. Not being able to sleep in tomorrow. It'll be worth it. Especially if this place is a go for the writing retreat.
6. The weekend.
7. Getting starting on my editing...
Guess that's what I'm going to do next. It's going well, though my bones are like a tiny baby mouse and they need to be tyrannosaurus rex sized. I am getting there though.
Behave!

Happy First Day of Summer!

It's a gorgeous day out there! Lots of puffy white clouds and a tiny little breeze. It's hot, but nice and shady in my backyard. Where I will be for the rest of the day - doing yard work and enjoying B being home.
***
This weekend turned out well. Saturday wasn't quite as relaxed as I'd originally thought, but it wasn't as hectic as last week. Sunday was gorgeous and spent at the meadow with the dads. Well, most of them. We missed my brother, and a few others, but it was still a nice time. The upcoming week is pretty full, but manageable.
***
Now I have to start focusing on college stuff. It kind of makes me sick to my stomach to think about the financial aspect of it, but we'll figure it out. It makes me even sicker and sad to think about my baby going off into the big bad world! But she's ready, even if I'm not.
***
Time is already going fast. The next thing we know school will be starting again. Heck, the fourth of July is only two weeks away! That's crazy!
***
Enough rambling. I have weeds to pull and a manuscript to edit!
Behave!

Beach Retreat - Day Two!

Going home today. I'm not up as early as I was yesterday, and we didn't stay up as late last night. Guess it's catching up.
Let me sum up:
Editing. Writing. Breakfast. Writing. Snow starts. Coffee. Crazy walks in the driving snow with crazy people. Almost lost Simon in a ditch. If it weren't for the snow we might never have found our way back. No cell phones. Laughing. Writing. Writing. And more writing. Making good progress on my new story. Coffee. Massive coffee bean spill. Guess who was responsible for that one. Still snowing. Lunch - which was mostly healthy. Laughing. Coffee. Writing and writing. Still snowing. Trip to the beach to take pictures of the ocean. Coffee. Writing. Laughing. Dinner preparation. Pre-dinner dance party. Writing while waiting for dinner to finish. Quick cleanup. Still snowing. More writing. Tru Cook Plus. Hysterical laughter - my stomach hurts and I can't quit talking in accent. Still snowing.Writing. Supernatural viewing. More writing. Movie watching. Don't know what I think about what we watched. Little bit of talking after the movie. Then bed. Still snowing.
Have more trouble falling asleep last night than the previous night. Probably from the massive amounts of caffeine consumed. Sleep well despite the inability to relax. Now it's morning. No more snowing. Already laughter. Coffee. No bean spillage today. Yet. Writing is on the way while we do laundry and clean up to go home. Don't know how much snow we got. A lot. Probably close to 8".
More later.
Behave!

Done!

Well, the edits are finished and the book is now in the capable hands of my wonderful critique partners. I am convinced it is the biggest pile of crap I've ever written. Totally convinced. Guess we'll see about that.
In any event, it's as done as I can make it. After two rewrites, a million and a half editing passes, multiple brainstorming sessions, and a whole lot of worry - I can do no more until it's been read by other eyes.
And that's a very good feeling.
Especially since I might be able to sleep tonight.
Now I can let the story that's been rattling around my brain loose. My plan is to start writing this weekend. Starting something new is always exciting, and believe me, I'm excited. New characters, new situations, new stuff. Whoot!
It's going to be a long week around here, but there's fun on the horizon providing I live through the days leading up to Friday.
That's all.
Behave!

Time?

....I post this picture because of the absolute love of Dr. Who that goes on in my house. (Are you sensing that my children have eclectic tastes?) They're patiently waiting for the new season to start with the new doctor. (Plus, David Tenant's a cutie.)
Anyway.
This was supposed to be about time.
There is never enough of it. Never. It's always been like that, it will always be like that. There's nothing we can do to change the universe to give us more, and even if we did, nothing would be different. There would not be enough even if you were a Time Lord. Stuff would fill it, and then there would be none. We have to do the best with what we have. Organize. Plan. And even that sometimes won't help you get everything done. My lists certainly don't help and they don't take into account the cash registers going out just as I get to the register with my groceries (yes, it happened again), or the cat puking, or the washer being off-balance and not wanting to spin the clothes no matter how many times you rearrange them and restart the cycle...ahem...
This morning I joined some friends for a brief writing challenge-type-thingy. We met in the chat room and worked for half hour spans, then reported our progress, chatted for a few minutes, and began again. It was a productive hour and fifteen minutes for all of us - well, except for the one who bailed halfway through, but that's beside the point. I finished my hard copy edits, and now have a few hours to begin inputting the changes into my computer. I don't believe I would be this far if it wasn't for the little challenge.
I keep saying it and I will continue. Get some writing friends and challenge each other. You won't be sorry. In fact, you might just be surprised at what else you get out of it.
Don't let time get you down. Make the most of what you have. Try your best. Give yourself a break when things spin out of control and make sure you use some of it to goof off a little. Oh, and listen to some Jason Manns while you're at it. You won't be sorry.
I think that's enough confusion for one day, don't you?
Oh, and don't forget to tune into Supernatural tonight!
Behave!

Random Wednesday

It's been a random day, so here's a random post...
1. The creatures who live here with me have decided everyone must be called a name from "Star Wars". K2 says she's Yoda. If she is, then she really should use her mind powers to clean this house. I don't think it's too much to ask, do you? I figure as long as they don't start calling me Jabba, it's all good.
2. K4 has decided she wants to be in her school's talent show. At the last minute. She wants to sing, which is fantastic, but there are two problems. One, she won't even sing in front of us. I wonder how she'll do in front of a crowd. Twice. And, her original song choice is impossible to find. Her second choice isn't suitable. She'd better hurry up and pick something. The first rehearsal is tomorrow and I still need to print the lyrics and copy the song onto a CD.
3. It's been a really long week and it's still only Wednesday.
4. I know three people who have either had to put their dog to sleep or have had their dog die suddenly in the past two weeks. It makes me sad. And it makes me worry about our puppy. Her hips have been failing to the point where she will no longer come down the stairs without major help - which is not easy since she weighs in around 115lbs. She's fallen several times in the past week. I don't want to think about it.
5. I'm still editing. It's affecting my brain. I'm serious. I'm having bizarre dreams and have taken to carrying a notepad around for when I think of something I need to check. Darned schedules and the time I have to be away from it. I'd be done. Soon. Very soon.
6. Supernatural returns tomorrow night! I'm so excited! I've done well with staying away from spoilers even though I miss the boys with the intensity of a thousand suns. Will post my thoughts on the episode before the weekend ends.
That's it for now.
Behave!

Sunday Random

It's been a random weekend, so it's time for a random post.
***
Until this afternoon I had a 3 man tent set up in my living room. K4 got a new tent for her birthday. She's been begging to set it up so she could check it out. Saturday night, she slept in it. It took up nearly half of the living room and was a real pain to get around. And she seemed to believe the walls were made of sound proof material. She talked even louder when inside and made constant noise. It's down now. Thank goodness. And she's more than pleased with it.
***
Suite seats at the hockey game are a lot of fun. I'm still torn on whether or not it's more fun than seats right on the ice, but the no line bathrooms and the supply of food and beverage that you don't have to fight the crowds for put it at the top, I think. Plus, our team won and that's never happened when we've been to a game. B and I had a blast.
***
I've spent all day editing and have the headache to prove it. Yes, I've been wearing my glasses, but they really don't help all that much. Eye doctor here I come. Me and my entire family, that is.
***
Tomorrow is a bonus sleep in day since the kids are off school. Whoot! I might stay up and catch last week's Castle since I don't have to be a slave to the alarm tomorrow.
That is all.
Behave!

Sunday Snippets

So, the tree is finally down and nearly all reminders of Christmas have been cleared away. I've been editing today, so it's time to share.
Lines from my editing sheet: Don't get bored.
- They put crates for the market in the back of her truck. Do something with them.
- Roswell's cushion. (Roswell's a dog) It's near the window in the back of her truck, but there's supposed to be a job box there. Fix.
- Change it so Gabby doesn't know Annie's having twins until right before she goes into labor.
- Check town names.
- Word search for "just". Overused.
And here's a few lines. Remember I'm still in the editing process.
"She unlocked the clinic door before the memories crept up on her. Thinking about the past wouldn't change anything. No amount of tears would ever bring those she’d loved back. There was no point in remembering them. There was no point in allowing herself to get that close to anyone ever again. She’d learned that the hard way."
"Gabby opened her eyes and focused on the ceiling, on breathing through the pain in her skull like she instructed her delivering mothers. Just when she thought she’d pass out from the pressure in her head, everything stopped. Either she’d blown a blood vessel, or the vision would now start. Of course it would be the vision. She couldn't be lucky enough to actually die, besides, Jack would probably only come and give her mouth-to-mouth to keep her alive."
So there you go.
Back to work.
Behave!

Just So You Know...

I'm done!! The whole way done...revisions complete, synopsis written, query ready. Done!! I cannot tell you what a relief it is. We'll see what happens with my brain over the next few days. As of right now, I'm so far behind with everything else...time to catch up.
Behave!

Sledding Sunday

We're in Superbowl avoidance mode around here. We've been invited to three different Superbowl parties, and since there was no was to choose we decided to avoid the whole thing. We're taking the kids sledding. I'm sure the game will come on when we get home. I hope your team wins and I hope you're smart enough not to drive after you've had a couple. In my mind, the dangers of post-Superbowl driving are as bad as New Year's Eve.
The editing is coming along. I'm nearly half-way through the tougher ones and hoping to make fantastic progress tomorrow. Maybe I'll even be done by Tuesday. I'm taking today off. Maybe. I might do a few pages while I'm waiting for everyone to get home so we can leave.
On a random note - getting a 17 year old, two 12 year olds, and a 9 year old ready to go somewhere is like post-nuclear bomb time. Okay, so I'll take the 17 year old out of the equation since she drives herself and her dallying doesn't really affect me. But, geeze, how many times do I have to tell you to brush your teeth? ha! Why don't you have your shoes on? I swear it was easier when they were all babies and I had to change diapers, pick out clothes, dress each one, and help them brush their teeth.
I'm off to slip on the ice!
Behave!

Under the Wire

Finally!
I've been trying to post all day. For some reason, I couldn't get on here. I can now and that's all that matters.
This will be a quick one. My bed beckons and I'm going to have to get up and shut the crap off the TV. I'll just tell you it's a dance show featuring popular songs I cannot stand. The kid that was watching it has gone to take a shower, leaving me with it. Ugh.
I don't remember what I was going to talk about earlier.
I am 100 pages through my harder edits. I haven't wanted to throw it in the creek yet, so that's good. Though I still have 310 pages to get through. I've cut an immense amount of words so far. Page after page of backstory and telling. I saved what I cut, just in case I need it for inspiration/information to built off of and add back in. I labeled the files "history lesson 1, 2" ...and so forth. Ha! We'll see how many I end up with, though I already did a major cut on the last pass and didn't save much, if any, of that.
I just wanted to check in. I still have a few things to do before I can crawl between the sheets.
Behave!

Making Progress Monday

Editing.
That's what I'm doing.
Today was a pretty good day when you look at how many pages I got through. Though, I'm soon getting to the point where I have to backtrack and add/change/tweak elements to make sure the story is solid from beginning to end. You saw part of the list. I'm sure I'll have another list when I get to the last pass read-through.
I want it to be finished. I don't want to rush and miss something obvious. My critique partners are fantastic, but there's no reason to put them through unnecessary work. There's no way it's going to be perfect, nothing ever is. This book is definitely kicking my butt. I still love it, but the doubts are beginning to creep in.
I'm trying to ignore them.
Winter weather is in the forecast. We'll see if we actually get snow this time. I'm not holding my breath, and I refuse to make the prerequisite trip to the store for milk, bread, and toilet paper, especially since I just went and got those things yesterday.
Anyway. I guess this is a different form of random. I am feeling rather random these days, so it makes sense.
Behave!

Random Thursday Ramblings

Last night I went to see My Bloody Valentine.
There may be spoilers ahead.
I used to be a big slasher film fan. In the early 80's, that's what we did for fun. Somewhere along the line, I lost my love for slasher flicks. I haven't seen one in ages, which is really fine with me. Gratuitous violence and the guarantee of naked chicks aren't my thing. But I have to say I loved My Bloody Valentine. We all know the number one reason I went to see it is because of Jensen Ackles. (The same reason we'll be going to see Friday the 13th with Jared Padalecki next month.) Anyway. Jensen Ackles didn't disappoint. He was fantastic, though I will say it was hard to not compare his role in MBV with Dean in Supernatural, especially at first - that did wear off the more I got into the movie.
There was much blood - eyeballs being flung toward your face, jaws being popped out, stuff like that. And, of course, there was the naked chick running through the parking lot in only high heels. The stupid people falling down, stopping to look behind them, doing dumb things like going to look out the window when they should be running the other way. Classic horror movie stuff...and I loved it. Not that I'm now a reinvented horror flick fan, but man, my blood was pumping.
This movie was in 3D - something that I've never quite been able to view the way you're supposed to. I don't know, but the effect is usually lost on me and I end up frustrated and with a headache. That definitely wasn't the case last night. The 3D was awesome.
I can't wait for Friday the 13th next month.
***
While I was out having fun last night, my awesomely fantastic husband fixed the dryer. He's sure it's not a permanent fix, the motor's on its last leg, but it may be enough to get some socks, towels, and undies washed. Not only did he fix it, he did laundry and concentrated on the stuff we needed washed the most. Sweet.
***
On the editing front, it's been a slow go thanks to a bunch of necessary stuff beyond my control. Still frustrating, especially considering the virus put me way behind as well. I still have a chance to make my goal, but there are still some unavoidable delays on the horizon so we'll see how well I manage to balance everything.
***
Another new Supernatural tonight. Very excited about that.
***
This weekend is relatively full, so posts might be sporadic.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

We're not doing that today. Sorry. I have nothing for you this week.
It's been intense around here the past few days. That includes a broken bag of new kitty litter than was then sucked into the vacuum and then somehow blown all over my clean floor, and, the best one yet, my dryer is broken. Again. Don't care much about the kitty litter since it's cleaned up now. But then dryer...that's a huge frustration.
Anyway.
Let's go on a blog tour today.
Stop 1: Supernatural Sisters. Natalie posted about fan expectations.
Stop 2: Megan Hart. Megan talks about a bad night of sleep.
Stop 3: Tongue in Cheek. Ava wants a tattoo.
Stop 4: The Gab Wagon. Always a source for a thought provoking post. Natalie talks about Paperspine. (I haven't read the post yet.)
Stop 5: Indulge Yourself. Because I haven't mentioned Natalie enough in this post! ha ha
Stop 6: Ceiling Fans. Vicky talks about this historical day. (I haven't read this post yet either.)
Stop 7: Susan Says. Sue talks about writing.
Stop 8: Misty Simon - Big Writer. Misty hasn't posted in a while, but if we get lucky maybe she'll catch up with herself.
So there you go. I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do. I need to get to editing now! Hopefully Tall Tale Tuesday will return next week.
Behave!

First Pass Finished

Whoot! I'm pleased. The story stayed cohesive and mostly makes sense. I have some stuff to explain, add, and smooth out, but on the whole I'm very happy.
Here are the final editing notes and a snippet:
Page 300 - Patrols passing. Show.
Page 303 - How can Olivia do that and why hasn't she done it before?
Page 306 - It's night again?
"Bodies covered the two-lane road. Bodies obviously dead long enough to be bloated and distorted by time and the elements. Jillian slowed, checking to make sure the doors were locked and the vents were turned off. This was a trap. There weren't a lot of alternatives. Stopping was out of the question, but if she continued, she'd drive over dozens of corpses."
Page 323 - More of Adam's story. What happened to Kenneth and Sandy?
Page 326 - Is the April thread too much?
Page 343 - Change spare bedroom/bath arrangement. Have Tessa be pissed that the bedroom is so small. Add to Frank/Tessa/Jon triangle.
Page 345 - Jillian hitting Frank - add dialogue.
Page 377 - Too sappy.
Page 385 - Explain Sam. Put April's section first. Explain why and what she thinks she has to do.
Page 392 - Dan's crazy speech.
So, there you have it. Now I start the harder work of smoothing/fixing.