Oh Happy Day...

Tonight we get a brand new episode of Supernatural!!
I know I haven't talked much about Supernatural lately. That doesn't mean my love has diminished at all.
I've been getting my fix over at Supernatural Sisters. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should. I try to head over every day, though I don't get the chance to comment as much as I'd like.
Then, for more Supernatural-related fun, check out Natalie's blog and Megan's blog. They just got back from a Supernatural convention and met all kinds of cool people, including Jim Beaver and Misha Collins. How cool is that? Go and read about their adventures. They had a blast. I'm going next time.
Anyway.
I've been waiting forever for tonight. I've already informed the family that the television is under my control at 8:58. There will be total silence as I snuggle in to watch. I can't wait. I doubt I'll post a recap tomorrow, but you never know. If I don't, you can get one at Supernatural Sisters. If you care. And if you don't, I don't want to hear about it.
Tomorrow there will be much feel-gooding as the kids are off school and we get to sleep in around here. This time change is really kicking my butt - all of our butts. Getting everyone up in the morning has been a chore.
Okay. That's all.
Behave!

Answers!

No one guessed #2?
2. K4's favorite baby doll. It used to have blonde hair, but since her favorite color that week was pink, the doll had to match. Not only did she marker the hair, but she took the fantastic close-up picture, too.
Well, that's good because that wasn't the answer!! K1 was the one who used to do strange things to her baby doll's. If she had a cut, so did the baby. When she had chicken pox...(Freaked you out a little, didn't I?)
And, well, it's not #3, either.
3. A pair of pink furry slippers - brand new and just out of the box. (I wish I had a pair of pink, fuzzy slippers!!)
So, logically, the answer is #1.
1. K1's hair. Such a lovely color for a boy, and it got him suspended from work as well.
I promise, I'm not messing with everyone's head! The reason it kind of looks synthetic is because he had to strip his hair to nearly white for the pink to show - his hair is normally very dark, and there was a time when he dyed his hair every other week - the damage was starting to show. And yes, he did get suspended from work for it. And he did the dye job on Christmas Eve. Very festive!
Good guessing!
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Ready?
What is this?
1. K1's hair. Such a lovely color for a boy, and it got him suspended from work as well.
2. K4's favorite baby doll. It used to have blonde hair, but since her favorite color that week was pink, the doll had to match. Not only did she marker the hair, but she took the fantastic close-up picture, too.
3. A pair of pink furry slippers - brand new and just out of the box.
Guess away.
I have a feeling this one's going to be easier than most. We'll see...
Behave!

What Happened to Monday?

Today went so fast.
And nothing interesting happened. I ran from the time I woke, until just a few minutes ago...and still no coolness...oh...except...Thanks to the store's awesome incentives, I saved $1.30 per gallon this morning. That's pretty sweet, even though it took nearly 10 minutes to fill my tank because the pumps were so slow. And it made me late. And I still don't have a coffee pot. Oh, but I did see a lawn chair cushion in the middle of the road at o'dark-thirty. Not weird enough though.
It's going to be one of those weeks around here. We have stuff nearly every night, with not a lot of down time - maybe one night. We'll see.
That's all I have. Tune in tomorrow for Tall Tale Tuesday.
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!

Feel Good Friday - The Saturday Edition

Oops. Time got away from me yesterday and I never managed to post the Feel Good Friday list. I'm sure you were all anxious with the wait. Ha!
Okay...here it is:
1. Friday - Well, I can't say that anymore since it's not Friday. Ha!
2. My CPRW meeting today.
3. Meeting my goal.
4. Being so very close to finishing the final revisions.
5. Gas points.
6. Cool neighbors that are understanding when your daughter accidentally drifts into their car.
7. It's warm out! Whoot!
8. Only 2 1/2 months until the retreat.
9. Coffee.
10. Chicken tacos.
Wow. That's a pretty lame list! ha! Blame it on spring fever. Those snowmen are going into hibernation this afternoon.
That's all.
Behave!

Mommy Meme

Stole this from Natalie.

Ask your kid(s) these questions and write them down exactly how they respond.
Okay, a lot of work went into this. Do you know how hard it is to get answers from four kids on four different schedules. Just so you know: K1 is almost 20, K2 is 17, K3 is 12.5, and K4 is 9 and they all think they're funny.

1. What is something mom always says to you?
K1: Why are you being a d.b?
K2: Do the dishes.
K3: Time to do dishes. I love you.
K4: What do you want for dinner?
There's a lot of talk about dishes...maybe if people would do them without me having to remind them...

2. What makes mom happy?
K1: Supernatural, or liquor.
K2: Getting out of the house.
K3: Stuff.
K4: Me listening.
Obviously, K3 had no idea and K2 believes I'm trapped here against my will. ha!

3. What makes mom sad?
K1: The rum is always gone. (Are you sensing the beginning of a trend?)
K2: Us laying on her when she's trying to take a nap.
K3: When you yell at her.
K4: Me not listening (Another trend)

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
K1: How we think alike.
K2: By pushing me off the couch when I'm laying on her when she's trying to take a nap. By asking me stupid questions like these.
K3: Asking weird questions.
K4: By saying weird stuff.
Apparently I say a lot of weird things.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
K1: Responsible (said while laughing behind his hand.)
K2: I don't know. I wasn't born back then.
K3: Like a child.
K4: Loud and obnoxious.

6. How old is your mom?
K1: 41
K2: 39
K3: 92
K4: 40
92? What the heck? I'm 41.

7. How tall is your mom?
K1: Mad short.
K2: Taller than me.
K3: 3"
K4: 5' something
3"?? I'm 5'2".

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
K1: Write
K2: Write and sleep.
K3: Read funny books.
K4: Be with her family.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around?
K1: "I don't want to know"
K2: Cry. (because I'm not here with you.)
K3: It's a mystery. (said with flailing hands and "the" mystery voice.)
K4: Write and have her friends over.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
K1: Writing
K2: Writing
K3: Writing
K4: Being a comedian and writing
A comedian?

11. What is your mom really good at?
K1: Being annoying
K2: Being a mom
K3: Writing
K4: writing, but nobody's discovered her yet.

12. What is your mom not very good at?
K1: Being scary.
K2: Being a man.
K3: Making fire.
K4: Catching colds.
Being a man? I don't often try to be a man, or make fire for that fact. And I can too make fire!!

13. What does your mom do for her job?
K1: Write
K2: A Mom.
K3: Write books and talks on the phone.
K4: Write and take care of us.

14. What is your mom’s favorite food?
K1: Captain Morgans (I said he had a theme going on)
K2: Stuff that goes in your mouth.
K3: The edible kind.
K4: Chicken

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
K1: Everything
K2: That she asks me stupid questions.
K3: She writes books.
K4: She's always there for me.
K2 obviously was having some issues with the content of this.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
K1: Marge Simpson or Lois Griffin (Family Guy)
K2: Batman
K3: Potato Woman
K4: Squidward in the morning, SpongeBob in the afternoon
Potato Woman?

17. What do you and your mom do together?
K1: Watch redneck videos and laugh.
K2: Talk about random, stupid questions. We live together and we eat together and we talk together.
K3: This quiz. Cook. Eat dinner. Talk about books.
K4: See movies, go to lunch, make dinner.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
K1: In a lot of ways - same sense of humor and the way we think of strange and funny things.
K2: Uhhh...we have the same hair color and we're both girls. We're creative. She drove a truck when she was my age like me.
K3: We both like to read. We like cooking.
K4: We're both girls. We both have hair. (I think she meant the same color hair) We're in the same family. We both like to read. We both like Daddy.

19. How are you and your mom different?
K1: She's old. I'm young. She's a mom. I'm a son.
K2: I'm shorter. I'm not a mom.
K3: I'm a boy.
K4: Mom's older and doesn't go to school.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
K1: She makes fun of me and calls me names.
K2: She lets me live here.
K3: Because she says she loves me and she lets me live in the house.
K4: She tells me all the time and by the way she takes care of me.
Monkey see, monkey do...

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
K1: The Outer Banks and the liquor store.
K2: In her dreams.
K3: Cape Hatteras.
K4: The beach.

So there you have it. K1 turned into total randomness because he thought he was too funny with the liquor comments. K2 just laughed the whole time. K3 laughed as well, and coherent answers had to be pulled from him...i.e. Come on, your sister already said that. K4 took it very seriously.

Scary stuff, huh?
Behave!

Answers!

Okay...Good guesses...
Here we go with the answers:
1. The inside of K3's mouth during a weekend scouting trip. Don't ask me. Yes. And I'm glad you didn't ask! ha!
2. Some strange coral formations in a fish tank at the aquarium at the beach. I had to crop the picture quite a bit to get it this close. Nope, but possible. I guess.
3. The healed results of K1's last accident. You remember that accident? The one that included blood, torn cartilage, and pressure bandages. No again. The main thing missing is the gauges in the ears.
I need to actively pursue some more interesting pictures! The illness train seems to have left the station. I'm keeping my fingers crossed no one else comes down with it.
That is all.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Here we go again!

What is this?

1. The inside of K3's mouth during a weekend scouting trip. Don't ask me.

2. Some strange coral formations in a fish tank at the aquarium at the beach. I had to crop the picture quite a bit to get it this close.

3. The healed results of K1's last accident. You remember that accident? The one that included blood, torn cartilage, and pressure bandages.

So there you have it.

Behave!

Monday Madness

I know I quit doing Moaning Monday, but we're going to go there today. Yes. We are.
Here's the Moaning list:
1. The flu - it's here. One kid home from school today. One kid with the cough. And I don't even want to talk about how my throat feels.
2. Putting off going to the grocery store. I should have/could have gone over the weekend, but didn't. Now I have to venture out in the freezing cold and wind. And I have to, because there is no food in my house.
3. Stupid snow. We've been so cheated this year. So cheated. I wanted more than a dusting, or an inch. Forget it now. I'm done with you snow! Do you hear me?
4. Not being able to take a nap even though I was up all night with a sick kid. What the heck is up with that? Every single time I closed my eyes, something happened - she coughed, the phone rang, the dog barked, you get the picture.
On the other hand....
Yay for meeting my monthly writing goal. And for being on my last load of laundry, and for a lot of stuff that nearly makes up for the moaning list.
That is all.
Behave!

Doing Stuff...

So last night we went to a hockey game.
My sister's boss gave her tickets and our seats were right on the ice near the goal. It was a great place to sit. We got to see lots of players smashing up against the glass. And pucks. Twice the puck came into the audience. It hit a lady the first time and broke her glasses. The second time some guy caught it before it would have smashed into his date's face. Exciting stuff. I don't normally follow hockey. I think it's impossible to watch on television. Being at a game is totally different - you're a fan and that's all there is to it.
There were many fights, including a pretty big one at the very end of the game. I thought the last one went a little too far and don't know why the refs let it go for so long. I'm not even sure what started it, but then I'm not sure what started any of the fights. I'm not sure why they break up some and let others go.
It was good to get out with other adults and be silly. We had a blast.
Then came home to a sick kid. Running a fever and coughing up a storm. Looks like a trip to the doctor is in the forecast. Her ear hurts, too. Poor baby. Today's going to be a low key, chicken soup kind of day. It snowed a little last night - not enough to get excited about, but enough to kick in my hermit-ness. And, The Lord of the Rings is on tv. That's a beautiful thing.
Behave!

Waiting...

Those of you who know me know I'm not a patient waiter. I want things to happen now, and if they don't, well, it's frustrating. Usually I do okay with the whole waiting game. The publishing business is heavy on the wait. I've learned to live with that. Maybe not always silently, or happily, but I know it's just the way things are.
That's not what I'm talking about...
I'm talking about waiting in general. As of right now, I feel like I'm just...waiting. There's this air of expectancy and resolution around me, but I'm not really waiting for much. I feel like I should be though and I'm not sure what it means. It happens on occasion and it scares me a little, because usually when I feel like this something bad happens. The hopeful waiting vibe is crushed like a little bug on the sidewalk.
Anyway.
While trying to figure this anomaly out, I started thinking about what kind of waiting drives me the craziest. Here's the short list:
1. Waiting for service calls. You know which ones I mean - "We'll be out between eight and noon." and then they show up at eleven-fifty-five and you've wasted all of that time waiting, too afraid to even go to the bathroom for fear they'll knock on the door as soon as you drop your drawers.
2. Waiting in line while the people who are supposed to be doing whatever they're getting paid to do discuss their private lives and forget there are paying customers there.
3. Waiting for people to get ready to go somewhere after they've fooled around during the time they should have been getting ready, and now you're going to be late.
4. Waiting for bad service, which kind of goes with number two, but not really.
5. Those long hours between now and when you're leaving to go someplace fun.
I might have more, but I'm dealing with a nasty headache that hasn't responded to any attempt at kicking it.
So what kind of wait drives you crazy?
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Friday again...Whoot!
Here's the list:
1. Taking a break.
2. Macaroni salad.
3. Hockey games.
4. Getting my truck inspected before the end of the month.
5. Finishing and sending the taxes.
6. Comfy pants.
7. Short illnesses that haven't spread to anyone else.
8. Coffee.
9. The Lord of the Rings.
10. Nifty red fireplaces.
That's it.
Behave!

Random Thursday Ramblings

I'm still trying to figure this whole "taking a break" thing out. Though, I think I did pretty good goofing off all day. Played computer games, went to lunch with my mom, took a nap, watched Dark Angel. (I was really happy to find out that the Sci-Fi channel was showing Dark Angel all day long.) Oh, and I cooked a bunch of food, including making Amish macaroni salad and something I'll never make again. Okay, so that's not true - if (and that's a big if) I make it again, it'll be as a dip and not a main course. Blah, though. I didn't care for it, but there's none left. I was going to clean my house, but all I managed was some laundry and dishes. ha!
The stomach flu fairy has come to visit. The germs just arrived, so there's no way to know what will happen next. I've dealt with enough puke for one day though. (should have added that to the above list) Now the affected child is sleeping - has been for quite a while. And, of course, I have obligations tomorrow that I cannot get out of. Don't know what's going to happen yet. We'll see...
Guess it's time to take the snowman stuff down. Leaving the stuff up when I took the Christmas decorations down didn't do anything to encourage Mother Nature to lay a hefty amount of the white stuff on us. Now there's green stuff growing in my flower garden. The snowmen are going into storage. Take that Mother Nature.
There's something interesting growing in my brain. It's a kernel of a something right now, but the wheels are turning. Not enough for me to relax my whole worry that I've fried all of my synapses, but a small part of it. I have to get a little more of the idea first. I'll probably do the break thing through the weekend though. That should give this little flutter of crazy, post-apocalyptic nonsense time to germinate. We'll see. And if it doesn't....well...I'll deal with that later.
Oh, and I burned the hair off my left hand while cooking. This after being horrified over a video of some guy using fire to cut his hair. Freaky stuff, that. Every time I've torched my hair it's been an accident. I can't imagine doing it on purpose.
Enough rambling!
Behave!

Answers!

Okay...here we go with answers!

1. Temporary tattoo's on K2's arm. A lot of them, because she thought they were cute and she was bored. Nope. Though things like this have happened many, many times.
2. Curtains. One of those..."whoops, I took a random picture" things that never got deleted from the camera. Nope again.
3. A tie - worn by K3 because he just loves ties so much, especially ones that look like little flowers. Ha! Yes. It's actually a very nice tie and looks spiffy on. The picture was obviously crappy. And it's not little flowers, no matter what it looks like.

So there you have it. I think I like this format the best.
Still recovering from the edits. Being done hasn't hit me yet.
Behave!

Whoot!

Edits are done!
I'm kind of stunned. And kind of worried that I've fried myself.
I've been working on this book for a long, long time. Finished it last summer. Let it sit for a few weeks. Started edits, realized over the last half of the book was pure crap. Cut it, rewrote. Finished again. Let it sit for about a month, then started edits again. Yeah, I've done other stuff as well, but the book has been in the back of my mind for what seems like forever.
To say this book has kicked my butt is an understatement. I still really like it. I know I'll have at least one more round of edits to do once I get it back from my last readers. That's okay. I'll be glad to get the comments back.
So...now I'm faced with what to write next. (this is where the fried part comes in). I'm not pushing my brain too hard, but my monthly goal was to write 10 pages on something new and I have a little over a week before the meeting. I have a few options already, but nothing's sticking yet. I'll be taking a short break while my cells heal and rejuvenate. And I'll be trying not to think to hard. Most of my ideas just pop in when I'm least expecting them.
Have to remember that.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Whew! Fell off the face of the earth there for a little while.
Nah, nothing's wrong - just a combination of having nothing to say (yeah, really) and pushing really hard to get my edits finished. They are done, except for one final read-through for consistency. So...whoot!
It's only Tuesday, but it feels like Thursday. Weird.

Okay...let's do this....

What is this?

1. Temporary tattoo's on K2's arm. A lot of them, because she thought they were cute and she was bored.

2. Curtains. One of those..."whoops, I took a random picture" things that never got deleted from the camera.

3. A tie - worn by K3 because he just loves ties so much, especially ones that look like little flowers. Ha!

So...which one is it?

I'm still behind on almost everything around here, but I might be back later!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Whoot! Friday again!
Here we go:
1. I'm warm in my house and don't have to go anywhere else tonight.
2. Sleeping in. Oh yeah, sleeping in. Beautiful.
3. A husband that took the time out of his busy afternoon to bring me lunch, and then stayed to eat with me. Sweet.
4. $1.10 off a gallon of gas thanks to the stores awesome coupons.
5. Movie nights with friends.
6. Planning the retreat.
7. Revisions - even though they're kicking my butt. Each page is a page closer to being finished.
8. Finally finding an enjoyable book to read. The last five or six have left me cold. I'm only half through, but I'm hoping it holds up through the end.
9. Happy Feet!
10. A relaxing weekend ahead.
That's it.
Enjoy your weekend!
Behave!

Thoughts...

On Friday the 13th.
Spoilers...
Okay, so it's a horror movie. There's gratuitous violence (guy getting his leg stuck in a bear trap, douche bag kid getting impaled on the back of a truck, girl getting stuck on with wall with a pair of antlers, girl getting strung up over a fire in a sleeping bag...and much more), lots of blood, lots of naked chicks (though no running around in a parking lot in only high heels). Don't forget the sex scenes (umm...if you don't want anyone to see you do it in a tent, shut the danged light off). There were two of them, and both made me roll my eyes, probably because Jared Padalecki wasn't in either. (and no JPad shirt taking off either. What's up with that?) The creepy redneck guy was way scarier than the violence. *shudder* First the porn mag, then the mannequin. Icky! And here's my thing...
It's been 20 years since the first murders. The camp is falling down. The lake is beautiful. Come on. Do you really expect me to believe there's only one spectacular cabin on the lake? One cabin complete with a fully-stocked kitchen and an expensive boat just floating along beside the dock? I don't believe the area wouldn't have been sold and developed into vacation homes. Why didn't Jason kill anyone else before now? Why was that lady so grumpy? Why didn't Padalecki take off his shirt? Why did Jenna have to die? Why didn't they call the police instead of dumping Jason's body into the lake? Why didn't they just shove him into the industrial chipper shredder? What was up with the beckoning old guy? And what the hell was up with the ending?
That said - It wasn't awful, but it was. It wasn't as scary as I expected. We had a blast though. There were 10 of us in nearly empty theater. Two guys came in while we were introducing people to each other and they got pulled into the fray, including a brief discussion of their thoughts afterward. We weren't exactly quiet, but no one seemed to care.
As much as I hate to say it, I liked My Bloody Valentine more. I wanted to love them both equally. Oh well...
Behave!

Answers!

Okay! Thanks to everyone that commented! Good guesses.

Which injury explanation is true:
1. I got my finger wedged in a grocery cart while shopping for camp. It started out as a small injury, but due to the bacteria on the shopping cart, the wound got infected and I ended up on antibiotics. True, but that's not the wound in the picture.
2. I got my finger stuck in the starting mechanism of the backpack leaf blower the day before we left for the beach. Yes. The salt water made it feel so lovely, too!
3. I caught the edge of a log we were stacking for the campfire and ended up with a huge splinter that had to be dug out. Also true, but not this time.

So there you have it. Hopefully next week I'll have a more interesting picture. I really like this format, so we'll see how it works out for a few more weeks.
Can't talk anymore. I'm off to see "Friday the 13th" with some friends. Maybe I'll post a review tomorrow.
Behave!

Ha!

Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

The picture format seemed to work pretty good last week. We're going to try it again. I did think I had a more interesting picture this week, but I don't, so we'll go with this one.
Which injury explanation is true:
1. I got my finger wedged in a grocery cart while shopping for camp. It started out as a small injury, but due to the bacteria on the shopping cart, the wound got infected and I ended up on antibiotics.
2. I got my finger stuck in the starting mechanism of the backpack leaf blower the day before we left for the beach.
3. I caught the edge of a log we were stacking for the campfire and ended up with a huge splinter that had to be dug out.
So what's the truth?
Behave!

Random Monday Nonsense

My coffeepot is done. Gone. Already out in the trash. It was a good coffeepot. Loyal. It produced brew far longer than ever expected. I am sad. Do I have a replacement? No. Am I dying without my morning caffeine? Yes. Why haven't I gone out to get a new one? I have no idea.
****
Why do I continue to abuse my poor body by rollerskating? Two days later and my feet still hurt. I wasn't going to do it, but changed my mind after the skate rental guy harassed me. Don't get me wrong, I like to skate. My feet are the problem.
****
I can't make up my mind on which isp/phone/cable provider to switch to. I managed to stick it out with my current one for a year, but now that my deal is over, I have to go. (I should have gone a long time ago because the actual service isn't what they promised, but whatever.) When I signed up and asked what happened after the year, the woman told me they'd be more than happy to extend the special offer. Only that's not the case. No, I'm not surprised, just unhappy with their customer service, with their service in general. I don't like being talked down to, or made to feel inadequate. Every conversation I've had with them has left me frustrated.
****
I'm up to chapter four with revisions. They're going okay. I'm taking my time, but hope it doesn't take me too long to finish. I may have gotten farther today, maybe not, but I got totally sucked into this paranormal show that has new ideas swimming around in my head.
****
Okay. I think that's enough for today.
Behave!

Where Are You Going?

Well, you're not going to get there unless you do something to make it happen.
It's true. You're not.
Doesn't matter what your dream is, no one is going to knock on your door and ask for your latest novel, painting, photograph, song, or whatever it is you do. They're just not. You're not going to get anywhere unless you work at your craft. And work hard. Sitting there wishing your dreams would come true won't make it so.
Dreams are wonderful. We need them. They keep us going, give us hope, motivate us. But they can't do the work. That's up to you.
If you want it bad enough, you'll do whatever necessary to make it happen. Whether it be writing when everyone else is asleep, getting up early to do whatever it is you do, or giving up some fun stuff every once in a while. (Remember balance though) Working, learning, researching...you have to be in the world you want to live in.
Yeah, sometimes necessary things take us away from our goals. And it is hard to get back into the swing once those necessary things are over, but if you want it you don't really have much choice. Do you?
Immerse yourself in your dreams.
And do the work.
Behave!

Ha!

Behave!!

Feel Good Friday

Whoot! Friday!
Here we go:
1. Friday...duh! :)
2. Valentine's Day plans (though...really, Valentine's is a non-holiday around here, but I'm happy to be doing what we're doing.)
4. Cool red propane burners. (pictures at a later date)
5. Newfoundland puppies (No. We're not getting one. It belonged to someone else, but it was so cute.)
6. Knowing B is going to make a spectacular breakfast tomorrow morning.
7. My kid being romantic enough to make his girlfriend a construction paper Valentine card.
8. Not having to go grocery shopping by myself.
9. Being warm and snuggly on my couch.
10. Relaxing. Finally.
Yeah. It's a lame list.
That's all.
Behave!

Answers!

Okay, I can't get the picture to re-post, but whatever. It's down there if you need to look at it again.
Here's the answer.

1. Taken during our October trip to Delaware - when I couldn't stop laughing and they drove off without me? (They did come back for me. Obviously.) (And it wasn't just me. No one could stop laughing. About everything.) No. They didn't leave me alongside the road at any time during our Delaware trip, though they threatened to.
2. Taken while taking a walk at the beach because the camera went off in my hand? No. And yes, we do sometimes walk on the road at the beach.
3. Taken at CPRW's annual retreat on the way back from checking out the cemetery? YES!!
4. Taken at Christmas when I was trying to get a shot of how the tree looked from across the street and, again, accidentally pressed the button? Nope, but entirely possible.

So there you have it. I liked doing it this way. Too bad I already dumped all of the random pictures off my phone. It would have made good Tall Tale Tuesday fodder. There's always random stuff out there though.

Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Okay, let's try something different this week.
Tell me about the below picture.
Was it...
1. Taken during our October trip to Delaware - when I couldn't stop laughing and they drove off without me? (They did come back for me. Obviously.) (And it wasn't just me. No one could stop laughing. About everything.)
2. Taken while taking a walk at the beach because the camera went off in my hand?
3. Taken at CPRW's annual retreat on the way back from checking out the cemetery?
4. Taken at Christmas when I was trying to get a shot of how the tree looked from across the street and, again, accidentally pressed the button?












So...what do you think?
Behave!

Random Sunday Stuff

I should be in bed already, so you know what that means.
**There are no glasses in my house anymore. We all know what the cause is when the cupboard is empty. I sent the kids to look for glasses three times and they came up empty handed. There just aren't any. I threw two away yesterday because they were cracked and leaky. Guess I need to make a trip to get some new ones.
**My house smells so lovely right now. So does my hair (and no, I didn't catch it on fire again). I'm not sure how it happened, but I burnt two pizzas tonight. I had the timer set and everything and when the odor of something burning hit me, the timer still had three minutes to go and I put them in before the oven finished pre-heating. I managed to save about half a pizza and the mushroom appetizer things. Great dinner. Great smell.
**I love U-scan. I'd love it more if it were just a little faster and if it didn't hang up and tell me to wait for an attendant so often, and it would be nice if the coupon slot would actually take the coupons, but other than that, I love it. I prefer to bag my own groceries, especially with the green bags because I've yet to have a bagger that actually fills them they way they should be filled. The other day when U-scan was too full and I was forced to go through a cashier, the bagger put one bag of chips and hamburger buns and nothing else, into a green bag. Also, soap/cleaners should never be packaged with anything edible. I like the cold stuff to be with other cold stuff and the boxes to be all lined up together. (ocd...much?) We went through today with a decent-sized order and were out of there in minutes.
**I know it's about time for me to start writing something new. I'm holding back because my wip is going to need some concentrated revisions and I don't want to try to deal with new ideas while needing to pay attention to old ideas. Oh, why do I say it's about time to start something new? Because I totally freaked myself out the other morning with random thoughts about big (huge) snakes and what if I was the only one that could see it? What if it was real and no one believed me? I guess it's definitely proof that my brain still works.
Enough random?
I thought so.
Behave!

Saturday Silliness

Random pictures from my phone:
Let's start with the nice:
The creek...
More creek...beautiful, though some of the children wanted to walk on the ice.

The old silo at my dad's childhood home.

A pic I sent K2 from the grocery store because she was making ridiculous requests for odd food items.

My sandwich. K2 and I often send each other pictures of our lunches. Don't ask why. I don't know.

My lunch today. Doesn't that chicken look weird?

I had two more, but I somehow deleted them while I was trying to caption them. One was the poop in the snow I mentioned on Tall Tale Tuesday. You probably didn't want to see that anyway. The other was the random evil Santa head I found just laying on a counter one day. Thankfully it wasn't on my counter. It was very freaky and you probably would have been as scarred as I was.

That's all for today.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Whew! Friday!
Here's the list:
1. Finishing ALL of my edits! Whoot! Which also means...
2. Meeting my CPRW goal.
3. Supernatural!!
4. Supernatural chats
5. It's Friday...that should be 1.
6. CPRW meeting tomorrow.
7. Not having to cook dinner tonight.
8. Kids that do their homework even though it's Friday.
9. .40 off a gallon gasoline.
10. Watching Harry Potter.
That's all.
Behave!

Supernatural

Only one thing to say right now...

Bobby's wall of phones!

Heeee!

Behave!!

Answers!

Good job this week!
Here are the answers.
1. One of my boys shaved their armpits just to see what it was like. True. And he was very sorry. (He'll be mortified to find out I posted about it!)
2. The other boy decided to "help" with the way the dog sheds and cut her hair in a very awkward and unattractive way. Not true. This time.
3. When we were walking on Sunday, we came across animal poo in the snow. My boy crouched above the pile and pretended...well...you get what I mean. True. Bleech! Though it was pretty darned amusing.
I can see I'm going to have to get trickier if I'm going to stump you guys! ha!
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Sometimes the chaos in my house is so insane all I can do is laugh. A lot of the time that's because whatever's going on truly is funny and I'm not laughing the hysterical laughter of insanity. Most of the time, the opposite is true. (Like today. Three are home - 1 off work, 1 sick, 1 in need of an x-ray.)
Some of you know my kids. You've seen them in action. You know some of the strange things they do. Especially my boys. Maybe that'll make it easier to guess today's Tall Tale Tuesday.
Boy oriented. One is a lie. Two are true. Which.
1. One of my boys shaved their armpits just to see what it was like.
2. The other boy decided to "help" with the way the dog sheds and cut her hair in a very awkward and unattractive way.
3. When we were walking on Sunday, we came across animal poo in the snow. My boy crouched above the pile and pretended...well...you get what I mean.
Which one is a lie?
Enjoy the visuals!
Behave!

On Being Inconsiderate...

A lot of things fall into the inconsiderate category, though most of the time I think the person being inconsiderate is too involved in whatever is going on in their life to even realize they've been rude. I know I've been guilty of the same, realizing later that my actions weren't very nice, or that I wasn't very kind. Stuff happens - we're either on the giving end of the crap, or the receiving end.
But then...
Then there are times when people are purposefully inconsiderate though they know they're crossing the line. They know. They know and yet they can't seem to stop themselves. Or maybe they don't care about stopping themselves because their needs are the only ones that matter and they don't care about you, or anyone else. They don't care. They just don't. Because what they want is more important and they're going to harass you until you finally give in or blow a gasket. And they don't care if you're pissy with them when you do give in, because ultimately, they've fulfilled their desire. If you blow a gasket, then they claim you have issues, or that you need to chill, or a dozen other things that basically put the blame on you. Because if you would have just given in at the beginning, none of this would have happened. It's your fault for not doing what they wanted when they wanted it.
Oh, why did I give up Moaning Monday?
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!

Why I Need Books...

I love books. I love the way they feel in my hands, the way they smell. I love seeing them on the shelf in my room. I love buying them, shopping for them, and, most of all, I love reading and writing them.
Reading is an escape. It's an even better escape than watching television. When you watch T.V., you have commercials, news tidbits, and commercials. The same commercials over and over. And over. Before you get your panties in a twist, I'm not bashing the tube. Admittedly, I don't watch a lot, but just because I'm not watching, doesn't mean it's not on when the family is home. And I think I have an obligation to pay attention to the news and what's going on in the world. But it doesn't have to consume my life. I read to forget about life for a little while. To immerse myself in a different world - whether it's a world filled with paranormal elements, or just a journey into the character's lives and love.
I love writing for the same reason. Creating different worlds, characters, villains. Not only do I write for myself, but I write in the hopes I can affect others with emotions (hopefully good emotion) as they escape from their lives with my characters.
I don't think it matters how you read - a paper book, an e-book, on an e-book reader (I want one) - as long as you read. You should never be too busy to read. A lot of people say they are, and I just don't see how that's possible. Heck, I'm busy. Everyone I know is busy - writers and non-writers. Even if I didn't write, I'd still feel driven to read. I always have. There are times during the day where you can squeeze in a few minutes - in the bathroom, waiting at the doctor, waiting at the post office, waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for your computer to load, waiting for water to boil. When your little kids want to play in the tub longer (I got a lot of reading done during that time of our life). Anyway. You get what I'm saying.
Read a book.
And...
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Friday again...
Here's the list.
1. Supernatural. (Dean in shorts and track pants. Sam in white scrubs. I've never seen a janitor uniform look that good.)
2. Supernatural chats.
3. It's Friday.
4. Talking to my sisters - both of them.
5. Warmth.
6. Editing. Because it means I'm almost done.
7. A low-key weekend. Whoot.
8. Snow days.
9. School delays.
10. Knowing (hoping) I'm going to get caught up this weekend.
That's all.
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!

Snow Day!

This snow day is exactly what I need!
Though now it's sleet and supposed to turn into freezing rain, we did get some snow before the switch over. Doesn't matter. It was enough to cancel school and any other plans I had to travel today. B took the 'burban to work, so there's not even a chance I'll get forced to go anywhere today. Whoot! We knew schools were on a delay before going to bed last night, so I got to sleep in. Always a good thing. Now it's catching up with myself and editing, and probably watching a little Lord of the Rings, too. Oh, and a nap. Definitely a nap.
Yesterday went so fast. I completely missed posting. I have my days all mixed up, too. I think it's Tuesday for some reason. So, maybe I'll come back later with a Tall Tale Tuesday post. Depending.
For now, I'm going to catch up on my email, start laundry, and enjoy the day.
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!

Sunday

A list of random.
1. I know it's winter, but if it's going to be this cold, we should have snow. This year has been very disappointing in the snow department.
2. Sunday afternoon naps are the best.
3. It takes forever to get through the grocery store when you run into a boatload of people you know.
4. Swedish Fish are the best.
5. I'm tired of static electricity.
6. Weekends aren't long enough.
7. Watching your 12 year old react when a girl likes him is pretty darned amusing.
8. Those bugs have got to die out soon. The ones I'm finding downstairs are huge. I don't understand, nor do I like it.
9. It should be illegal to put raisins in with chocolate. That's just gross. It's even grosser when you bite into it without realizing the demon raisins are there.
10. Why do people say "kill you dead". If they kill you, you're dead. There's nothing else.
I don't know.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Here's the list:
1. My wonderful man and his skill at dryer fixing.
2. My Bloody Valentine and 3D!!
3. New Supernatural - Loved it. Loved Barry Bostwick and the twist. Loved the boys.
4. Being able to put my jammies on at 6pm.
5. Walks around historical sites.
6. Applebees.
7. Not having to cook dinner.
8. Things that make me giggle. For example: A list of instructions that says "No fowl language". ha!
9. It's Friday.
***
Eww. And last night, just as I was settling into sleep, I reached over and put my hand on B's arm and guess what? There was one of those freaking bugs on him. Bleech. Where do they come from? They're up to something. I can tell.
Okay. Busy weekend. Lots of scout stuff and other stuff.
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!

Monday Madness

There's no school today.

That means it's an instant sleeping in day. A beautiful thing.

Except my sleeping in got rudely interrupted this morning. I know other people are dealing with hatches of what look like assassin bugs. We are, too. Though I thought the cold snap might have gloriously eliminated them all. Only I've seen more of the stupid little buggers the past three days than I have yet. Yesterday morning I opened my eyes to see one flying around the ceiling. There was another one on my socks. Blech. This morning, though...I reached my hand behind my head to tuck my pillow in and felt the hard, cold shell of one. I planned to go back to sleep, but my throat felt weird. Yeah, like I'd swallowed a bug weird. Gross. It could have been something else - hair, fuzz, a spider - I don't know. All I do know is that my lovely sleeping in time was over.

Which is fine considering everything I have to do today. Today is clean the house day. We're starting in the wreck of a basement and working our way up as a team, then we'll split to do our own bedrooms as soon as the bathroom is polished. I want it done. As soon as possible. After that, it's editing, cooking dinner, and then an evening obligation.

I'll be very glad to crawl into bed tonight...providing there's no more of those icky bugs hanging around.
Behave!

Random Sunday Stuff

I've been feeling pretty low about my writing the past few days. I know where a lot of the feelings are coming from. My writing time has been wrecked for days now. There's a lot going on around here, a lot of worry, stress, obligations, things to take care of. Some changes that are still being adjusted to and some issues that will hopefully be resolved by this time next week. So, I know I'm dealing with an overabundance of external (and internal) stress and since this stuff tends to work together for my detriment, I know. I just know.
One of the things I've been doing is trying to get things organized around here. Space is a premium issue at the moment, and the lack of it is driving me nuts. I had bag upon bag of writing related stuff in my closet. Yesterday, I pulled it all out to go through. One bag was stuffed full of rejection letters. You already know where this is going, right? I was already feeling low and seeing page upon page of "no, thank you" really took the spit right out of me. I should have put it aside for another day, but I didn't. Once I had that stuff cleaned out, I tackled my desk. And found another folder stuffed full of "no, thank you" letters. I organized the letters into a binder, which meant 3-hole punching them all. (My ultimate goal, once my career takes off, is to wallpaper my office bathroom with my rejection letters.)
Anyway. While I'm still fighting off the stress-induced willies, I found a few things that have made me feel a little better - a thank you note from a cprw member for the work I did on the retreat, a poem a friend of ours wrote for my birthday, a "take some time for" list written to me by an author friend during a previous low spot. A card from B with a really beautiful note inside. I put them all on the outside of my rejection folder, along with my submission postcards. I guess it's my way of reminding myself that though that folder is filled with less than desirable results, I have value to the people who matter most to me.
Why is it easy to accept the bad things, and so hard to accept the nice things people think/say about us? I don't know if that's a nature or nurture type thing and don't want to examine that subject at this point. All I know is that it would have been much easier to toss those good things and continue to focus on the stuff that was adding to my misery. I had to force myself to pay attention to those items.
Eh. I don't know.
On a more random note...I borrowed my mother-in-law's paper shredder to decrease the load of paper that shouldn't just be tossed into the garbage. Whoot! Paper shredding. Is there something wrong with me because I love the paper shredder? I'm shredding everything, baby! There's a small stack left to do, but the noise makes B nuts, so I'm trying to not do it while he's local. I used to have a shredder of my own, but I broke it due to overuse. I want another one, which is probably too strange.
That's all.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Saturday Edition

Days like yesterday make me wonder if getting rid of Moaning Monday was a good idea. Ha. I'm not going to go into it, except to say it was overly busy and stressful.
Let's focus on the good stuff, shall we?
Here we go:
1. Writing friends.
2. New Supernatural!!!
3. Supernatural discussions after the episode.
4. Making new friends.
5. Cool drink hats.
6. Looking forward to girls night out to see My Bloody Valentine.
7. My kid wanting to cook dinner tonight.
8. Sleeping in.
9. Sleeping in on Monday.
10. Light weekend plans (even though they include grocery shopping. ugh.)
That's all. It's too cold here to even think straight. I'm looking forward to getting the run-around part of my day done so I can snuggle up and do some editing.
Oh, and if you're a Supernatural fan, check out the new blog link on the sidebar. Supernatural Sisters. The blog launched with Thursday's new episode. I have a feeling I'm going to be hanging out over there more than I should. ha!
That's all for now.
Behave!

Ultimate Drink Hat Goodness

Look at what I got!!

And it's red!

Sweet!

Heeee! I love it!!

Behave!

Grumble, Grumble

We have a two-hour delay for what amounts to a dusting of snow.
Which totally screws up my plans for the day. Well, not totally, but it's cutting into my time, and, I never did go back to sleep. Maybe this would have been okay if I would have been able to.
Had the weirdest dreams last night. Sheets of sharp glass on concrete stairs, ice in the shape of puzzle pieces, doors I wasn't allowed to go through, strange living arrangements, walking down a country road and getting tackled by some guy from B's work. My brother was in it, too, but I'm not sure what he was doing there. What's sticking in my head is the glass, ice, and the tree that was beside the road I was walking down. Odd.
Anyway.
Tonight!! Tonight!! New Supernatural!
I may be back later with a post on my thoughts. It looks super creepy. I'm so excited the boys are back.
And next week, I'm going on a "date night" with some friends to see My Bloody Valentine. I'm very excited for some adult/me time. Every time I say something to B, he rolls his eyes. Yes, the only reason we're going is because Jensen Ackles is in it. ha!
Okay, this delay is nearly done. Got stuff to do. Places to go. People to see.
Behave!

Answers!

Here we are:
1. I've never seen The Goonies. True. Have never.
2. My knowledge of the entertainment world is very limited. I have conceded to Natalie on this. Originally, the answer was true, but as she pointed out I know all about things I'm passionate about - like Supernatural, Lord of the Rings, ect. (No one will play Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit with me.)
3. My dad was on American Bandstand when he was a teenager. True. I think he skipped school to go, but I'm not sure. I don't think he got to meet Dick Clark though.
4. B had the option of being a professional break dancer. Bwah ha ha ha. False.
5. I'm missing a toe on my left foot. Also False.
6. I hate to paint my toenails. False again. They're red right now, though B painted them last time.
7. The Lord of the Rings movies are my favorite movies. True. I very rarely, if ever, loan out my extended version DVD's.
There you have it. A bunch of nonsensical trivia that you probably don't care about anyway. Ha!
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.

Tall Tale Tuesday

Okay. Are you ready?
Which of the following is true, which is crap?
1. I've never seen The Goonies.
2. My knowledge of the entertainment world is very limited.
3. My dad was on American Bandstand when he was a teenager.
4. B had the option of being a professional break dancer.
5. I'm missing a toe on my left foot.
6. I hate to paint my toenails.
7. The Lord of the Rings movies are my favorite movies.
I can't think of anything else right now. So, I'll end at 7. Yeah, it's lame this week. What can I say?
Can't wait to see what you guess!
Behave!

One of Those Days...

I probably should have just stayed in bed. I know I said I wasn't doing anymore Moaning Monday posts, but I'm not sure I'll call this that.
*While making dinner, I burned the ends of my hair bad enough that I had to trim it. You can't really tell, but I could smell it.
*Also while making dinner, I dropped an entire pot of hot, cooked spaghetti on the kitchen floor.
*Then, I flipped over a pan of garlic-cheese bread and lost a few slices.
Obviously, I shouldn't make dinner anymore.
***
Whoot! Only three more days until new Supernatural.
***
It's supposed to get brutally cold here. Not looking forward to that. At all.
***
My comfy couch is broken. I'm not happy. It is over nine years old, but a new one isn't in the budget right now. I love this couch. It's warm, comfy, and is responsible for the best naps.
***
B's watching this show where they're going to blow up a dead sperm whale because they don't know what to do with it. Ew. They just did it. Big hunks of blubber are falling from the sky and they only disintegrated part of the dead whale. I've never seen anything like it.
***
Okay, that's enough rambling. I'm so tired I can't even think straight.
Obviously.
Behave!

Sunday Snippets

Been working hard today, so thought I'd share some more editing notes and a few of the more decent passages.
Here we go...
Page 192: Why didn't she think of the cabin sooner?
Page 194: Why so many sandwiches? Wondering why what?
Page 197: Aunt Jane died too fast.
Page 201: Doesn't Jillian have calming powers?
Page 206: How did she get the tour permit and hook up with the woman?
Page 215: Use viciousness to their advantage. Vines.
Page 226: Rearrange news - how Matt go injured first, what's up with Jillian second.
Page 230: Tell when Olivia set up the cot. Wouldn't she know if Luke was injured?
page 265: If she's a seer why didn't she know Sandy lied?
Page 278: Why would she have a bucket of nails in her car?
Page 279: She should recognize her cousin.
Page 290: Experiments.
As you can see I've made a lot of progress today. I only have about 100 pages for this pass. Next comes the harder work.
Now for some semi-decent stuff.
"Luke had kept his brother from being in his head since Olivia left. He didn't need anyone else poking around in there. All this emotional connection crap was too much in a world where everyone you loved died."
**
"He let his energy flow through her. Her spirit was alongside his. He witnessed the darkened places of her being that might never come back into the light."
**
"Jillian had left her mother to die. She'd done nothing to save her when she might have been able to. Fear aside, she should have at least tried."
So there you have it. More junk for your brains. No one's told me to stop yet, so...
Behave!

Not So Snowy Saturday

Okay, seriously. Where is the snow we were promised?
I happen to love snow. It's beautiful, and it's fun to drive in. If it's going to be cold out, it might as well be snowing. Stop throwing tomatoes. We haven't had a decent snowstorm in a very long time. Ice is the only thing we ever seem to get. Ice is stupid. As my niece put it, this lack of promised snow is "Rude, with a side of ignorant". Anyway. I didn't sign on here to talk about the weather.
A lot of time has passed since I began this post. Our chinese food was delivered. I ate. I checked email. I had three phone calls. And that's still not what I logged in to talk about. At this point, I'm not sure I remember anymore because even more time has passed. Like three hours!
I know I wanted to add to my Feel Good Friday post. I had the best thing happen that ended the day on a very high note. K1 came back from cashing his paycheck with a present for me. He brought me season 3 of Supernatural! Is he a great kid, or what? 5 days until a new episode!!
One thing I wanted to mention is a relatively new link on the left. Heartwild Solitaire. I was lucky enough to get to beta test this game. It's fantastic. Addictive and challenging. The people who created it are wonderful and I was honored to be able to help. Check it out. It's definitely worth it.
The past two days have been pretty hectic and I'm dying to get back to my edits. (I know, your dying for me to put more editing crap up, right? Ha! You have to tell me if you hate it, you know.) Despite being worried about what this year will bring, I'm optimistic. I'm excited to finish the edits on Into the Fire and get it out there. I'm excited to edit my anthology story and get it submitted. After that, I'll be starting something new. I'm not sure exactly what yet, but I'm excited about that, too.
Well, there you have it. A bunch of nonsense without much of a point. Maybe I'm incoherent because of my disappointment over the lack of snow.
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Whoot! It's Friday!
Here we go:
1. Duh! It's Friday.
2. We're supposed to get SNOW!!
3. Having my laundry caught up.
4. Kicking computer bugs to the curb.
5. Getting back to work.
6. Sleeping in tomorrow.
7. Light weekend plans.
8. Not having to cook dinner.
9. Only one more week until NEW Supernatural!!
10. Warm blankets.
Kind of a lame list this week, but at least the week ended on a better note than it started.
Behave!

Working Hard

And it's time to share.
I'm still not so sure this is a good idea, but whatever.
Here we go:
Page 158: Were they really in the armory for hours?
Page 160: Luke's reaction to Theo and the guns.
Page 166: Why can she memorize the layout of the compound now, when she couldn't before?
Page 170: How did her mother get there? They left her in the experiment room.
Page 179: Make sure their aunt is really dead.
Page 182: Thames after her - what's he saying to make people hate/fear her?
And...because I've forced crap on you several times already, I thought I'd share some better stuff, though it still might be rough in spots.
**
Women were always doing weird shit like that - making you think you were getting lucky when the idea had already fled their minds.
**
"Don't cheapen this. Just don't. We were incredible. Special. We both know it." He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her close and kissing her hard.
**
"Heart Attack." She covered his chest with her hands. His spirit waned already. "Dad. Come on. I can heal you, but you have to fight." She touched his forehead, her tears splashing onto his pale cheek.
He took a deep, shaky breath and reached for her hand. "I'm sorry, baby. I can't live without her. I don't want to."
**
Three totally different scenes, though one and two are related. The last one is a huge turning point for one of the heroines. In one day, she lost her entire family because of a psycho politician. I know! You're so confused now. Hopefully, that's confused in a good way.
Okay. Back to it. I hope you're not hating my editing posts!!
Behave!

Fitting...

I might be back later with some stuff!
Behave!

Back to Work!

Whoot!
I'm making pretty good progress, too! (until I got distracted by email, but it was time for a break. Really.) That's okay though. It's soon time to watch a new episode of my other favorite show, Ghosthunters.
Here are some editing lines for you:
Page 117: Fix: He studied her. liquefied certain parts (ick), vodka, ancient beings.
Page 120: Explain deceptive shadow.
What's going on with Matt and the stairs? He went up and now he's down. That was quick. Rework section.
Page 122: Matched his passion - cliche.
Attempts on her life - either take out or make consistent.
Not that she believed he did, except for maybe a quick piece of ass between informants - make it make sense.
Page 124: Why did his reflection surprise her? Where is she?
Page 126: "Promise" reasoning is contrived.
Page 127: He kissed his way around her throat???
She's stuck a lot.
Conversation between body and soul. Yuck. Cliche.
Page 128: Would his mother's wedding band fit on his finger?
Page 131: He fills Olivia in, but was just thinking about how it was good he and Matt could talk privately so the information was secure. Would he really tell her so much?
Page 132: Letting her be in charge? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.
Page 133: Niggling? Make her thoughts tougher.
Page 134: Why are they talking about Matt while they're in the shower?
Page 138: Is he sincere or still only trying to seduce her? Wouldn't she wonder? She went too far the other way.
I'm actually done with more than page 138, but there's nothing but words to check for overuse and sentence structure stuff. It's pretty good progress considering how long I've been at it. I'm still not as far as I planned to be, thanks to the crap in my computer, but it feels really good to be back at it.
There might be more tomorrow. Posting snippets here keeps me motivated to get it done. And it gives you an idea of how terrible my first draft is. Hmm...I know first drafts are supposed to be bad, but maybe this isn't such a good idea after all.
Behave!

Answers! And I Win!!

Answers first:

Which two of these really happened around my house in the past week:
1. I found a cereal bowl and cheese-covered spoon in the bathroom. And O cereal floating in the potty. Yes, this is true. Gross. Totally gross, but true. K3 decided to cover his O cereal with processed cheese squeeze. I don't know why. He said it was too disgusting to eat, and instead of bringing it to the kitchen he decided to clean it up in the bathroom. Don't ask me. He's 12 and I think that's excuse enough.
2. Squirrels got into the trash and spread it all over the yard. They're crazy. Yesterday morning there were at least 8 running around the yard, digging in the trash, foraging. They're fat, too. Crazy squirrels.
3. A chipmunk dug a hole through the shed door. Trying to get...what? There's nothing in there a chipmunk would want.
Didn't happen lately, but has happened in the past, only they were after bird seed.

So that's that.
I wrangled the malware and won. Finally. I'm still really nervous. But all scans are clean. I'm so thrilled. Now I can get back to work. I might even have another editing post later, depending how it goes. Lot's of stuff going on around here, but I'm hopeful.
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

(still dealing with the virus on the laptop. Am very frustrated.)
Okay. This ones going to be short and sweet. You can thank the virtumonde adware for that. Stupid bugger.

Which two of these really happened around my house in the past week:

1. I found a cereal bowl and cheese-covered spoon in the bathroom. And O cereal floating in the potty.

2. Squirrels got into the trash and spread it all over the yard.

3. A chipmunk dug a hole through the shed door. Trying to get...what? There's nothing in there a chipmunk would want.

One is a lie. Which one?
Behave!

Figures...

Today would have been a perfect Moaning Monday!
My laptop is infected. Horribly infected. I've spent all day trying to get rid of the little buggers. Thanks to a household administration phone call and getting lucky enough to talk to Carlos, I was able to begin to get a handle on the problem. (Thanks, Carlos! Don't forget to email me!) Simon's other half gave me additional guidance, and I think (pray, hope, oh please!) I'm finally making progress. I downloaded a spybot program and the first time it ran, it came up with not only the 3 infections my regular virus protection found, but 12 more (nasty ones, too), and an additional 14 potential risks. I was able to heal all but one, and am now in the process of running the scan again after following the recommendations. Keep your fingers crossed.
So, I've managed zero editing today. Zero. That's not helping the throbbing in my head, I'll tell you that much. See what I mean? Today would have been the perfect Moaning Monday, but since I've quit doing those posts (ha ha)... Yeah, I know, but this was newsworthy, in my opinion. A lesson, if you will. Don't let this happen to you!
Tall Tale Tuesday returns tomorrow! I know you're all very excited! ha! And, depending on how the editing goes, I might post more of my random notes later tomorrow. We'll see.
Hey! Do me a favor and make sure you're backing up your writing files and keeping your protection service up to date. This is a nightmare you don't want to deal with.
Behave!

Back To It

Moaning Monday is going away. There's enough crappy things going on these days. Reading one more persons accounting of it is a downer none of us need. Be assured, though, you'll still hear about the random things that occasionally happen around here.
The kids are back to school. K1 is back to work. Getting everyone up this morning wasn't as challenging as I feared, but we all know how that goes. Tomorrow will be harder, and it'll become a chore from there. We are supposed to get some winter weather tomorrow night into Wednesday and the potential for snow days or delays always changes things a little.
I worked on edits all day yesterday in between the usual Sunday obligations. I even managed to avoid Facebook for most of the day. At this point, I'm reading and making notes. I already have 2 1/2 pages of notes - things I need to fix, explain, rearrange and motivations that don't make sense. And that's fine.
Here's a random sampling of what I'm talking about. It's exactly as I wrote it:
Chapter 1:
How can she send mail if they're being watched?
How did the Miller's tip off the patrols?
page 11: change once upon a time section
page 28: hidden bag - where?
page 43: wrought iron work
page 71: heat got to who? -how'd they get through the gates?
page 78: Just her socks?
pages 87, 88: her knowing? Change. Too convenient. Maybe have them find out later.
page 90: gets (Matt) over it too soon. Revelation part.
page 103: Why did she walk when she knew she'd have antidote to carry back?
page 116: Change - she hoped - she designed it she should be confident it'll work.
Makes sense to me. I skipped a lot of the entries, but constant lines of "rearrange paragraph" is kind of boring. I still love this story and that's a good thing.
Time to get busy!
Behave!

Recharged

I love my local RWA chapter.
There is nothing like being with a bunch of like-minded people to put some charge back in your batteries. Our monthly meetings always do that for me, but after today's meeting I feel it more. I'm not even going to try to analyze why. I'm just going to go with the flow and try to keep the feeling all month.
I hope I do, because I made my monthly goal pretty high - not un-doably high, but it'll be a reach. I think. Which means I have to get to work. I have a full length novel to edit and my anthology story to edit. Maybe I'll put some progress bars up on here to give me some motivation.
That's all for today. I hope you're having an enjoyable weekend!
Behave!

Feel Good Friday

The first feel good Friday post of the new year...
1. It's Friday and today really felt like Monday.
2. My CPRW meeting tomorrow!
3. A new year to muck up. ha!
4. Finally getting a Facebook. (like I have time for that!)
5. Only 2 more weeks until new Supernatural! (check out the preview at the bottom left - it looks awesome!)
6. Finishing my antho story.
7. Meeting my goal.
8. Feeling organized, though I'm sure it's an illusion.
9. Comfy clothes after a long day.
Okay, I can't think of another one to get to 10, but I know there's more. I'm just too tired to think.
Behave!

Happy New Year!

Well, well...the first post of the new year.
The year ended on a bang...literally...with B getting into a fender bender before he left work. The year began with a bang, too...literally, as well. A drunk driver hit our neighbor as he was pulling into park. The guy took off, ditching his car a block away and then taking off on foot. Exciting times in the 'hood.
So, I did what I said I wasn't and read over my January horoscope. Ha! I hate false hope and there were bucketloads of cheerful, positive predictions. Eh, whatever.
I am ready to for this new year though. Bring it.
That's all. For now.
Behave!!

The Eve of The New Year

I started writing a deep and thought provoking post about motivation and momentum, but I lost it when a virus descended on my computer. I spent most of last night trying to get rid of the darned pest. By the time I did, my motivation for anything but sleep was long gone. That's the last time I search the web for snowblower parts, I'll tell you that much.
Anyway.
Part of the post I was working on when the virus arrived talked about how last year seemed to lose momentum and how it took me until not very long ago to realize I was letting "life" interfere with writing - letting it suck away time and letting it alter my view. "Life" probably isn't the right word. Normal life isn't a problem - it's supposed to be there. You have to live, take care of and spend time with the people who are important to you, pay your bills, feed the dog, change the cat litter, buy food. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the things you're supposed to brush off and move on from. Let's call that "stress", okay?
Normally, I'd be the first to say "suck it up and get to work" and "quit whining", because it does sound like whining. It sounds like an excuse - a really stupid excuse.
But sometimes those things "stress" pile up and before you know it, you're buried pretty far underneath. You don't realize how you got there either, or what it's doing to you, your life, your relationships, your precious writing time. All you know is that you feel like crap and you don't know why. You sit down to write, but you feel like the creative synapses in your brain have all fused together. Then, you make excuses - "I'm tired", "If I don't do the laundry, we'll all be naked" - stuff like that. You think it's "life", but it's not. Not really. Because under normal circumstances you have a semblance of balance, at least occasionally.
Stress is what makes you look at everything through broken glasses. It makes you forget to see the good things in life. Stress sucks the joy out and makes you feel small and broken. We all deal with stress, and it's relative to what you're used to. I'm used to the chaos of four children and our huge dog (I'm not saying I don't get stressed by my house at times). What I deal with, happily, on a daily basis might send a seemingly normal person to their knees in tears. It's relative to what you're used to.
When you've already got a ton of abnormal stress in your life, you're like a "stress magnet" (currently, my picture should be beside this word). Things tend to pile up around you constantly - one after another until you think you might collapse under the weight. It happens sometimes. I think you know what I'm talking about: flat tires, broken appliances, sick children, ect. that all happen on the same day, and then the next day is even worse, the day after that as well.
I don't have any advice on how to deal with that. I wish I did. I wish I knew the magic secret to banishing stress, and depolarizing the stress magnet. That sure would come in handy around here. Unfortunately, no one really knows the answers, and if they tell you they do they're probably selling something. Especially for the stress that seems to drop out of the sky like baseball-sized hail. Dealing with it is personal and situational. What works for me won't work for you and the other way, but sometimes trying another persons way helps you find your answers.
Though, I think recognizing your stress and what you're letting it do to you is part of the way to cope. There are simply some things you cannot change - no matter how hard you try, or how much you want things to be different. It's easy for other people to say "let it go", "don't let it rule you", but since they're not walking around in your soggy shoes they really don't know what you're dealing with. They don't know how hard it is to continue to put one foot in front of the other when it feels like you're wearing flip flops in a blizzard. Not that they don't mean well. They do.
My point? Gee, I'm not sure I really have one. Or maybe the point is that sometimes we all get buried under the pile. No one can pull you out, though they can help you find your own way out. Maybe just knowing you're not alone is enough. Life does go on though. You have to decide if you're going to let stress paralyze you or if you're going to swing off the rope and dive into the water with both feet and deal with what might happen when it happens. Sometimes you'll stay safe on the shore, and other times...
Well, that's another post.
And I think that's all for now.
Celebrate safely tonight, and...
Behave!

Tall Tale Tuesday

Will be taking a break this week.
Look for it next Tuesday!
I'll be back later with a post. Maybe.
Behave!

In Case You Wondered...

We're not getting a puppy.
Things didn't work out. I'm sure (really sure) it happened the way it was supposed to. When I think of everything that goes along with brand new baby dogs, I know. When I think of how our dog reacts when we simply rearrange the furniture, I know. When I think of the chaos that lives in my house on a daily basis, I really know.
The K's took it well. They were disappointed, but not overly so. We were very open with them about the possible outcomes, so they didn't have their hopes up too much.
And now you know, too.
Behave!

Moaning Monday

The deluxe edition!
It's been quite a day!
1. The hot water running out halfway through my shower this morning. I was the only one up and I take very quick showers.
2. Toilets overflowing. 'Nuff said.
3. Wacky phones.
4. The cat barfing on our bed.
5. Pester. Pester. Pester. Argh.
6. I'm tired.
7. Dinner not turning out the way it was supposed to.
8. Missing school projects and crying because of it.
9. Getting the first tax mailing today.
10. A big headache.
There's more, but 10 is enough, don't you think?
Behave!

2008 In Review

I wasn't going to do this post for a few more days, but in all honesty, I don't think many more reportable things will happen this year. And if they do, they'll be bad things, because that's just the way my life goes.
2008 was a long year, a rough year in a lot of ways, but a pretty good year. I guess.
Anyway. Here goes:
January: Lots of random posting, New Year's Eve recap, blurb announcement for The Shape of Love.
February: New irritating Internet service, THE SHAPE OF LOVE RELEASE! WHOOT!! My first booksigning! My first author chat! Some snow, lots of random, A Cabin Story.
March: Random practical jokes with me as the butt, customer service headaches, Easter with the family and a slew of random pics.
April: My birthday, Going to see the Chippendales with my buds, out of town company, wireless Internet! Whoot!, community service projects, science fairs, missing the beach.
May: Lots of random, baby bunny's being stolen from our back porch by an evil creature, THE RETREAT!!!, ugly woodpeckers, Memorial day, random meadow pictures.
June: Celebrating K's 19th birthday, Freddie the turtle being lost in my house, vampire garlic, the end of school, the return of Fiesta Friday, the passing of my sister's dog, Boone, preparations for camp and K2's camp counseling stint.
July: Camping for the first time of the year, lots of random meadow pictures, cat pictures, fail pictures. Supernatural videos, K1's ear injury, more camp counseling duties,
August: My cousin visiting, Fiesta Friday!, lots and lots of random, lots of meadow trips, Labor day camping, writing challenges, blogiversary, weddings, wedding showers.
September: Weddings!, Talk Like A Pirate Day, reconnecting with old friends and farm visiting,
October: Much rambling, more farm visits, Nick's (publishing gnomes) visit, Halloween parades, Halloween, K3's 12th birthday, a booksigning I missed because of a funeral, alligators.
November: Loads of birthdays, puppies, Thanksgiving, K2 turning 17.
December: K4 turning 9, our 22nd anniversary, Christmas.
And throughout it all, there was a ton of random, a ton of Supernatural discussion, and a ton of writing-related stuff. The year definitely started off with a bang, but lost steam somewhere along the way.
Here's to 2009, and a year that's full of steam and good stuff.
Behave!

Tip of the Day

Behave!