Into the Fire – Victoria Smith – Free Digitally - May 8^th-12^th

In Olivia Sanders’ world, people like her don’t survive very long. Special abilities are a threat to the corrupt government. 

Olivia and those with similar abilities struggle to keep their secrets as new laws threaten them daily. Though hiding isn’t enough for Olivia. A healer and firestarter, she works with the resistance to ensure the safety of the people of her sector, toiling in an unforgiving world without freedom or hope with the goal that someday they will find
both.

Poisoned by someone she should never have trusted and betrayed by her godfather, the former governor, who is using disturbing methods to control the population and grow his army, Olivia is forced to seek help from Luke Jamison, the leader of the resistance. They join forces with his brother, Matt, and Jillian Derrick, a hard-as-nails woman leading a band of "undesirables" to safety.

As conditions in the sector deteriorate and the death toll climbs ever higher, Olivia and Luke, along with Jillian and Matt, cling to the miracle of found love while facing the horror of a future without each other.

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Fire-Victoria-Smith/dp/1682916332

RELEASE DAY!! May 12^th! The Shadow Guide; Challenging the Fates; Book One – Victoria Smith (This book was previously released as For the Love of Isaac)

When evil comes for Alaina, bringing with it a destiny she can’t deny, can love stand against the forces of darkness?

When Alaina inherits her grandmother’s house, she gets far more than just the eccentric woman’s massive knickknack collection. Desperate for help with the increased paranormal activity around her, she calls the one person she thinks can provide it—despite the memory of the night he rejected her.

Patrick doesn’t want to get involved with Alaina and her demonic inheritance. He’s lost enough to the demons already, and so has she. If he refuses, she could be murdered just like her grandmother. Just like his wife and child. And he can’t live with that either.

Together they must find a way to restore the balance of good and evil, while coming to terms with emotions neither of them thinks they want.

https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Guide-Challenging-Fates-ebook/dp/B08TX52QQM/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Shadow+Guide+Victoria+Smith&qid=1620084664&s=books&sr=1-1

Thank you!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Saturday...

The first week of May is done. 

Time is so weird still... It's so hard to believe it's even May. Let alone that an entire week is gone. 

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Still a very hard day for me. I miss my momma so much. It's been 6 years for Mom and 7 years for Dad. Sucks. 

So here's the list:

1. Seeing my grandboys. We got to play a little and talk and hang out. It was a quick visit, but my heart was full. Especially when little B came in and saw me. His face lit up and he ran to me. 

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

3. My flowerbeds growing and looking pretty decent.

4. Rain. I know that's unpopular. We had a crapton of it, too. Though, I am wishing for warmth and sunny skies today. 

5. The Shadow Guide releasing on the 12th! Watch for it! Into the Fire is going to be a free digital download starting TODAY!!! (Find it on Amazon!) That will last for a week. Hopefully if you decide to get it and you read it and like it, you'll think about leaving me a review on Amazon. That would be awesome and I would so appreciate it!

6. No idea what's going on tomorrow. I have made no plans. But at the same time, I haven't been asked what I want for dinner. So maybe everyone forgot or something. Whatever. 

7. Plans to hopefully see the old work crew soon. 

8. Camping coming up! I'm so looking forward to it! 

That's all! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday - The Last Day of April

Holy Crap! April is done!

Such a quick and long month! 

This week:

1. Another "Celebration of Life" event for us today. The mother of a dear friend of ours. Well, most of the family are dear friends. She was 96 and she was a trooper. She fought her cancer until the very last day. The service was beautiful and so was the fellowship. 

2. We have gotten rid of the dirty ugly stumps left from ripping our the front shrubs. What a pain. And since we couldn't grind the stumps out, we put huge flower pots out there. They are screwed to the stumps and filled with rocks so they don't blow away and can't be stolen. The front of the house is looking pretty damned decent. We still have stuff to do, but it's coming along. 

3. Into the Fire is going to be free in two weeks. For about a week. And then The Shadow Guide releases. I did my first foray into real marketing so we will see how it turns out. I have some write ups to do for blogs, but you'll probably see that here, too. 

4. Seeing That Sister this weekend. It's been freaking forever! 

5. Camping is in less than a month! Whoo Hoo!

6. This wind is freaking insane! It's kind of scary, too! It's supposed to be done by 2am, but we'll see. 

That's all I have! 

Happy May! 

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

And here we are at Friday...

I know I haven't done a Feel Good in a while...

But here we go! 

1. Hello Fresh. It is so nice not to have to think about what to make for dinner three nights a week. Honesty, I think we would spend way more at the grocery store if we had to make the three meals on our own. But, at the same time, I would get it delivered every night if it felt cost effective. So there you go...

2. We had to go to a "celebration of life" for a former coworker today. Yeah, a freaking funeral. It sucked. He had leukemia and he died within a year of his diagnosis. He was a good guy and it was terribly sad to hear his mother say that it shouldn't be like this and hear the stories from his brothers, cousins, and friends.

3. The sunburns are peeling. My feet itch like crazy and my forehead is like four different colors. It's a small problem for sure. Ha!

4. I am writing every day. Yeah, most of those words don't make any sense, but there are still on the page. 

5. Camping coming up soon. I can't wait. I am so ready. 

That's all I have for now. It's a decent list for the week. I think?

Behave! 

Almost Through April...

Yeah, it's been two weeks. 

What can I say? There's just not a lot going on...

Though, That Man and I went to the beach. Just the two of us. 

This was the trip we had planned last year, but was cancelled because everyone was on lock down. There was a bit of a struggle to get the reservation carried over, but it was totally worth it. 

Our place was a tiny little 'cabana'. One room and bathroom. The kitchen was a decent size. There was a couch and this bed that came to my chest. I had to climb up using the ladder. It was comfy though. We had a loft deck where we could go up and watch the ocean, and a lower deck for if the wind was too much. Also, we could park our car right under the house, which was really nice, too. 

We were literally steps from the beach. It would take me about three minutes round trip to go back to our place to use the restroom while we were on the beach. We fished, talked, and walked the shoreline. We planned ahead for dinner and I put it in the oven on one of my bathroom trips so it would be ready when we were done for the day. 

Oh and sunburn! I sunscreened. Like a freak as usual. But my face got burnt. So did my knees and feet. That Man got a little red on his head. He used the same sunscreen I did and looked nowhere like the lobster I turned into. 

Anyway. It was an amazing getaway. Now we're back in the real world. Same old. Same old. We do have stuff upcoming. We'll see if they happen. Two things have already been cancelled. 

That is all! 

Behave! 

First Week of April...

April just jumped right in here...

We had Easter. We got to see some of the family. Not many. And yes, we were safe. And we had a blast. Way, way too much food though. I think I'm still full! Ha! 

I got to see my great niece for the first time in over a year. She is so freaking cute. She ran around picking up sticks and stepping over dogs. No fear and the dogs didn't even flinch. 

We did manage to see most of the grandkids Easter weekend. We missed only one because he was taking a nap. 

I did get my new cover. I will post it very soon. It's lovely and I'm excited about it. I already did my first round edits on the book.  

Looks like I'll be going back to the office within the next month or so. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. I've been home for over a year. It's going to be an absolute huge adjustment on so many levels. 

But the writing is going well. I am a bit lost in the story right now, but am working hard to get it back. 

That's all...

Behave! 

Mid Week

So it's Wednesday...

No more calls from Molly at Amazon, which is good. Though a friend of mine started getting them the day after me. She wasn't dumb like me though. She didn't hit "one" to dispute the charges. I just can't not though. I feel the need to rebel. 

This week has been pretty quiet. The weekend was also quiet. We needed that quiet weekend. We worked on the camper, did the shopping, dropped off the car for inspection & to have the emergency brake checked. I took naps. We made good food. And we cleaned the house. 

I have been writing a lot. I also got a draft of my new cover for the book coming out later this year. I am waiting for the final and hope it is awesome. I will share it as soon as I'm able. 

That's about it. We'll see what this weekend brings...

Behave!

Scam Callers...

Lordy! 

The past twenty-four hours have been horrible with scam callers on my personal phone! 

It's always the same call - Amazon saying that there's a charge of seven-hundred and something made in Dayton, Ohio and they need to know if I made the purchase. 

Like sixty-five thousand times. 

Okay. So I exaggerate, but it was a lot of calls. I put my phone on do not disturb last night and still got like three calls. It started again today right before lunch. 

I told them last night to remove my number and stop calling me. 

Ha! Obviously that didn't work. 

Today, I was told that the rep would need to access my computer or cell phone to remove the fraudulent charge. I said I don't think that's how it works and he assured me it was. I told him to stop calling me and that their calls were harassing. I also told him he should be ashamed of himself for trying to scam people. 

Seven minutes later, they called again. And then again in another seven minutes. 

I informed them that I was going to the police because of their calls and they'd better remove me from the list. This was after the guy wanted to know what kind of phone I had and tried to make me say that I had made the purchase, and condescendingly asked me if I'd shared my log in information with anyone. Again, I told them to remove my number and stop calling me and I might have said a few bad words. 

The last time they called, which blessedly has been a few hours ago, I asked the rep if he could see the number that was called. He confirmed he could. I told him to make sure he removed it from their system and to stop calling me. Except there was a lot of profanity involved and yelling. 

I've had it! There's no way to block the numbers because they are different every single time. You can hear people in the background saying the same thing the rep was saying to me to other people. 

I don't understand it. I am still angry about it. I mean, if it's really stopped. It could start up again at the same time it did last night. Then what do I do? It's not like I have enough information to actually file a harassment complaint. Though I do have a plan if it starts up again. 

Frustrating! 

But it is Friday, which is a good thing. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Well Then...

So it hasn't quite been a week. But close enough. 

K3 and A moved into their new place over the weekend. They hadn't seen it until they picked up their keys. Apparently the previous tenants trashed it and the rental company needed the extra time to get things spiffy. It's a cute little place. Two bedrooms, big bathroom, decent sized kitchen, with an eat in dining room. And with their own parking spaces. And not in the most terrible, worst part of the city possible. 

It's the same distance for us, but a much easier place to get to, if that makes sense. It does to us. 

We took a few loads over Friday night, and then Saturday morning we got the rest of their stuff with some help from friends. It didn't take long at all. In fact, we were home before lunch, and we didn't start until nearly ten am. 

K5 came then. We had a sleepover and a blast. She's so stinking funny. She did my hair, stole my socks, and talked our ears off. She helped make dinner and loved what we made. I wasn't sure she would, so I don't know if it was her active hand in preparing it or the fact that it was really very good. She loved the new spare room and the bed being so high off of the ground. (And the fact that K3's cat was still here and in the room) Mr. B came early Sunday morning. The kids were very happy to see each other. It's been since Christmas. We made pancakes, sausage, and had whipped cream. They were hysterical and had a blast together. 

Then we went to K2's for Baby C's (not a baby anymore-she's 6!) birthday. Having most of the kids together was awesome. (We were missing Baby B) They had a blast. They played with K2's baby bunnies, played in the yard, got dirty, and came up with many different things to do. And we got to see all of our grandkids and all of our kids on the same day, which was particularly awesome. We dropped K5 off at baton class and then headed to take Mr. B home. Then got a phone call from K5's mom that she was stuck in Maryland and could we pick up K5 from baton? Of course. We didn't stay as long at K1's to see Baby B as we wanted because we had to hurry back to be on time, but we still got hugs and crazy stories from him. He adores his pappy and talked his ear off. 

By the time we made dinner and K5 was picked up, we were exhausted. Who am I kidding? We were exhausted Friday night and it never went away. Ha! It still hasn't! 

Now it's Tuesday. Monday was rough. Real rough. Today was a bit better exhaustion wise, but still rough. I had to rescue K4 because she left her lights on and her battery died. I went in my comfy pants and tattered sweatshirt. Ha! 

I made a pretty kick ass dinner, That Man did dishes, I wrote a decent amount of words, and now I am ready for bed. Our weekend coming up is blessedly light as far as obligations. Thankfully. It seems like all we've done lately is run around like crazy people. Though I have a feeling we'll break ourselves doing things that need to be done around here. Ha!

That is all...

Behave! 

Here We Are...

We're at about a year since all of this shit got real...

This time yesterday a year ago, things were still going normal. I had breakfast with a friend, a writing meeting, and gathered with family. Then... just like that, life stopped being normal. 

But... it is what it is. We just do what we can do and make the best of it. 

We are making our summer plans without thought of restrictions though, so I guess that's something. I feel like I want to go and do everything we wanted to do last year and everything we talked about this year, but my vacation time tells me to shut up. Ha! 

Anyway. 

Not much is different from here. 

K3 & A have been here for a little over two weeks now. It's been absolutely good and fun. We make the single bathroom in our house for five adults work, and we make mealtimes work. I have no complaints. They are clean, respectful, and help out. 

They are moving into their new place this weekend. I'm excited for them. Especially after seeing the tiny kitchen they came from. Their new place will be like a palace for them. They both love to cook and have made fantastic meals in my tiny kitchen. Their old kitchen was 1/3 of the size of my tiny space. Their new kitchen is predicted to be four times the size of mine. So that's exciting.

Other than that... Same old. Same old. 

Behave! 

Eh...You Know...

So I saw this meme about why no one feels like talking right now and it pretty much sums it up... 

Basically (and paraphrasing) it said that no one wants to talk right now. Replies are brief and late. Group chats don't really happen anymore. It's because we're all spent and have nothing left to say. You can only say "I miss you" and "I can't wait to see you again" so many times. And let's face it, we're all doing the same thing we were doing about a year ago. It also said that we're not supposed to apologize, because we're all feeling and doing the same thing. 

I feel that so hard! 

I have started a blog post four times in the last few days, but then I become apathetic and feel like I have nothing to say. And I really don't. What I have to say is basically nonsense. 

Except...

We're going to a funeral tomorrow. I don't know what it's going to be like with social distancing and all. But we feel like we need to go and pay our respects. Ben was a very dear friend to us. We haven't seen him in a few years, but he was one of those guys who didn't care about that. He was always happy to see you and talk your ear off. He was one of the most non-judgmental and funny people I have ever known. 

We moved up to his neck of the woods many, many years ago. His son was That Man's best friend. We moved up there based on his son's urging and knowledge of cheap land for sale. We had a lot (a lot) of good times while we lived there. They took us in and treated us like family. 

We eventually moved back down the mountain. Martin (the son) was killed in a tragic tractor accident shortly after my mom died. It was rough. We still made the trip to visit as often as we could. But it's been a while since we've been there. 

We don't know what to expect. We just know we have to be there. 

So we both have a shorter work day tomorrow. That Man is working from home because it doesn't make sense for him to drive into the office for an hour and then drive home so we can leave on time. 

Saturday is helping K3 and A get their stuff out of their apartment and into their storage unit. They've been here with us since Sunday and going over every night and doing as much as they can to make Saturday easier and quicker. 

To clarify, I am just a truck driver. We are borrowing trucks from work and only employees can drive them. So I am just there to drive the truck. I am not lifting, cleaning, or doing anything but sitting behind the wheel. Ha! I am too old for that crap! 

Other than that... Same old. Same old. 

I am writing. I am working the day job. I have been loving the snow, but equally loving the sunshine and warmer temps. (I know. You just can't please me... Ha!) 

Also, I have been doing taxes. State and Local are filed. Just not paid. Federal is 99% done, but I need to double check it. And then pay them. Yeah, it sucks that we owe everyone this year. But that's normal. Ugh. I hate it, but I'm glad to be almost done and know what the damage is. Next up is helping K4 with hers. Which should be easy. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Tuesday...

The first storm predicted this week turned out to be a bust. What was supposed to be ice turned out to be only rain. Bummer. 

Now they're forecasting 5-8" of snow starting tomorrow night. We'll see. The weatherman contradict each other, so I don't think anyone really knows. We'll end up with nothing though... Again. Sigh. 

I know you all think I'm crazy for loving snow so much. But I do and I can't help it. I could happily live in Alaska. 

Our new showerhead is pretty decent. Well, after I figured out how to adjust it so it quit spraying the wall and not my body. Ha! 

I found a sweet dresser and bedside table at the thrift store for the spare room. It's retro and in really good shape, and it was cheap! So I picked it up and brought it home. All we have to do is get K4's cabinet out of the room, and then finish setting things up. 

The writing is going well. I did my art sheet for the re-release of Cursed Fate. I'm excited to see the cover! Next will be edits. I'm plowing ahead on the new book, though plow isn't the exact best word. I was going solid and then hit a wall, so I've had to take a step back and do some character work. But I am working. 

Just found out the winery book signing event has been cancelled for this year. I'm sad, but I get it. It's already on the calendar for 2022 though. Obviously the greenhouse Valentine's event was cancelled. That one really made me sad. That's one of the best events ever - from just getting to be in the greenhouse, to seeing my author friends, to talking with readers, to lunch with my pals afterwards - it was the best. I hope that comes back next year!

That's all I have for now. 

Behave!

Happy Valentine's Day & Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope your day was as you wanted it to be. Ours was pretty decent. I slept in. That Man made me breakfast. We went to the home improvement store for wood, a new shower head, and the stuff to fix the bathroom sink. And a new ceiling fan for the spare room. 

We spent our weekend cleaning out the spare room closet and dealing with the tonnage, installing the ceiling fan, getting the bed set up, and doing random fixes. We are tired, but things are coming together. 

We have winter weather in the forecast, but we'll see if it actually happens. 

That is all...

Behave! 

10 Days!

Holy crap! I didn't mean for ten days to pass between postings!

So we got about 8" of snow. I think. It was nice. I never made it to the office, but that's okay. 

Thursday was That Man's birthday. I surprised him with a long weekend trip to a little cabin along a creek about forty minutes from our house. We've never been there before and it was super nice. We left Thursday afternoon after our host let us know we were good to check in earlier than planned. 

It was the cutest, most cozy, little cabin! It had a loft that I never went up in thanks to a straight up ladder that threatened me when I considered it. Ha! Big comfy bed (on the main floor). Big awesome tub. Efficient kitchen and comfy sitting places. A fire pit that we didn't get to use this time. There was a huge deck that overlooked the creek, which was beautiful. 

I made him stir fry for his birthday dinner, complete with eggrolls, and cheesecake with a candle for his birthday. There was a sweet grill on the porch so we ran to the store on Friday for steaks. That was an amazing meal. 

We watched movies, napped, ate good food, read, I wrote, we walked the trails, talked, and soaked in the tub. It was a beautiful weekend. Especially since we woke up Sunday to snow. It was beautiful to watch the snow on the creek. We sat out on the deck with our coffee for a long time. Until it was time to clean up and head for home. It was a really awesome weekend!

Sunday K3 and A came over to pick up some boxes and have dinner. We had a nice time talking and making food. They will be staying here for about two weeks while they wait for their new apartment to be ready. It just makes financial sense for them not to have to pay a full months rent and a half months rent. 

Then back to the grind. I did make it to the office on Monday and got my office packed up and ready for the new office flooring. We have more snow in the forecast, though no one seems to know when or how much. 

I guess we'll see...

Behave!

Snow in the Forecast!

We're forecasted for 8-12".

I hope!

I know. I know. It probably won't do anything, but I can still hope for it!

I mean, I get that I don't really have to go anywhere, so it doesn't impact me as much as it does other people, but come on! Snow is awesome! (I was planning on going into the office on Monday though and my week is pretty crazy so I don't know when I'll get it, and it's important that I do)

It's been a pretty quiet weekend. 

We picked up my Jeep on Thursday. The price tag was almost twice as what I had budgeted for, but there was more work to be done than we thought. I am super happy with it though. The rattle that we thought was exhaust, was actually rust and it is no more. It feels solid and tight and we're good on paying our welder for a few years now. (Yeah, we'll need to do more work in a year or two, but my Jeep is an old lady) Next is the fuel lines, and then I should be good to go! I have trails to ride with my brother and my kid and my other kids. 

Friday night was pretty much chill. We made some good food and watched some stupid television. 

Today has been pretty chill as well. Though we did make a trek to the store for cat food and hamburgers. We absolutely needed the cat food. The hamburgers not so much, but they will make a great dinner tomorrow night. Especially if we grill them in the snow. Ha! 

The store was insane! People were coming out with heaping carts of everything. We got out of there as soon as we could. We would not have gone at all if it wasn't for the cat food. 

We were supposed to clean out the spare room. For why, I will tell you soon. We got the huge pipe out - this thing was in our attic when we bought the house. We moved it when we did K4's room, and frankly, it would have been a huge pain to try to bring it down via the stairs. It's like they put it together in the attic or something. I'm not sure how it came down the attic stairs. It went out the window. Ha! 

So, technically we were going to make the burgers tonight, but we changed our minds. I had a gift card for the food delivery place and we ended up ordering Indian food, which was amazing. I am full, but I am thinking about grabbing my leftovers out of the fridge. It was that good. 

Just checked the forecast and from the map, we'll be lucky to get a flake. So I guess we shall see...

Off to write now...

Behave!

  

Post Retreat

 Not much to report on the last morning of retreat. I slept in. Write a few hundred words. Packed up. And headed for home. 

K4 hurt her foot pretty badly and couldn't push in her clutch. She was at a friends, so we ended up going to pick her up. Mr. B's birthday present (that I ordered the day after Christmas) finally arrived, so we headed over to give it to him. He was excited and loved it. Little Mr. B was hysterical and is so attached to his pappy. 

Other than that, we're back to quiet around here. It sleeted over night, but not bad enough to make the roads bad. K4 has had to drive my car all week because of her foot, but since it's feeling better, she'll go back to driving her own. 

And that is all...

Behave!

Retreat: Day Three - Last Night

It's late and I should go to bed...

But I just finished a terrific word count and need to decompress a bit.

I am the only one up, but not for long. I have to say that this house makes a lot of weird noises when you're the only one in the space. Ha! 

Anyway...

I started the story after lunch. And it's going remarkably well. Things kind of just clicked into place and instead of doing extensive pre-writing like I normally do, I hit the bricks and started in chapter one 

I am on chapter three now. I'm excited and pleased. 

This retreat has been amazing in so many ways. To get to hang with my closest writing friends for days after not seeing them forever has been absolutely epic To be able to do my own thing and not have any kind of a schedule to adhere to has also been epic. To have my own bathroom and to take care of my own needs is awesome. 

To say I have loved this time is an understatement. To say I have needed this is also an understatement. This house was amazing and suited our needs pretty perfectly. Though it's doubtful we can afford it again. 

We have a few hours tomorrow morning and then it's over, but I highly doubt the energy gained here will wane for a while. We all made amazing progress on our goals. 

And now I'm going to bed...

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Three - Morning

Ha! Pretty much the same time as yesterday morning!

It's really cold and really windy here. The wind howling through the trees is epic, but kind of comforting at the same time. I wish this fireplace to my left was a working thing. It's ginormous--two-sided with a hearth on each side and an exposed chimney. It totally fits in with the aesthetic of the room. 

Currently, I'm on a loveseat with a dining room chair serving as my footrest. One of my companions has both arm chairs. They're situated so one is her foot rest. And the other two companions are camped out on the sofa. It's working for us and despite the fact that everyone said they were willing to move if someone wanted to try out a different spot, we've all stayed the same place the whole time so far. 

I slept better last night. Woke around four freezing to death. Grabbed another blanket. Then I woke around eight sweating like crazy. The temperature in my room had risen fifteen degrees. Yuck. Got up and showered, made breakfast, goofed off for a while and have spent some time going through old book files looking for an idea file I made a long time ago.

So what happened is that as I started editing the book that killed me to finish, I realized that even if it's published this time next year, it's still too soon. The similarities between the pandemic we're in and what's going on in the book are remarkable. (Yeah, it's way over the top compared to our pandemic, but still...)And I started that book over a year before the pandemic started. As I was editing, I was cringing. So... I stuck it in my "to edit" file and am now doing some research on one of the other books in the series. I've had to familiarize myself with what I said about this place in the first book.

I'm getting ready to start writing - hopefully no later than after lunch. I still need to figure out my characters and all of that jazz. 

That's all for now!

Behave!

Retreat: Day Two - Evening

This day flew by! 

I got my read-through done before noon. Whoot!

We began brainstorming another book I've been working on and was stuck with where to go next. The realization that the book is pretty much done where I am hit me hard and it's right. So whoot on that! I, obviously, need to do some editing, but everything I wanted to say in this book has been said! 

So, then I opened Sector Two to edit and immediately closed it. The gist of the story is that it's a post-pandemic world. I didn't think I could edit it because a lot of the scenarios are super close to what we've all been dealing with the last almost year. 

I took a break and decided to put my big girl panties on and actually edit the damned thing. I'm ten pages in and while I'm cringing at a lot of the similarities, I'm also working hard to enhance it as someone who's also been in the middle of a pandemic (just definitely not in the same way as the heroine, but I can still give her more emotions).

The day hasn't been super productive as far as output. For any of us. But it's been productive in the sense that we have hashed out a lot of personal concerns, we figured out my story was done, we booked our next retreat gig, we brainstormed stuff, we ate dinner together even though we all made our own food, and we have talked until we are all hoarse. We watched turkey vultures congregate and fly around our house. I did not nap. Nor did I shower. 

But.... as always, sometimes retreat is like that. Always retreat is just what you need. Which has, so far, happened for me. I have peace on my guardian story. I am editing the story that killed me to finish. I finished my read-through. I am with friends. I have no obligations except for what I want and need to do. Which is focus on my writing goals, even if I get no words on the page.

Retreat was already a success yesterday, but it's even more so after today! And we have one more full day here! 

Behave!  

Retreat: Day Two - Morning

Good Morning!

I know it's mid-morning, but it's still before noon! Here I am at the beginning of retreat day two! Whoo! It's still hard to believe I'm here and have all day today, all day tomorrow, and a half day Sunday!

We stayed up pretty late last night. Talking. Of course. When I finally did get to bed, I had a little trouble falling asleep. Of course. That's always typical my first night someplace different. The night light in the room was so bright I had to unplug it, and it was so very quiet I had to put white noise on. But the bed is comfy and once I settled in, I slept good and I slept in this morning. 

Even though I'm off from the day job, I have to cover the phone messages. They come into my work email, so I need to check them regularly. It's not a big deal and I don't mind. It's far more of a pain to switch the lines than for me to still do it. I just need to remember to actually do it. Ha!

I'm halfway through my final read through. I ate the most smashed muffin and despite its smashi-ness, it was good. I'm the only coffee drinker here and I've consumed pretty much an entire pot by myself. Ha! 

I will probably nap at some point, too. Which is awesome! 

That's all for now. My break is over. I want to get this read through done before noon and then move on to a different project. 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day One

Day One of my first retreat in five years!! Whoot!

We've been planning this sucker for about four months and have had to change dates a few times. I'm with my closest writing friends and we haven't seen each other in probably at least a year. We've all been super cautious and none of us are worried about making each other sick. We are just happy to be together. 

We're in the wilds in a "cabin" with about 18 rooms (yeah, for four of us, but to be fair there were supposed to be two more of us). (and we're still in our state, so no worries about travel restrictions) This house is super cool. We each have our own room and bathroom, though mines not connected to my bedroom (I think only one is), but it doesn't matter. It's so quiet here, outside and inside. 

We arrived around 4, finagled the parking situation, hauled our stuff up two flights of stairs, got settled into our bedrooms, put our stuff away in the kitchen, and talked and talked. We made nachos for dinner and we're now sitting in one of the living rooms talking and talking and trying to do our thing. Only the main thing that's happening is talking. And talking. Like I said, we haven't seen each other in at least a year and it's been even longer than it's been just the four of us. 

Tomorrow is Friday. My muffins are smashed. Like really smashed, so we'll see if I can even eat them. That's the thing its taking me the most to get used to. We did a shared meal tonight, but we are completely on our own for every other meal. It's taken some creative thinking on my part to deal with this, but I think I'm good now. I have my smashed muffins, a bagel, some energy bars, stuffed shells, and soup. I didn't really plan lunches because I usually either eat breakfast or lunch, but rarely both. I have a bunch of snacks, so I think I'm fine. But then, when I saw everyone else unload their stuff, I wondered if I was going to end up hungry. HA! I'm fine though, and there's a store not too far away if I run out of food. 

Tomorrow I will get to work. I have my final proof of my re-release to read through. I have a book to finish, and two to edit. I need to brainstorm the book to finish. So we'll see what happens. 

That's all for day one. I am so happy to be here! 

Behave! 

The Chair...

We've been talking about getting new furniture for a while now. 

We can't decide what exactly we want and we know we don't want to spend a fortune. We have cats with claws and a dog and a lot of pet hair. 

The last thing we want to do is pay a lot of money for furniture that they destroy. 

Plus, if I'm getting new furniture, then I'm getting new end tables, lamps, coffee table, shutters, and we're painting the living room. So it's kind of an ordeal. Ha!

Anyway. We needed something in the living room. We moved the sleeper sofa couch into my office before Christmas and we moved the "too big for the space" couch back to it's wall after the tree came down. And we were left with a blank space and a man who can't stand our current couch. He's been mourning the chair we had no choice but to get rid of for a long time. (He's still mad that it got put out for the trash despite the fact that there was literally nothing left of it.)

So we did a bunch of research and still couldn't decide on anything. Today we hit a local thrift shop that donates their proceeds to cancer patients and we found a leather recliner. It had a stain, which turned me off, but the price was really good. I was sure the stain was there because someone died in the chair. (They assured me that wasn't the case)

We decided to check other options and think about it. We hit a few stores and there was nothing we liked or felt it was worth spending the money on. That Man kept thinking about the chair. 

So...we ended up with the chair. The stain is not that bad. It doesn't smell at all. And it's super, super comfy. 

That Man is very happy. 

It's not new furniture, but more of a test to see if the cats will try to claw it since it's leather. So far, they have just sniffed it. But time will tell. In any event, it was worth it. 

New furniture is still on the horizon. I'm just not sure when at this point. 

That is all...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Here we are at Friday again!

Let's get to the list:

1. Friday! It's been a long, long week. 

2. Sleeping in tomorrow. I hope to, anyway. Sometimes it doesn't work even though I want it to. 

3. Our Hello Fresh meals this week were really good. We've had a lot of variety and some stuff we never thought of making before. We really enjoy getting Hello Fresh. We work well in the kitchen together and we have a good time making dinner together. I mean we usually do anyway, but with the list and directions and all of the ingredients right there, it's different. 

4. This time next week, I'll be on retreat! So excited!

5. Light weekend plans. We need to hit the big box store because I think we're out of just about everything. I'm not even lying. 

6. We need to clean the Jeep out this weekend because she's going to get the last of her frame rust taken care of very soon. Hopefully it's the last of it, but I supposed our welding guy will tell us if it's not. Then we need to replace the brake lines and adjust some stuff. I need to order new fenders soon, too. 

7. Finishing the Christmas story!! Woo Hoo!! Finishing feels good! I will take the weekend off - maybe - and figure out what I'm doing next... 

8. I cleaned up all of the plants in my office and the bathroom this week. The asparagus fern was ridiculous. So were the spider plants. They all look really good now though and the spider babies have a new home. What a crazy amount of plant debris though! 

9. We're in the long, dark sleep of winter, so there's not much going on... We need snow.

That is all. 

Behave!

January 12

2021 isn't starting out well as I'm sure you're aware. There is just too much... It might be time to ask for a refund...

We did get the tree down last weekend. First we worked in the basement storage space, getting that 3/4 cleaned out and organized before putting the decorations away. Got rid of a bunch of stuff, made a mess. Got Santa and his sleigh put away, but we left the snowmen on the front porch, because... Snowmen...

We'll be back at the basement cleaning this weekend. One more section of shelves, and then we hit the main basement space before getting to the nooks and crannies. We'll need to get the boys over here for some heavy lifting soon, but for now we can work around.

Talked to Mr. B on his 8th birthday! He's such a funny kid! They didn't do anything this year because of non-sleeping toddlers. We're still waiting for Mr. B's present to arrive, so once it does, we'll take it to him. I ordered that thing the day after Christmas... 

Got a call from my gaggle of grandkids earlier. They are so funny and cute. K2's boy thought we were coming over to their house today and then insisted K2 call me. We talked for a long time. The kids were tacos, unicorns, and other weird messenger face thingies, and told me all kinds of things. They asked for their pappy constantly, but he was still at work. That was such a great call! Totally made my day! 

This book is still not ending and I've taken to being super brief... "the rest of the day went great" kind of thing with no action. I have to resolve about four threads and then it should be done? I want it done by this time next week, if not before. Hopefully before. Then I have to decide if I'm going to go back to the project I was working on before this book came to be, or start edits for the next book in my series... Or start something else new. 

We had a little scare about retreat, but all is well now. A little over a week! I cannot wait! I need to figure out my food for the weekend. We have a collective meal on Thursday, but are responsible for our own meals the rest of the time, which is kind of daunting and freeing at the same time. It's been forever since I've only had to fend for myself (last time would have been when all of my family was away at some form of summer camp years and years ago - like eight years?) I will probably end up with chips and dip or cheese and crackers all weekend! Ha! Other than that, it will be friends, writing, and no responsibilities other than writing. Whoot! 

That's it for now. We need snow and we need a lot of it. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but...

Behave! 

 

Feel Good Friday

First Feel Good of the Year...

1. It's Friday!

2. I had to work a full day at the office today. Inventory day. I have not combed my hair or put jeans on at 6am in almost 10 months. That felt odd. It was a weird day and I am exhausted! First, I stood on a concrete floor with a clipboard for many hours. Then I sat in the office chair (that I hate, but my office chair is here at home) entering numbers for the rest of the day. But it really was a pretty good day. I got to see and talk to coworkers I haven't seen for ages while I did my job. (well, some of my job) I think the whole day was good for the office staff. 

3. Sleeping in tomorrow. Oh, and I mean to. 

4. De-Christmas-ing the house tomorrow. Hopefully.

5. Writing time this weekend. 

6. Writing retreat coming up in less than two weeks! Whoot! It's been over five years since I've been on a writing retreat and I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to this! 

That's all I have. It's been a long, wicked week!

Behave!

Dear...

Dear Winter - 

We're in the long, dark cold now. Nothing coming up to look forward to, made even worse by Covid. (except my retreat, but I'm not getting too excited yet) The sun hasn't been around for days. Today it was dark all day, just varying degrees of darkness. I don't know whether to wish you away, or just wait and let you fly by on your own. 

Dear Rude Woman - 

Okay, she's a distant neighbor. She was kind of friends with my mother-in-law when she lived behind us. (kind of) That Man helped her out with some stuff a few times, at his mom's request, but the tendency for advantage to be taken is there, so we keep our distance. The last time we saw her was when she marched right under the bucket of the tree trimming truck, while the chainsaw was running, and demanded to know what we were doing. (umm... hello?) She does not speak to me. Ever. Even if I'm with That Man when she sees him. She does not even acknowledge my existence. Which is absolutely fine with me. I'd rather not.

Anyway. When That Man got home today, she was putting her trash out. She asked him how his mom was doing. He was floored. (His sister went and told her specifically that their mom had passed). He told her she passed a few years ago and she acted like she didn't believe him. No, seriously. Like he was lying to her or something. That Man walked away without another word, but I am dumbfounded. 

Dear Current Work in Progress - 

Why won't you end? Every day I put words in you and every day there are more words that need to go in. I am so close to finishing. And I'm writing decent word counts every day. I would think you would be done by now?

Dear Animals - 

Can you calm the shedding down a little? Please and thanks!

Dear Christmas Decorations - 

Can you maybe put yourselves away this year? I don't feel like messing with you right now. Because to put you away, I need to organize my storage room. And that's not going to be fun. It's not going to be hard, but there's a lot of stuff I want gone, so... Plus, I feel like your holiday came and went in a puff of smoke and I want to keep you around a little bit longer. 

Dear White Car - 

Stop parking in stupid places. Stop parking in front of my dedicated, stoned parking area. Stop parking in the middle of the road. Stop parking in front of the neighbors garage. Just stop. 

I've already called the police on you once when you blocked my off street parking for hours on end. I will call every single time you park on my property and inconvenience my life. I mean, who does that? It's very clearly someone's private parking area. It's very clearly not your garage. 

You are infuriating and I don't like you.

Dear Social Media - 

It's in my best mental interest to stay away from you. I thought you would get better during the holidays. You didn't. In fact, in a way, you've gotten worse. I want cute puppies and kittens back. And kids doing funny things. And funny memes about the pandemic. Heck, food pictures are okay, too. I am sick to death of politics and fighting and people being rude to each other. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Your comment is not going to change their mind at all. Surely you know that already? Because does your opinion suddenly change when someone comments on your comment? No. So maybe just stop fanning the flames, okay? 

Please. Be kind. Just that. Be kind. 

That is all for now!

Behave!

2020 Review

 Let's review one of the fastest years on record!

January:

Feel Good Friday, Booksigning, the one time it snowed last winter, Mr B, birthday parties, hanging with the boys, Freddie goes to the vet, tree trimming rescheduling; lots of same old, same old. 

February: 

Cabin time, kids moving, eye doctor, tree trimming, greenhouse book signing (not happening this year - boo!), camper repairs, more kids moving, random stuff.

March:

Yard work, Birthday dinners, being excited about plans, first of the pandemic, the panic buying, us already planning on being home, and then forced to be home, K4's work closing, struggling to write, getting the camper back and camper work, working from home, stress cooking, Working From Home Survival Journal, working on a week-to-week basis and the stress of that.

April:

Still working from home, new office babies, working in pajamas, taxes, pandemic insanity, Easter cancelled, our beach trip cancelled, our May trip cancelled, my winery signing cancelled, struggling to write, lots of rain, confirmation that we were no longer on a week-to-week work thing, struggling with not seeing my family, ordering stuff for delivery.

May:

Porch work starting, missing Momma, quitting the writing groups, murder hornets, talking to siblings, same old same old.

June: 

Office moving, That Man going back to the office while I stayed home to work, porch work continues, Zooming with our oldest friends, car issues, camper work, girls weekend, Social media drama.

July: 

Heat, K4's new car, camping, porch work, venting, selling cars, updating the Internet, still working from home, still Covid.

August: 

Re-contracting previously publishing books, finishing the porch, K5, zucchini bread, pineapple upside down cake, working in the yard

September: 

Fence replacement, cooler temps, Zooming with friends, K4's room work, only posted three times. 

October: 

Mr. B time, working on the room, brake issues, That Man's car issues, Trick or Treat, prepping for winter, still working from home. 

November: 

More home improvement work, seeing K3, cabin time, totally different, but awesome Thanksgiving, beginning the Christmas prep.

December: 

Edits, random weirdness, seeing my siblings, snow, Hello Fresh and Blue Apron, prepping for Christmas, working from home, Christmas, birthday.

What a weird year. And there's a lot that happen that I didn't post about. It went so fast for me and I've heard other people say the same. 

I hope 2021 is better for all of us!

Behave! 

Two More Days...

Left in this sh*tty year. 

I think I already said that I don't believe anything magical is going to happen at the start of 2021. We are still going to be dealing with this crap. Who knows for how long? 

I'll get to the year in review probably next week...

We had an awesome Christmas! Believe it or not, we were up before 6am Christmas morning. So was K4. In fact, we only got up because we heard her get up. We gathered, did coffee, presents, breakfast, Mimosas. Then birthday... 

I think she was happy with everything. We had stuffed shells for dinner. An ice cream cake, and adult beverages. We watched super stupid movies, laughed, and talked. 

I've been off work since last Wednesday. I go back tomorrow. For a day and a half. I had to use some vacation time or lose it (and That Man and I still have some we didn't use, but we haven't lost anything by not using it). Yesterday That Man was off with me. Today, it was just me. (Well, Kas is off until Sunday, but she is doing her own thing.) I slept in. Goofed off. Went to the grocery store and then goofed off some more. 

Made our last Hello Fresh box from last week. It was really good and it was the one I had kind of dreaded. (We get our new box tomorrow and we'll definitely not try to keep the stuff for too many days again. All of the produce was at the end of its life. Not Hello Fresh's fault, but ours for not cancelling the box for the week like we should have)

I have my second round edits to get done. And I'd like to write a few more thousand words before the end of the year. I don't know if the few more thousand will happen, but the edits will. I have no idea of my writing goals for next year, but I'll think of something.

Other than that... we're marching into the boring time of year... Cold, dreary, and not much going on. My Jeep is going to get some frame work done at the end January. I do have a retreat coming up at the end of January which I am very much looking forward to. Other than that... 

That's all I have...

Behave! 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours and wonderful holiday!!

We're there! 

From here on out, it's crazy for me! And I probably won't post again for a few days. (Actually it's been crazy, which is why I haven't posted)

The wrapping is done. 

I'm cooking like a mad woman. Despite the fact that our Christmas Eve crowd is super, super small, I'm still putting out a spread. Plus, I need to make vegan options for my kid. I'm making Mom's chicken rice soup, and a vegan version with tofu. And, as typical for me, I believe I am making too much of everything! Ha!  

I made a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake last night. I didn't need to, except...I promised a lady at work before I realized I didn't need to make one for Christmas, and I needed to prove to myself that I hadn't lost my touch with it. The last one I made was awful. This one, I'm happy to say, turned out the way it's supposed to. 

Also, I'm putting together K4's birthday dinner so all I have to do is pop it in the oven on Christmas day. She requested stuffed shells again, which is fine by me. I've already made a vegan/gluten-free version. I have the filling for the shells mixed up and the sauce made. All I need to do is cook the shells and get them filled. That's later tonight. 

First we have to run to a co-workers to drop something off, and then do a porch drop for a friend. I have no idea what to make for dinner and at this point, I don't care. Last night was fend for yourself. Our Hello Fresh box came, so that's an option, but my problem is time. 

Anyway. This year is so different, but I'm excited. We are determined to make K4's 21st birthday as special as we can, so even though she can't have the party she wanted, I hope it's just as good. Also, I don't work the day job again until next Wednesday, so that's also exciting. 

The grandkids were a blast this past weekend. They had so much fun together and we had fun with them. Though we were super tired. They played in the snow, played with the gifts they got each other, and talked a mile a minute. We took them to K2's so the kids could see each other and that was really nice, too. Sunday was also our 34th anniversary. We ordered food and pretty much vegged on the couch after getting back from taking the kids home. That's okay. The day was super awesome. I got to see all of my grandkids and all of my kids, even from a distance. That did wonders for me!

Tomorrow will be cleaning and finishing up the cooking. We moved things to an earlier time due to conflicts, so a little bit of hustle is needed. That Man is off, and so is K4, so we should have no problem getting stuff done.

Be safe and well and enjoy! 

Behave!  

Snow Day!

Well, not really! 

I had to work today since I work from home. That Man worked from home, too. But we did get the snow cleared out and the vehicles jockeyed. 

We didn't get nearly as much snow as they were calling for and that makes me sad, but we did get about 11". 

We actually slept in a little this morning, too. Not over the starting work time, but within a few minutes. Ha! It was slow day for me. Except my boss emailed me to ask about an invoice I'd entered. I entered it as $20 million dollars. It was supposed to be $2 thousand. Ha! I entered the invoice number instead of the amount due. Luckily, I was able to fix it with no issues, but how stupid is that? I also signed up for a webinar on new tax laws, so that's a good thing. 

It was a good day though. Texting with the siblings all day, helping K4 hang some stuff in her room, making dinner, and making plans. It was fun to have That Man back in the home office with me. 

Our Hello Fresh box was supposed to come yesterday. It still hasn't shown up. Nor have we gotten mail. Considering the roads didn't get better until well into the afternoon, that's understandable. I think it's cold enough that our box will be fine, plus they pack it in an insulated bag with an ice pack. We'll see...

Eight days until Christmas... We have a few more things we're waiting for and have some wrapping to take care of. The menu is set. I do need to go to the grocery store, clean, and cook, but it'll get done. 

We have two of the grandkids this weekend. K5 and Mr. B. We get K5 tomorrow night and Mr. B on Saturday. We have fun plans, but the best part is that the kids get to be together. We'll make cookies, they'll do their Christmas with each other. We'll cook and do crafts and make popcorn. I am so looking forward to it! 

That is all from here!

Behave!

Week End Wrap Up...

It's Sunday. Again.

And twelve days until Christmas. 

We had to go out yesterday. Needed some supplies and wanted to grab a few things for Christmas and birthday. We did not have to go to the big box store, which is amazing and good. 

It was a madhouse. But I believe, except for waiting for a few deliveries, that we are done with the shopping. Everything is wrapped, too. I mean, everything that's here. Of course, we'll have to hit the grocery store probably once or twice before the big day. 

We got our tree up yesterday. It's far smaller than I wanted, but it's still gorgeous. We decorated last night - just the three of us, had some nog, and listened to our traditional Charlie Brown Christmas. It was very nice. 

Today was putting more lights on the front porch. It looks cute and I'm happy with how it turned out. I wrapped presents and Bob got the snow blower ready for the potential snowfall coming. I am excited for possible snow! 

We made our Blue Apron dinner. A friend of mine gave us two gift meals. It was good, too many peppers, but we're still preferring Hello Fresh. We have one more Blue Apron to make. And then we'll get our next Hello Fresh box on Wednesday. We're digging it though. We do get to pick our meals and they are easy to make. Everything is included except salt, pepper, butter, and oil. 

The writing is going well. Really well. I am digging my story and writing like a mad woman. 

And that is it...

Behave!

Tuesday... What?

It's Tuesday. I know. Really? 

17 days until Christmas...

How weird is that? I don't have any Christmas Spirit and I don't expect I will find any, but I am doing everything I can to get some spirit. I want spirit. I really do. It's just not that easy this year.

Things are going. 

I just finished writing all of the words for today. The story is going quite well. Though it's not what I was writing last week. I had an inspiration and went back to a Christmas story I had started last year. And, I know we're watching a lot of holiday movies these days, but I'm digging the new version of this story. 

And who knows? Maybe I'll finish it and submit it and see what happens... For now, it's a good thing for me to do.

The Christmas shopping is also going. We're about 95.9999% done. Unfortunately, we'll actually have to go to the big ugly store to finish. I think. But we'll put that off as long as possible, or at least until we know for sure that we have no choice.

Plans are to get our tree this weekend. We'll go to the Boy Scout stand like we always do. It's close and quick and they have nice trees that aren't that expensive. I'll start pulling up the decorations over the next few days. We need to move a couch to my office, too... Ugh. It's a sleeper sofa, so it's not going to be easy.

It's cold. I'm waiting for snow. There doesn't seem to be any on the horizon. 

That is all!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

This weekend went really fast... 

Friday night was basically relaxing, watching Harry Potter... We were in bed super early. 

Saturday... 

Got to see the siblings. That was really, really nice. We took care of business, talked, laughed, and ate some pizza. It was so very good to see everyone! 

I know I said I was probably going to cancel the big Christmas Eve shindig (and I still am), but finding out that family wasn't going to come anyways, before I made the decision kind of hit me hard. 

I mean, it is absolutely fine. And after a bit of processing, I am okay, despite the fact that I'll miss them and the fun we have. 

I tell my kids all of the time... you do what you want and you should! Do different things because you can! Life is about experiences and change. I never want them to do something because they feel obligated and I feel that way for everyone (even though it's hard on me emotionally sometimes lol). Yes, tradition has a place. But tradition can change to what fits and suits everyone's needs. I'm down with that. 

I also know that I have the best siblings anyone could ever have, and there's that. And hopefully our gathering on Saturday is the start of a new tradition for us. 

We had to cut our visit short though. Instead of hanging out well into the evening like we wanted, That Man and I had to go take care of helping with something that's hopefully the last time ever. We didn't think it was going to happen at all, but when we got the text, we had to change the plans because we were already committed to the thing. Folks were gone by like 6pm. We left shortly after, did our thing, and were back home by like 9. 

We were exhausted but we did squeeze in a viewing of the new Mulan. I totally loved it. 

Today has been pretty much chilling all day. I took care of getting some of the paperwork from yesterday ready to mail. We hung our solar lights on the porch, started laundry, made our last Hello Fresh bundle, and basically just relaxed.

The lights are cute and turned out almost exactly what we hoped. I went to order another strand for the fence, but they are out of stock. Crap. Our Hello Fresh meal was really delicious. And laundry is still in the machine. Ha! 

That is all!

Behave! 

December Two...

Today was a super weird day.

Work was weird, with unusual situations and random emails. 

The animals are weird. The boys have been fighting like mad. Today was better, but Max has taken to holing up in my office and sleeping in the dog's bed. And the dog will not make him move. She just lays against the door with a devastated look on her face. 

Also, I ordered Elsa a few new toys for Christmas. I had moved them from the box to a bag with some other stuff to make room. She found them, twice, and has been relentless about finding them again. I stashed them in the closet and she knows... she keeps sniffing at the door. When K4 was in my office, the dog kept trying to convince her to open the closet door. Weird. 

Then, I had my window open because it had gotten super hot in the office. K4 had come in to chat and this old, grizzled guy was out on the sidewalk in front of the neighbors house walking by. As we watched him, he spit on the neighbors car and said "there's something for you to eat" and kept walking by. Random. Never saw the guy before in my life and the neighbor whose car he spit on hasn't done anything to anyone. They are a nice family. So weird.  

Got my first round edits for my new release. "Look" is now a bad word. For real. I had overused it so badly. Like over two-hundred times badly. Also, "pull". But they are cleaned up and I just need to do a final read through before sending it back. My editor had nice things to say about the book and that's awesome.

We also signed up for Hello Fresh. We got our first box today, but since I was making dinner for a friend who just had surgery and had extra for us, we will have our first meal tomorrow. My sister and a bunch of people from work are also doing it, and we thought we'd give it a shot. I think it will take some of the stress of "what's for dinner" away and give us some variety. We'll see... I'll let you know how it goes. 

That's all I have. 

Behave! 

November the Last

Can you believe that? The last day of the month? 

One more month left of this craptastic year! Which of course doesn't mean 2021 is going to start less craptastic. None of this is going to go away just because the clock strikes midnight on December 31st! There's no "fresh start" for this time of our lives. 

This is always a crazy month though, and this year is no different. Of course, there are no holiday parties to attend. There will be no "Ugly Sweater" party this year. At this point, I'm not even sure I will do the Christmas Eve Open House. There will be no 21st birthday party for K4, no anniversary dinner out for That Man and I, no New Year's Eve parties, but yet, things will be a different kind of crazy. 

I did decorate my front porch - well, it's about halfway done. I'm waiting for my lights to get here and I need some greenery. But the snowman has been repaired, Santa has been scrubbed up, and it looks pretty cute. I think. I also started shopping. I have four out of seven grandkids done, plus 2 grandkid birthdays, so that's a bonus. And K4's birthday and That Man are almost done. 90% of that happened today. 

We won't get our tree for few weeks. It'll just die with our heat. But I will get everything else done before that day. It's a bonus that I never put away my Christmas dishes from the hutch. Ha! 

Part of me doesn't know why I'm pushing forward with decorating and food plans. Christmas could very well turn out like Thanksgiving. But yet... It gives me something to focus on, so that can't be a bad thing. 

That's all I have...

Behave! 

Black Friday Rest

I hope you had a wonderful holiday yesterday, however it turned out. 

Our plans changed yet again, but we had a really good day. A ended up getting sick and had to get a Covid test. Her results weren't back yet (still aren't), so they couldn't come. So it was just That Man, me, and K4. 

We still went all out. K4 and I made pies Wednesday night, per our usual routine. Two pumpkin, an apple, and a vegan apple (just in case the results came back and were negative), and a white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. K4 bought a pumpkin cheesecake from her work to add to the mix. 

We cooked all day and finally sat down to eat around 4-ish at our decorated table. We were stuffed, but the food turned out amazing. We had a blast all day together - talking and laughing, and yeah, crying a little. 

By the time we finished our pie eating, the kitchen was clean and we were ready to crash. We facetimed with K5, and with Mr. B. Talked to K3 and A, and texted with K1. Texted with my family and his. 

It was a really good day, despite missing people. 

I'm still tired though. I slept in this morning, but still feel like I could take a nap. Of course, I woke up at 3:30 and struggled to get back to sleep. K4 had to work today. That Man and I took the day off. Though we both still have to check messages and take care of emergencies. So far it's been quiet though. 

Oh! Look at the top upper left! That's my new book cover for the reprint that's coming out this spring! I am in love with it and so grateful my cover artist got my vision! 

And that is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday...

 Whooot! Friday! 

Here's my list:

1. I got my turkey. Umm... Since our Thanksgiving plans have changed (again)(and again)(and might change again) and I am feeding turkey to three to four turkey eaters (at this point). My turkey is almost 21#'s... HA!! But hey... It was a free turkey up to just about the poundage we got, so... we have a freezer and it will not go to waste. 

2. Yeah, Thanksgiving plans changed. Yet again. There is work. There is other family. There is work. (Yes, I meant to type that twice) We will adapt. I am trying hard to accept that things won't be the way I envisioned, and that's okay. It will be the three of us and K3 and A, and maybe some drop ins for dessert and frivolity, though that is not guaranteed. At this point, I am trying to just go with the flow... 

3. Oh and hey! It's Friday! 

4. That Man picked up awesome pizza on his way home tonight. No cooking. No cleaning up. Nice, nice break and I appreciate it so much. 

5. Writing the words. I am making pretty damned decent progress. And I am happy with that progress. 

6. Sleeping in tomorrow. We'll see how that works. I haven't been able to stay in bed for very long these days anyway...

7. Talking to two of my siblings tonight. That's good stuff. I wish to talk to the other one, but he forgets to respond to text messages and that's okay. The last one was pure silliness. 

8. I also talked to my cousin who lost her mother last weekend. I won't get into my feelings on this because I started a post last night about my aunt and it was so long I had to delete it. Suffice it to say that my aunt's death has hit me hard. She and my momma were the best of friends and I have so many good memories of my aunt and my aunt, and my momma together. Also, it doesn't help that my cousin calls her mom momma as well. I'm still not sure how we're related, but there's no mistake that we are absolutely family. 

That is all!

Behave!

Tuesday...

So... One more Tuesday before Thanksgiving. 

It kind of snowed a little today! Whoot! 

Things are changing in our state constantly with the Covid. It's frustrating, confusing, and infuriating. I won't get into it or else this will be a huge rant. 

I stopped at the grocery store during my lunch break today after going into the office to put away supplies, sort 2021 calendars, and help a coworker with a spreadsheet. Toilet paper is flying off the shelves again. I would say six out of ten people had tp in their carts. Most of the shoppers had this panicked look in their eyes. It was hard not to fall into "panic-buy mode" with the rest of them. I didn't though. I got what I needed and got the heck out of there. I still need to get my turkey and trimmings. 

Things are still in the works for Thanksgiving. There are too many unknowns, which is why I haven't purchased my turkey or the trappings yet. It's going to be small, I am sure. And that's okay. I will get to cook and use my Thanksgiving dishes and I will do that even if it's only the three of us after all. K4 and I have decided on some desserts we will be making and my list of things to do is ever growing. 

Then I will decorate for Christmas. I have started my shopping, though not by much. We have two grandkid birthdays before Christmas, too. And, of course, I have no idea what Christmas will look like. K4's 21st birthday plans are up in the air, but we will make the most out of it. And we have started watching Christmas movies, which, if you know my husband, is remarkable. He hates anything Christmas before Thanksgiving and we've watched probably six Christmas movies in the last week. That just goes with my point that if it makes you happy, do it. 

That Man and I both took off the Friday after Thanksgiving. We both worked last year and it was the lamest, most-boring day at the office. I would rather sleep in and spend my day relaxing and writing. 

Anyway. The new book is coming along nicely. I am happy with it so far. 

And that is all I have on this windy and freezing cold Tuesday!

Behave!

Sunday Again...

Sorry it's been a week... Last week was pretty boring. I started posting a few times, but found I had nothing to report. 

Now we're back at Sunday. 

That Man and I went to our favorite little cabin along the river. We left Thursday after work and got back a little after lunch today. 

It was a beautiful weekend. We talked, laughed, cooked, watched movies, slept, and enjoyed the river. We took the dog with us and she was an absolute mess. She was freaked out by the river, the train, chickens, and the stray cats around. She was better by today, of course. 

I wrote, slept in, showered in the most amazing shower (seriously, I need that shower). 

We got home, took a nap, ate some soup, made some cookies, I wrote. It's raining now. And super windy. 

And that's all I have.

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up!

 Okay, so the weekend didn't turn out nearly as relaxing as I'd hoped... But it was an absolutely gorgeous weekend! 

I did sleep in on Saturday and it was beautiful. That Man made breakfast. We watched some dumb tv and then got busy. 

The old fencing is now gone from the yard. The camper is winterized and cleared of all food and things that can potentially freeze. The Jeep is cleaned inside and out. The weeds are pulled from the front of the house. The porch has been cleaned and rearranged a bit. Leaves have been raked. The vacuum has been run inside the house. That Man's car has been taken to the mechanic. Shopping has been completed. Laundry is done. House is in decent shape. Yard is getting there. Christmas gifts are being discussed and a plan is being made. 

We pretty much wrecked ourselves on Saturday. Getting the fencing out of here and doing leaves, among other things, broke us into two sorry excuses for sore and exhausted humans. We did make some banging empanadas for dinner though. After that, it was couch time and movie watching. I wrote. Went to bed pretty early for a Saturday night. I know we're early to bed anyway, but this was crazy early. 

K3 stopped in for his packages, so we got to chat with him for a while. It's always good to see that kid! He laughed at us in our soreness! He offered to set up the new Fire Stick we bought because ours is overheating, but I didn't want to have to deal with setting up the apps and passwords and stuff... 

Didn't sleep in as much today, but still did. That Man made breakfast again, and then we set off for errands. Went to the home improvement store, but ended up leaving in frustration. It was packed and they rearranged, so we couldn't find anything on our list. Went to the mega box store for cat litter, and then, we had no choice but to go to the mega mart for RV antifreeze. Ugh. But I got the candles I have been wanting, so that's a plus. It was insanely busy, too, so getting in and out was priority. 

I did take a quick nap today, which was good. And I wrote a crapton of words, so that's awesome. The book is going well and I am happy. 

Also awesome is a writing retreat in my future! I'm so very excited. The house is gorgeous and secluded. I will be with my bestest writing friends and I will be nothing but a writer and friend while I'm there. I will have my own room and probably my own bathroom. I am so very much looking forward to it. I haven't been on a writing retreat in over five years. To say how much I need this would be an understatement. 

Tomorrow is Monday again. I'm at the point in the evening where I'm wishing for another weekend day. 

That is all...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday

Oh Friday!

Here's the list:

1. No problems on my mammogram. Got the call this morning. 

2. Just That Man and I tonight. It's a good conversation evening. Relaxing. Movie watching. 

3. Ordering burgers for dinner. Neither of us were hungry until about an hour ago. We had awesome food delivered. 

4. Sleeping in tomorrow. And I will. It's much needed. I just might overshoot my normal "sleeping in" time! In fact, I mean to. 

5. Light weekend plans. Some yard work. Some house cleaning. Some store going, resting, and relaxation. 

6. Getting words on the page.  

7. Thanksgiving is coming up soon. Plans are coming together with That Sister. And then Christmas. I definitely agree with the mindset that since 2020 has been such a sucky year that we should go with what makes us happy. I'm not ready to decorate for Christmas yet, but it's on my mind. Thanksgiving and Christmas both make me happy, so here we go! 

That is all! 

Behave! 

Thursday Rambling...

Oy vey has it been a long week already and it's only Thursday! 

I voted. That's all I'm going to say about that. 

Had my annual mammogram today. Ouch, but whatever. It's done now. Get your tatas checked, folks. It's important. 

We fixed our hallway light tonight. The fixture finally came. It's been ages since the light worked. We've swapped out plans for a while now. First we were going to put a small ceiling fan up there, which I still want, but it wasn't gong to work. I love the new light though. It's nice to have the light on the stairs again. Though I still want the tiny fan light! 

Writing - I've managed every night but Monday. The counts aren't fantastic, but at least I'm getting something. I filled out my art sheet for the re-release that will come out in the spring. That was exciting and a little painful. 

Weekend plans - no idea yet. Oh wait... we have to go to the mega box store for cat litter since they didn't have it the other night. Other than that... we'll see...

That's all...

Behave!