Kicking Butt...

Way back when I first started this blog, I used to say how much I loved Monday! Then, I didn't. For a long time. But now... For right now... I really think Monday is my day! I have kicked total ass today!
Everyone was up and out the door on time! That's a first in over a week around here.
Elsa has not had one accident in the house in two days. Today she began telling me when she needed to go out. Progress!
Job hunting this morning. The resumes sent nearly reach 100. Maybe more. I'm becoming desperate and discouraged. And depressed. I am waiting to hear about two positions, but too afraid to get my hopes up. As much as I would love to be able to stay home and run this house, we absolutely need a second paycheck. I need a job. Immediately.
I met a good friend and fellow author for breakfast today. After making everyone in my local restaurant raise their eyebrows because I was having breakfast with a man that wasn't my husband, (the looks I got. I was very amused! K3 used to work there, so a lot of folks know us) we came back here to write and have puppy time. (When I told That Man about breakfast, he laughed. I'm sure he'll hear something about it from the folks at the diner. LOL)
I kicked total ass.
I only have about 30 pages to edit before I'm ready to submit again. That means I did almost 200 pages today! Awesome! Then! New writing!
I made a fantastic curry dinner. Chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, peppers, onions, and lots of garlic. I had to get "big bertha" (our biggest cooking vessel) out, and there was not much left. AND it was low fat, low carb, and low calorie. Can't beat that with a stick!
It's supposed to be stupid, really stupid, cold tomorrow. There's a chance school will be delayed. I kind of hope for that. A few schools in our area have already delayed. It'll be another hour or so until we get a call if they delay tonight. *Fingers crossed*
Though there isn't much sleeping in right now. That puppy needs to go out early because she can't hold it very long and when she's up, she's in crazy puppy (baby elephant) mode for a little while so by the time she takes a nap, I'm too hyped up on caffeine to even think about going back to sleep. (And think about taking a puppy out in the subzero temps. Not fun at all!!) Which is fine in a lot of ways. I get more done that way. But I'm exhausted every night.
School just called. We're on a delay! I think it's time for an adult beverage! Yippee!
Behave!

Thursday Tidbits...

Come on, Friday!!
We really need you around this place! We have big plans for the weekend (big plans which will be totally screwed up by this constant rain!), but we're not giving up yet! But let's move on to the tidbits....

Writing:
It's going really well. I'm making progress and loving the new story. Loving the edits I'm currently doing, too, but that's not for the new story.

Home:
Today, K3 met his sister at the bus stop to have a discussion with K4's nemesis. This kid has bugged her since kindergarten, but lately, he's been really rude and offensive on the bus. K3 knows the kid. So they had a "conversation" today. I don't know everything that was said, except that K3 told him if he didn't stop, there would be consequences. The kid said he didn't mean to be offensive (ha ha). We'll see what happens next.
I love, love, love that K3 stood up for his sister like he did. I love that she went to him with the problem. (No one told me anything until after! Of course!) I'm proud of both of them and we left the situation that if there's further issues, That Man and I will be involved. Sometimes, it's really better if the kids handle things themselves. There is nothing more awesome than siblings as a united force.

Day Job:
(I need a nickname for the day job.)
Still harrowing. Crazy week.

Grandkids:
Baby B is pulling himself up now. I love that he gets a huge smile on his face when he sees me! He's so adorable!
K5 is so smart and funny! She starts dance classes in the fall and asks me constantly if I'm going to come and see her dance!

More Kid Stuff:
K1 is having major vehicle issues. Major - like the transmission is broken. It sucks.
K2 is loving being married! Those two are so stinking cute together! I was showing off wedding pictures tonight and I'm still amazed at how awesome the day was.

That is all! It's late and I have crap to do!
Behave!

Holy Crap!! I Suck!!

Wow! Has it really been that long since I blogged?
Unacceptable! And I'm sorry!! That is if anyone is still here?? *crickets* Okay, so maybe no one is here anymore. Dang!
I have reasons and excuses, but there really isn't any... There are, but you know... Let me give a brief (or not so) list of why...
1. The day job... it's been brutal. Busy, training new people, busy, and totally brain dead by the time my shift ends....
2. Wedding planning. Wow. Crazy stuff...
3. Kid stuff... There's been a lot of this, and to be honest, this is more of the reason I haven't been here than #1. Maybe I'll be able to blog about it all someday, but right now, I just can't.
4. Just crazy busy stuff! Egads! Really!!
5. Lack of sleep!!
But...
1. I have been writing!!
2. Day job should get better soon.
3. Kid stuff.. Some of it is a work in progress. Some of it scares the piss out of me... I'm not ready to talk about it yet, but when I am...
4. Wedding planning... is only going to become more intense, but I love it.
5. Retreat is in a month! WHOOT!!!!!
That is all. I promise to try to be better about blogging.
Behave!!!

Detox...

This past week, That Man and I decided to jumpstart getting back on track with our healthy eating program by doing a week long detox. We'd both put on a few pounds - thanks to the wedding and simple not watching what we eat. I'm still not where I want to be yet, so I was ready...
Here's how it went:
Wednesday: Day 1: Fruit all day. It was recommended to eat watermelon and cantaloupe to maximize potential flushing. Black coffee was okay on this program, so I coffee'd it up in the morning. I did okay during the day - ate half a cantaloupe and over a quarter of a big watermelon. Drank a ton of water - which I do anyway. Got home looking forward to the rest of my melons only to find the house full of all children, including the newly married ones. All over for dinner - which turned out to be frozen pizza, and they'd helped themselves to my dinner, leaving That Man and I almost none. I was cranky, tired, had an enormous headache, and was starving. Truthfully, I caved and had one minuscule bit of pizza (not even a half of a quarter small slice) and I felt very guilty. I managed to pull myself together, eat some mandarin oranges, and went to bed far earlier than normal.
Thursday: Day 2: Veges all day. Down 3 pounds. Yay! Woke up sore, tired, cranky, and still with the enormous headache. The program called for a baked potato with a pat of butter for breakfast. A baked potato never tasted so good. Then, carrots, snow peas, more carrots. Did okay during the day. Came home starved, but not as bad as day one. Sucky vege stir fry for dinner (cooked with no oil and one too many hot peppers). I choked it down, trying to concentrate on other things so I didn't notice. Didn't cheat at all today. Hurting though. Went to bed far earlier than normal.
Friday: Day 3: Fruit and Veges all day. Down 2.2 more pounds. Yay! Woke up tired, headachey, not as cranky. A few cups of coffee and I was feeling more energetic than I had since forever. Braindead, though. Hyper - the coffee probably had something to do with that. Made the recommended soup the program calls for and ate like crazy. We did "fall off the wagon" so to speak and had a few adult beverages in the evening. To bed hours earlier than my usual Friday night.
Saturday: Day 4: Bananas and milk. Down .4 more pounds. Okay! Woke up excited for bananas after sleeping in. A banana, and a glass of coconut almond milk for breakfast. (The plan called for up to 8 bananas and 3 glasses of milk) Had no coffee. Should have. Shaky. Managed to do everything I had to, including nap. Ate the soup for lunch. Tried to eat it for dinner, but couldn't do it. Choked down 6 bananas and all of the milk. Bananas suck. So does the soup, but not really craving anything else. Made an awesome meatloaf and put it in the crockpot overnight. To bed early again.
Sunday: Day 5: Meat and 6 tomatoes. Gain of 1.4 pounds. Pissed about weight gain like you would not believe. I mean, I barely ate Saturday. Slept in, woke up excited about meat. Ate meatloaf for breakfast and two tomatoes. Stomach full, but feel like something is missing. Supposed to drink extra water, but it's hard to get in. Urine was supposed to be clear today. That didn't happen until late. More meatloaf for lunch and dinner. Tomatoes all day. To bed early again.Hurting, headache, but not as bad.
Monday: Day 6: Beef and veges: As much beef and veges as you want. Loss of .2 pounds from last weigh in where I lost. Still pissed and ready to quit, but don't. 2 cups of coffee. Tons of water. Carrots for breakfast. Leftover meatloaf for lunch. Pot roast with veges for dinner - didn't eat much. Stayed up later. Weird night sleeping.
Tuesday: Day 7: Last Day! Meat, fruit juice, brown rice, and veges. Loss of 2 pounds from Tuesday. Glad it's the last day and proud of myself for making it through. Feeling good - inside and out. No headaches, no aches and pains. I have energy and my jeans fit much better. Oj for breakfast, the rest of the soup on top of brown rice for lunch - only choked down half of that. Oj and carrots for a snack. Fish, coucous, and zuchini (is that spelled right?) for dinner. Coucous isn't brown rice, but it's a whole grain. To bed at our usual pre-detox time.
Today - First day off - Showed a gain this morning, but have chalked it up to the excess of sodium yesterday. The coucous had more than we should have had (didn't think about that until later) and we had a snack of green olives later. Celebratory dinner tonight of awesome sandwiches, low fat chips, and I had my first diet soda since last Tuesday. I feel like I could vomit, but I'm happy. (I don't think I will weigh myself tomorrow)
In all I lost 7.6 pounds. I feel good. I'm back on track for my goal, have lost all of the weight I gained from the wedding insanity and a little extra. My goal is reachable and I am prepared to tackled it and maintain the healthy eating  I remembered how to do this past week.
Most of the women in my office are now on this plan. They've just finished day two and the mood is mixed. Two of the women are doing well, though one has cheated several times already (she's still losing though). One is struggling because she can't eat certain things the plan calls for and she's frustrated.Another woman is pregnant and is following along with the additions of protein and logical choices for her baby. I plan to stay on it with them during the rest of the week in solidarity. And we planned our next office potluck today, which helped the general mood - that and the gift card the new downstairs tenants gave us for the total disruption of our parking spaces.
So there you have it. Questions?
Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Birthday weekends are awesome! You get to begin celebrating early and continue all weekend. Which I did.
Saturday was a good day - slept in, stayed in my jammies all day, read, wrote. The man made a fantastic dinner and cleaned up. We had good conversation and laughter. The 'rents stopped by with a present for me and I didn't do anything I didn't want to do.
Today was working on the sidewalk. We have to "bring them up to code" because our town is repaving the roads and all sidewalks have to be repaired and stuff. Our deadline is looming. The man was out there grinding cracks and slinging cement. We "think" they're about done, but have to have the code guy come out and check. Our repairs weren't nearly as bad as we thought - not like other property owners, which is lucky for us, but still work.
I made major writing progress. Did laundry, grocery shopped, made dinner, swept the floor (a million times, because of all of the dust).
The bad thing about today is that my kid is sick. We thought she was having an allergic reaction to face paint from an event she went to last night, but a fever of 102.5* (with motrin on board) says differently. Now she's coughing. I can hear her misery and it makes me sad.
And...tomorrow is Monday. Again. I really could use one more day of sleeping in and relaxing...
Behave!

Happy...

Hallmark Holiday! Ha!
We've never really celebrated Valentine's Day around here. Not between the man and I anyway. (We have our reasons - namely that you don't really need an 'official' day to show someone you love that they're special to you) This year seemed a little different because the new video game system arrived today, and the girls and I went to visit K5 so we had to stop and get her a present. (the man is still sick with the flu. He better not share! And K3 had a meeting.) And I got those living in my house chocolate, too.
K5 is a riot! She constantly throws herself into my arms, gives me hugs and kisses, and tells me everything. I love it. She pouted when we left, which made me sad. She's psycho for Sesame Street - namely Elmo and Abby, which cracks me up. I saw every one of her toys, including her fake knife that she sticks in her pocket and pulls out at random times. It was a very good visit.
The new video game system seems like a lot of fun. We didn't have too much of a chance to check it out since everyone (but the sick man) had places to go and things to do. The kids played the dancing game for a few minutes, but that's as far as we got. Tomorrow's another day though.
Another long day though. Mostly good, but very busy.
And I wrote! A decent amount, too! My brain is working on this new story and I like it.
Behave!!

Feel Good Friday - The Saturday and I'm at the Beach Edition!

Yes, you read and saw that right. I'm at the beach!!
It was random and by chance, but here we are. This week started off rough - the stomach flu, followed by me getting a nasty cold. When the weekend offer was made, I wasn't sure I could make it. Not only was I sick, but the home weekend was packed full. That man I live with didn't even raise an eyebrow though. He rearranged everything to make it possible.
So, here I am with the bff's - laughing, watching sappy movies, Supernatural, and eating a ton of junk food. And having a blast. And writing!!!
That is all for now...
Behave!!

What's Been Great About This Weekend...So Far

We're at T-3 hours until Alternate Thanksgiving begins here so I'm sure there will be more greatness to add later (especially since K5 will be here! Man, I miss that kid!).
Here's the list so far:
1. Watching movies with my girls. We've watched X-Men First Class. Pretty good. Red Riding Hood. Also, pretty good. The new Pirates - better than the other two, I'm just not a fan of the actress. We still have Thor on deck.
2. Cleaning dance party.
3. Freaking my youngest out with 80's music. Ha!
4. The vast array of cookies and brownies made. And cream cheese frosting with pumpkin spice. That will go well with the weird dessert I made from scratch...fresh pumpkin, flour, brown sugar, spices...not measured, just thrown together and baked. It's a little denser than intended, but goes fantastic with the cream cheese frosting.
5. Serious laundry progress. Three more loads. Then...my guys will be home from camp...oy!
6. Good phone conversations.
7. Mushroom cheesesteaks! And chinese food! (We won't talk about the crap-tastic pizza and how I ate it anyway hoping it would get better)
8. Sleeping in both days!
9. Waking up to the smell of turkey in the oven.
10. Knowing I have a short week coming up. And having to dress up for work, because I don't do that much (no one sees me) and sometimes I like to be a girl!
11. Plotting progress. I still need a name for the hero, a title, and to work out the end game, but I will soon be ready to start FRESH writing! Wooo!
12. My kid saying she feels better, even though she still sounds like crap.
13. Looking forward to the evening's chaos!
That is all for now!
Behave!

The Power of Positive...

Recently, some friends and I got into a discussion about sharing good news.
One had just recently signed a 3-book contract and had a new book release and she commented about how her first impusle was to share with us, her writing friends, and then she had a second thought about it being kind of douchey to come back and post even more good stuff when a few of us have been in the dregs with writing and life. She said she didn't want to open up any chasms of personal failure feelings or jealousy or even hatred of her for the good things going on for her...
...and I say...piss on that!
Yes. I will fully admit that I had a moment of "oh crap. I must suck." I took a few minutes to wallow in my own personal baggage and issues. Though I can honestly say I was thrilled beyond belief for her. Her successes and what I was feeling were two very different entities - seperate from each other.
But then...here's what happened...
Her news motivated me. It lit a fire not just under me, but within me. I found hope. I've been focusing better, working harder, and remembering why I do this in the first place. Her good news and forward momentum pushed me and reminded me and put me back in charge.
Which is why I will say, again...Get some writing friends. Critique, learn, grow, cheer for each other, hold each other up when life gets tough and then see how you feel when one of them finds success in any way. It is something you will never regret.
Trust me.
Behave!

Wednesday Wrap Up

I'm catching up with myself a little.
Laundry is being done as I type. The kitchen sparkles like it only does when B or I do dishes (my turn). The paper stack has grown, but that damned mail won't stop coming. Neither will the school papers.
I wrote - probably my best word count this year, which is kinda sad, considering, but I'm not complaining. Progress is progress and words on the page are words on the page. You can't edit a blank page. Right?
The warmer temps have brought the stink bugs out of hiding once again. I have to tell you how terrified I am for spring. Just tonight I've been divebombed by one, there's one buzzing the living room lights, I've flushed two in the bathroom, and there's one trapped under my soda can beside me.
There were a lot of auto accidents out there today. I passed two on my way home. My sister passed one. My son's friends were in a pretty bad one (everyone is okay - just banged up a little and their car is totalled). Sirens seemed to go off constantly. I'm not sure if the nicer weather did something to people's ability to pay attention or if the roads were slick from the melting ice and snow.
Mid way through the week. I'm having a hard time remembering that. I'm hoping this weekend is helpful for me getting caught the rest of the way up. There are things I need to take care of that I haven't even mentioned, or really thought of yet, but one thing's certain - I've got to give some things up. I can't do everything, do it right, and stay sane. And, yeah, it was a hard decision thanks to my Superwoman syndrome.
And that is all for now...
Behave!

Frozen Saturday...

Man, it's cold out there! But despite the frigid temps, it turned out to be a darned good day...
It snowed! RWA chapter meeting this morning. That's always a blast and there's nothing like it to jumpstart the writing year. The January meeting is always a good one. We've got a lot of fantastic stuff in the pipeline for the coming year, and I'm excited about it. I'm also ready to write. I made some logical and decent writing goals for the month, and I hope to blow my projected word count to smithereens by the next meeting.
I also had a really freaky experience in the bathroom at the library. I turned to grab the paper towels after washing my hands, and out of the corner of my eye, I swear something moved across the mirror. I looked behind me, though it's a one seater and I'd locked the door. Of course there was nothing there. That was exciting. And considering the building was used as a hospital during the Civil War, I'm sure it's highly probable. I wanted to hang out there, but...
Then there was lunch. I look forward to that as much as the meeting. Good food, lots of laughter, and excellent conversation. We hung out for a long time and it was very good. I came home feeling energized and ready to get to work. But, we had a birthday party to attend and we just got back. Oh, and did I mention how cold it is outside? 
I'm snuggled up on the couch with a blanket and the laptop.
And life is good.
Behave.

Work in Progress Tuesday

Tall Tale Tuesday will be back. Just not yet.
I've been busting my hump today - editing, writing, editing...
It feels good to get back into the swing of things and actually have a productive day without many interruptions.
So, I guess that means it's time to share.
Remember, this is a rough draft, which means unedited (yes, I said I edited, but this is the first major run through and all sentences are considered unedited until I say so. ha!)
This book is the kinda-Frankenstein one. It takes place in a fictional town in Pennsylvania, just off the Appalachian Trail. The heroine is a park ranger whose parents were murdered when she was a child.
And...here we go.
"Sage left out the details of her parents murders for now. Her memories were blurry and fragmented. She knew what killed them in her nightmares, but that didn’t make sense – to her or to the dozens of psychologists she’d seen after her foster mothers had found the pictures she used to draw. The police and the psychologists believed whoever killed them had to have been someone Sage recognized. They said she blocked the identity and replaced it with the scary monster. Otherwise there’d be no reason for her not to give a description. A bunch of psychological bullshit as far as Sage was concerned, but she still didn’t know who, or what, killed her parents."
One more from the nature hating hero.
"Porter hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket. He was supposed to be enjoying the next six days off – sleeping in, drinking beer with his brother at the beach, maybe doing a little surf fishing not tramping around in the wilderness. Damn.
He found Sage in the bathhouse, beating on a rusted water heater with a wrench. Bathhouse, his ass. Why anyone would chose to shower in the mostly open structure was beyond him. The only things completely private were the toilets located behind a door, even though there wasn’t a ceiling. People were crazy."
So there you have it. And remember...rough draft.
Behave!

Whoa Monday!

All I can say is...Thank goodness it's over!
Again, it's been one of those days when I've been on the go for pretty much all of it...appointments, band concert, stop at the store on the way home because someone used the final sheet of toilet paper right as we were leaving, a run to the department store after dropping B and the younger K's at home, because I demolished my only pair of jeans today and there was no way I could wear them any longer. Yay me. But the upside to that is I got some stuff I needed for the retreat and I found a pair of jeans on sale.
Two more days until the retreat and I have at least four days worth of stuff to do before then. The weekend is insane for B and the kids, so extensive coordination is a must. But I made it through today and did get a lot of stuff done, so it's all good. But tomorrow is much of the same, though I have to tell you, I look forward to getting everything done so my relaxation time at the retreat is even more totally worth it. And a shiny new! Whoot!
That is all.
Behave!

Good Thing...Bad Thing

Good Thing:
I am finally caught up with all of my obligations.
Bad Thing:
It took me three days to do it.

Good Thing:
I will be starting a new project at the retreat.
Bad Thing:
I have no idea what it will be. (I do have several ideas)

Good Thing:
Kids feeling better.
Bad Thing:
Waking up to hear "I puked".

Good Thing:
Supernatural tonight.
Bad Thing:
Only one more episode after tonight and that airs while I'm at the retreat without a television. (It will be fine though - thank goodness for iTunes)

Good Thing:
This time next week I'll be at the retreat!!
Bad Thing:
There isn't one!

That's all for today!
Behave!

Sunday Already?

This weekend went far too fast. Heck, 2010 is moving in fast-forward. Tomorrow is March already. Amazing.
Anyway.
Saturday and Sunday flew by. I'm 300 words away from picking up the slack of shoving Saturday's writing goal into today, but when the writing challenge I'm participating in hoses up and my wrist is screaming at me to stop typing already, I took that as a sign to be done for today. And yeah, I'm aware I'm still typing. This won't take long.
I'm convinced the new book I'm working on is a complete mess. Not convinced enough to scrap it and start over, though. Which is good. Once I meet my monthly writing goal, I'll take a step back and assess the situation. Right now, I'm writing through. Digging into my characters to find their weaknesses and pulling those weaknesses out into the light. And loving it.
Not to change the subject, but I think I need to get one of those wrist thingys to support my achy wrist. I've been taking care of it. Okay. Not as much as I should be. I'll admit that. I think a lot of it's positioning. I need to find a different comfy spot. That's dumb. Tomorrow I will write at the table and see if it feels different.
And with that, I'm saying goodbye and finding some ice.
Behave!!

Beach Retreat - Day Two!

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

Retreat!!

Guess what?

I'm at the beach. On a writing retreat. With the Bff's.

Whoot!

It's snowing like you would not believe. Over 3" so far, I think. And it's still coming down. And we're writing. Whoot! Shiny new story!

This morning we took a walk. In the driving snow. Simon and I got smart and came back before we froze to death. Nat and Burkholder walked on.

This afternoon Megan, Simon and I took a short jaunt to see the ocean. It was freezing. I mean, really, really freezing. The snow wasn't snow close to the water. It was ice. But look at that picture! Awesome doesn't even begin to describe it. It was totally worth my numb fingers and toes and my frozen hair.

But now it's time to go back to writing. More on this trip throughout the week!

Behave!!

Done!

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

Time?

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

Things...

I learned today...
1. It doesn't matter how busy the store is, it will always take me forever to check out. Today it was two different frozen registers at the same store. Though leaving there with nearly twenty dollars in savings was cool.
2. No matter what, my printer will decide to foul up when I'm printing a manuscript. It took three hours to print 317 pages. Three hours!
3. Big grocery stores freak me out. It took almost an hour to find bread, milk, cheese, and dog food. This would have taken less than 5 minutes at my regular store. And I didn't get gas points.
4. It's highly doubtful I will ever cross every single thing off my to do list. Doesn't matter how diligent I am, how much I plan - there is always going to be something I don't get done. Today I'm at 4/27. One of the four might get done later, the others will have to roll onto tomorrow's list.
5. Apologies from your kid after a particularly stressful morning are a very good thing. I knew she didn't mean what she said, but hearing her admit it made me feel good. The joys of parenting.
6. Labor intensive new dinners, while good, will probably never make it back into rotation. It was a lot of work and tasted similar to something else I make that takes half the time. Though flattening the chicken was a lot of fun - in a messy gross meat kind of way.
I think that's it for now.
One week until new Supernatural! My world will once again be right! Whoot!
Behave!