Dinner With the Kid

K4 had to come to down for a doctor's appointment today. Instead of her driving the whole way back to the house, we met her at this little pizza place we enjoy. That Man and K4 arrived way before I even got off work. They ordered the food, and the second I sat down, the waitress brought me my soda. Nice.

We had a nice discussion about school, stuff going on there, the weather, and 9/11. She doesn't remember 9/11. At all. She wasn't quite two when it happened, so she has absolutely no perspective. She knows it was horrible and knows it was a vicious senseless attack, but she's never known a world without the events of 9/11. It's interesting to hear her perspective on it. I think in my life before this day, the worse things I remember is Elvis dying and Three Mile Island.

She doesn't remember there being no planes in the sky. At all. Or the run on the grocery store with people stocking up on canned goods and non-perishable foods. She doesn't remember the Antrhax scare. She doesn't remember the shocked silence of walking into a public place and seeing the fear on everyone's faces. Or the way people came together to help and support each other. She doesn't remember all of the neighbors gathering in the backyard to discuss what happened and talk about what we would do if our Naval base was hit next. I remember though. I won't ever forget.

I heard something today about making this date about doing something nice for another person - no matter how big or small. I like that idea.

And now we're watching as our favorite place in the whole world faces down what could hit landfall as a category five hurricane. Florence needs to stop and go back out to sea. We don't have plans to go down this year - the stars didn't align like we needed them to, which, considering what kind of damage potential they have down there, is probably for the best. But still... That Man and I just talked about doing hurricane relief, but we're not in a position to pull that off this year.

That is all. It's time to write. I need to finish up this story so I can critique an important project for a friend and then get busy on my next book.

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up

Weekends go way too fast.

The next thing you know, it will be Monday morning and there will be tears. Ha!

Yesterday was so nice. I slept in. Rearranged some cupboards. Cleaned the house. Mostly. Made a huge pot of chili and some cornbread. Got to see my grandson for a little bit. We had a fire in the backyard and just hung out. Nice.

It started raining. Hard. And it hasn't stopped yet. I'm okay with that. A rainy day can be perfect. I'm still in my jammies. I threw a turkey breast in the oven. The house is in decent shape. I have candles lit. K4 is here doing laundry and putting her new welding helmet together. Her and That Man have been working on car switching.

A nap is in my future. Following by writing. Once K4 is done, I will finish up my laundry. I'm not sure what this week will hold. More craziness at the day job is a given. Writing is also a given.

That's all I have.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Hello, Friday! You are amazing! Well, you are now since I'm out of the day job for a few days. Earlier you kind of sucked as I trudged through yet another day at the office.

What was good about this week?

1. Having Monday off. That's a no-brainer.

2. Writing every night this week except one. Whoot!

3. Air conditioning.

4. Cooler temps now. Thank goodness.

5. Sleeping in tomorrow. Yes!

6. Not having weekend plans except organizing and writing.

7. Dinner out with That Man. We went for burgers and fries and they were amazing.

8. Running around with That Man. We had to gather some stuff for K4.

9. Having the ability to lock down K4's debit card. Especially good since she lost her wallet tonight and is freaking out. Ugh!

And I'm out of here.

Behave!

Well...It's Thursday...

It's not so hot right now, which is awesome. And it's not supposed to be hot again at all this weekend. Yay!

It did, however, rain like hell shortly before I left work. Luckily, a guy from my work helped me put the top up on the Jeep about fifteen minutes before the storm hit. (He's my Jeep help guy. He can get my top up in seconds, which is awesome. It helps that he used to own a Jeep like mine) I didn't have my doors or sides, but putting up the top helped some. I still had to wipe everything down and my butt was soaked, but it didn't actively rain on my way home.

Wrote a bunch last night. Plan to do the same tonight. Just about there.

That Man and I were just watching a show that gave me some spectacular ideas for a book. Oh! I'm excited.

Tomorrow is Friday. Thank goodness! These short weeks always seem to be the longest.

This weekend should be a relaxing one. I hope. Sleeping in is a given for both days! That Man has to work on Saturday, which means, I will be writing and cleaning and organizing. The kid will be coming home at some point to do laundry. Don't know when yet.

That's all I have. It's writing time.

Behave!

Another 200 Degree Day...

Gah!

I'm so tired of sweating all of the time! Between the heat and the mosquitoes, I am just done... We watered the plants and my legs from the knees down are covered in welts. That's unusual for me. Typically I don't get bit. But dang! I did tonight! Evil little buggers. Supposedly, we have one more day of brutal temps this week, and then a cool down. I hope so.

K4 did come home yesterday. She had an orthodontist appointment and came to hang out afterwards. That was good. She hit the road after dinner. I think she's coming to do laundry at some point this weekend, but we'll see. Her schedule is filling up with stuff, which is awesome.

There's stuff coming up! I have a booksigning at the end of the month at my favorite local bookstore! Excited for that. I'm also traveling for work soon, which is always exciting and fun. Next month, I'm attending an author event in Maryland, which should be awesome. I've never done this one before, but friends have and I'm rooming with a super cool fellow writer.

That reminds me... I should probably order some books. Oy!

The writing is going. I love the way this story is coming together. It's kind of gritty and dark, but not overly so. It will have a happy ending, but that doesn't mean it will be a happy "in love" ending. We'll see... I'm digging it though.

What else? I can't think of anything at the moment. It's time to get to the writing.

Behave!

Labor Day Monday...

We are back from our weekend in The Wilds!

That Man took off early on Friday and we packed up our gear, hit the grocery store, came back and packed the food in the cooler and waited for K4 because she asked us to (for like ten minutes and thankfully she made it through the roads that flooded out about ten minutes prior to the flooding). As soon as she was packed up (we had zero room for her gear), we hit the road. I was ready after having the morning to get crap done. It was good.

We had a wonderful time. There was a ton of laughter and camp fires. Not much sleeping in, but that's okay. It rained Friday night, which was actually good. Especially once it started really raining and put me to sleep.

Woke up at normal-weekday time on Saturday. Decided I was going to my writing meeting even though I'd said I wasn't because of camp. I woke up feeling very strongly about going. I'm so glad I did. The meeting was productive, if not a bit sad, but that will be taken care in two months. That's pretty much all I'm going to say about that.

Got back to camp to "cowboy breakfast" or "brunch". Delicious. Decompressed from the meeting and enjoyed conversation with family and friends. K1 came down with Mr. B. He hung out with us while K1 worked on his car. Mr. B is hysterical. He's digging kindergarten. He insists my name is "Becky" no matter what I, or anyone else, says. Ha! He begged to stay over and, of course, we said yes.

He ran around like a crazy person and was exhausted by the time bedtime rolled around. We tucked him in and I wrote while he settled in. He was asleep within five minutes, but I continued to write for about an hour. Nice and perfect!

Sunday morning, the kid has us up - okay, me - That Man is always up early - at an earlier time than I wanted to be. We made hot chocolate and bagels and hung out with the family. Mr. B has decided he doesn't like to eat things with holes in them. The bagel hole offended him (even though he'd already eaten the first half) and then, later, he refused to eat anymore of his Ra-ra's strawberries because strawberries have holes when the stems come out. I don't think he remembers that doughnuts have holes. He might change his mind once he learns that. Ha!

Anyways. Holiday Sundays are picnic days in The Wilds. Friends and family come for the day to eat food and hang out by the creek. It's a pot luck event. Sometimes we have six crock pots full of baked beans, or twelve platters of chicken - you just never know what you're going to get, but it always works out. This picnic was a bit different because my brother-in-law's parents - the ones who take care of pretty much everything for the event - were on their way to their vacation, which left my brother-in-law and sister in charge. We were their helpers, but unfortunately, the dish we picked to make for the picnic took freaking forever to get ready and it was super labor intensive. It was That Man, me, K1, and J in my sister's kitchen preparing the homemade taquitos. We barely made it in time and we didn't get to help as much as we wanted.

K4 did the general run to the store for supplies after coming home to check the kitties and then got back and made some banging stuffed jalapenos. Seriously. All of the food was good, but her poppers were amazing. That Man and I did very little to help. I gutted the jalapenos (and my hands burned for hours.) and That Man grated her cheese, but she did everything else. There was nothing left on the pan when the picnic was over.

And... as little as we had left of said taquitos, I know our flour tortilla version was far better than the corn tortilla version, so there's that. I will make them again, but the recipe will be tweaked a lot. The vegan version, in my opinion, was far better. (Yes, we always try to make a vegan version of whatever recipe we try for these events. It's just what we do. Our family is very vegan friendly because we have several vegans.)

The guys got into the creek to build the dam up. I really wish I would have taken my creek shoes so I could have helped, but after they found this sharp scythe-type thing, I was happier to take the kayak out and relax on the water. That was amazing and my arms, sides, and stomach ache, but in a good way.

We were in bed stupid early. Seriously stupid early. I was almost asleep when we heard people on the water. In the pitch black dark. Freaky. That is the first time that any of us have ever experienced people on the water after dark. It freaked me out. In a huge way. They were very clearly hammered and no threat, but this writer's mind went in directions that kept me up for hours. Not just that though. I had one of those nights were the old brain just would not shut the f**k up. I then spent the next five or so hours running ridiculous scenarios through my brain.

I got up to use the bathroom and the dog had basically kicked me out of bed. There was no way I could even being to think about squeezing in between her and That Man and the dog was so tired that she would not wake up enough to even move an inch. (She was in the creek all day - swimming in the current, chasing things, and generally wearing herself out). I went to sleep on the other end of the camper and it still took me hours to actually fall asleep.

I was still up at a normal time. Oy! We had some coffee and some creek watching and then broke camp. We made it home about the time I thought we would. I thought I would get a nap, but that didn't happen. Though the laundry is all done and the house is in good order. K4 was planning to go back to school after dinner. We'd planned to order subs from our local pizza shop and then remembered they were closed on Monday's. Went through a bunch of options and then decided to give "Grub Hub" a shot. We've used them at work with good results and I was excited to try it at home for future use for That Man and I...

What a freaking joke! We ordered our food at 4:32 and were told it would be delivered by 5:37. Our driver picked up the food at 5:37, but did not deliver it until 7:15 or so, and then it was just 1/3 of our order and it was stone cold. I was online with the service from the time I got the email that said our food would be delivered an hour from pick up. I was told our food would be here in 10 minutes. Twenty minutes went by and still no food. And then another ten minutes went by with no food. I contacted them again - at the two hour mark and was told it would be another 25 minutes until our food would be delivered. I got a $10 coupon, but we're not doing that again. They are supposed to be refunding me the full amount of my order. Seriously. The restaurant we ordered from is 11 minutes from our house and it took hours for them to deliver, and then it's not the full order and it's cold?

We ended up going to the diner down the street so we could have a family dinner before K4 went back to school for however long it will be before we see her again. (seriously, it could be tomorrow, it could be next week or two weeks... no one knows... not even K4) Food was good. Service was good. It was a better option, though it would be better if my Grub Hub money was already refunded...

Now I am going to bed. Work is again tomorrow and I am so not looking forward to it. I have no idea what is going on this week yet...

That is all...

Behave!

Friday the Last

Last day of August!

It's no longer 200 degrees outside. Yay! Except now it's raining and I have places to go and a Jeep with the top down. Yeah, I could put it up, but that's a pain. I'd rather wait until the rain stops.

I took a vacation day today. I needed a break from the daily grind of work. Yes, it's been that insane. It was either take today off or start a series of small fires on my desk. Ha! (I am just joking!) Besides my reps were all off today and all of my work was caught up, so it made sense. Plus. I needed it badly!

So far I have made important phone calls, scheduled appointments, paid bills, organized my desk, updated the calendar, taken care of estate stuff, laundry, and organized stuff for this weekend. And it's not quite 10:30! Ha!

I will tell you that trying to pay bills and do computer work with the kitten is next to impossible! I have a new series of scratches on my hands and have to constantly remove the little beast from my keyboard! He stole my mouse at one point and didn't want to give it back. He's lucky he's so stinking cute.

K4 is coming home this weekend for the holiday break. I think she's had a mostly good week, except for the puking. On Wednesday she texted me and said most of the dorm was puking now. Ugh. Hopefully she'll be able to take her own car back to school. That Man needs to do one more thing to it and then she should be good. I'm not sure when she'll come home again and neither is she, but that's okay. She's been doing her thing at school and that's awesome!

Being empty nesters is pretty awesome! It's quiet. There are no random dishes left behind on tables or the floor or wherever. The laundry load has decreased significantly, especially towels. I would like to say things stay where they're put, but that's not necessarily true with the kitten. He likes to take things and make them his own. We're still getting the hang of it though. It's only been two weeks, so we don't have our routine yet and we haven't had the opportunity to even think about socializing much.

Well... since it's raining and I had to change my plans, I'm going to get some writing in.

Have an awesome holiday weekend!

Behave!

Two Hundred Degree Tuesday

Seriously! That's what it feels like!

Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Sticking to things. More sweat. They have no ice at the store. Ha! (not kidding though) More of the same is in the forecast for tomorrow. UGH! After that, it should get better. I hope!

Driving the Jeep with the top down was pretty awesome, especially after dark. Thankfully, I didn't get stuck in traffic in the blazing hot sun!

Sleeping last night pretty much sucked - even with AC. I ended up grabbing the industrial fan and plugging it in around midnight. After that, it actually got cold enough to use a blanket. Nice. Except That Man took it and I kind of froze for a little. Ha! The industrial fan is still plugged in and currently running with the ac. I'm heading there in a few because there is no way I can write downstairs. I feel like my face is burning off.

Another brutal work day. But whatever. It is what it is.

After work, I met up with my writing buddies for dinner. It was an awesome time full of laughter, smiles, information sharing, and story telling. I'm so glad I went. Also, I have a book signing coming up now! Yay! It was worth the drive and little bit of traffic. For sure.

Halfway through the work week tomorrow! Yay! Looking forward to the weekend!

Time to move my stuff and write in my cool room!

Behave!

The Last Monday of August...

How weird is that?

We're pumping into Fall! Yay! It's not so much about pumpkin spice everything, though I do love me some pumpkin spice (especially coffee creamer)! It's more about cooler temperatures, fall leaves, sweatshirts, crockpot cooking, and just nicer days. Oh and Halloween and Thanksgiving.

It's freaking hot here! Like you go outside and immediately have sweat dripping into your eyes. Gross!

We're back to being empty nesters. For now. K4 went back to school last night - got stuck in traffic for an accident for almost an hour - and then got some kind of stomach bug. She missed classes today and was so upset about it. But what do you do when you're up all night puking and still puking when it's time to get ready for your day?

She'll be home this weekend for the holiday and then she doesn't know when she'll be home again. They have lots of campus stuff going on in the next few months and she's excited about it.

So, I have a title for the contracted book! Redemption: Sector One. I'm so excited. It's a dystopian world-thing with a tough as nails heroine and an amazing hero. I'll give you more info when we get closer to release day!

I'm also writing the anthology story! Getting there. Digging the new story. A lot! I'm about a quarter of the way through! And I hope to be done with it by Friday! (It's a short story)

So our weekend plans were helping That Sister put in this super cool bay window in her dining room. That Man's work donated the window to her. Amazing. (like seriously) And we all got together to get it put in for her. I was a supervisor. And cook. And clean up crew. The window is absolutely gorgeous and she cried. (I cried too) We had a lot (a lot) of laughs, great food, great conversation. And B ended up coming home with us overnight so his folks could have some time together. That was absolutely fine. K1 works all of the time and J rarely, if ever, gets a break. We were happy to do that. When we got back home, B and I giggled over silly things for a while before he fell asleep, which was awesome. We haven't done that for a really long time. It's super cool to be "just" a grandparent again!

K3 came over on Sunday and we hung out and laughed and talked. It was great. And then it was too soon to be Monday again.

Today was brutal at the day job. Four call offs. And an insane work load. That Man had dinner started when I got home after buying nine-million dollars worth of pet food since we forgot to buy it last night. Oy!

Okay. That's all I have. It's too hot to stay up any longer.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

Yay Friday!!

It was a hell week at the day job! Seriously! We were insane by the end of the day today. We were super silly and raucous! It was great and awesome!

Here's the list:

1. K4 is home! She came home for the weekend and to do laundry. She and her dad are having an epic conversation about tools and shop and classes. It's amazing. I love it. She's enjoying school and getting through the stuff that's not so great.

2. Not cooking dinner. Ordered and picked up. Yay!

3. Ordering the last of the tools. Oy! Open a vein and bleed me dry. Seriously.

4. Writing! Yay!

5. Weekend plans.

(I'm going fast because my battery is going to die and my charger is far away)

6. Weekend! I'm not going to get to sleep in tomorrow, but that's okay.

That's it for now. (see above)

Behave!

Tonight I Wrote...

You may not think that's a big deal, but it really is...

I've had the WORST dry spell lately. I've totally sucked at putting words on the page and making sense out of my ideas.

All of that changed.

I re-started my third sentence anthology story. (the one we're writing for charity). For the fifth time. And this time, I am pretty sure I have a story that I love. I wrote a lot of words for the seriously long time it's been since I actually focused on writing and I feel awesome!

THIS is what I am meant to do. I am meant to write stories. And that's what I will do.

Today is Thursday. One more day until the weekend.

Our weekend includes K4 coming home to do laundry, spoil her kitten and dog and relax, us helping That Sister with a new window for her house (it's an epic HUGE, beautiful window, but there will be partial wall removal and lots of construction, so we don't know how long it will take). It'll be fun though. Tomorrow night is K4's choice of dinner. She hasn't decided yet.

Other things:

Talking to both of my boys this week. K3 is coming over Sunday and is doing theatre work again . K1 has turned into a NY driver because of work. Both are awesome and it was great to have extended conversations with them.

That's all for now.

I should be back with Feel Good Friday tomorrow!

Behave!

Mid-Week Insanity...

I "think" the new book title is found. I will tell you as soon as my editor approves.

It's been a crap week at the day job. The other night, we stood outside in the rain hoping to wash the "hate" off. LOL. It's been insanity. No lie.

The kid is managing at college. Dealing with some home sickness and crappiness, but on the whole doing well. Classes started and she's loving it. Roommate situation - not so much, but there is hope that it will get better soon.

She made an emergency trip home last night for discussion and opinions. Which was good and fine and I think we sent her back to school with a good perspective. She drove back through an insane rain storm and did awesome. She'll be home this weekend for laundry and home-cooked food. And to hang with her kitten and dog.

This dog has been having the worst time with K4 away. She is into everything during the day. She has her "baby" and her ball and still is getting into things we didn't think she would get into. Today was better. She just cried when I came home. Poor Floofy.

Next up is my anthology story for charity. I've been toying with ideas - okay, let's be honest... I've started this story four different times in at least three different points-of-view and what I was thinking isn't working. I need a new idea, which I "think" I have, but aren't sure yet. Still working on it, but hope to really start on it tomorrow night. Whoot!

That is all for now...

Behave!

First Weekend Empty

We dropped the kid off at college on Thursday.

That was very bittersweet. Of course, we're going to miss her (we already do), but we're so excited for this next chapter in her life. She's already doing awesome. Taking care of stuff, making friends, getting organized.

Friday night we went over to K1 & J's for the baby gender reveal. They got pizza and we hung out and laughed and talked. They are having another boy. K2 is having another girl. It's all awesome the whole way around!

Yesterday That Man and I hung out all day. We felt like we were on vacation, or at the cabin or something. Just the two of us doing whatever we wanted - which happened to include weed pulling and housework, but whatever. We hit the grocery store, auto parts store (K4's car started acting up on Monday before she left. She and That Man had to switch cars until he can figure out what's wrong with hers), and had an awesome dinner of grilled steaks and veggies.

Today we've been pretty much home all day. Ran out to the grocery store because we forgot we were supposed to make dinner for a friend who just had surgery. That Man worked on K4's car. I'm working on laundry. We made the dinner and put tomorrow's dinner in the crock pot bowl to be started in the morning. It's been raining all afternoon, which gleefully prevents more weed pulling. I don't think my back can take anymore!

So... the news I commented on in my last post is that I just signed another book contract! The book has to be re-titled, but I am so excited!! I absolutely love this book and am so happy it's getting out into the world. And I'm so happy to get back into writing and my "real" career!

That is all for now. I'm off to work on a new title for my new book!

Behave!

College Prep... OY!

In 48 hours, the kid will be delivered to college.

In the meantime, this house is like chaos incarnate!

My dining room table is filled with all sorts of things - boots, tools, a tool box, more tools - more tools than you can imagine. Seriously... Bathroom items, book bags, socks, socks, (yes, different socks) underwear, binders, notebooks, ramen, mac and cheese, granola bars... you get the picture.

I've had to open a vein to purchase all of the items. Like I said previously, we've only known she was going for about a month, so we didn't have a lot of time. But we pulled it off. (I think and hope) She still has some stuff to get, but she has her list and her cash, so I'm good there.

We did a camping trip this past weekend because she wanted to and even though we had all of this stuff to do, we let her make the plans and had a great, relaxing time... just us. On Sunday, we came home to find her room filled with fleas. We knew the kitten had them. We were battling them - bathing him, vacuuming like crazy people, but she must have had a hatch or something in her room. A ton of vacuuming and bedding washing later (don't believe all of the bedding has been washed yet. I'm not freaking super woman here. Ha! It's getting there though), and...ta da... we suddenly found ourselves farther ahead of the game than we thought we'd be. Her room is clean and the laundry sorted. We were sweaty, cranky, and exhausted, but finally went to bed feeling good about our progress! The kitten has been vet treated for the fleas, and all of the other animals are too, so we should be good there.

Our little boy is over two pounds now. He's still a demon, but he's hysterical and he can be super loving and affectionate. He cracks us up daily.

And her room will be my office very soon. (No, we're not kicking her out. She's moving rooms) Yay for having an office!! I've been waiting for this for a super long time.

I have big news that relates to the needing of an office, which I will share as soon as I can.

Other than that...That Man and I are suddenly facing being Empty Nesters and I can't say we're sad about that. Yes, we will miss K4. A lot. But this will be the first time in about thirty years that we'll be on our own... Weird. But awesome! It will definitely take us some time to adjust, but I think we're up for the challenge.

Oh. And as soon as this week is over, the writing is on! I have books to write! Whoot!

That is all!

Behave!

What Else Has Been Going On?

Oh geeze! More than I will probably remember... Here's a list.

1. College prep. Oy! She's only been accepted for about a month - which cuts our time and cash short for getting her all of the things she needs. We're still working on tools. We had a very generous gift from one of my co-workers, which helped. And my uncle sent home some tools, which also helped. But we have many more to get. Books - Oy! The bill stacks up. And how. We still have dorm stuff to get. And supplies. And guess what? She leaves next Thursday. To say I'm stressing a little is an understatement.

2. Our dog got sprayed by a skunk last week. It still stinks in here. She's blocked from the upstairs and our beds. She doesn't understand why no one wants to be near her. Poor baby. And yes, we've tried all of the stuff. The skunk sprayed her in her eyes and nose, so that's a tough one. From what I understand, it'll be a few more weeks.

3. My oldest niece is expecting! Woo Hoo! We are all so excited. My brother is beside himself. He's going to be PopPop, which is freaking awesome! My sister-in-law said she got the best birthday present ever! And she did! By the end of February, we will have three new babies in the family, which is just what this family needs.

4. Oh yeah... Did I tell you that? I'm going to be a grandma again. Twice. In December. Within five days of each other. K2 knows what she's having but hasn't told yet and J will find out soon. Whoot!

5. K1 and family have moved on to their own place. I don't think I ever officially stated that they were living here. But they were. Since January. K1 and B lived here the entire year before. (they worked things out. Things are good.) Anyway. They first moved in as "temporary" and then bad thing after bad thing kept happening and it turned into seven plus months. It's quiet now. Just That Man, K4, and I... Things are different. I'm excited to be a grandparent again and not a "co-parent". And it's about to get even quieter and different-er when K4 goes to school. That Man and I have not been by ourselves for twenty-nine plus years. It's already different to cook for just three as opposed to six. That's going to take me a very long time to get used to.

6. Our kitten is officially weaned and using the litter box like a champ. He is still the devil incarnate, but he has his sweet moments. Granted, those are few and far between and the scratches on my legs and hands will attest to that. But he's always happy to see us when we get home from work or get up in the morning.

7. Writing again. Well, no. I haven't officially written anything in a few weeks, but my brain is turning. I decided to stop working on the story I have been struggling with because it's just not working. It took me a long time to come to that realization. I'm working on the Third Sentence anthology story, too, and I know I will be starting over on that one, too. That's just not working out. But my head is in the right place now, so I'm excited.

And... My brain is done. I'm sure there's more that I can't remember on a Tuesday night after two crazy days at the day job and a lot of insanity at the homestead.

Behave!

August the What?

I promised more on our trip... Beyond the tragedy.

We left Friday night. Loaded up into the concrete jungle of our rented Tiguan. Car looks super nice. The seats are made of lead. Wait. Even lead would be softer. No way (that we thought) to put the back seats in recline. We seriously thought about driving this car off a bridge.

Wasn't so bad if you were driving or in the passenger seat. Really, wasn't so bad at all, especially after we learned to recline the back seats and found pillows to sit on, but that was not until the way home.

Anyway.

The frivolity started almost immediately. I had purchased some candy and the boys immediately took that candy into a direction that it shouldn't have been. We laughed so hard we were crying. We were excited to get on with our trip and were texting the others to find out where they were and when they were leaving.

It's a long drive. Like 16 hours, with a time shift. It took us about 18 hours, but we stopped for a real dinner - after stopping at a place we thought would be good, only to find their prices super, super ridiculous. We made an exit plan and only some of us actually kept to the plan. Ha!

Finally some decently priced food. Hit the road again and drove with a few driver switches.

Stopped for gas. Stopped to pee. Stopped when we got the call about our brother. I had been driving and I wasn't driving any more after that.

Arriving, beyond the news, was good. It was good to be back there. Awesome to see my aunt and uncle. We visited, sat in the hot tub, visited with the cousins, and generally relaxed.

The rest of the crew arrived early the next morning. They had a very eventful trip that included a flat tire and a long wait for road services. They were dead tired and once they got semi-set up, slept for several hours.

Family came to visit. Good food. Good conversation. Any my aunt gave me a coveted recipe that I can't wait to try!

Monday was finding out the funeral was Tuesday. My nephew called and asked us to come. We spent all morning searching for flights/return flights - finally finding what we needed at zero hour. Showered and got in the car for the hour long drive to the airport.

As old as I am, I had never flown before. Of course, I knew what to expect for 99% of it, but I'd never actually done it. Now, I've flown four times - all within a 24-hour period of time. It was okay. For three out of the four flights, I thought take off was pretty cool and landing sucked. For the last one, take off was horrifying and landing was good. Looking out the window was pretty much impossible on the first three flights. On the first one, the guy would block the window every time I looked. Jerk. He seemed to, gleefully, think it was a fun thing to do. On the last flight, I had a window seat. In the back of a smaller plane. It was dark, but still cool.

Anyway, we flew into an airport about an hour away from my house, rented a car and drove to my house. Slept for not even an hour and then headed out for the funeral. Once the reception was done, we drove the hour back, turned in our car, and went in search of food. Found an awesome little restaurant and had some amazing cream of crab soup. Then, we started our journey back to vacation.

Finally got back to our uncles after midnight. Sat and talked for a few and then off to bed since there was maybe an hour of sleep gotten.

The rest of vacation was good. Lots of food, laughs, and silliness. Then the long drive home.

I'm sure I'll have more stories to share in the future. For now, I'm trying to get stuff in order in my house and get writing done.

Behave! 

Where Have I Been? The Sucky Part.

We ran out of here the Friday after I posted left - picked up our fancy rental car (got an upgrade we thought we would love, but as it turns out, it had concrete for back seats - anyway), and hit the road.

I'll hit the highlights of our trip when I post again.

We were about two hours out when we got the call that our oldest brother had been killed in a car accident. He had been riding along taking his son to work, when a deer came out. His son swerved a hit a telephone pole.

Tragic.

We proceeded to our uncles because there was no way we could turn around and drive back at that point. Our joyous arrival was cut short by the news. We waited to find out details of the funeral and then had to make a snap decision to have at least two of us present. Our nephew called and begged us to figure out a way to make it. So we did.

Airline tickets are outrageous, so we could only afford for two of us to come. I was elected as well as our other brother. It was a rough thirty-six hours. I think I managed maybe an hour of sleep during that time. Also, I had never flown before. Four flights in twenty-four hours...

I won't get into how awful the funeral services were. I'm pretty sure you get that picture. He had thirteen children with eight still at home.

The whole thing is surreal and doesn't make sense. He was a good man - a good father and husband. He would give you the shirt off of his back in a heartbeat without question. We had a lot of good times growing up.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Behave.

The Thursday Before...

So by this time tomorrow That Man and I will be off on an epic adventure...

I'm so looking forward to it!

A week to hang with my uncle, aunt, siblings, and siblings-in-law (really they are all siblings) (and the cousins). It will be so nice not to have to look at the clock to gauge what time we have to leave to get home at a decent hour, or consider if we should pack to stay over and figure in what we have on the schedule that will call our night early or prevent us from staying over. It will be so nice just to be able to sit and talk without any other kind of stress.

We're driving with my sister and brother-in-law. Rented a car - hopefully an epic car, but I have no control over that since my awesome cousin took care of those details (that's what she does) and happily, she will be at our final destination when we get there. I'm leaving the day job a bit early to take care of the rental details (that's only because I misread my email and thought I had more time than I do). We have four drivers, so we should be great upon arrival.

Our home is well covered as far as animals and safety and security. Otherwise, I would not even post about this trip until we were back. Ha! Yeah, I'm kind of a freak about that. So...

I will be among cows and heat and more cousins, aunts, uncles, etc, than I even know. Last year when we were there, it was so much fun. I can only hope with the addition of my sibs, that this year will better. Our uncle is all we have left from our mom's side of the family. Not to mention that he is an amazing guy and has decided that we are all his kids now. (If that doesn't put a certain pressure on us kids, I don't know what does... LOL...He's the "cool" uncle though so there is really no pressure at all... He's the guy that encouraged us to do the "unsafe" thing. Always. He once offered to post my bail when my own dad told me to cool my jets...Yeah, he's that guy.)

I don't know how much I'll get to post while I'm gone, but I will try. I am hoping to write. Or at least hoping to find my writing brain again.

It's going to be amazing!

Behave!

Mayhem Monday!

Well... the usual Mayhem...

Monday's suck. The day job is crazy - many changes coming down the pike - mostly good. It's nuts.

It's freaking hot and I'm not dealing with that well. I'm currently, and have been, in my room in the ac. I venture down to put more ice in my cup and pet the kitten. That Man is on kitten duty right now, which is fine, but we're all crashing here soon.

I organized a bunch of stuff. Prepped a bunch of stuff.

The kitten is not feeling well today - barely eating and some yuckiness that I will not describe here. He seems to be doing better currently, so that's a plus. It's so hot though. It's no wonder.

We had an amazing dinner. Grilled chicken and veggies. No butter. Mostly fat free. So delicious. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Tuesday. Yay. One day closer to my goal.

This week just needs to go. But I have some things to do before it can...So whatever.

Off to write now...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Saturday Edition

Since I missed Feel Good Friday yesterday, here we go for Saturday...

1. Getting some writing in this week. I did pretty well on Thursday and managed a few words last night. Going back to it as soon as I'm done with this.

2. Watching a movie and talking with my girl last night. We had a great time - crying over the movie, talking, and being silly until way too late.

3. Sleeping in this morning.

4. Shopping with my girl. We ran around for hours - got shoes, kitten stuff, a few cute shirts at our favorite shop, and ditched the mega mart when we saw how busy the parking lot was. She treated me to lunch, which was awesome. We're both a little sunburned from driving around with the top down on the Jeep, but it was so much fun. We hit the grocery store, then came home and watched another movie. It was a very good day.

5. No cooking for dinner. We grabbed stuff to make our own subs and some chips. Easy prep, easy clean up.

6. The kitten is growing like crazy. He spent the night in the living room last night, which was fine. He's eating like a champ and running around like a fool. He cracks us up constantly.

7. Plans tomorrow to hang out with K3. I miss that kid.

8. Also, sleeping in tomorrow.

9. Upcoming plans! Super excited!

That is all for now...

Behave!

It's Thursday...

Oy!

Obviously, it's been a long week. In fact, tonight is the first time I've even turned my computer on. How bad is that? (and I might even not have except we ordered pizza for dinner... and I needed it for that) So...obviously... that means I haven't written a word this week (except in my head). And that sucks. I will change that tonight though. I'm here. I'm writing.

The day job is insane. I'm not super busy in the regular way, but I'm super busy in every other way. We have so many people on vacation... I'm getting the mail, opening it, and distributing it - which, obviously isn't hard, but it takes a huge chunk of my day. I'm helping to train the new guys and doing quality control on their work, which is time consuming and often frustrating. My territory is in chaos again, so I'm dealing with that... It is what it is... It's still better than any alternative (except for being a full time author) that I can think of. (And I still REALLY want to be a full time author)

The little kitty is changing every day. Currently he is kicking the ass of a stuff dinosaur. It's just about his size and he's rolling it across the couch as he bites and tosses it. He's slowly getting the litter box - we had a "genuine kitten accident" earlier where he perched on the wrong side of the box and peed all over the floor, but that's the first time there has been pee on the floor since Sunday, so I still call win. He's off of formula and eating kitten wet food. We're introducing kitten dry food into the mix at his next feeding. Water is always available, but he hasn't found its glory yet.

That is all I have for now... I need to write now...

Behave!

Tomorrow is Monday Again...

Really?

Ha!

The weekend has been pretty decent. Finally had some quality time with That Man, which was much needed.

Did some housework and some yard work and laundry. Yes. My life is super exciting.

Here's a picture of Max, our little demon baby. He's super cute, but you can see the devil in his eyes.
He's weaned from the bottle, but we still working on litter box training. He'll poop in it, but tends to want to go pee under the couch. Too much information. I know. But I've been reading up on it, and this is pretty normal given his age.

And that's all I have for you on this fine and beautiful Sunday afternoon. I'm going to make dinner and then get some words on the page.

Behave!

Feel Good Friday...

Wow! What a long week!

Sorry for the radio silence.

This week was weird. The holiday in the middle really threw things off. Essentially we had two Fridays and two Mondays. The Monday part sucked, but going from second Monday to second Friday was pretty awesome.

Anyway... Here's my list:

1. Surviving the massive heat this week. It was brutal. You all already know that though. Air conditioning is the best.

2. Oh - one of the biggest things that happened this week... On Sunday our fridge died. We were on our way to our granddaughter's birthday party and had to quickly pack up as much as we could and take them over to a friend's garage fridge. The rest we packed in coolers. Off to the birthday party we went and then a stop at Lowe's on our way home. We found a sweet deal on a new fridge, but... they couldn't deliver it until Tuesday.

Okay. Whatever. We'll make it one day with our coolers and million bags of ice. And we did. And then Tuesday morning, I get a call from the delivery supervisor... Our delivery person had an accident and they wouldn't be able to deliver on Tuesday after all.Disappointing, but it happens and it meant another million dollars in ice. The nice thing was that they delivered on Wednesday - on the holiday - and they were here by 7:30 am. By three, we were cold enough to get stuff loaded in there. Yes, technically, we were supposed to wait 24 hours, but there was no way that was going to happen. Besides, the food in the coolers was pretty darn cold.

We lost very little. A can of parmesan cheese that got water logged. A container of milk that we discovered was already expired when we put it in the cooler. A box of mushrooms that just went missing.

The new fridge is pretty sweet. It makes ice, which is awesome, but we still have to supplement because it's not keeping up with our usage yet. You know you're old when a new fridge is exciting. Ha!

3. The 4th was nice. We didn't really get to sleep in because of #2, but that's okay. We grilled and hung out with the kids. Took a nap.

4. Thursday (the new Monday) was brutal and long and an insomnia night for me. Yay! Ha!

5. That Man did the shopping and the cooking tonight (and last night). Lucky guy was off Thursday and Friday so he took care of everything - laundry, shopping, cleaning, the kitten...

6. Speaking of the kitten. He's getting so big. He's newly off the bottle. He's struggling with the litter box and he's equal parts demon and snuggle buddy. Currently, he's sleeping off a food binge. When he wakes, he'll be insane. And cute.

That's enough for now.

Behave!

Discover A Cover!

It's time to play folks....

Go here: https://discoveracover.wordpress.com/our-next-event/

To find out how to play!

Good Luck!

Feel Good Friday! The Saturday Edition.

Holy Cow! It's freaking hot outside!

I'm currently in the air conditioning. In our room. It's too hot to be downstairs. Yes, we live in a super old house and we don't have central air. We have window units in the bedrooms and that's it. That Man worked in the heat all day, so he's pretty much broken right now.

Anyways...

Here's the Feel Good... And not all about Friday...

1. Sleeping in this morning.

2. An easy dinner last night and much air conditioning time.

3. The kitten baby sleeping in this morning, too.

4. Work things. Interesting and kind of promising. We'll see what happens.

5. That little demon kitten. He's so freaking cute. He's thriving though. Learning new things every day. Last night he used the litter box all by himself. He forgot about that today, when he peed behind the couch. Oy! Kittens! He apparently thinks I'm the feeding thing. When he crawls up on me, he starts licking my shirt. Oy!

3. The grandson telling me all about a million and a half things. He's decided to hang out with us in our air conditioning. We're watching Science shows and looking up icebergs on google. He's like a sponge and is interested in everything, even though he still doesn't believe Galapagos Turtles are real. He thinks I made them up and he still thinks my name is Becky... LOL

4. Hopefully, I am going to write in a few minutes. The grandson is making me help him make cakes in his game app, which is killing all of my available brain cells.

5. Tomorrow is K5's birthday party. Our little girl is 8 now. So weird! She's such a special and amazing kid. We have a "kid safe" texting app that we use. It's awesome to be able to send her random pictures and texts. She's hysterical.

6. Upcoming trips. I cannot believe June is over already!! Holy moly!

7. Tomorrow I will be posting a link for Discover a Cover. Participate! You could win free stuff!

That's all I have for now.. The grandson wants me to figure out a puzzle with him and I think he's totally smarter than me on this one...

Bheave!

Almost There...

Let's face it... It's been a long week.

One more day to get through...

So K4 is away at college orientation and having a blast. She's met up with a few other female students, one in her major. Last time I texted with her, she was having a lot of fun. I'm so thrilled. I've been having these "moments" of I don't even know what all day. It's kind of surreal to me at this point. I'm equal parts melancholy/nostalgic and super excited for her. And it's weird with her not being home.

I know. I need to get over it. She's taken a job for the summer where she'll travel for a few days at a time. That's pretty exciting since she'll get to see places she's never seen before. And then, in like 6 or 8 weeks, she'll be at school.

Work is work. A bunch of craziness and insanity, but that's normal.

Writing is slow. It's still at the top of the list, but it's super slow.

The kitten is growing and thriving. Though at this very moment, I have no idea where he went. He's a little ninja. I just fed him, so he should be powering down for a little bit. He just appeared and is fighting with my elbow. He's lucky he's as cute as he is. The tiny scratches I'm covered with might tell a different story.

Coming up soon, I'm participating in "Discover a Cover". It's kind of like a scavenger hunt and at the end, you are entered to win a prize. I'll be posting my clue and the link to find out more about it over the weekend. It's a lot of fun and I hope you get a chance to check it out.

Other than that... It's supposed to get super hot here. I'm not looking forward to that at all.

That is all...

Behave!

Really? Only Tuesday?

It's been a long week already....

Let's back up to the weekend...
Saturday was taking care of the kitten, household administration duties, dinner with the family - which was very nice and only complicated by my fricken back.
Sunday was lawnmower repair, a failed nap, awesome lasagna, a little bit of writing time, laundry. Oh and that demon kitten... lol

Then Monday -
Crazy day job. Had to leave early for a family meeting with the estate attorney. Grocery store. Massive and debilitating headache that had me in bed super early and dealing with the after effects this morning. Ugh.

Today -
A friend of my kids and niece lost her battle with heroine addiction. She was a super sweet girl. K1 worked with her. S worked with her and they were super close. K4 hung out with her at events. She's been at my house numerous times and I had the pleasure of hanging out with her at other venues. She was clean for so very long and doing so awesome. And then she fell...

It's tragically sad. We're all devastated. She had an eight-year old daughter. Her obituary is beautiful, but clearly states that she lost her life to the beast of heroine. Her death makes no sense. K1 called me this morning to talk about it. I told him it was okay to feel sad and angry. Hell, I'm sad and angry and was no way near as close as the kids were. So senseless. So very freaking senseless.

That's all I have for now...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Super Long Week Edition

Wow! I could have sworn I posted at some point this week, but looking back, I can see why that didn't really happen...

Let's get to the list, shall we?

1. K4 being accepted into college!! YAY!!! We're not sure of anything right now! We have no details, except that she goes for an orientation next week and we have no financial aid yet. We're working on the medical stuff, but we're scrambling to find out all of the details and figure out everything.

2. Our new baby. We found a three week old kitten under my Jeep. He cried for over twelve hours (with me not making the connection to baby kitten at any point in hearing him) and we had no choice but to care for him. I'd heard a ruckus shortly before the bawling started that included cat screeching. We took him to the vet and found out he's a healthy boy. He weighs 12.5 ounces. Well, he did. I'm not sure what he weighs now. He's eating like a piggy, but not really pooping. (back to the vet for that) He's absolutely adorable and so obnoxious. Ha! K4 has adopted him as her own. His name is Max. He's currently sleeping on the couch after running around like a maniac.

3. My boss having my back, and my reps. It was a crazy week at the day job...

4. Some writing this week. Not as much as I would have liked, but lots of other writing stuff got done, so there's that.

5. Our garden looking awesome! We have baby zuchinni's, baby tomatoes, baby peppers, and a ton of dill and basil.

6. Surviving the annual street fair. We never went down, though we'd intended to go and see Simon at her book-singing. After That Man had words with a rent-a-cop about getting onto our street - the rent-a-cop told him "everyone lives here"! Seriously!? He then proceeded to take down That Man's plates (and learn, he did, in fact, "live here") And after the baby needing to go back to the vet and the insane amount of time it took me to get home from work, we were done. That niece and boyfriend were here and The Kid's other friends stopped by, but we pretty much chilled and avoided the whole scene.

7. That Man taking care of dinner tonight. Nice!

That's all I have for now.

Behave!

Happy Fathers Day

And Happy Fathers Day if you're a mom covering both roles. You rock.

I was blessed with an amazing dad. I miss him every day. He was a hard worker, and had a dry, but hysterical sense of humor. He definitely wasn't perfect, but no one is. Ever. And his good qualities far, far outweighed the mistakes.

He supported me, guided me, and was a sounding board when I needed to work things out. In my teen years, he both disciplined and helped to guide me onto a better path than the one I was on. I will never forget him hanging me up from the phone call I was on and taking me by the hand to sit and talk. He never raised his voice, just gently asked me what I thought would come of the current way I was behaving. It was what I needed to figure things out and I will forever be grateful to him for that, and other life-changing conversations. 

I am also blessed with an amazing father to my children. His love and patience for them is amazing. He always worked hard so the kids would have what they needed and showed them that hard work paid off.

And the third blessing is the other men in my life who are awesome dads. There is nothing better than watching your son parent with patience and humor, or watching your son-in-law scoop up your crying granddaughter and holding her as she sobs in fear of the big old slide. I've had the great influence of my brother, and brother-in-laws, in my life as an awesome guide to my own children.

Now I'm off to cook for my man... I'm making him a feast of grilled chicken and vegetables. (Then I will write)

Behave!

Thursday Rambling...

The week is almost done.

It's been a brutal one at the day job. I have a knot in my shoulder that is visible from the outside. It hurts real bad. I still managed to get all of my stuff done though, except I haven't written yet today. I'm working on it though. I had a lot of household administration duties to attend to, but they are done now, and I'm so freaking exhausted. One more day to get through.

I do get to leave early tomorrow for my mammogram. Yay me. Though very important to have done. Still... I'm not looking forward to it.

I also have the top down on the Jeep, which is its own kind of awesome. It's supposed to be spectacular weather through the weekend, so I'm good.

That's all for now...

Behave!

Tuesday... Oy!

Okay, so it's almost mid-week.

Here are the things:

1. The weekend was epic. Epic food. Epic friends. Epic visiting. We kept it very small on purpose because it's been three years...

2. Setting up the camper was not epic. Carpenter ants and mice in the camper. We sucked all of the ants out of the camper with a shop vac and chased the two mice out. Tore down curtains and moved a bunch of stuff. And after That Man and K4 went up today to close things up (It rained Sunday and we couldn't close the camper) we "should" be good. That Man patched as well as he could and sprayed ant spray. And did some other things to secure it.

3. Sleeping in the camper, was, however, very epic. It was cool and comfy, and our friends felt the same. We let them sleep far beyond when we wanted to take the camper down, which resulted in #2.

4. Still not able to wrap my head around the kid being done with school. She had an orthodontist appointment today and I didn't even have to remind her. And she made her own appointments for the next stuff. That's really nothing new, but with the graduation, it feels new. Weird. I know.

5. Now it's June 12... Weird. May went super, super fast. And it seems June is doing the same thing. I don't know what to think. I just keep doing my same thing...

6. Writing. I didn't write a word this weekend. In fact, That Man thought I had an aneurysm or something because I didn't even take my computer. It was super hard. Trust me. I had a panic attack at one point, but I made it through the overnight without it.

7. But I am writing again... and that's all that matters....

Behave!!

Feed Good Friday - The Graduation Edition

I'm still not over it and I still don't have my head wrapped around it...

Our fourth and final child graduated high school last night. It was an epic ceremony with 51 graduates - a lot of senior tears, parent/family tears, and staff tears. Small school graduations are the best. I love that 90% of the kids stopped to hug the front office lady. I looked for her to hug her, too, after the ceremony. I felt like we became super good friends over the past few years and I'll miss talking to her! Each student paused to get their picture taken with their awesome principal (also the awesome principal is not about hugs and got more hugs than he could probably handle ever. We know this, because it is a small school and you learn these things). Epic. Every time one of the students insisted on hugging him, you could feel the collective cringe and "awe" from the audience. Also, the guy yelling "that's my sister" from the audience was awesome.

There were eight senior speeches and they were all awesome. There was school music. Special recognition for staff and seniors. Scholarships given. And a video of senior thoughts... It was amazing. I had tears. Tears of joy and nostalgia.

We met up with K4 in the lobby after the ceremony. That Man was much faster than me in getting out of the auditorium. By the time I got there she and her dad were hugging and both of them were crying. I had to wait for student after student to hug her and then her cousin and brother, and then it was my turn. She cried on me too, or more like, I cried on her. She looked so beautiful and she was so happy. She took off to hug and cry on her friends and we went to the parking area to find we had a stupid parking ticket. (damnit!)

Then off to dinner, which was awesome, but took forever. (Second time at this place recently with mediocre service - food was better this time, and while the server was super attentive at the beginning, we didn't see her much after our meals came until it was time for the checks to be paid... hmmm. I highly doubt we'll be back there again anytime soon) We didn't get home until well past our normal bedtime. And then, of course, I couldn't sleep. Too much caffeine, too much in my head, too many memories - or whatever, but it was well into the early morning hours until I finally found some sleep.

And then up for work this morning. I should have taken the day off. In retrospect, I definitely should have taken the day off. But I did it and that's okay.

Anyway. I do have Feel Good Friday, too...

1. Above. Duh.

2. Sleeping in a bit tomorrow.

3. Living through the past twelve years with this great kid and being able to smile about it. (Trust me it was a journey that I am glad to have survived. From day one of kindergarten, we have struggled. Seriously. Some days were awesome and some days were horrific.) Yeah, it's going to take me a little bit to wrap my head around this school thing being done forever.

4. Friends from far away coming to see us this weekend. I'm so excited! It's been three years since we've seen them and we miss them so much!

5. Getting some writing in this week. I had a good few days. Then I got some stupid headache/stomach thing and lost a day. And then another day for graduation. But I am making progress. And I still have the headache.

6. Driving home with the top down on the Jeep and being able to park it undercover in my awesome shelter in case in rains tonight. There is nothing like the feeling of top down! You don't believe me, but it's absolutely true. It can take the worst day and make you feel pretty damned good.

7. Summer plans. We are traveling a bit this summer and we're so excited!

8. That Man and K4 taking care of dinner tonight. All I had to do was stop at the store for a few ingredients. Nice.

9. Household administration duties done for the week. And the f'ing parking ticket paid.

10. Looking forward to the weekend. And sleeping in. And getting writing time in. Yeah, that's repetitive, but I had to get to 10 in the extremely long post! Ha!

Behave!

Tuesday...

It's a somewhat quiet evening around here.

K4 is officially done with classes and tests and all of that. Her next step is graduation practice on Thursday.

I had a moment, okay, I'm still having a moment, of complete nostalgia. We have been in the public school system for twenty-four years now. There hasn't been a year in the last twenty-four years that we haven't had at least one kid in school. It feels really weird and I can't help but think of all of those summers I was home with the kids between grades and helping them prep for their next year of school. In a weird way, I miss those days.

I remember juggling elementary, middle, and high school events. Luckily, there were two of us to handle everything during those times. It was crazy. It was fun. It's memories of our life.

Now we're done with that phase of our lives. Completely. (except for one more step on Thursday for the actual ceremony)

Today I woke K4 up for school for the very last time. I have to say, I definitely had a feeling. Our last child graduating. Done with the public school system. Wow. I sat on the back porch before I had to leave for work and held back a few tears just thinking about the past and our journey.

That Man and I spent a lot of time texting back and forth today about the fact that very soon it will be just him and I again. Just like when we started out. It feels kind of weird and exciting at the same time. We're not sure what K4's immediate future will be. She's on the wait list for college in the fall, but we hope that changes soon. If it doesn't, she still has plans.

When K4 stopped into his work to tell him she was done with school, he had his own moment. She left his work with her car back in action.

Thursday night she walks the walk and receives her diploma. I need to buy tissues. Partly because of the nostalgia, and the other part because I'm free of morning wake ups and... well, it's a long story there. This is the kid who walked out of the first day of kindergarten and told me she's moving to the French because they don't make their kids "do this". That should be enough to let you know what a journey this has been with her. Both joy and frustration.

That is all for now!

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

Oy! Tomorrow is Monday! Again.

We did pack up and go to our room after we ate on Friday since it never rained. It was ridiculously hot and we couldn't take it anymore. I wrote good words and ended up talking to my sister forever. Which was super good. I slept in a little on Saturday, which was also super good.

So happy to get to a writing meeting despite having to leave early for the recital. It was awesome to get to hang out with my writing pals for a while though.

K5's baton recital was really great! Yeah, our backs hurt at the end. Specifically That Man's, who had hurt himself pretty good previously during the day, and that cut us out of hooking up with my sister after it was over. Anyway. K5 was so good and adorable. She won awards and was texting me after she got home. (We have a kid safe app we use to text. It's pretty amazing, because we get to video chat, too)

Today was chores, car fixing, and fajita making. That niece's boyfriend came down to help That Man. It rained. The food turned out awesome and That Man and I both have lunch for tomorrow. Yay!

It's going to be a crazy week. K4 graduates and her schedule is finals, finals, and graduation practice. Luckily, we think the transportation problem is solved, but we're not 100% convinced on that yet. If not, she'll have to take me to work, which will suck for both of us.

That is all for now. It's time to write!

Behave!

Feel Good Friday

The June 1st Edition...

Wow... June. May went so fast. I'm kind of scared that June is going to be the same way.

Let's get to the list:

WRITING!! I wrote last night and managed a pretty decent word count! Whoot! Awesome feeling! I'll be continuing tonight!

2. That Man picking me up from work. Due to the vehicle shortage, K4 had to take me in. It sucks being at work without a car, but leaving for the day with him waiting for me in the parking lot made it worth it.

3. Living through the brutal work week.

4. Ordering the parts for K4's car. She really needs transportation next week for finals and graduation practice and see #2. Hopefully it will be fixed by Sunday.

5. Not cooking tonight. That Man and I ran to Misty Simon's booksigning and then took care of some errands. Couldn't decide on dinner and then figured we'd just come home and order something in. Okay by me.

6. Writing dinner this week. It was great. Awesome to see and talk with my writing ladies. Good food. Lots of laughter and discussion. I kind of felt bad for the poor waiter who kept coming to the table at the most embarrassing (for him) conversation point, but he had a good sense of humor. It was very good to feel connected and part of this group again. It has been far, far too long.

7. Writing meeting tomorrow. Yay! Also has been far, far too long. I've missed every meeting since January, which is horrible, but couldn't be helped.

8. Getting to see K5 tomorrow. Yeah, sitting through a baton recital isn't the most fun in the world, especially since we have to sit on gym bleachers. But it's worth it to see my granddaughter doing something she loves.

9. The impending rain. Please. It's so stinking hot and muggy. I'm on the couch and seriously considering packing my stuff up and heading to our air conditioned room. But... I have to wait for the food first...

10. Sleeping in tomorrow. Just a little. It will be awesome! Technically, I can sleep in three hours past my normal wake up time, but I know I won't. I'll be lucky to get an hour in. But that's okay.

That is all. I think the food is here. Yay!

Behave!

Off the Face of the Earth...

Apparently...

May is always chaos and this May has been no different!

K4's show was pretty darned good. I'm glad we didn't listen to her and went anyway. That Man and I had a good time hanging out before the show since there was no reason to come home and then leave five minutes later. The kids did a great job with the entire thing and it was awesome to hear what all of the seniors are doing after graduation.

Now we're exactly a week out from the big walk. The cap and gown are sitting on my desk. She's finishing up assignments and prepping for finals. I think she has two days of finals next week.

The sucky thing is that she's still fighting whatever crap she's been fighting. She missed her senior trip to NY yesterday because of it. I don't know who was more upset... (her, I'm sure), but it sucked.

Going back in time...

We had a pretty darned good Memorial Day weekend. We went to The Wilds, though we didn't inhabit the alternate living space. Instead, we put our super-comfy air mattress up in my sister's living room for sleeping. We hadn't had time to get the camper out and check it, and the threat of rain and mud from the previous terrible rain were huge. The guys had a very terrible week and didn't want to deal with the campers, so my sister and I caved. It was weirdly nice, though weird. We spent our days in The Wilds and our nights hanging out just the adults. The weird part was not being able to go into my camper for stuff I needed, but it was okay.

The picnic was really good. Food, family, and friends. And a pretty decent day temperature-wise. Too chilly and high water for the kids to get into the creek, but nice to sit along the bank and talk. We got to see all of our kids and all but one grandkid. I call win.

We ended up giving K4 most of her graduation present and she spent the weekend hanging out with her cousin and sleeping in her tent. She was super happy. Now if we could just get her car fixed. Oy.

This weekend is my writing meeting and K5's baton recital. Looking forward to both.

Also, today is my first baby's birthday. It's so hard to believe he's 29! I remember this day 29 years ago so vividly! Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!!

That is all for now.

It's writing time!

Behave!

Thursday?

Sorry for the silence...

It's crazy time around here.

The day job is insane. I come home truly broken each night.

In fact, this is the first time I've turned on my computer since Friday. That's sucky and bad. And yes, it means I have not written. Boo.

It's been chaos here. For many, many reasons...

K4's final show is coming up quick. There are crazy rehearsals going on. She hasn't decided if she wants us to come or not. She says it's going to be bad and she doesn't want us there. We're just waiting, but we'll probably go regardless of what she says.

Graduation is in like 3 weeks! Wow. My last kid. Graduating. Weird.

Working on graduation present - already know what it's going to be. Excited to give it to her.

College - Well, she was accepted, but she's on the waiting list. She might not be in this year, and she might be. We'll see. So exciting though. We have to fill out a form and she has to get drug tested and then they'll let her know when she's in - they even said it could be the day of first classes. So we'll see... But wow!

I should be on retreat right now!

I'm so super bummed. It could have worked out, but it didn't. I should, right now, be sitting on a bunch of good words, sleeping in a super comfy queen-sized bed, having someone cook every meal for me, and looking forward to more stellar writing days. I should be enjoying my time away from the homestead and just being able to be an author.

I cannot tell you how sad I am...

I don't know if you will hear from me tomorrow night or not... Tomorrow is my momma's birthday. Tomorrow is the anniversary of her services. This past week or so has been rough, and it always will be. I miss my momma beyond words.

Mother's Day was super rough. It was the anniversary of my momma's death. And couple that with That Mom dying just two weeks prior. I cried on That Man. I tried to stay away from people, though K3 came over. We played a game and he helped That Man make dinner. It was nice. Actually, Those Kids did make it nice. It's just my stuff that got in my own way.

That's all I have...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday...

Made it through the week! Oy! And it was a long one.

There is some good stuff, so let's focus on that...

1. Friday!
Though I had to leave work and get K4 home due to a migraine. The upside of that is that a piece of mail I was waiting for arrived just as I was leaving to head back into work.

2. Taking care of some estate stuff. Still have to finish it up tomorrow, but I made a good start.

3. Ordering food for dinner. No cooking. No clean up. And it was good.

4. Household administration duties - at least the paperwork kind - are taken care of.

5. Sleeping in tomorrow. At least a little.

6. That Man and his siblings getting to be together last night. We had a great meal. K1 did the dishes. Boxes were gone through, memories shared. The Brother went back home today, but I'm glad for the time the siblings got to spend together.

7. Hanging with That Man tonight. Our house is pretty quiet tonight. We're watching murder tv and talking about our weeks. It's been a long couple of weeks around here. This is actually the first time we've had to chill and reconnect. It's good.

That is all.

Behave!

Finally Through All of the Details...

Well, for the most part.

There are things to go through and finances to settle, but they'll get done in time.

The services were beautiful. Our funeral home is amazing and provide a level of care I have never experienced before. They did when my folks passed away and they met & exceeded our expectations once again.

That Man and his siblings spoke a beautiful tribute to their momma. My brother-in-law spoke and sang. Our girls spoke. In fact, we had so much sharing that the Pastor's portion had to be shortened greatly.

After the service, we had a reception at a local place associated with the funeral home. The food was good. The service exceptional. The fellowship even more exceptional.

The weekend was taking care of house stuff and trying to rest. We started putting up my Jeep shelter and made a feast of tacos. That Brother hung out here most of the day. On Sunday, I stayed in bed until noon and stayed in my jammies until it was time to go to That Sister's. That was a nice visit - just the siblings. We ate, laughed, talked, and watched stupid television.

Then, we had to wait the weekend until we could have the small service at the military cemetery. That was yesterday and was poignant. We kept it to immediate family - mainly because of people's work schedules and asking them to take more time off of work felt rude and because by that point, we were all done in.

Today was back to work. It was a rough day - mainly because we're exhausted and for me, because my work wasn't attended to while I was away and I'm buried. It wasn't intentional, it's just super busy and we were short three people, so there's that.

I had to drop out of the 50/50 challenge when That Mom started failing and we spent the weekend with her. I've barely opened my computer since mid-last week. I'll get back to it this week.

But I'm going to bed now. I have no concentration left at all.

Behave.

Wednesday...

This week is dragging. The work day went so slow, regardless of the fact that I'm super busy. That Man texted me to say the same thing and I couldn't believe I'd only been at work for an hour. It felt like I'd worked all day already.

That Man took care of his clothing. I grabbed a shirt the other day. I need to take K4 out to get something decent to wear. We are still working on pictures. Everything I think we're good, someone sends me more. That's fine, but at some point, I'm going to have to stop accepting them so we can get to work.

We're exhausted. That Man more than me, probably because he's gotten even less sleep. I don't see that changing any time soon.

That is all...

Behave!

Dealing...

Yesterday was the funeral planning.

I ended up taking off work to go with them. I couldn't leave them alone to take care of things when I had insight and there was no way I could leave my husband. We were there for four hours. Not because we had a lot of planning to do, but because we couldn't stop talking. Our pastor is amazing and provides the best comic relief. And while we were disappointed that our Funeral Bob wasn't taking care of us (it was his day off and he was booked with personal stuff), his replacement did an amazing job, which just speaks to the level of care they provide.

We did have to make some decisions. Like food, and an urn, and the programs. She took care of the financials and her final wishes, but did leave some things up to us. I think we did a pretty good job figuring stuff out. I'm glad I was there. Not that they couldn't have figured it out themselves, but there was some reliance on me since I've done this twice before. I didn't mind at all and I was grateful to be there with them through this.

We chose a simple wooden box. I wrote a poem, but don't think it's good enough to put on the programs. We actually found a poem in her room that I sent in to the funeral home for that.

Also, we discovered that they have tiny urns. That was a bonus since her ashes will be buried with their dad. I wish we would have realized that for our parents, but it's all good. That Man and his sister each got one. Their brother wasn't about that, which is fine. Some people feel weird about ashes. I feel weird about the fingerprint stuff.

We won't be having a viewing. She felt very strongly about no one looking at her when she's dead. I understand that completely. She's being cremated, so we'll have her ashes there. It's going to be a long day.

We went to lunch after, which was a good sharing time for both That Man and That Sister.

There is still so much to do. Picture boards. Clothing. Scheduling That Brother. He comes in soon and we have family obligations to attend, host, and manage. I'm back to work and it's brutal. So far behind and so much stuff to do there.

I'm not able to go to the mini retreat my writing chapter is hosting. That sucks, but I have to do what I have to do. I was really looking forward to it, too.

That is all...

Behave!

Rest in Peace

My wonderful mother-in-law passed away last night.

Yes, she really was wonderful.
I couldn't love her more if she were my own mom and that's saying something. She's been there for us and me since the day I met her. She was gracious, kind, giving, and had the heart and soul of an absolute angel. Though, if she was mad, she didn't hesitate to tell you off or give you a hard time about whatever transgression you committed. She was one of the strongest women I have ever known. Her faith was enormous. Her love for her family and my family was also enormous. She included my siblings as her own from the day she met them, then stated that when our parents died and was always happy to see them. Our relationship was always easy and accepting.

On Wednesday, we thought she was okay. She was smiling, eating, and interacting normally. Yeah, she was tired, but she was 81 and was fighting the nonsense her body had thrown at her. She and K4 had a great visit. We had talked about Hospice on Tuesday when she wasn't doing well, but nixed the thought. Thursday was a different story, however. That Man stayed with her until late when his sister arrived to stay overnight with her. By Friday morning when he went in to be with her, the Hospice decision was reversed. Her lab work showed that her kidneys had failed, which explained why the fluid was not leaving her body. She went downhill pretty fast. I left work early to go and we sat by her side until the wee hours when That Man sent me home to sleep.

I got up early (after getting just a few hours of sleep due to the massive amounts of coffee I'd consumed and the lateness of the bed crawling), grabbed breakfast for That Man and his sister, and went in. She'd had a rough night, but she was still hanging in there.

Saturday was absolutely brutal. Neither That Man or his sister slept. We went through the entire list of emotions, sometimes more than once. It was rough at times. There was a ton of crying. There was a ton of laughter and memories. She was out of it the entire time, though we know she could hear us, so we kept the conversation involving her and didn't let her hear any of the not-so-nice emotions.

It was late. That Man had decided to go to his car to try to sleep. His sister finally fell asleep in the chair. The plan was for them to sleep for a few hours with me on duty and then I would go home after they were properly rested. My sister and b-i-l were there and had dozed off, too. I was sitting by her side and noticed her breathing had changed. My b-i-l had moved and was sitting across from me, also watching. We looked at each other and I nodded for him to wake the sister. I texted That Man to get inside. That Man walked in the door as she took her last breath. I would have gotten them sooner, but I really thought there would be just a little more time. Though I had a feeling she wasn't going to go until neither of them were standing over her. That's what my dad did.

She was so loved by everyone in her home. Staff stopped by constantly to check on her and say their goodbyes when they ended their shifts. Residents stopped by to ask how she was doing or stopped us in the hall to check in. One woman said she was sure Mom was put there to help her and said how grateful she was for her. And that was a staff member. Another staff member came in to sing to her. They all left crying.

If was both comforting and heartbreaking to be a part of. Later, I'll tell you about some of the things we experienced with her during her final days, but not now.

One of the things I'll forever be grateful for is my sister and brother-in-law giving up almost their entire weekend to be with us and support us. It still amazes me. We, in no way, expected it. My brother-in-law held her hand and sang to her. My sister held her hand and talked to her. They brought me diet coke. They brought laughter and music and comfort for the three of us that were on duty. They provided comic relief and a shoulder when we needed one. They helped entertain the grandchildren when K2 & J came. They communicated with staff members that are friends of ours when we couldn't.

I also have to shout out to my other sister and sister-in-law. They checked in with me during the whole process, too. It just solidifies the known truth that I have the best siblings in the whole world.

Also, the way the staff took care of us during the whole process was amazing. We had a cart of drinks and snacks always ready and they were quick to fill our coffee pot and water pitcher whenever we needed. I think I only had to ask for a refill once and that was Saturday morning because our coffee went super quick. They checked on us often and were quick with hugs and kind words when things became too much and we broke down.

We spent today notifying family and friends. (The only people we called last night were the kids since it was so late.) And sleeping. And cleaning out her room. Very good friends brought us dinner tonight, which was awesome. The most I've managed today, besides cleaning out her room and the phone calls, is necessary laundry. Exhaustion is real. The kids are managing. K1 & J have checked in with us often to make sure we're okay, and made us an amazing breakfast and cleaned up. K3 was here pretty much all day and went with us for the room clean up. I talked to K2 for over an hour. K4 stayed up until dawn and has slept most of the day. She did emerge for food and hugs a little while ago. These kids are amazing and we are so blessed by them.

Tomorrow That Man and his sister go to the funeral home to finish the planning. She had already planned and paid for her funeral, which is amazing and such a relief. There is pretty much nothing that she didn't put in her plan. Arrangements are covered. After reception is covered. All of the details are spelled out. The only thing they have to do tomorrow is write the obituary and settle on date and time and the finer details. That Brother will be here Thursday, so...

It sucks. That's all I can say.

Behave

Tuesday...

I have nothing clever for the title...

It's been a super rough day.

The day job is super insane. To the tune of me having approximately three times more work than normal. I tore it up and got almost caught up, but not as caught up as I need to be. I'm mentally exhausted.

That Mom is not doing well again. She's in congestive heart failure again. She's exhausted, short of breath, and scared. We went as soon as we got home and stayed until we had to use the employee exit to leave. They are starting her on meds to help drain the fluid from around her heart and we hope that helps a lot. Her knees continue to be infected despite the heavy duty antibiotic they have her on. We think she may be resistant to it. She has wonderful caregivers though. They really care about her and are on top of her care. That's a good thing.

I'm mentally exhausted as well. I can't even.

I am writing though, and I'm off to do that now!

Behave!

Oy Monday...

Crazy day today.

But I'm home already, which is good. And I started dinner...

Left work to take care of some of the legals for my dad's estate. Worked on that stuff once I got home, too.

Hit up the grocery store and picked up some things.

K4 ate bad sushi for lunch and had to come home. Yuck.

The day job is super crazy right now, so I'm afraid of what I'm going to find when I get in tomorrow. Like, really afraid.

But it is what it is.

That is all... I'm home and I'm going to write now.

Behave!

Saturday...

Missed Feel Good Friday last night.

We headed out as soon as I got home to see That Mom and pick up That Man's car. Spent way longer than we'd expected with That Mom. Got to hold my great-niece and see my niece and sister-in-law though. Always good. My great-niece is so stinking cute and she smiles all of the time. I'm so glad That Mom gets to see her regularly. Also, That Mom is doing much better. She's responding to the antibiotics and her color is almost back to normal. She also has some of her sass back. Which is amazing. We stopped and talked to her nursing team, which was good. They love her so much.

Went and grabbed a booth at the local restaurant we've been going to the last few months (especially since I get gift cards for there through my shopping app) and talked for a while. Had some fried zucchini and onion rings - which was pretty much all I ate all day. Stopped at the grocery store for dog food. Came home to chaos.

Went to bed early.

Up early to go and pick up my birthday present to myself. We bought an enclosure for my Jeep! Yay! It was super cheap since we bought it from a friend and I think it's going to work well. Once we figure out exactly where it's going and which way to have the opening. I'm excited.

Now... K4 is at prom. She looked so beautiful! Her friends came to help with makeup. Her cousin came to help with hair. My kitchen was a disaster zone for a few hours, but that's okay. I'm not sure what her plans are after, but I don't think she is either.

That is all! I'm off to write now.

Behave!

Home Again, Home Again...Jiggety Jig

What a week!

Up super early. Ready to go. Coffee. Hit to road for our drive to DC. Traffic, but we made it on time. Did our appointments. Still lots of driving, but overall a good day. Finally got done and had a quick lunch before making our way back home.

Overall a very productive and good week.

I'm glad to be home though. Very glad. I will be glad to sleep in my own bed tonight.

Tomorrow I'm back to the day job. Then it's the weekend. Yay!

I've got a million things to catch up on, so I'm out.

Behave!

Still On the Road...

We did A LOT of driving today.

But it was really good. I got to meet people I've ever only "met" through email. Which was part of the point of this week.

It's been amazingly good.

Tomorrow is pretty much the same and then, we're going home at the end. So you probably won't hear from me tomorrow night.

Our day started stupid early.
I did manage breakfast and coffee.

Good visits. Good food. Then driving more and good visits.

We finally got back to the hotel and I worked on work stuff for a super long time. Talked with my new rep on stuff she needs to know (should have been on the clock for that, but whatever) But my boss is cool with the credits on the time I've actually worked.

Then we went to dinner.
Good food. Good atmosphere. I kind of felt "relevant" for a hot minute. I had a lobster roll, but ditched the roll for the lobster. There was a brussel sprout appetizer that was to die for.

Then we got back to the hotel and went to the bar that we didn't know existed on Monday when we got here....for a drink and for the boss to watch the baseball game. Fun! We kept talking - like we'd even done anything else since we'd met up again. I have three sales reps and luckily, these two keep me on my toes. My other rep is just as awesome but it's a different territory.

And now I'm in bed. My bags are packed. I have to be up super early, so Good Night...

Behave!

Full Day on the Road...

I slept relatively decent thanks to a cool room and some ambient thunderstorm noises. I was up a little later than I wanted to be and up a little earlier than I wanted to be.

Then the morning went to crap for a bit.
My pants malfunctioned.
My hair looked so weird after washing it with different water.
I spilled lava-hot coffee on my stomach.
The zipper stuck on my boot and it took forever to fix it.

It got better from there, but what a long day.
A lot of time in the car traveling.
A long time of being "on".
Weird lunch. (no flavor, was not what I expected)
More of the same.
Finally back to the hotel and then working for a few hours.

Now I'm catching up on home stuff and waiting to find out what's going on for dinner. I'm hungry (see weird lunch).

Tomorrow is going to be more of the same. Which is fine. I'm actually enjoying myself. It's just a little different than a normal work day. Obviously.

Okay. Dinner plans are made. I'm out.

Behave!

So I'm In Maryland...

Currently, I'm on one of my beds. It's a super nice room. I have a coffee pot and a mini fridge. The hotel is in a very nice area and is newer, so yeah...

And I have this whole room to myself!

Worked at the office all day, then hit the road at almost five. About an hour and forty-five minutes through not-so-bad traffic. Got into the room, organized, then met for dinner. Checked in with my boss.

Awesome dinner. I'm super stuffed and I still have some leftovers in my fridge. Good conversation. Got back to the hotel and gathered my clothing for tomorrow. Took care of some administration details for the writing stuff and home stuff. Went downstairs and grabbed a beer and some water to bring to my room. Trying to get Netflix hooked up on my tablet so I can watch a movie, but it's being stubborn.

Super tired, but worried I won't sleep. It's a new place and I generally don't sleep well my first night in any new place as I'm sure I'm not alone in that one.

We hit the road to clients around 8am. So a little sleeping in may or may not happen.

I'm here until Thursday. And Thursday will be a long day so I probably won't get home until late. Then back to the office on Friday to try to catch up with myself.

I'm excited for this experience though. I will be meeting the people I work with on a daily basis - finally putting faces to names. And I will be working with my new sales rep - getting to know each other and how we'll work together. Which I already know will be awesome.

I'll check in tomorrow - I think. Now I am writing.

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Friday was awesome!

I didn't really sleep in because I went to bed at such a ridiculous hour on Thursday! But that's okay! I got up and scrubbed my Jeep inside and out. Windows cleaned, carpets vacuumed. The Grandson made some money because he was all about the vacuum. He did do a good job, but holy sand. Things were taken out that shouldn't have still been in there. Lots of scrubbing.

Went to the grocery store for some quick things. Did some laundry. Picked K4 up a bit early from school to go prom dress shopping. We had a blast. She found a gorgeous dress and shoes and she didn't kill my budget! Nice! Prom is this coming Saturday and I "think" she has everything she needs! She's excited. I'm excited for my baby girl to go to prom!

K3 went to break a bit early and we got to hang out with him for a bit. Awesome day!

Friday night ended up being hanging out and chill...

Saturday was at the cabin for clean up and fix up and I wasn't supposed to do any work according to all of the guys, but once the water got hooked up, everything got cleaned inside because my sister and I just can't sit idly by. Plus we also swept up 900 million flies. Again. Love this cabin and will do anything to make it the best ever.

Came home right about dark last night. K3 came over with a gorgeous plant for me. It's so beautiful. We hung out and talked and it was awesome! We ordered pizza super late, but it was very good and much needed.

Slept in a bit this morning. Went to see That Mom. She's not doing so hot right now. She has an infection and is on major antibiotics, but she looks good - better than she did the other day. Took a nap. Hit the grocery store. Did laundry and packed my bags for my week away from home for work.

I'm excited and equally scared to be going away for work this week. I leave tomorrow! I'm packed, but I'm not sure I'm ready!

We'll see...

Behave!

Thursday = My Friday!

Yay!

I get to sleep in a little tomorrow. Do some stuff to and with my Jeep and some other stuff before heading out to take K4 prom dress shopping. That Man is making me an early birthday dinner since we'll be out doing some stuff all day Saturday. The most I plan to be online is to get my words on the page.

And then... next week I'm traveling for work. It's going to be strange. I've never done this before. I'm excited though. I need to find clothes, organize some stuff, and figure some other stuff out.

Right now, I'm most looking forward to the sleeping in. I'm exhausted and so glad I decided to take tomorrow off.

That's all for now.

Behave!

Tuesday's Turds...

Yeah, that's a gross title, but it made me giggle and I really needed a giggle today. Ha!

My back is still hurting pretty bad. One of the ladies at work gave me a patch thingy for it. Helped a tiny bit, but the muscles keep spasming. It hurts. A lot. I'm currently on the couch with the heating pad. Soon I will be in bed though. That Man had me on the floor doing some stretches to try to work it out. I don't know, except he had to help me up.

The taxes are filed and have been accepted. All I have to do now is write out a check for the state taxes we owe. The only problem with that is that I ran out of checks and forgot to order them until after I'd written my last one. I'm hoping they come before Friday. Otherwise, I guess I'll have to go to the bank for a money order or something. We'll see...

The college application process is going well. She has to schedule her admission test. I have to do fafsas (ugh). Her transcripts have been sent.

Writing is going. Slow. I'm trying though, which has to count for something.

Tomorrow is half-way through the week. Yay. Technically, I am halfway through my week now. Yay! I decided to take Friday off. It's supposed to be super nice outside, plus Saturday is my birthday, so a three day weekend is acceptable.

That's all for now.

Behave.

Monday...

It's snowing.

It's cold.

I'm tired and I hurt my back.

Suck.

That is all.

Behave.