Tired Tuesday

Eh... Couldn't come up with a better title, though I am super tired. I'm about fifteen minutes away from bedtime.

Luckily, the writing has been done, some laundry, the 'burban has been picked up from the garage, and I burned my hand pretty good on a hot pan. We made weird stuff for dinner. K3 was going to cook, but he's a victim of the latest weird bug to plow through this house. Poor guy. So we had eggs, tater tots, perogies... Kind of a "flex meal" if you want to call it that. Someone needs to go to the grocery store. We're out of bread, peanut butter, jelly, cheese... The only thing we have in abundance is eggs thanks to That Man's friend with chickens.

So, this time in seven days, I'll be hours from retreat. Yay! I have five more days to work the day job. I still need to take care of a little bit of swag, and I need to do some personal shopping. I'll be ready.

It's taking Amazon a little longer to drop the price of the anthology. I'll let you know when it's free. Should be soon. We have a bunch of downloads on Smashwords already, which is awesome. Now we're looking at the next anthology, which will be about the second sentence. Heee.

This weekend is Mother's Day. We're getting together with the sibs for a cookout on Saturday. Looking forward to that. Then Sunday is my day to do whatever I want. Like sleep and read and write (and probably do laundry and run the vacuum, but we'll see...ha ha)

That's all. My bed is calling me and it sounds lonely.

Behave!

Okay... So This Book is Live...

We're live!!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/722945

More links to come. 

Just don't buy it! This is a free offer. It should be free on Amazon in a few days! 

I'm so excited for this! 

These authors I'm with are so awesome! The stories are so vastly different. 

Woo hoo!!

When you search: The First Sentence: A Collection of Romance Novellas (The Sentence Collections Book 1)

In other news... Today was our niece's gender reveal celebration. We had a blast hanging out. And we're having a great niece! That Man and I both guessed wrong, even though I knew better than to guess boy. Love my niece and her husband. They are amazingly awesome people and we totally enjoy their company! And I totally loved being included in my sister-in-law's friend fun! 

9 days until Retreat! 

Behave!

Rain. Rain. Rain. And a Book Cover!

It's been raining pretty much all day, but that didn't stop it from being a pretty awesome day!
Writing meeting was fantastic! Great conversation and a great speaker. I left feeling jazzed and confident! It was exactly what I needed!

Below is the cover for the anthology I'm in. This should be out within the next two weeks. I'll post buy links, but you should know, we're offering it for free. It was a blast to write and I'm so lucky to be included with these amazing authors. Each story starts with the same first sentence and then the stories go in completely different directions. We're already planning the second collection, and you guessed it, each story will have an identical second sentence. Stay tuned...

I'll have my Soul Mate book cover up for you soon. It's due to launch at the end of June. I'll be working on a sequel to it next and hope to have it in the hands of my editor before too long. Just need to finish what I'm currently working on. 

That is all. I'm happy to be home and on my couch with a blanket and my laptop for the evening. 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday...

I had a super suck day today.
Everything that could and shouldn't go wrong, did.
I'm not going to get into details because it's blah blah blah and wah... so, instead, we're going to focus on good things...

1. Living through a long and laborious work day. 90% of it sucked. Some was okay. Lunch was meh. Five pm was awesome.

2. Not having to cook dinner. That Man and K4 had the dinner going on when I walked in the door. They had done the shopping and the taking care of The Grandma. All I had to do was come home. You can't beat that.

3. Bonus - Margarita in hand within fifteen seconds of getting home. Mango, no less. Awesome. That Man definitely knows what he's doing and knows how to read me.

4. Conversations on my way home that made me feel better and not stupid

5. Retreat in almost 10 days. Oh yes, please!

6. A little sleeping in tomorrow.

7. The 'burban coming back into the fold. Yay, 'burban!! I drove it to the garage and while I am still in love with it, I was a little nervous. (also, I insisted on driving it to the garage)  The brakes were whacked, the steering also... But it's all good. Most of it was because it had sat for so long. When we pick it up it will be pretty much good.

8. Camping coming up! I loves the camping. And now the 'burban is back to haul the camper wherever we wish to go!

9. Writing meeting tomorrow! Yay!

10. Words on the page! I must get to that now!

I am fried. My 50 words will happen, and then I will sleep.

Behave!

The Weirdness...

There is a pair of women's panties on the grass in front of my house. They are not clean. They are not mine or K4's. No one will touch them. I have no idea how they got there, who they belong to, or how long they will stay there. We park there nearly every day. We keep our cars locked, so it's not like anyone was doing "the deed" in our backseats or anything. Likely, someone lost them from their laundry basket, but still...

The dog continues her bizarre behavior. This morning she nearly left the yard to check out the neighbors recycle bin. And she ate a pancake off of the counter. The second you get up, she's on your heels and generally appears to be waiting for more food to be left at her convenience. Her food dish is full. So is her water. We think she's being fed too much off of plates when people are done eating, so now she feels she deserves it and if we won't give it to her, she'll get it herself. Generally, we can leave food on the coffee table and her in the room alone with it and she won't even move. So, obviously, this behavior must stop. We're working on it.

There is a plastic spider/bug in the parking lot at the day job. Every couple of days, it will end up on someone's car to freak them out. It's hysterical, but weird how a plastic spider ended up in the parking lot. Also, on my way in the drive this morning, there was a kitchen sponge just laying in the middle of the road. It looked brand new, too.

It's Thursday! Yay! I'm beat though. 12 days until Retreat! Writing meeting this weekend! Sleeping in and a gender reveal picnic for my niece and her husband. And writing. Hopefully the weekend doesn't go by too fast.

That is all!

Behave!

Three Days In...

We're three days into May...

The weather is not really nice. It's cold and breezy. I'm kind of okay with that. I mean it's not cold enough to worry about heat, and a sweatshirt does nicely. Sleeping is good.

Illness has besieged our home once again. One has potential Mono, or strep, or just severe allergies. Two have stomach issues - not out and out sickness, but yucky. Of course, everyone is showing allergy symptoms though most of us have never had to worry about them. With the amount of pollen blowing around out there, it's no wonder.

The dog took a package of hot dogs off of the counter and ate half of them. She waited until my back was turned and got busted by K4. Not happy with her at the moment. She's properly regretful, but argh. I know. Dogs will be dogs.

The laundry fairy keeps missing my house. It's making me sad. And naked. Ha!

Tomorrow is Thursday. Yay. Though I'll feel more Yay when it's this time tomorrow night.

Soon I will share two book covers with you. One is Into the Fire, which comes out at the end of June. The other is an anthology I'm in with four other authors. It's a collection of shorts that all start with the same sentence and I do believe we're offering it for free. Both covers are awesome and I'm excited.

Writing is going well. I'm making great progress rewriting a Frankenstein-ish type story that I love.

13 days until Retreat. It's time to make my lists and think about what I need to pack. I need to do a little shopping since all of my comfy pants look like crap and my slippers have gone missing. It doesn't really matter if I end up in ratty comfy pants though.

And... it's bedtime...

Behave!

May the First

Ah, May. You are an interesting month - a month of fantastic things, very sad things and memories, beginnings, and ends.

I love May for: Retreat, first campout, warmer weather, planting flowers, longer days, Jeep top down, more hanging out, flip flops, and grilling.

I dislike May because: May is when I lost my momma. It's also her birthday, which is the day we had her funeral. There are a lot of memories and sadness, especially around Mother's Day, which was the last time I saw her well and able to communicate. I have wonderful memories of the whole Mother's Day weekend, but not after that. I'm so glad we were able to have that weekend with Mom - it was full, fun, awesome, and excellent.

Also, this is the time of year my dad started to really get sick. We thought he had a prostate infection, but by the end of May, we knew he didn't. So there's that added into it. The last time I saw my dad as wholly healthy and "normal" was the Mother's Day before he died. (ten months before my mom died)

So, yeah. I'm in a place with a whole bunch of crazy emotions. This is life, though, and get through it I must.

That's all.

Behave!

Radio Silence

Sorry for it. Crazy busy weekend that included granddaughters, food, sleeping, car repair, Scout ceremonies, wound care, and more car stuff...

Here are the answers. (like you care)

1. There are no less than five tubes of different kinds of toothpaste on my bathroom counter currently. True - I have no answers. I put them away and they just come back. 

2. I drove into the city this morning with the top down on the Jeep in less than fifty degree weather and in the rain. Not true. I'm not crazy. 

3. That Man averted no less than four family crises today. He's the best. Truth. 

4. My dog gets hurt feelings if the couch and the people on it aren't the same as usual. Also true. 

5. We have used twelve rolls of paper towels in this house since Sunday. Not true, but close.

6. Someone dried two laundry pods after they didn't dissolve in the wash. It's a freaking mess. Truth.

7. Some cat decided it's okay to pee in the basement and not in the litter box. Unfortunately, this is also true. We have three cats. I have no idea which one it is. Working on a solution. 

8. Some other cat broke two pictures and left glass everywhere. Also true. 

9. When That Man gets up in the morning, he makes himself breakfast. He saves part of his breakfast for the puppy. It's always too hot for her to eat when he leaves, but she'll obsessively pace the downstairs until someone comes down to "feed" her the breakfast. Truth. Except on Friday, the cats ate her breakfast. She was very sad. 

10. We have a toilet paper rule in this house. We are beyond the stipulations of the rules and yet no one has come forward to mention that if something is not done, we will be out of the precious toilet paper. This is disturbing on so many levels. All of the inhabitants of this house know which type of tp to buy and all have the funds to purchase. I feel like we're in some kind of stand off... Who wins if no toilet paper is purchased? Truth. Though the situation wasn't as dire as I thought. I found several rolls in the linen closet. And I made the purchase to replenish the supply. 

Exciting, huh? I know...

Ha!

Behave!

Thursday - True or Not?

Okay, so no one comments here anymore, but let's do this anyway...

Which of these are actually true?

1. There are no less than five tubes of different kinds of toothpaste on my bathroom counter currently.

2. I drove into the city this morning with the top down on the Jeep in less than fifty degree weather and in the rain.

3. That Man averted no less than four family crises today. He's the best.

4. My dog gets hurt feelings if the couch and the people on it aren't the same as usual.

5. We have used twelve rolls of paper towels in this house since Sunday.

6. Someone dried two laundry pods after they didn't dissolve in the wash. It's a freaking mess.

7. Some cat decided it's okay to pee in the basement and not in the litter box.

8. Some other cat broke two pictures and left glass everywhere.

9. When That Man gets up in the morning, he makes himself breakfast. He saves part of his breakfast for the puppy. It's always too hot for her to eat when he leaves, but she'll obsessively pace the downstairs until someone comes down to "feed" her the breakfast.

10. We have a toilet paper rule in this house. We are beyond the stipulations of the rules and yet no one has come forward to mention that if something is not done, we will be out of the precious toilet paper. This is disturbing on so many levels. All of the inhabitants of this house know which type of tp to buy and all have the funds to purchase. I feel like we're in some kind of stand off... Who wins if no toilet paper is purchased?

So which is true and which is false?

Behave!

Wrangling Wednesday...

Wednesday already?

Well... That implies that this week is going fast when in fact, it's not.

Day Job is the Day Job - busy, crazy, brain-sucking, but it is what it is. It's a good thing I like it.

Retreat - 21 days! The swag has been purchased after Simon and I had our annual shopping/dinner night. We always have a blast. I have a few bucks to spend yet, which won't be hard. I'm making my packing list and am so excited.

Writing - Even after going through all of the retreat stuff we purchased and deposited on my couch last night, I managed to get a pretty decent word count tonight. I sent back my edits and pitched a vague idea for the next book in the series. Robin Hood? Yes. Yes. I'll be brainstorming this at retreat so I can begin writing as soon as I'm done with my current project.

The Weekend is coming - we have multiple obligations/plans. Not sure what's going to pan out and what isn't. One main thing that needs to happen is laundry. And housecleaning. Joy.

Computer - Well... I hate to even mention this. It has behaved for a few weeks now. No shutting off. No glitching. I did have to reset it to before an update stage a second time, but no nonsense since then. Though I have pretty much kept it plugged in the whole time - so don't know if that has anything to do with it or not. I can't remember when it was shutting off, or if I'm just imagining that being constantly plugged in is helping. That said, there are updates waiting to be installed and I know if I do that, it'll start being a jerk again. I have three weeks until retreat and I'm trying to figure out what the best thing to do is... I have no idea...

It's past my bedtime...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday on Saturday

Yeah, I'm a day late, but whatever...

Here's the list:

1. No cooking last night.
2. A fire in the backyard fire pit.
3. Hanging with friends.
4. Editing progress. Almost done.
5. Cleaning up The Wilds this morning. Can't wait for camping.
6. Naps.
7. Tired dogs.
8. Running errands with That Man.
9. One more weekend day.
10. Sleeping in tomorrow.

That is all.

Behave!

Thursday...

One more day...

I am working on my first round edits. I'm almost done. I made it through the easy stuff and now I'm working on the things that require more concentration. I'm hoping to be done by Saturday. It would be nice if These People who live with me would shut the heck up so I could concentrate. Ha! That's too mean. They are trying really hard, but forget themselves often. I just want to run away for the weekend so I can finish. To be clear, I would take That Man with me, but no one else... because he knows to leave me be and he has his own stuff to do... It's still a possibility if I can work out the details. I hope...

My finger is still sucky. It's apparent that it did need at least three stitches. It looks good, I think, considering. I'm taking care of it and I think it will be okay. I've been putting two bandages on it - one for wound covering and one for protection since I hit it on every single thing I touch.

Yesterday I had the day off work. There were necessary things that needed to be done, which left no time for editing until later in the day. I'm not complaining at all. It is what is it, but I am dying for Retreat!! 26 days until I have 4 1/2 days to myself .4 1/2 days of doing just what I need/want to do (except for the Retreat responsibilities, which I want to do). I am so excited! (and yes, I love my family and I will miss them, but seriously...it's ME time! I need and deserve it!)

Tomorrow is Friday. Yay!

That is all for now!

Behave!

Tuesday Tale

I cut my finger pretty darned good yesterday. I'm still not sure if it should have had stitches or not, but it's too late now. What happened? Well, I pull in after work to K4 coming out of our side door which is secured by a heavy storm door and a padlock on the inside. We rarely use this door, but have had someone try to break in there.
Anyway.
She had been locked inside the house - all of the house keys were in use, including hers which was borrowed by a brother. (actually her car keys, but her house keys were on there). So I unlock the door and proceed to help her get the door closed and secure again. I reach to adjust the bottom part and hit the sheet metal, instantly slicing my middle finger. It didn't really bleed, and it didn't hurt at all... Until later.
And of course, I keep bumping it on everything and it's hard to type properly thanks to the bandage that's on it. And it does hurt now.
I should post a picture for you, but you really don't want to see it. I showed K3 while he was eating and he wasn't thrilled with me. It's not gross like bleeding, pus-filled, or bone-sticking out, but it makes you make that "eeee" face.

So yeah...

I got my first round edits for ItF! Very excited.

That is all for now!
Behave!

Since Tuesday? Say What?

I can't believe I missed posting the rest of the week!

So... It was my birthday on Friday. A big one. My coworkers filled my cubicle with play balls, caution tape, and the like. It was hysterical. That Man brought coffee and doughnuts in for everyone, and brought balloons to further fill my cube. (He's a keeper and is the new office favorite.) My lunch was bought for me (and was so good),

Came home to a quiet house, paid the bills, and sat on the patio in the sun. That Man came home and we ordered food, built a fire outside, and hung out. Very awesome. My sister and brother-in-law stopped by and I received many messages from friends and family!

Slept in a little Saturday morning, then a low-key morning. Did the grocery shopping and got the gear, food, and stuff ready for going to my sister's. That Man, his sister and I helped at the religious place and then we headed up to The Wilds. After we got things unloaded and organized, we headed down the road to hear a bank a friend of my b-i-l's was doing sound for. It was an "interesting" half hour. The band was "okay", the crowd was definitely interesting.

Up early this morning to get food going and stuff ready. We had a small-ish crowd this year, but everything was excellent - the food, the company, and definitely the laughter. Mr. B was funny and so busy all day. We had four dogs running around who all got along, which was cool. We had the top down on the Jeep. It was an absolutely gorgeous day. I don't think there was a single one of us who didn't get some sun.

Now we're still full and exhausted. Doing laundry. I did my words and ended up with way more than I expected. Bedtime will be very soon and then the work week starts once more. Joy.

But it was a very excellent weekend and I am very grateful.

Behave!

Terrific Tuesday...

In an effort to be positive, I'm calling this day terrific and here's why:

1. Being on time this morning after an interesting getting ready time (that included a lot of funny stuff).

2. Decent work day. Manageable work load, some challenges, lots of laughing with my co-workers.

3. Not having to cook when I got home and a good dinner, too. Also not having to do dishes or clean the kitchen.

4. An absolutely beautiful day! I didn't take the top down on the Jeep because I just wanted to get home, but it was lovely to sit out on the patio and chill.

5. Getting my writing words done.

6. As much as I hate to say it... Paying the taxes. The only thing I need is a stamp for the federal envelope. The good part is that we had the money to pay the taxes. Not that we have much at all left, but at least we could cover what we owed and that's a good thing.

7.  Mr. B. He's a hoot and was a crack-up all night.

8. Not caring that my house is a wreck. (Actually, I do care - just not at this very moment.)

9. Holiday plans.

10. Tomorrow is half-way through the work week and I get to meet one of my favorite clients.

That is all. It's bedtime.

Behave!

Monday Woes...

So...

Taxes suck hardcore.

K3 and I did his together. He's getting a little bit back, which is nice for him. We do have to print and mail his return because I cannot find last years tax documents so he can e-file. Suck. I have no idea where they are. I know I printed all of it, but it's gone. I've been searching for them for three weeks now... It's very unlike me. I distinctly remember moving them, but they are not where I was sure they were.

That Man and I owe out the butt to both Uncle Sam and our state. I didn't expect to owe the state, so that came as a big surprise and sucks more than you can imagine. And we owe the state almost as much as we owe federal. I have no idea why. Blah, but I have to print both and mail them in with checks. That will be done tomorrow and then my tax crap is done. It's funny that I'm not stressing out about having taxes done this year even though state needs to be filed in 5 days and federal in 8 days. (Technically my state is filed, they are just waiting for their money) (except for the money part). Typically, I have them done in early February, regardless of if we owe or not. I did start them in March this year, and then couldn't be bothered to finish (and was looking for last years). I remember having stress dreams about filing on time back in the day, but I know they will be done on time and I'm not worried about it at all. (Is this an aging thing? Or an I know I'm not getting any money back thing?)

Today was a typical Monday. Well, maybe not so typical... I was out Friday due to the dysentery, so my work load was a little heavier. K4 continued to have the dysentery, so she was home sleeping all day. That Man is probably getting the dysentery. (looks like we are 4 for 2 now...) He went to bed before eight with horrible stomach cramps. I feel bad for him.

K3 cooked us dinner, which was awesome - black bean burgers and asparagus. He's perfecting his burgers and he's getting really good at it.

But it was a gorgeous day today! I should have put my top down on the Jeep, but I'm glad I didn't only because of having time to put it back up tonight. I might take it down tomorrow though.

What else?

Working on a book and making decent progress. Love.
About a month until Retreat! Cannot wait!
The garden box is ready for planting.
My beach cactus is looking awesome! (Did I tell you about that?)

My computer (ahem - knock on wood) is behaving right now. It hasn't shut down on me in almost a week. Which is good, but I still have a decision to make, especially considering the horrible outpouring of money that will be happening with the payment of the tax debt...

That's all for now... Bed is calling.

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up...

Oy. It was Tuesday when I posted last...

What's happened since then?

Stomach bug - 3. Non-stomach bug - 3
Who gets it next?
I had it Thursday into Friday. K4 still has it. Let me tell you people - this thing is not fun at all! Stomach cramps, multiple bathroom trips, vomiting... yeah, it sucks. It's also going around the Day Job. I don't know if K4 will make it into school tomorrow. She was hit a lot harder than I was and is still in distress.

I finished my edit round and sent it back to my editor. Yay!

We went to That Man's sister's for her birthday last night. We had a blast! Our trip there was fun - we took a mountain four-wheel drive road in the Jeep, which was awesome. We had great food, great conversation, great relaxation, pretty darned good sleeping, great breakfast, It's so quiet there and I love it.

Got home early and then did the shopping, took a lovely nap, cooked on the grill,

I still need to finish the taxes. Oy!

This weekend coming is Easter.

It's going to be a long week at the day job. But there should be some fun stuff during the week. We'll see...

That's all for now!

Behave!

Wait... It's not Wednesday...

I thought it was Wednesday all day long.

No. It's still Tuesday. Dang.

It was a crazy day at the day job.

I still need to do our taxes.

And about a million other things - from making doc and vet appointments, to sending paperwork, to cleaning out stuff... Oy.

I did get through over a hundred pages of read through on my manuscript. Good progress. Should be done by the end of the week.

I'm tired.

Behave!

Ugh Monday...

The stomach bug is in this house.
I'm a little scared because I was in the thick of things during the vomiting and with the perpetrator when the other part began.
Ended up getting to the day job two hours late so situations could be worked out.
It wasn't a fun morning. Or a fun workday since leaving early Friday and going in late today. I have a lot of work to take care of. Blah. But my boss is super cool and awesome about my situation, so that's a good thing.

My editor emailed about working on my June release. I'm doing a final editing pass on my end before she starts her editing. Got a decent amount read through - fixed some clunky sentences, etc.

Today was definitely one of those days where I wish I was home writing full time again. Not that every day isn't, but I guess because I was home long enough to do some laundry, start dinner, and take care of some stuff, it makes it more visible to me. Blah. I do love my day job a lot, but if I had the chance and no financial worries, I would chose to write full time. But you already knew that. Everybody knows that.

That is all.

Behave!

Weekend Wrap Up!

We're back at Sunday night again. Tomorrow starts the whole glorious work week once more. Oy vey!

So let's get to it...

I posted Friday, so you don't care to hear that drivel again...

Writing meeting Saturday. Good to see everyone and great speaker. I couldn't go to lunch which is a sad, but I did get some important writing energy. Our fifty words a day for fifty days challenge started today. (I blew that fifty words out of the water!) Also, our blast week - where we meet up in our chat room and write "together" started today. I didn't make the blast, but I usually don't make the Sunday ones.

Also, 44 days until Retreat! I have our T-shirts in my possession, the money for the swag, and the contract for next year! Whoot!

When I got home, we loaded up and headed to the mountain for frivolity and tacos. We had a blast hanging out, though we never played the games we planned to play. My brother-in-law played an April Fool's prank on our friend, which was hysterical. He hid in her backseat under a blanket and as she went to turn the key, he advised her that she should always check in the back before leaving. Scared her good. She's making plans for revenge. That Man and I left around nine. Came home and bathed the filthy dog and went to bed, with the still wet dog in our bed. Those Kids stayed to hang and didn't get home until around 1am.

Today was my usual hang out in bed morning and watching weird stuff on television. Then I got a call from That Man to see if I could run out and check his mom. She was feeling strange and his sister was a little ways out. So I ran over and checked on her. She was fine, but does need to let the doc know about her blood pressure and water retention. Hung out there for a little with That Man's sister, then met up with That Man. We ran to see a friend who lost her husband not too long ago. She reminds me so much of my mom. Went to the grocery store and then back home to watch Mr. B so the kids could go to their nerd-fest. Cooked on the grill, tried to do some laundry, but the machine was in use and someone washed a way way too big load which took forever to dry. Had to run back out and check The Grandma to make sure she was doing okay. Started dinner for tomorrow night, cleaned the kitchen... blah, blah, blah. Fun stuff, right?

Once the chaos died down, I wrote. Yay! Word count was not awesome, but not terrible either.

Am exhausted now and very close to going to bed... Lunches are organized and ready for morning packing. I failed at getting gas today, so will need to do that before I'm on the road for too long. Need to get the laundry out of the dryer...

Behave!