Mid-Week Check In

See? I'm trying! Ha!

Retreat was awesome. I ended the weekend at the halfway mark of my new book, which was amazing! (Of course, we won't talk about how I haven't done crap since coming home...) 

My ice maker died. I am so very sad. That Man has to take it apart to see if it can be fixed, but we're pretty certain it reached the end of life. It's been five years though, so that's not a terrible run. But now I need to find a new one. And a new blender since we fried ours. 

So Mother Nature is having a breakdown or something. Right now it's snowing. Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 70's. And then the temps plummet over the weekend. It's no wonder everyone is sick right now. Our trees are trying to bud and my flowers are trying to grown. I mean, at this point, my vote is to just stick with the 70's temperature from here on out. 

And that's all I have...

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Three!

And Retreat is almost a wrap! We're in the final hours. 

No, I didn't post this morning because, really, how much do you care about how I slept and what I had for breakfast? Ha! 

Today has been writing, writing, and more writing. There were no adventures. Plus, damn. It's cold! 

I did manage to sleep in a little. And I smashed yesterday's word count into dust! Not by much, but I did beat it. I only have about 1,800 words to hit the halfway mark, which is my goal before I leave tomorrow. 

But for now, my brain is a little on the fried side. I am loving this story and how it's coming together. The words are flowing so well, but I've been marinating this one for a while. 

Oh and no nap today. Damnit! I had a plan, but lost track of time and the next thing I knew it was time to start my dinner. Oh well. I know I'll be in bed early tonight. I'm already feeling it. Ha! 

I probably won't post in the morning, but hopefully it won't be weeks and weeks until I get back here. 

These retreat days have been excellent and exactly what I've needed in my writing world. Though, sadly, this will be our last retreat for this year. I was already on the probably no more because of trying to cut expenses, but one of our members officially cut herself out for the rest of this year. I mean, it is what it is and we'll pick it back up next year. 

And that is all! 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two! Evening!

What a stellar day! Oh! And it's also Feel Good Friday! So let's do that!

1. Hitting a grand total of 12,006 words for today! I am loving this new story and it's flowing so well! I hope to get at least that tomorrow, which would put me around the halfway point. 

2. Our little trip to the outside world for fudge, cookies, and hot pepper jelly. The place was pretty cool, though most of the shops were still closed. We wanted to go in between rain sessions, so we hit it early. I could have spent a ton more money, but I reigned myself in. Ha! I didn't partake in the fudge or cookie part of it, but I did get the hot pepper jelly and some mango salsa. And some cool wax melts. And some cool coffee. 

3. Trying to take a nap. I did try. I might have nodded off for like ten minutes. It was still good and the option to nap is awesome. The best thing is that I have that option tomorrow as well! Ha! 

4. Drawing the lucky straw and getting the master bedroom. Though it's only a master while I'm sleeping. If I'm up, then the bathroom is free for anyone to use. Though this decision was based on how many times each of us gets up to pee during the night. And that's what made me the winner. Ha! But it's nice not to have to put pants on every time I need to get up. 

5. So much talking and laughing going on! It's good for refilling the well, especially with people who don't think I'm super weird. 

6. One more day of retreat! I'll head home Sunday morning. We have a long standing social obligation with friends on Sunday. Though because I'll just be coming home, the option to opt out is there. We'll see. So far I'm still a go. 

And that's about it. I am currently hating the wind and the dropping temperature, but I'm hoping that means a better night of sleep. 

Behave! 

Retreat: Day Two! Morning!

Good Morning from Retreat!

Here I am setting in my spot on the couch, drinking coffee, chatting, and listening to the horse and buggy's go by. And yes, my manuscript is open and I'm getting ready to write.

I slept okay. Had to get up and open a window, but that's just me. Was up far earlier than I wanted to be, but that just means a nap will be well deserved later. It's raining right now, which is nice. Makes my position on the couch even more cozy. You know and the fact that my only actual requirement today is writing. 

I managed over 3K words on my new manuscript! So, yeah, that's going well so far. 

We have plans to head down to the local farmer's market in a bit. Little field trip. Hopefully that's cool. 

That's all for now!

Behave!

Retreat! Day One!

Well, here we are at retreat! I haven't been on retreat since last May!

But here I am! I already have my couch seat picked out. It's a recliner and it's very comfy. We haven't picked bedrooms yet since one of us isn't here yet, but food is put away, the heat is on, and writing will commence shortly. 

Right now it's a lot of talking, which is normal. Yeah, we all saw each other on Saturday, but we were busy, so it's not the same. I think the last time I saw everyone together like this was last May, so...

Getting ready to start a new project. I even have notes! 

That's it for this first update...

Behave! 

Oof!

Sorry for the long silence! 

Now we're halfway through February! How does that happen? I mean, I know how it happens, but still! Time is flying!

So what's been going on? 

1. I finished the novella! Yay! It's going for critiquing very soon. 

2. The annual booksigning at the greenhouse happened this past weekend. Always a lot of fun! I sold a few books, got to see my writing friends, and my sister and bestie came out to support me. 

3. Normal day job craziness. It's all good. Nothing too stressful or insane. 

4. Getting to hang with the grand boys. They are fun and definitely wear us out, but it's so worth it! 

5. Writing retreat commencing in just two days! It's been a minute since I've been to one. I'm looking forward to it! (This is why I haven't sent my novella to my critique partners. Retreats are for doing your own stuff, not critiquing someone else's work) I plan to start a new story while there, and then I will try to balance edits with new writing. 

6. Looking forward to warmer weather. I mean, I know it's pretty danged warm for February right now. Since it doesn't appear we're going to get any significant snow, it's time for Spring! We're trying to figure out our vegetable garden situation. The squirrels ate ALL of our tomatoes last year, so I don't think we'll be planting them this year. Also, the little peckers dug up my rosemary bush that I've had for three years. We'll probably end up with a lot of peppers of all varieties and some herbs. I'm sad about no tomatoes, but it's not worth the frustration. I tried everything to keep them off the plants last year and nothing worked. 

I think that's about it!

Behave! 

Weekend Wrap Up!

Sigh... The weekend is pretty much over. 

It's been nice and quiet. And lovely. 

I did not sleep in on Saturday, in fact, I woke up stupid early. Today, however, I did stay in bed and it was amazing. So amazing that I didn't take a nap today. Which is kind of sad, but okay, too. 

We made burgers on the grill last night since it was such a nice day. And then we tried to have a little fire in our pit, but the bottom of the pit was wet and the wood wouldn't catch. We gave it a good shot before we got too cold and gave up. But the try was nice. 

I worked on my novella all weekend and have gotten it to the place where all I need to do is add a new ending. This is something I finished a while ago, but sat aside. I'm pretty happy with how it's turning out and I'm happy with having the time and motivation to work as much as I did this weekend. It feels better than I can try to explain. 

My print copies of Prelude came today! It's awesome to hold that one in my hands again. It's been a while. 

Tonight's dinner was the last HelloFresh of our delivery this week. It was a different one. I liked it, but That Man and K4 were less impressed. They said it was okay, but didn't go on their favorite list. 

And that's about it. Tomorrow we go back to the daily grind. And this week will be kind of nuts. We have our big inventory day where we close to customers and everyone pitches in to count. The company pays for the main course for lunch and everyone brings side dishes and desserts. It's always a crazy, but fun, day. 

Feel Good Friday!

On Friday! How about that?

It's been a long week, but here we are at the start of the weekend! Yay! 

So let's do the list!

1. FINISHING THE BOOK! WHOOT! It still needs a hell of a lot of work, but it's finished. I have a list of research items to take care of, and a list of all of the things I think I forgot, but it's going to sit for a little bit before I tackle edits. 

2. The greenhouse booksigning coming up fast! I have my list for that, too!

3. Ordering swag. Most of it will be shipped to the organizer of the big New Jersey signing I do every year. She wants to fill goodie bags for the visitors. She does an amazing job with this signing. This year is the first time it's two days long. I'm only there for one day, but next year I might do both days. We'll see. 

4. Did I mention that I finished the book? :)

5. Very low key weekend plans. It's the first weekend in a long time that we've had no obligations, even small ones. The grocery shopping is done for at least the weekend. There is no reason for us to go out unless That Man decides to work on his truck and needs parts. But that's different. 

6. Getting my mammogram done today. Yeah, it sucks and it hurts, but it must be done. I also saw a new gynecologist, and I really liked her. (My old doc retired) 

7. Sleeping in tomorrow. At least I hope. (Oh and Sunday, too)

8. Starting edits on Sector Two. Or a short. Or the other short... Not sure yet. I'm still reveling in the glory of finishing. Ha! 

That's about it! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - On Saturday

Ha! I beat myself by a day! Eh...it's something, right?

What a week! It was long!

Here's the list:

1. Busy. Busy. Busy. At the day job. January is always a super busy month with all of the tax stuff and such. This week was one thing after another and I am so far behind. While it was a busy week, it was still a decent week as far as day job goes. I like to be overly busy, so there's that. 

2. Less than 5K words until I am done with my current project! I am super excited! I got in many words this morning and am at the point where I need to think about the sequence of events for the end. I mean, I've known what's going to happen since before I started actually writing, but now I have to think about how it's all going down. 

3. Being warm. Man, it's getting cold outside. I mean, it's been cold, but today didn't start off as cold as it is now. It's a damp cold. Hopefully that means we're going to actually get some snow, but I doubt it. 

4. My writing retreat coming up in about 3 weeks! So excited for that! I plan to start a new book while there! In the meantime, I will finish my current and do edits on a full length and two shorts. It feels good to be at this point. 

5. Unfortunately, finding a hole in our bed this morning. Yes, we still have a waterbed. Don't judge. I absolutely love it and cannot imagine anything else. We have always had one. Anyway. hole found and waiting to be patched (once I find the patch stuff). Which means, I have to wash everything. The mattress pad is the worst - it cannot be dried in the dryer, so it's currently hanging over the furnace. 

And that's all I have for now...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday on Sunday...Again

Yeah, I know... What can I say?

Well, here we are on Sunday evening again. I'm tired. Ha! What else is new? That Man is working on his truck headlights at the dining room table and I am trying to catch up with myself after a busy day. 

Here's the list:

1. Managing to get the words in despite a hectic week. 

2. The greenhouse booksigning coming up! I've ordered books and I cannot wait. It's one of my favorite events of the year and I would love it if you would come and see me! I will have copies of my first book with Soul Mate! It was out of print for a while, but it's back now! 

3. So...remember how I said things were quiet? Ha! We have stuff on the calendar every weekend going forward now. 

4. Getting to hang with my grand boys! Last night we had Mr. B over for dinner for his birthday. Uncle K3 and Aunt A came and we had a lot of fun. We had build your own subs and homemade ice cream cake at Mr. B's request. 

5. Then today was his friend party doing laser tag. We kept Little B and had a blast with him. He's very smart and always busy. (Which is one of the reasons I am so tired. We played chase a ton and then had to "race" in the back yard.) 

6. Hanging out with my son and daughter-in-law when they came to pick Little B up. We fed them and had a little dance party in the kitchen. Little B is offended by Nana's dancing, which was hysterical. 

7. The plans for the week are minimal. Day job. Regular chores. Nothing too crazy. That's good. Next weekend we have a birthday party for a friend and there's something on Sunday but I can't remember what. 

8. Making plans to head to the middle states to see our aunt and uncle. Looking forward to making the trip with my brother and sister-in-law, and maybe my sister. We didn't go last year because they came to us twice. But our uncle doesn't travel well anymore and whether we like it or not, he's getting up there in years. He's the only close family we have left, so of course we'll do whatever we have to do to see him. 

9. Okay, I'm procrastinating now. I'm working on a critique for a friend, plus I have my own words to write. And I need to shower. 

So I'm going now! Ha!

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday on Sunday!

I know it's Sunday, but it's still the weekend...

I don't really have a list. It was a relatively decent work week. A little crazy, but I managed to get my stuff done. It seemed both long and short, if that makes sense. 

On Friday we finally got to see our friend who worked through the holidays. He came for dinner and we had a really nice time hanging out. We made pesto chicken. It wasn't that good, but it wasn't terrible either. 

Christmas has been removed from the house. The snowmen are still hanging out because they're cute and it's still winter. But all of the Santa trimmings are packed away, even from the front porch. Though I still have a few things to put away. I'll get there this week. 

We did the shopping and errand running. I took a really good nap yesterday, but never really got that far today, though I did try. But the laundry is all done and the house is in decent shape. 

This week coming up is pretty quiet. I guess there's potential for some winter weather this week, though it's too far out to figure out for sure. 

Now we're in the long dark of winter--there's no holidays, no big plans, no social gatherings on the calendar. We're not going on our annual cabin trip this year, which makes me sad, but when we calculated the vacation time this year, it just wasn't happening. I am going on a writing retreat next month and I am very much looking forward to that! 

And that is all I have for now!

Behave!

Happy New Year!

I hope you rang in the new year in a way that was amazing for you! 

We had a nice evening and did stay up until midnight. I'm a little shocked by that because I hadn't planned on it. We'd watched a movie and were heading in the direction of bed when we realized we were close to midnight. 

Yesterday was amazing chaos. The grandboys and my boys were here. We had a fire outside and lots of fun conversations. The food was good and we didn't have a ton of leftovers. Dishes were done quickly and there was time to relax before everyone went home. 

We were in bed early and did sleep in a little this morning. And we've been absolute bums all day. We didn't get much Lord of the Rings watching done yesterday, so we're doing that today. I've taken two naps and got a decent amount of words on the page. 

Tomorrow is back to the day job and facing the long quiet of winter with not too many events planned or obligations at the moment. Which will be nice after the intense last few months. (Notice I said at the moment... Ha!)

And that is all! 

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - A New Year is Coming

So let's back up to last week...

1. Christmas Eve was good even though we were missing some ill family members and some working friends. Dirty Santa was a riot and the soup turned out pretty good. 

2. Christmas Day was equal parts chaos and relaxing. If that makes sense. We weren't up super early either. Scotch eggs and breakfast sandwiches were first. K3 & A came for breakfast and then skedaddled to A's family. We headed over to K1's to take the boys their gifts and hung out there for a while. Back home for a nap. Then it was birthday time. Lasagna and garlic bread for dinner. Chocolate cake with peanut butter icing for birthday cake. K3 & A returned and our niece and nephew to be came to harass K4. The young adults played a game while That Man and I watched a movie. We were in bed pretty early!

3. Monday was a completely lazy day. We did nothing but what absolutely had to be done. I slept in, then dozed on the couch. We had leftovers for dinner. Nice.

4. Back to work on Tuesday. So many people are on vacation that the office has been quiet. But there's end of year stuff to attend to, so the week kind of went fast for me. 

5. Off at noon today. We swung by our friend's house on the way home and spent some time hanging out with them, which was nice. We hadn't seen them in a while. 

6. And tomorrow is New Year's Eve. And I could not care less about it. Our plans are to lounge on our couch in our jammies, eat some shrimp, and go to bed early. I don't want to do anything else. 

7. New Year's day will be the traditional Lord of the Rings marathon; pork and sauerkraut, black eyed peas, and more chaos. I know my boys are coming for dinner, which is fun. The kids rarely get to hang out together since they work different schedules. We're off on Monday again, which will probably be another lazy day, but we'll see. We have car stuff to do and the tree to take down, though I'm not in a huge hurry to do that. 

So, I doubt I'll be back on here before Monday. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Behave! 

Christmas Eve Eve & Feel Good Friday

Well here we are! Almost there!

And today is Friday! 

So let's just get to the list!

1. We were supposed to leave the day job at noon today. Due to the winds and potential for ice, the bosses kicked us out at eleven. That was cool. It was a super quiet day, though my system glitched and caused me a lot of hassle when I tried to write checks. But it's all good now. And we don't have to go back until Tuesday!

2. Getting home and getting stuff done. (And I took a nap!) Now all that's left is the bathroom, dusting, and vacuuming. And cooking. Lots of cooking. Which I love, so I'm good with that. (The cooking, not the cleaning.) (That Man and K4 will take care of the cleaning while I cook)

3. We did go out to dinner on our anniversary. We had a blast and then took care of some shopping. It was a really nice evening. 

4. We had no plans for dinner tonight and there was no way we were stopping at the grocery store. (we drove by. it was insane looking) We found some chicken patties and then made potatoes au gratin. It turned out pretty well, even though I accidentally shut the oven down halfway through the cooking time. 

5. Except for the cleaning and cooking, we're pretty much done. I'm sure I'll find a million things to do tomorrow that have nothing to do with what I've planned, but that's par for the course. 

6. Looking forward to hanging out with family and friends tomorrow! 

7. Despite the crazy week, I have managed to get some writing in. Yay me! 

8. Man, it's freaking cold out there! I'm sure if you live on the East Coast, you're well aware of that fact! But holy cow! My dog is so clueless though. She just wants to stay outside and play. She sulks when we tell her it's time to come in. Also, I almost froze my hand to the screen door after taking a bag of ice to the cooler on the back porch. 

9. Sleeping in a little tomorrow. Ha! Like that is even going to happen! 

10. It's not feel good, but I'm definitely missing my folks this year. I'm also missing other family members, but there isn't anything I can do about any of it. 

And that's about it! 

I doubt I'll get back on here until after! So I hope you have an amazing holiday!

Behave! 

Five Days...

Oof. I could have sworn I posted sometime in the last 11 days!

Obviously not!

Well, here we are at five days before the big day. We're mostly ready. 

The tree is up and so far the cats are just messing with it a little bit. Though when an ornament hits the floor, it's free game. Apparently. Yeah, we keep the fragile ones at the top. We did have to stuff some more lights in the tree. So... years ago we had a little gathering when we decorated the tree. Our lights didn't work, so we sent the young adults out for lights. They came back with bush lights. And ever since, that's what we've used, mainly because people keep giving them to us. Ha! So half of the bush lights went out. There's no easy way to remove it, so we just shoved string lights in so we didn't have to undecorate. It works and you can barely tell. 

The shopping is 99.9% done and wrapped. We went pretty small this year. There are too many expenses and upcoming expenses and let's face it, everything is more expensive right now. Not that we ever go huge on Christmas. 

And today is our anniversary. 36 years married and 40 years together. How crazy is that? I'm not going to get mushy, but I wouldn't change a thing. He still makes me laugh after all of this time and we still have tons to talk about. We're going to dinner tonight, and just goofing off.

We had the older grandkids this past weekend, which was an absolute blast. Little brother joined them for a few hours on Saturday and he was hysterical. We made cookies, did a present exchange between the three of them, and laughed a lot. Having the two oldest for the weekend was a lot of fun. They're at the age now where conversations are a little more real. K5 and I spent a long time talking about writing, which she loves. That was cool for me. There was hair fixing, sock races, stromboli making, and a lot (and I mean a lot) of scaring--hiding under the bed, popping around corners, and doing their best to get me (which they did. Once.). Oy! That Man and I absolutely loved the weekend, despite the fact that we were wore out! Ha! 

There are two and a half days to work the day job. Then it's cooking, cleaning, and prep. K4's birthday dinner has been decided and ingredients are mostly purchased. She wants stuffed shells, and we're having a heck of a time finding the shells, so we might have to slightly switch gears, but we'll see. 

And that is all for now...

Behave! 

Feel Good Friday!

Ho Boy! What a week!

But it's Friday! And Friday is always a good day even if you end up in the dental chair for twice as long as you expect and bleed a lot... But more on that later... 

Here's the list:

1. Ladies Night at the greenhouse! What a freaking blast! Hanging with my friends. That was amazing. We don't see each other enough even though we talk every day. Selling books! I did pretty well, which was unexpected and awesome! I'm super happy about that! Talked to a lot of really great people, too. It was an awesome evening!

2. Lunch out with the work people. We went to our standby place, which is never disappointing! The food is amazing. We talked about all manner of things not work related, laughed, ate cheesecake, and had a really nice time. 

3. Leaving early today... (Here's where the blood comes in) My hygienist (first time with this one) saw some stuff on my x-ray's and went to town on my mouth. She scraped and sprayed. I was a little stunned because I was just there six months ago and there was no mention of this crap. (and that's when x-ray's were taken. Apparently it was there and nothing was addressed. I'm at odds with that and will need to discuss with my sister who works there) Anyway. It's all fine even though my mouth and face hurt now. But my teeth feel good. And she suggested a water flosser, which has been ordered and I will use religiously so I don't have to go through what I did today again. Ha! 

4. Pretty easy weekend plans. We're getting our tree (I hope), and hopefully seeing the grandboys! Tomorrow is sleeping in. (I hope) We already did the big box store run, but we forgot a bunch of stuff. 

5. Making good progress on my story. Whoot! 

That is all! 

Behave! 

19 Days to Go...

Yeah, I'm counting down. But not really... Ha! 

It's been a long week so far and it's only Tuesday! 

One more full day to work and then some easier stuff. Thursday is our lunch out with the boss, so I'll be out of the office for at least two hours or so. And we always have fun on these lunches. It's been a while. We used to go out as a department every few months, but we haven't since last Christmas. Not sure where we're going yet. It's not my turn to pick, but I know it'll be good. 

Next week is our Christmas lunch for the day job with everyone. Things are coming together and it should be a good time. Our department is in charge of getting everything together and so far so good. 

And then on Friday, That Man and I have dentist appointments. We'll leave a few hours early and likely not make it back. We've been making up time, so there's that. Not that having a dentist appointment is fun, but it's not terrible either. 

What else?

The porch is decorated and the fall stuff is put away. The Christmas coffee cups are in use, and the dish towels are washed and folded (I only did it tonight because I need a tablecloth for tomorrow). The porch looks pretty good, though it still needs some touches. Tree procurement is this weekend. We've started the shopping and the birthday shopping. But I have no idea of anything else at this point! Ha!

We're still watching ridiculous Christmas movies. I know they're stupid. I like them because they're brainless. 

Tomorrow evening I'm participating in a ladies night at the same place where we do the Valentine's signing. I did it last year, too, and it was a lot of fun. I don't expect to sell a lot (or any) books, (last year it wasn't the right kind of crowd) but I get to hang with my friends, so there's that! I can hope though... 

That's about it...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Trying to Be Here More Often Edition

I made it back! Yay me! 

So let's recap the good this week! 

1. Friday! Obviously! It was a long day job week. Very busy. 

2. Putting the day job Christmas tree up! It was a fun time. I had the help of a coworker, and I hooked the television that hasn't been used since we went home for the pandemic to the Internet and found some Christmas music. Every day since, I have put a fireplace background for the work day time and it's been a huge hit. I love it. 

3. That Man and I having a impromptu date night. We had to stop at the store and we ended up going out to eat just the two of us for the first time in forever. We went to our usual favorite place, but the service was terrible. As it's been the last three times we've been there, so unfortunately, I doubt we'll go back. 

4. Words on the page! I've done reasonably well this week, so I'm happy with that. 

5. Watching ridiculous Christmas movies. Most of them are so poorly acted and filmed, but some have a good story. It's just something we do. It gives us something to talk about, I guess. But it's fun. 

6. Sleeping in tomorrow. I need it. 

7. Being warm when it's so cold outside. 

8. Plans to get our tree and get the decorations done. No, I haven't gotten the fall decorations put away yet, nor have I made any progress on getting Christmas stuff out. But it's coming. 

That's about it... 

Behave!

Gone Too Long

Yeah, I know... what else is new? I seem to always be missing... I'm trying to keep up. I swear. 

So what's been going on? 

1. Our youngest son got married. It was a beautiful day and they did a fantastic job with their decorations and the ceremony. They sang to each other during the ceremony and it was amazing. I will admit that this momma cried several times. They both looked fantastic in their wedding clothes. The bride was absolutely gorgeous. 

2. The funeral was as nice as a funeral can be. It's a hell of a way to see people you haven't seen in a while. The work place is adjusting, but he'd pulled away from actively running things a while ago so the transition has been mostly easy. 

3. Thanksgiving was nice. We had a good time and good food. Both of us had to work on Friday so we were home at a decent time and in bed early. 

4. We've been running around so much. And we're freaking exhausted. This weekend we did not much of anything. Yeah, we did the usual stuff like laundry and cleaning up after ourselves, but nothing more. (not like the extreme leaf raking we did last weekend) We both took naps--many naps. And we made food. We only left the house to go to the grocery store once. I slept in both days and it was glorious. 

5. We'll start getting Christmas decorations out this coming week. I have no idea when we'll get our tree. Our weekends are all booked. And there was talk of an Ugly Sweater party, but I have no idea how we can fit that in, so I think it's going to be a no go this year, which is sad because it's been a hot minute since we've had one.  

That doesn't look like much of a list as far as not getting on here goes, but there's, of course, far more that I don't/can't share. Lots. 

I will say I'm looking forward to Christmas. I think. My brain is turning with ideas and things I need to do/take care of. It's not going to be a big and fancy day for sure, but it should be fun. 

That's about it...

Behave!

Feel Good Friday - The Gone Too Long Edition

Sorry for the silence! It's been a little crazy! 

Let's get to the list, okay?

1. Friday! It's been a rough week. Not just this week, but the prior weeks as well. Work has been crazy with changing of job duties and learning new things for me and regular insanity for That Man. We also had the crud here. Tested negative for the big C more than once. The flu probably. It was pretty gross and rough around here. K4 missed almost an entire week of work. I missed time, too. But we're better now except for a lingering cough. 

2. A new book! Yeah, I know I haven't completely finished the one that's already finished and currently in rewrites, but I got this crazy idea and I couldn't do anything but write it. I'm about a quarter way through it and the words are coming really easy. I love it. I haven't had a moment of doubt about it since I got the idea and the words have been flowing. 

3. Trick or Treat night was kind of lame here. It was a rainy night. We didn't have a lot of trick or treaters--probably half of what we had last year. And only one puppy! Last year we had so many! In the past, our house has been used as a base for friends and family trick or treating or just visiting to hang out and hand out candy. This year was probably the first time in ages (excluding the past few Covid years) where we didn't have that. It's kind of sad and kind of not. It was really nice to sit on the porch with That Man and chill while we waited for the costumed ones. 

4. The weather has been really nice this week. It's been my perfect temperatures. I can wear a sweatshirt and have the windows down. Cold is coming though... But I am excited for snow. Like stupid excited! 

5. Our youngest son is getting married next weekend. It will be a super small thing--like immediate family and their best friends only. I'm sad that my siblings, nieces and nephews, and mutual friends can't come, but I get that weddings are expensive and that sometimes smaller is far better for the bride. We're helping as much as we can to ease the stress and take care of things.

6. Next weekend is going to be insane for us though. The owner of our company passed away. It was expected, but still rough. He was a great guy and will be missed terribly. The funeral is the Friday before the wedding. Work is closed for the day. We were invited to the luncheon afterwards, and of course, we're going. So we'll go directly from the funeral to the rehearsal, and hope that we have enough time to do everything we need to do and get there on time. I still don't have a shirt or shoes. That Man needs to try on his clothes and find shoes. K4 is in the same boat. It will all get done for sure and it will be awesome. 

7. We have a lot of birthdays this month! Well, starting last month with K3. Then my brother-in-law, our adopted sister, my brother, my niece, and my niece. We used to have a family birthday party for everyone, but that kind of fell by the wayside. It would be fun to bring that back. 

8. Okay... I will admit that I'm excited to decorate for Christmas. But I will wait until after Thanksgiving. There's no shame in making plans though, right? 

And that is all! I will try to post, but please forgive me if I don't! I promise I will be back!

Behave!