It’s dreary here – and very rainy and blah.

Good weekend. Got a lot accomplished. I caught up on contest work so that made me feel much better to know that nearly half the scores are in. Saturday was kind of a lost day since the kiddo had a basketball game at 3 in the afternoon. Really puts a crimp in doing anything. So we ran an errand in the morning and then I worked on the contest. We got back and grilled burgers and chicken. It was all yummy.

Sunday morning we got up early and went to the new Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. It was really cool. I’m a member so everything we did was free. Except for the Saturn poster I bought the kiddo – but even with my membership I got a discount. We went to the planetarium and watched a show on black holes. We had a lot of fun.

After dinner, Man and I sat and watched the entire Academy Awards from start to finish. I’m so glad to see Sandra Bullock and Jeff Bridges win! I thought Avatar would do better but then I expected The Hurt Locker to do as well as it did. And kudos to Kathryn Bigelow for being the first female director to win an award.

And that’s it for me! Really brief today. Time for school/work!

UPDATE: Yesterday’s word count: 4130. Busted the 27k mark. I’m getting closer…

SO. Here’s something to ponder. I noticed the other night at basketball practice that Moms are the minority parent there. It’s mostly dads. I think I was the only mom there, tapping away on her Mini with her iPhone in her lap. Yeah, I looked cool doing it, too.

At soccer practice, not a dad in sight. Mostly moms. And you know what? We were all sitting in our respective cars. I was tappinga way on my Mini with my iPhone in my lap. Yeah. Looking cool doing it, too, but no one saw me there. However, I do love the fact that I’m getting so much writing done at these various practices.

Anway, I digress. Is soccer a “mom” sport and basketball a “dad” sport? Is soccer the suburban mom thing while basketball is the suburban dad thing? I’m just wondering if I’m alone in the observation.

And that’s all I got. It’s Friday. Thank goodness.

Have a smashing weekend ya’ll.

The snow on Friday shut pretty much everything down, including my office. So the kid and I hung out and played in the snow some more. It was fun. We had another snowball fight. It was generally lazy day. The kiddo played on his Wii, Man worked, and I watched three episodes of Grey’s Anatomy trying to catch up. I’m still not caught up but I’m getting closer to not being so far behind. We finally got out of the house late that afternoon for a trip to the book store (which produced nothing) and a trip to Starbucks (which produced a latte and an Americano). Back at the house, we watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

I love the Olympics and Winter is my favorite. I love all the skiing, the ice skating, the speed skating. It’s awesome and those athletes are amazing. So we stayed up pretty late waiting for them to light the torch – which had a problem but they did get it lit.

Had to get up early on Saturday for my chapter meeting. Man and I were making coffee when there was a knock on the front door and lo and behold, a guy was standing on the other side with a dozen roses! I was surprised. And the first delivery of 2000 for the day (according to the driver). So I got flowers! And they’re beautiful and smell really good. Man told me he ordered them before January was even over. I was very impressed.

So off to the chapter meeting I went and it was great. Had an awesome speaker who talked about how to put emotion into love scenes. Then went to lunch with the girls, which I couldn’t stay long because I had a hair appointment. Got my hair cut and my roots done and my brows waxed and I felt so much better after that!

Back at home, Man and I went to Valentine’s dinner – we decided to celebrate early since we knew every place in the area would be jam-packed on Sunday. We had dinner at Outback – my favorite place – and I stuffed myself with prime rib and had the house Merlot. It was all delish. We stopped for coffee (of course) afterward and went home to watch more Olympics. He surprised me with a gift from Helzberg – a brand new watch! I love it. It’s gorgeous. All silver with a black face and small diamonds for 3, 6, 9 and 12. And all I got him was a giant Hershey’s chocolate kiss (but he managed to put a healthy dent into it before the evening was out).

Sunday we got up and had a leisurely morning before grocery shopping and then running some afternoon errands. The kiddo came by with a box of Dove chocolates – yum. Went to Barnes & Noble, Best Buy (got a move and a CD), Bed Bath & Beyond and Petco (for cat grass because Sampson decided the greenery in my flowers looked tasty and belonged to him!). My cat is spoiled rotten by the way. He followed me around a good portion of the day yesterday wanting either to be petted or to be fed. I’ve been buying the premium food for him lately. When he saw it come out of the grocery sack, he was all over me.

And just like that, the weekend was over. Which is a bummer because it was an awesome weekend and they never last very long anyway.

I did get my tax refund already and bought myself a new Coach bag with some of the money. The rest went into savings for my trip to Nationals this July and maybe another trip this year if I can figure out when to go.

This week starts another whirlwind of activity. Soccer starts up in full swing this week and we’ll be running between that and basketball, which doesn’t have too much longer to go thank goodness. But we’ll be busy which is good because it keeps the kiddo busy and off the computer games, which can be excessive at times.

Okay – that’s it for me. Time to get busy!

Happy Monday, y’all!

I think that’s how I truly feel about the Lost premiere. I was underwhelmed. Oh, sure, it had its good points. And it raised more questions – of course. But overall, Meh.

Things are a little hectic. Man took his truck into the shop so I’m the taxi for him and the kiddo. Which is really fine. We’re lucky in that we only work about 5 mins from each other and his work is on the way to/from my work. And the dealership is just up the street from the house.

I’m nearly done with my taxes. I have a few tweaks to make on it before I decide to submit it. Then I’m hitting efile and calling it done. With my tax refund this year, I’m going to try to get my sorry bathrooms fixed. They’re really in sad shape and if I ever want to sell the house, I think they need some attention. New shower/tub installations, a coat of paint, new sinks new light fixtures, new mirror, some storage. Yes, I hear the dollar signs ringing. But I will do what I can with what I have.

Got about 800 words written on the story. The evenings go SO fast and the kiddo had a ton of homework last night because he was out Tuesday for the doctor. It was painful. Math, science, spelling. We didn’t finish. Luckily he only has to turn it all in by Friday so we’ll be finishing it up tonight.

And that’s about all I have to report. I’m relieved it’s nearly Friday.

I got called back to jury duty for this morning. I’m not picked on a jury … yet. But it’s damned annoying that I have to go back today. Don’t they realize I have lots of work to do back at the office? ;)

I did go in Friday afternoon for half a day. I was so wiped out by the time I got home, though. All that running to/from the courthouse and then I had lots to do when I got to the office. Lots of running there, too. Even now as I sit here and think about Friday night, it’s kind of a blur. I don’t remember much from that evening. Sad. I must be getting old.

I was supposed to bake a cheesecake for Saturday night but I just didn’t have the energy. Instead, I made chili and got way too much cayenne pepper in it. Wow. It was too hot for me to eat.

Instead, I got up early Saturday morning and started laundry and made coffee and baked. The whole house smelled like lemon cheesecake and coffee. By 11 am, I had two loads of laundry done, the cheescake done, ant the floors vacuumed. I decided I was going to get everything done I could since I had a Christmas party that night.

Man went out in search of the perfect house lights and the kiddo and I went to Macy’s to mail his Santa letter. While we were there, I finished up my Christmas shopping. Yes, I’m done! Except for a few minor things that I can pick up at the grocery store and of course the stuff for Christmas dinner. And I’m really pleased with myself this year. Not one present bought on a credit card. That feels really good.

Anyway, so the kiddo picked out presents for his grandparents and his dad and I was very excited to see them all on sale. We did manage to get all our decorations up this weekend, too. The house looks great! Even the cat thought it was great to get everything up. He’s especially fond of the tree. He likes sitting under it and he thinks the tree skirt belongs to him. And all the shiny-pretty ornaments on the bottom.

Last year, he broke several of my gold Christmas balls, so this year I got smart and bought a bunch of plastic ones that go on the bottom of the tree. That way, when he decides he wants to play with them, he won’t hurt himself and I won’t have to clean up broken shards of glass. It’s win-win for all of us. Here he is enjoying a spot of sunshine under the tree.

So Saturday night was the chapter Christmas party. I came home with two slices of cheesake, some ham and these delicious cake balls. Talk about a sugar rush! The cake balls were divine. I think I could gorge myself on them. I also came home with a $15 iTunes gift card – wahoo! I’m trying to decide how I’ll spend it.

Sunday morning I had to perform surgery on the coffee pot. I have one of those Cuisinart with the grinder on top. Apparently, it was clogged with grounds because all I was getting was hot water. So I used a straightened paperclip, a spoon and paper towels to clean it out. It felt so MacGyver. We finally got the grinder to work again, though, so HOORAY! I’d hate to have a $200 coffee pot go to waste because it was gummed up with gross grounds.

Kiddo and I went to church Sunday morning for the annual Christmas Cantata and it was wonderful as usual. There’s something about a full choir and orchestra playing/singing Christmas hymns that will give you goosebumps and make you tear up just a bit. Plus the children’s choir was just precious.

Got my Christmas cards done – or most of them. They’ll be in the mail today. Got most of the gifts together and ready to be wrapped. Went grocery shopping. Forgot seveal things so I have to go back (and it was a total zoo at the store, too; all sorts of brainless people wandering through the aisles and blocking them like they were the only ones alive).

Lots of things to get done Sunday and – POOF – the day is over. The weekends go too fast. And we’re inching closer to Christmas and New Year’s. I’m not ready for it to be 2010! Okay, maybe I am just a teensy bit.

Happy Monday, ya’ll.

Note 1: Boat shoes and plaid shorts DO NOT look good together. I don’t care how preppy you are.

Note 2: NEVER go to Fry’s and try to browse. You WILL be harrased mercilessly by salesmen who have English as a second language.

Note 3: When going to your son’s soccer game, wear a hat to keep the sun from beating into your skull. And chapstick! Save your lips!

Note 4: Going to the movies with your man is fun. People watching is even more fun.

Note 5: One bowl of chili is really enough. Really.

Note 6: You know you’re getting old when you crash out in front of the UT game at 9:30 pm on a Saturday. Sad.

Note 7: Boys find bathroom humor hilarious whether they’re 8 or 46.

Note 8: October is really too early to have Christmas stuff out in the stores.

Note 9: There are only 60 days until Christmas!

Note 10: The weekend went by WAY too fast.

Happy Monday.

This weekend was awesome. And jam-packed with fun and frivolity. Okay maybe not the latter, but fun nonetheless. (I really just wanted to say frivolity.)

Saturday was about errands and visiting Mom. So we got up Saturday morning, I made my list, and then we headed to what the kiddo refers to as “the big Walmart”. And the absolute second we stepped a toe into the store, he started in with the fact that he didn’t get a Transformers toy for his birthday and he really wanted one and could he please get one? To which I answered a big fat NO.

Hey, I’m not that mean, usually. But, you see, his birthday party was the next day. No way was I going to buy him more toys when he was going to get more for his birthday. Yes, I know his party was a week late. But I couldn’t see sending birthday invitations to school the first week. And so, alas, I delayed things. So I had a pouty kid for about 10 seconds into the trip when I told him very firmly if he didn’t knock it off, he could forget about having a birthday party. Period.

Okay, so I was in no mood to drag a sour-faced kid around the store for the next two hours.

Yes, you read that right. It took me two, long, life-sucking hours to grocery shop. By the time I got home, I was ready to slash my wrists.

And, by the way, the temps were in the mid-90s all weekend. I’m sick of sweating my ass off everywhere I go! Come on, Cool Front!

Anyway. Got home, unloaded the groceries, fed the kid lunch and then decided to hell with getting party favors. I’ll get them at the place the next day. So we packed up and headed to Mom’s for the rest of the day. We stuffed ourselves silly with brisket (yum) and beans and lots of other yummy food. I was completely full and miserable the rest of the night. And the kiddo got more birthday presents from his aunt and uncle and his Grammy. He was happy. I was happy. Good times.

Sunday started with chores. Then we went to the game place for the birthday party where 12 boys showed up. And can I just say boys are completely rowdy? Yes, it was chaos. My objective was to feed them, open presents, and eat cup cakes as quickly as possible so I could release them into the wild. And release then I did, armed with $5 game cards and one free attraction. They scattered. I ran out to the car with all the gifts (oh, yeah, he made out like a bandit too) and then I was stuck in the game place for the next… two hours. My life seems to be revolving around the two hour time slot. Oh and I spaced and FORGOT the durn goodie bags. Ah well.

I came home exhausted and the kid came home happy. He tore into all his presents. He made a giant mess. There were cardboard boxes and directions and itty bitty guns everywhere. Enough to drive a sane Mom to the brink. So while I was trying to cook dinner (because I refused to eat that cardboard pizza), I think I heard “Mom” about a thousand times. So much so I think I’m ready to NOT be called Mom again. I think I heard “MOM” more in the last three days than in the last eight years of his life. Man said the cat was going to start calling me Mom.

Yes, that’s how much he said it. Mom, this and Mom, that. Hey, don’t get me wrong. I love being Mom. But Mom was tired and Mom wanted some dinner and a martini. And Mom crashed early, too.

Monday. Cook-out day. Man forbid me to do anything regarding dinner. I wasn’t even allowed to step foot into the kitchen. The Earth moved. The Angels wept. Somewhere in the distance, I heard the Hallelujah chorus. Talk about a woman’s dream come true! Sure. I’ll let you cook. You go right ahead. He even did the dishes. Gotta love a man who cooks and cleans. And yes, I’m keeping him.

Anyway, did some plotting on the new book that morning with CP. I finally have a direction and I completely forgot about using the 20 Master Plots book I have. Duh. Jotted down lots of notes and I’m going to start working on the GMC now. I have an idea and I have a big picture idea – but I needed something for this book. I’m thinking trilogy at least.

While Man prepped in the kitchen, I tackled the kid’s room. I figured I needed a task to keep me busy or I’d be in his way and he’d get mad. And BOY was the kid’s room a disaster area. I made the kiddo help, too. We made piles of things in the hallway: Keep, Trash, Donate. He was pretty good about getting rid of his ”younger” toys but I suspect he had a hard time parting with some of them. But I told him – everyone needs to purge every now and then. I just got rid of clothes I hadn’t worn in 15 years. And that felt great. And now it was time to clean up and organize.

I even moved his furniture around to change it up. I’ve discovered the bunk beds HAVE to go. And the sooner the better. They’re blocking the AC vent and the ceiling fan and the kid sweats at night. TIME TO GO. BUH-BYE. The only catch is I have to get some other things paid off before I can spend more money. Where is that money tree when I need it? I’m hoping we can hold out until January for a new bed.

I managed to get all his toy tubs in the closet (a big one for big toys, one for Legos only, one for action figures, etc.). And gave him a little more floor space to play in. Plus I finally found a new home for the chest so it’s not in the way of the closet doors. His room is small – only 10 x 10 – so it’s a challenge with furniture placement. And I don’t want his bed by the window AT ALL.

Dinner. It was fantastic. Burgers were awesome; hot dogs rocked. And yes, I stuffed myself silly. Again. But I wasn’t miserable like I could have been. I forced myself to stop. Even though I really wanted another chili dog.

Afterward we watched The Mummy because I hadn’t seen it before and Man picked it up for $7.50. Fun flick! And even the kiddo enjoyed it. And by the time that was over, the evening/weekend was done. Another one for the record books. Another Labor Day over with.

And today – it’s back to work and back to school. Another busy week ahead. I swear I think this was a marathon post like the weekend.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and a smashing holiday!

It’d like to lodge a formal complaint: The weekends go too fast!

I spent Friday night alone, which wasn’t all that much fun. I’ve gotten used to having a constant companion of some sort – the Man or the Kid. But the Man was still on vacation and the Kid was at his dad’s. So I researched. For two hours. I took notes. I searched for information and I have a really great foundation for the new book. I’m about 5000 words in.

Got up early Saturday morning for the first soccer game of the season. We won! And the boys played great. Then I ran errands. To the library, to Best Buy, to the store, Bed Bath and Beyond. Lots of things to do. Since I knew Man was coming home that day, I got home and cleaned house. I discovered this great stuff – Comet Spray Gel – for my nasty shower. And WOW! That stuff really works. I ran out of energy and was tired of breathing the fumes, but one wall is glistening. I’ll have to go back and scrub the others. I bought one of those shampoo/conditioner dispensers you hang on the shower wall and put that up. It’s awesome by the way. I love it! And it was well worth the $30. I’m thinking if I can get the nasty shower clean, then I won’t have to replace the whole thing like I originally thought. Which will save me about $3000. It just means lots of elbow grease and sweat. I can do that.

Man made it hom finally about 8:30 that night and we stayed up until nearly midnight. He told me all about his trip and brought me a little stuffed black cat from Salem, Massachusetts. It is, of course, wearing a witch hat. I also got a mini replica of the St. Louis Arch. Too cool. It was nice to see him after 7 days.

Sunday – My sweetie boy’s birthday! I can’t believe he’s 8. That went so fast! Seems like yesterday he was born and small. Now he’s big and he says things like, “MOM, these people just don’t understand what I’m saying sometimes.” Which cracks me up. And he’s in 3rd grade! And a future gamer, much to my dismay. I try to steer him off of that but he’s stubborn. Wonder where he gets that?

Man and I got up early and ran errands. More errands! He needed new shows and I needed toner and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Came home, hung out. Kiddo came to the hose around 4 and we had dinner and he opened presents. It was a nice evening. And not nearly long enough for my taste.

And now…Monday. Back to the same ole/same ole. Hopefully I’ll get more work done on the new book. I really need to sit and think about a decent plot and try to get something sketched out before I get too much further. Very pleased with chapter 1, though.

Off to work!

Doncha just love those days when you’re super productive? Oh, man, I do!

A put in a couple more hours work on Phoenixand TADA! It’s finished! It weighs in at nearly 85,000 words now and just over 300 pages (double-spaced, 12 pt, Times New Roman). I’d been shooting for Friday but it sure was nice to get a large chunk of it done last night. That’s what made it go faster today. That and having that handy-dandy outline. (Devon, I’m convinced that is the ONLY way to go! Ms. Pantser is reformed, I think.)

Well, okay, I take that back a little. I did deviate even from the outline. LOL But I still KNEW where I was going and how to get there and just mixed it up a little. And really, you never know what these characters are going to say or do! I got a surprise from Senator Gracchus toward the end. He has a real disgust for slaves. I didn’t even know that until I wrote that scene, sat back, re-read his dialogue and went, “Huh. He’s a real pr*ck.”  Go figure.

The end has a great power punch of emotion now. And I *love* it. I love the way it ends so much better now. It makes so much more sense for the characters and their situation. I even toned down the sex scenes and made the story more about the gritty world Elena lives in and the life-and-death situation they faced instead about the romance. Because, when I thought about it, this story is NOT about the romance. It’s about learning to survive in a world full of deadly obstacles. Oh, sure, it helps Cassius is a real hottie and wants to whisk her off to safety.

Anyway, I really learned a lot about world building and writing better, cleaner, more emotional. I hope the next one will be easier (fat chance).

Speaking of the next one, I want to start working on that futuristic but something has been nagging me. I’ve been thinking about restructuring the MAGIC book into something totally different. Same characters, same basic plot line but totally different setting. I’m thinking urban fantasy. Maybe dark. I need to do some major research on this so I’m putting this away in my To Be Determined pile.

In the meantime, I’ve started writing up a quick synopsis for the futuristic, which is as yet untitled. See? The synopsis thing keeps creeping in.

In other productive news, I went with my co-worker to the Mattel Outlet Store and can I just say CHA-CHING! I love this place. They have all sorts of Hot Wheel, Matchbox stuff for boys and of course Barbie stuff for girls. I got four things for the kiddo for his birthday but the real beauty is, I think I’m going to put a couple away for Christmas. I’m sneaky like that. One of the things I got was a Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots. I think the kiddo is going to dig those. and I can still hear the stupid commercial in my head from the 70s.

Tonight I’m making my Cuban chicken in the crock pot. Which means it will all be done when I get home. MMM. YUM!

Off to work!

Today is one of those bittersweet days. My boss of the past 4 years is leaving the company. I’m tremendously happy for her and wish her well but I’m also tremendously sad. She was, by far, the best boss I’ve ever had. And probably ever will have. She’s a truly awesome lady and I’ll miss her. A lot.

Today is also the last day of school. Happy-Sad. Happy school is out and homework is over. Sad we’re losing a bit of structure for the next three months. LOL I can’t believe the school year is OVER already. Where did the year go? Dang.

I volunteered at the kid’s end of year party yesterday and I totally worked my ass off. I was exhausted by the time I left there. They have several stations set up around the area and the kids can pick the things they want to do. I was suck with face painting, which I totally suck at. At least there were these stencil things that helped with that. Mostly I just made a mess. I had paint all over my hands and arms. It’s still in my cuticles and under my nails, even after numerous washings. I took the kid to his grandparents and then went to work.

I’m so happy it’s Friday. I’m so happy it’s the weekend. Hopefully, I can get back to writing.

I’m over at Sole Struck today talking about my “fantasy shoes”. Come check it out!

The weekend was interesting. And long. And I’m glad it’s over. HA!

On Saturday we saw Night at the Museum. It was very cute and a lot like the first one. We both enjoyed it. Sunday, I took the kid to see Star Trek – second time around for me. It was a bit talky for him but he did think the explosions and stuff was cool. And all the black holes. Seeing it a second time made it even better.

Monday was about grilling everything not nailed down. Okay just kidding. We grilled chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers. And there was only three of us. I have no idea why we made enough food to feed an entire small village, but we did. We also tried this new recipe – grilled chicken with cherry-chipotle barbeque sauce. It was different but kinda good. Had a bit of a kick with the chipotle peppers that balanced out the sweet. The thyme was overpowering though so I think next time (no pun) we need to cut that way back.

The kid was bored out of his mind yesterday and fighting with the computer. So I made him shut it off. I told him to go use his imagination and play with his toys in his room. He stomped off, whiny. But a few minutes later, he’d managed to dump everything out of his toy container and get busy. I think all the computer games, Nintendos and Wiis have ruined kids’ brains. All they want to do is sit in front of them. Okay, I’m talking about mine here. I have to force him to do other things by unplugging him. Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes it works.

I hope this summer he’ll find enough to keep him occupied. I’ve already forewarned my sister she’ll have another kid at her house for at least a week.

I got some comments back from Man on the Phoenix book. He caught a bunch of my fast-finger typos that I couldn’t “see” anymore. I’m grateful for that. He also really liked the book and said the ending surprised me. Score! I love hearing that.

And Sunday morning as I’m doing dishes and laundry, a new character started talking. I have no idea where it’s going or what it is, but I started writing. I got two pages in, only about 600 words, but I’ve started her story. Angelina, she tells me, is her name. And she’s a thief and a smuggler. And this is a sci-fi, by the way.

This week is going to be…difficult I think. A lot of things are coming to an end (school being one of them) and I’m feeling a bit reflective and apprehensive.  And maybe just a little bit sad, too. I’ll post more about it when I can.

Tomorrow, my good friend, Jenny Storm, will be here with her interview to promote her new book. Be sure to stop by and say hello!

And that’s it for me. So happy it’s a short week. I think.

Last night was about catching up on emails and other odds and ends.  I picked the kiddo up after work and I swear he didn’t draw breath from the time we left to the time we got home…and then some. He followed me around the house and talked nonstop. It wore me out.

I cooked Italian Pot Roast in the crock pot all day so having dinner done and out of the way was a total bonus. I whipped up some biscuits and steamed some broccoli and we called it good. It was delicious but I was still too full from lunch to really enjoy it. Man and I walked down to a new place called Jake’s Burgers and I stuffed myself  silly with the biggest, greasiest cheeseburger on the planet. It was tasty.

Not much progress on the writing front. I’m just taking the Deep Edits class, tinkering with my query, and working on the new serial story for the Reader Stimular Plan. It’s great fun. I actually made cover art last night. As soon as it’s a go, I will post it. I kept it simple since it’s just for fun but I wanted a graphical representation of the story anyway.

I did get in some light shopping, too, for several upcoming birthdays. The items are on their way so I can then distribute accordingly. May is always a busy month – birthdays, the end of school, the end of soccer, and other activities. I’m always relieved when June comes around.

And I’ve got to get by the store and pick up a Mother’s Day card for my mom before all the crummy ones are left. Must do that tomorrow. I need to make a deposit at the bank, so maybe I should swing by Target while I’m out.

Having some wrist pain and still the other hand is hurting. It never ends. It’s supposed to be 90 today and humid. YUCK! This is the time of year for it, though, and in a few more weeks it’s going to be blazing hot. Ew.

Happy Thursday.

This is been a … weird week. On Tuesday, the kiddo was complaining of an ear ache. Plus he had bad sinuses and a slight fever. So he stayed home from school and it was off to the doctor we went. He has another ear infection and we got ear drops, antiobiotic, nose spray. Yeah. Um…$45 later… I got him home and pumped him full of Motrin, then fed him and made him take his ear drops. That was NOT fun. He refused and I was Mean Mommy and sat on him to make it happen. Yes, I did. Then I made him take the antibiotic and shoot his nose with the nasal spray and THEN I gave him Claritin. I pumped him full.

By the time Wednesday came around and I picked him up from his grandparents, he was feeling about a thousand times better. And it showed. He spilled his Coke all over the dinner table, leaving a sticky mess and then announcing that, “Uh, MOM! We have a problem.” So I cleaned that up. By that time, it was his bath time. I ran the bath and he got in with the explicit instructions NOT to splash.

Well, about 30 seconds later, I hear all this slashing and open the door to find the floor underwater. sigh Three bath towels later (and I had kicked him out of the tub), I’d reached my limit. It was time for him to be in BED. I think he was out in 2.3 seconds.

When I got up Thursday morning, the cat had decided to puke in three differernt places in the living room.Yeah. I so wanted to clean THAT up first thing in the morning. And it was DES-GUST-ING, too. I was  

That afternoon was soccer practice and since I’m trying to finish my revision in ONE WEEK, I thought I’d dust off the AlphaSmart and take it with me. I felt SO smart. I even printed off my pages for the latest chapter I was working on. I get to soccer practice and sit in the car, breaking out Alphie, punching the ON button and… nothing. Nada. Zilch. The batteries are dead. Crap. So I open up the back and find… the batteries are corroded! Double crap!

So I get out my trust ink pen and start to scribble the newest scene I want to write on the back of one of the pages. I’ll just write in longhand, I think. That won’t be so bad! It’ll be novel and… CRAP! The pen ran out of ink!

ARGH!

I threw it in the backseat and look longingly at my paper with the scribble along the back. I see the scene in my head so vividly and it’s driving me crazy I can’t write it down. I pick up the Alphie and use an old pair of sunglasses to pry out the disgusting batteries and – luckily – have an empty sandwich bag in the car to put them in. I have a package of On The Go Wipes and use that to clean out the battery acid (very carefully). I put that in the baggie. I sit and wait until soccer practice is over.

We get home and Man is already there mowing the yard (YAY!). I cook breakfast for dinner – eggs, bacon, sausage. I make the kid do his homework then put him in the tub and finally it’s time for him to go to bed. I put in new batteries in the Alphie and sat down on the couch while Man read his book and wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote 1250. And you know why? Because I wasn’t distracted by the Internet, Twitter, Facebook or email. It felt SO good to write those words and get them out on paper. Tonight I’m going to work on the scene some more.

That is, of course, if no one spills or pukes on the carpet.

Happy Friday!

Boy this weekend just flew by! I hate that. I like things to last a while. I want to savor it. And enjoy it. And relish it.

Didn’t do much Friday night. Just hung around the house and let the kiddo watch some cartoons while I had an online board meeting and Man worked on his computer. We’re shared the office. Makes me realize just how tiny a 10 x 10 room is. Makes me ready to purge everything in this room. LOL

We were supposed to have a Saturday morning soccer game, but it was canceled due to the very wet fields conditions from all the rain the night before. We were glad, though. We got to sleep in and it was lovely. We had a lazy morning. Then I got my hair cut by Stylist Extraordinaire. I love her. She’s the best stylist I’ve EVER had. I was even moved to purchase “salon” shampoo and conditioner. It was on sale for buy one, get one for $0.88 cents. I couldn’t pass it up. And it’s awesome. It smells great.

Saturday afternoon, the kiddo went back with his dad – we split the weekend – and then Man and I went out and about. We headed to Best Buy and drooled over the 46 and 52 inch flat panel TVs, 1080p. We are both dying for one. I think by next year, maybe, we’ll get one.  Lots of other things we have to get through first. We’re both going on a vacation this summer and we both need to save our pennies.  I also drooled over the iPods and the new Pantech Matrix.  Then we went to the book store and I found this really cool book based on Celtic mythology. It’s a fantasy. Can’t wait to read that! It’s added to the TBR pile. Which continues to grow.

Sunday started off fairly lazy but I got myself busy with cleaning out closets. The church is asking for donations for a single mom who lost everything she had in an apartment fire, so I gathered up some stuff to give to her and get rid of. I still have some things I could probably go through – I didn’t get to the kid’s stuff (and she has a boy). So I may have to make another donation later in the week. But I’ve decided to get rid of a lot of small appliances I don’t use or need anymore. They’re just taking up space and if someone else can use it – well, I’d rather it be her.

So as I started that project, I ended up cleaning out two closets. I threw away some things and reorganized the closet in the office. It’s so much better now. Plus I got rid of a bunch of stuff in my closet I don’t need. I love spring cleaning. It makes it all worthwhile when you de-clutter.

I still have a long way to go, but at least it’s something!

The kiddo had a soccer game Sunday afternoon and they won 10-0. And we were short three players. Those boys played really hard.

And I was pleasantly surprised to see I am one month ahead on my cell phone bill. I have no idea how I managed that but YAY ME! That means I don’t have to pay it this month and I have extra money to play with. I am so loving that. The kiddo and I are going to the movies next weekend to see Monsters vs. Aliens. I think we’re both looking forward to it.

Worked on Phoenix some more too. It’s really shaping up. I really love it. I hope others love it as much as I do.

Hope everyone has a lovely Monday. I’m sure this will be another fast week!

I survived Spring Break 2009!

When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt that read, “I survived the heat wave of 1980″ (and it was a heat wave for sure! We busted the 110 mark for several days in a row…). I had the same jubiliant feeling when I got my house back in order after Spring Break. The boys had a blast and wore me completely out. I was in bed and asleep by 9:45 pm Saturday night. My tired old ass can’t take that much activity in three days.

It felt really good to sleep in late Sunday. We had a leisurely morning, just me and the kid, and then went grocery shopping and came home and just hung out. Man came over in the afternoon and we grilled hamburgers. It was a bit difficult in the wind, but he managed to keep the fire going and cook the burgers.

And now it’s back to the real world. I am so looking forward to getting back into the office so I can rest.

On the writing front… well, a whole lotta nothing. But I did get the map of the city drawn last night. So NOW I know where everything is and I can add that description into my next revision. I’m actually looking forward to it.

However, the deadline for the first round judging of our contest is this Friday so I would imagine my weekend will be working on that. I love working on the contest, but it is major time suckage. And I already don’t have enough hours in the day. I will just have to be the Queen of Time Management this week.

And not much else to report. I’d say I’m rest, but I’m not entirely sure that’s accurate.

Happy Monday!