Another Round of Shock Treatment

Prepare yourselves for a rambling post relating to odd but pleasantly shocking behavior.

One of our most curmudgeonly patrons informed me today that "you look different, you look really nice, which is an improvement." Considering his typical comments, this really was an extremely nice compliment.

I have always thought Sarai was insightful and notices details that others overlook, so I was not shocked when she contacted me this weekend with an extremely personal question. What did shock me were her views on the situation. Sarai perfectly described my situation and has apparently seen the truth of it for a while. Truly, I am impressed!

If you've ever questioned who among your colleagues would be willing to stab you, I actually know the answer. First off, thanks to both Kay S. and Becky who went above and beyond when I had a reaction to the allergy shot. You know I hate asking for help and feeling that vulnerable, but you both put me at ease. Because of the reaction, I had to send an email to my colleagues letting them know where I keep my EpiPen in case I went into shock. Though it was an informational email, the one colleague who never responds said, "No problem. Glad to help."

Miss Red Scarf and I saw Elky Summers perform this weekend. Elky is a good band for me at the moment. Angsty girl band performing songs about impotence, lost loves, death, and craziness seem fitting. And Miss Red Scarf, I listened to "Who's Driving Baby" this morning and have decided I really do like how the song teases with a slow build-up before crashing into the heavy beat, plus Kay G. sounds sultry when drawing out some of the lyrics. Just saying! Which is fitting considering that I felt the need to remark that she looked gorgeous the other night. Her secret: snuggling with the man she loves. I think my brain glitched for a moment when she said it. Wild rocker gal discussing snuggling, in detail! Thankfully, the band's new song maintains a grungy sound, so everything is okay with the world as long as there are no love ballads in the future.

And speaking of hitting on women. A mark of a true friend is knowing that an incident is about to spark a rumor so you willingly step into the breach. If anyone hears about me and the other woman. Yes, she's real and a wonderful friend.

A Hairy Situation

I've received requests to change staff pics on our website which made me consider altering my own image since my hair isn't red anymore. That conversation led to another person asking me what is my natural hair color. Though there is a lot more silver to it, my hairdresser can attest to the natural auburn color since she regularly drowns it in ash to prevent the red tones from shining through. Hubby doesn't care for the current darker color, but Becky has informed me that she has a preference for me as a brunette.

Then there are the comments concerning the cut. Someone told me they were concerned because my face looked emaciated and too thin. Considering my weight has remained steady, I would assume it has something to do with my hair being a bit longer than usual. Of course, someone mentioned that I couldn't cut my hair too short because my long neck makes me look like a giraffe. Seriously, why do I talk to people?

So I decided to share the many alterations my hair has undergone over the years since I'm contemplating whether I should make another change. I have kept the same look since moving up north and though I've altered the color and length a bit, I've remained consistent in the overall style. So here are some images from the past. And yes, I've decided to be daring and post older pics like Becky does on her blog. For those who read via a reader, you may not be able to see all these images without the full browser mode.

1992 - Sun-streaked hair from the summer. With the teased front and sides. How could we ever have thought this looked good?

1994 - I have naturally wavy hair that tends to curl. This was actually a good look though it becomes big in the humidity.

2000 - I decided to shed everything including my hair so I had it all cut-off and wore this look until 2002. I tried variant colors but the warm brunette was best.

2003 - I had variant shades of blond for a while. I grew my hair until I tired of it and hacked it off again.

2006 - I chopped my hair to my chin and went dark. I kept the dark color for a while, but eventually had the color stripped out while I grew my hair to the longest I ever had it as an adult.

Our Normal

Day 6, Friday

9:00 am - 1:00 pm Upon waking, I felt more confused than usual. Finishing my final cup of coffee, I read and hoped the fog that hovered over my thoughts would lift. It is fascinating how one minute, my mind was muddled and the next minute, a curtain lifted and I felt normal.

Calling Dr. S's office, I was frustrated to discover that they were closed for the holiday. I had been waiting on paperwork from his office which I would now need to pick up on my evening shift. I had completely forgotten that it was Good Friday.

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm I have an appointment with my torturer, Steve, every other Friday. Steve has kindly informed me that my skin is a culmination of the perfect storm. Due to a multitude of issues, I use different creams and lotions to help my skin tone.

On this visit, Steve and I needed to discuss a change in our routine because I had a treatment the night before I flew to SLC, which resulted in three serious burns. I've had periodic burns but not to this extent. We came up with a new plan of attack which I hope will help improve the skin issues.

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm James called to say he was trapped on I-69 due to an overturned semi which is becoming a regular situation. When he finally got home, we headed out to the store. Grocery shopping is a routine from our dating days. James lived the next county over but worked at USF and would insist on shopping with me so he could carry my groceries to my apartment which was poorly situated at the time. A decade later, he refuses to allow me to carry the groceries.

4:00 pm - 1:00 am The weather was too beautiful to pass up. We took Bartle for a walk before sitting outside and relaxing for a while. Eventually, I napped while James worked out and made dinner. Our evening was pretty uneventful, with the exception of me cheering for Michigan during the Sweet Sixteen game followed by the Florida game. These two games lead to a Michigan vs. Florida match in the Elite Eight on Sunday. Since I could only monitor the game via the internet, we watched Supernatural (our shared show) and Arrow (James makes fun that I watch this show based on the comic). I stayed awake to see the end of the game and crashed to sleep. The insomnia seems to be at an end.

The Fun Stuff

The gals at HATM

A while ago, I posted that some people thought my posts were negative, especially as I dealt with several difficult and stressful situations. Personally, I didn't feel negative, but thought of my blog as a way to channel and account for some of my angst rather than having to explain to each individual person the macabre details. And I promised to note the things in my life that make it so wonderful, even when I'm struggling with harsh emotions.

Though my trip to Florida was only for three days, I was embarking into dangerous territory. We have the continuous drama created by my siblings, my tumultuous emotions over my mother's health and how it affects our relationship, and reconnecting with old friends. The weekend was filled with many deep heartfelt conversations with each member of my family.


Me and C

Since mom couldn't know I was in town until the dinner, I spent Friday with Mich. You got to love our moments together since Mich arrived at the airport in Mich-time (or ish-time) while we all know, I'm a clock-watcher. We practically ran into each other when she entered the building crossing my path while I walked the hallway to the baggage terminal. After lots of hugs, I had to share my airplane story. My ticket was for seat 37C on a 36-aisle plan. Yikes! After lunch at a bistro, I got my fabulous birthday gifts, which included another set of mix CDs so I can keep up with the latest music (Who knew that Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, and Garbage were the latest music again? Hello 1990s!) and a digital photo frame loaded with our New England trip pictures. Then we were off for some Mexican food and HATM. I loved catching up with Cheryl, who is total awesomeness.

The morning after mom's dinner, dad and I had breakfast at Village Inn, where I enjoyed Banana Maple Nut French Toast. Yum! Then the family barbequed and enjoyed the pool. I was minding my own business (okay, torturing my niece, N), when my dad decided to throw me into the pool. Though I managed to escape, I knew it was only a matter of time before I ended up in the water, so I cannonballed into the pool. My nieces insisted that we play Marco/ Pollo, which became hilarious when C decided that she wanted to be it and proceeded to grab and jump on Marco.

The kids conspiring against the adults.

These are the moments I cherish and remember during the bad times. Am I upset about mom's health? Yes, but I benefited from an amazing weekend with her, where I had the opportunity to thank her for saving my life all those years ago. Am I disappointed that my brother still struggles? Yes, but I allowed him to take credit for the dinner, which helped his self-esteem and I had the chance to tell him that I want my brother in my life, not a man who thinks he owes me something for his past behavior. I am grateful for the chance to tell my sister that I'm proud of her, to have meaningful talks with my dad, and some laughs and hugs with my nieces. Though emotionally exhausting, I would never give up the memories I garnered over that weekend.

Reactionary Gifts

As you can imagine, mom received many gifts at her retirement dinner. You could tell many people were aware of her coffee obsession since she received a number of Starbucks gift cards. Other gifts included a tea set, a picture frame signed by those attending the dinner, and several gag gifts. My contributions got some big reactions as well. Of course there was my visit and a lovely bouquet of roses, but these gifts didn't receive the same reaction as the other two presents, which I personally thought were minor things.

I gave my mother a copy of my United Daughters of the Confederacy application, including the Civil War service file on her ancestor. I went over the documents, explaining each one, including the letter from Jefferson Davis discussing the character of her ancestor, and an approval and receipt acknowledgement of documents by Robert E. Lee. She was so ecstatic over Lee's signature, which was one among many on the document. Every time someone came to the house, she would show them the papers and have me explain her ancestor's story. I'm sure by the fifth recitation my father was tired of hearing about this gentleman, but mom was so happy.

The other package I presented to her was my manuscript. She regaled everyone at dinner about my dream of being a published writer. It got a bit awkward when people began to ask about my story. I'm sure my mom's former colleagues, who still think of me as ten years old, would love to hear about my highly erotic paranormal. Mom called the other night because she is on her second reading of the story. She loves it and requested the first autograph copy. Her only complaint was my transitions were so intense, she could never find a good time to take a break from reading it.

Who knew the extra weight from the reams of paper in my carry-on bag would be so worth it? You never know what gifts will be cherished more by the individual.

My Apartment Top Ten List

With the big move this week, I present the top 10 things I will miss about my apartment complex after residing her for five years.

10. Tweetle Dee and Tweedle Dum and The Village Idiot Better known as the office staff of the complex. Besides being incapable of answering a single question I have asked over the years, they have chosen to argue with me over the definition of vacate, every contract and fee that has come up, and insisted on me calling the police on their problem clientele which is not good customer service.

9. The Ice Skating Ring With winter I came to expect the parking lot and sidewalks to be covered in ice so I could slip while walking the dog. The dog walk was located at the exact spot that the snow removal trucks dumped the extra snow which shows some forward thinking. So I regularly slipped but kept upright, until that fateful day when I fell from the sidewalk and into the street, ending with a visit to the doc. And then there was the winter that we had the lovely ice sculptor in the middle of the main street caused by a broken water main that didn't get repaired for months.

8. Maintenance of ? I still have two lights out in my bathroom. According to the complex, I haven't tightened the bulbs enough. According to me, there is an electrical short. Then there was the worker who yelled, I mean truly shouted at me, because he managed to unclog the toilet in a minute. He ignored my protests that I had plunged, dumped water, etc. for hours before calling. There was also the "repaired" roof on my first apartment, where no one ever went up on the roof, but the water stains on my ceiling and wall were painted over instead. And we can't forget the numerous times I caught the maintenance guy sitting on my back steps smoking and talking on his phone instead of oh, working on something like the workout facility which was guaranteed to have one broken machine or on a good day, no functional machines.

7. Oddities Jackie, who monitored all activity in the building, and her dog, Mabel, who peed on everything in sight. The family who lived in the one bedroom. Mr. Indoor Voice parking his motorcycle in the hallway and Laundry Guy working on his motorcycle in the guest room. The window ac unit added on the nice townhouse. The huge structure built for Edie's garden.

6. Noises and Smells Mr. Smokey uses some bitter tobacco which infiltrates my apartment on a regular basis along with listening to his Skype conversations with people in Japan. The surround sound woman liked to scare me to death with booming explosions that shook my bed in the middle of the night, but she also held legendary and police-invoking arguments. Mr. Indoor Voice did not know how to talk in anything lower than a booming tone and yes, he had plenty of conversations while in the bathroom. Grill Guy used to talk on his cell phone while barbecuing in January and his language skills did not extend past shit and fuck.

5. Crazy Neighbors I've had the lady who insisted on blasting her surround sound system until 5 am, the family of four in a one bedroom, the pot smoking crazy who weekly had a bonfire burning in the middle of January, the family who set their house on fire, and the crazies who insisted on banging on the workout facility door while screaming at Becky or I to let them in.

4. Overly Friendly Neighbors Mr. South Africa who always wanted me to visit to view his photography, Laundry Guy who invited me to a doggie playdate in the middle of the night, and Mr. Indoor Voice who would stand in front of my window which faces the back of the complex.

3. Neighbors Who Threw Things The college guys who threw beer bottles over the balcony every weekend, Mr. Indoor Voice who regularly tossed clothing over the balcony, and the neighbor who threw up outside my patio, leaving a trail towards my door.

2. Exhibitionists Those neighbors who love to leave their blinds open and provide me with lots of fodder. Laundry Guy and his growing list of tattoos and odd projects and Mr. Smokey and his habit of sleeping with the lights on or dressing in the morning (I'll never be able to erase that image)in full view of his window.

1. The One Thing I'll Miss - Becky! Becky has been the reason I have stayed at this complex for so long. She is truly an amazing friend and neighbor. The time I broke my elbow and the pharmacy gave me a child-proof bottle, Becky answered my knock and took care of things, including opening my other bottle caps; she has watched or walked B on more occasions than I care to count, and she taught me how to pot my plants. We have spent hours watching movies and tv together. And of course, on those horrible occasions when one of us desperately needs a friend in the middle of the night, we have done the late-night cry. So, honestly the only thing I'll miss about my apartment is living across the hall from Becky.

"My Daughter is a Librarian" T-shirt

My love of books began at an early age. Mom would herd us kids into the car and transport us to the library where we enjoyed storytime or selected massive amounts of books to take home. (For those Tampa folks who are curious, my library as a child was the Town 'n Country Branch.) Once at the house, we had to make sure we didn't mix the library books in with our personal books, which lined the bookshelf in my room. I grew up with Nancy Drew, the Babysitter's Club and Christopher Pike. I remember discovering Frank Herbert's Dune series and my frantic search for the next book and following the Challenger explosion, I checked out every biography on Christa McAuliffe.

Sitting in a comfy chair in the evening reading a book, I am reminded of the many years I watched my mother doing the same thing because I acquired my voracious appetite for reading material from her. Mom will regularly call me to ask for recommendations on the latest books and we have both lamented the loss of Borders.

With mom retiring in the next month, I asked about her plans. One of the first things on her list is to get a library card. What? I'm sure everyone between Indiana and Florida heard my shocked exclamation. Apparently, my mother hasn't renewed her library card in a few decades though she regularly buys new books. But your daughter is a librarian, I declared as if this meant she should have a card for this reason alone.

Even if I wasn't a librarian, I personally would be a library user. And I am a bit sad that the person who nurtured my love of libraries hasn't been using the wonderful resources available to her all these years. For mom's retirement visits to the library, I think she should wear a t-shirt that advertises the fact that "my daughter is a librarian."

4th of July

Warning: Stripper Content

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July. Mine was fun and relaxing as I only did a smidgen of work and did not paint the house. Actually, the biggest crisis of the day was when the girl at Panera thought they were out of strawberry smoothie and I debated what else to order for Erin. Thankfully, they weren't out of it.

I spent my holiday with Erin and Becky at the hospital watching baby E improve thanks to all your prayers. E periodically would wave her arms, smile, and show her baby blue eyes. Her body is accepting the latest treatment and if everything continues going well, she will be out of the woods. Erin seemed in good spirits, excited about our lunch delivery and conversation. It was so good to hear her laugh and such a relief to know that things are improving.

Becky and I decided that instead of sitting in the heat watching fireworks, we should spend our evening watching hot strippers. You know I have corrupted Becky when she remarks that we should go see Magic Mike because even if the story line sucks, the eye candy will be worth it. That is such a Melissa comment, I couldn't believe Becky said it. I knew nothing about this movie, so was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it considering I'm not a fan of some of the actors in it. As a side note, the "kid" in the movie really annoyed me. If you've ever wondered what a conversation between my brother and I looks like, watch this movie. Otherwise, I found myself actually enjoying the story and the actors.

Within the first 15 minutes of the movie, there is a street scene where the guys are talking outside a club. I sat up in my seat thinking, no way! as I recognized the sign. When the guys enter the club and the camera pans over girls dancing in cages, I leaned over and told Becky, I used to party there. This was further confirmed when the main character hands over a flyer for the male revue, which features a Dale Mabry address. The rest of the movie has numerous references to Tampa because I hadn't realized that this movie is based on Tatum's experiences as a male stripper in Tampa and that they had filmed some scenes around the city, including my old stomping grounds at the Ampitheatre. Yes, I spent many nights down in Ybor (think Bourbon Street) and enjoyed dancing in the cages back in the day. This shouldn't surprise anyone because we long ago established that I was a bit wild in my twenties.

The best part of the movie was Becky's continuous blushing, which was so adorable. Yes, I've been to several male revues, including the club that Tatum worked at in Tampa for a bachelorette party. I know some might find this strange, but I used to spend a bit of time hanging out at the gay strip clubs. My best friend John thought it would help me repair my self-esteem since the men in those clubs are usually heterosexual and would enjoy the flirty banter with me during their breaks. When he first suggested this, I thought he was crazy, but he was right. This is where I learned to flirt and joke with men so easily.

It cracks me up when I realize the divergent lives my gals and I have lived, yet we are so connected despite these differences. It was definitely a day we each needed and I'm glad we shared the holiday together. And once again, thanks to everyone who has prayed for baby E.

Birthdays

Upon turning thirty, I decided while tossing back cosmos with some friends, that this decade was going to be the best ever. On my thirty-first, I spent the weekend at Disney with my pals, drifting from a child-like state when I sang along, watched every parade, and drove Melinda crazy with the "it's a castle" refrain, to the party girl persona who never even noticed the stalker dude trying to tap my shoulder at the fourth club we visited. My thirty-fifth was by far one of my absolute favorites between dinner at Cork 'n Cleaver with Kay, Peggy, Delia, William, Mich, and hubby followed by the overnight trip to Chicago with my three best friends who stayed out all night with me before crashing in our suite at four in the morning.

This year, I planned to have a more relaxed birthday featuring dinner and a movie with the gals. The day began with hubby and I still cleaning the new house. We purchased our painting supplies with the grand idea that we would begin the edging work but before we did, ominous dark clouds began to crawl across the sky pitching the house into darkness thought it was mid-afternoon and cutting off our electricity. The wind bent the trees into several contorted positions while debris and falling branches slammed into the house. The sirens came after the worst of the storm was over, but thankfully, nothing had touched down in our area.

Due to the downed trees and power lines and utter chaos, it was decided that going out was not an option. Becky and I still opted for dinner and a movie though. KFC supplied the dinner, Dairy Queen provided the dessert, and cable kicked back on so we could order the latest Sherlock Holmes movie.

My family did their typical birthday wishes which always leaves me feeling lonely as most of them feel like afterthoughts. Dad called from Dubai which always makes me feel good. Without fail, no matter where in the world he is, dad will call. Next was John, which was once again disheartening. It was one of his apologetic regretful birthday calls, which reaffirms that he has returned to his former ways. At least I didn't cry during his call this year, but rather I felt empty and barely heard the lies. I received Jo's call around 8:30 pm, about the time Becky and I had started watching the movie followed by mom's call ten minutes later. 

The next day was another one of those shining beacons that remind me of how lucky I am. Peggy spent the day with hubby and I painting our front two rooms. Unfortunately because the atrocious red was so dark, it took multiple coats of primer + paint. Then we discovered that the lighter toned green and grey walls looked light in comparison to the red, but were actually dark colors as well, so we added more layers to cover the atrocious color scheme. When we wrapped up for the day, it was startling how much larger the rooms appeared with the cream colored walls. It is completely amazing to me that I have friends who would come and help out like this. Thanks so much, Peggy!

I may want to revert back to the party birthday next year, but no matter what, I'll take my friends and hubby along for the ride.

Vera Bradley

This weekend, I had what may be my first and last experience at the Vera Bradley store. It has been well documented on this blog that I am an envy-driven shopper. Dawne has numerous cute totes and bags from Vera Bradley and I think they are so adorable, though I'm not a fan of floral patterns. I found a pattern and tote that I liked online, but wanted to see the bag in person. I mentioned it to hubby and told him how I needed to wait to make the purchase since I didn't want to charge anything else at this time. Hubby, who in polite terms, is a tightwad, told me to go ahead and buy the bag. So off we went to the store.

My experience was anything but pleasant. To begin, I hate pushy sales people. To me, it feels like harassment not good customer service. Allow me to browse and I'll let you know when I need help. Don't follow behind me straightening items I touched because now you've made me feel bad. When I finally ask for help and explain my reasoning for selecting one bag over another (the zipper), please don't be flip with your comment. Apparently, they did not have the bag I saw online, so I had to truly shop. After much annoyance with the sales people, I selected a bag. Another customer approached me and said she would not buy anything from the store and did I want her gift card, which I, of course, took. I sent hubby up to the register with the gift card because the name on the card wouldn't match my credit card, yet he called me over. Apparently, when someone gets a gift card, a lot of personal data is given to the store, so the sales clerk wanted to know the full name the gift card was under, etc. I queried her back about the reasoning for the request, all the while thinking, if my friend gave them my info in order to get a gift card, I'd be mad. I explained to the sales clerk that some random customer gave it to me a moment ago. She used the gift card ($20 off the price), but wanted my name, phone, address, and email, which I inaccurately provided.

Hubby and I walked out of the store annoyed by the experience, but proud of my $20 less purchase. If hubby hadn't insisted that I go on Saturday, I would have paid full price.

Age is a Mental Number

Warning: This is a rambling post.

Hubby routinely jokes that I am middle-aged, which is rather interesting since he is my older yet younger looking husband. This year, he crossed into the forty age bracket and it has played a lot with his mind. Though he won't admit it, I believe part of the mental issue for him involves his mom's early death. And now hubby's response to many things is I'm too old for that, so this New Year's for the first time since moving to Indiana, hubby and I stayed in. We used to stay home when we were younger, but it had become a routine to go somewhere since moving.

Since being diagnosed as a narcoleptic, I've been trying to find the right balance in my life and believe I have discovered it thanks to my meds and new sleep pattern. The dilemma is the new sleep pattern requires I go to bed pretty early compared to my previous late night excursions. No more bar hopping for me, unless it is planned in advance with recovery time. And this past week, my boss was discussing our health insurance issue when he mentioned good blood and bad blood involving health. I was not in the good blood category. Then a comment was made about the body falling apart once you reach 35-37 years old, which another colleague had made a similar comment a few months back. I have to admit, I did not like this discussion.

Plus I've been hard core at organizing my genealogy records and have recently gone through death certificates. Though hubby believes he is encroaching his end times, I look at these records and think, I have plenty of time. Though both sides of my mom's family have heart disease and yes, those death certificates confirm it, and my own health issues; I am positive my genes are from my dad's side. My great grandfather died roughly six weeks shy of his 101st birthday, while one of my ancestors was 95 on an 1850 census. 95 in 1850 requires some good genes considering the man fought in the Revolution.

So this morning, I was driving in, listening to Godsmack, which I had cranked up and was singing along at the top of my lungs. This reminded me of the time I saw them perform at Guavaween (think Mardis Gras, but in one night), mosh pit and all. And the realization hit, I am not that girl anymore. Mich had recently informed my twelve year old niece who scoffed at the idea of me dancing that I could still drop down to the ground when dancing at a club. This made me think, though my body physically is capable, when is it inappropriate age-wise to dance like that?

I have my bucket list of things I plan to accomplish, so don't get me wrong, I don't think I'm old, but I think I may be too old for certain behaviors. And so what that I have to go to bed early and it curtails some of my extracurricular activities. The same would happen if I had kids. So it's all a mind game, one I will beat.

Our Four Day Weekend

Hubby and I had a relaxing four day weekend. No drama, no shopping, no other people, just the two of us lounging around in our pjs all weekend. It was wonderful! We played several hours of gin rummy, which always frustrates me. Hubby always begins our game by saying, I don't remember how to play, then proceeds to stomp all over me. And since we're both so competitive, it can become quite vocal during our games. As you can see, Cleo got involved and played as well.

We had many fabulous gifts, but since I don't want my house robbed, I won't list them here. Hubby topped himself again though in purchasing me a fitted Gator jersey. I have wanted one for years, but they always look bulky on me. This one was sized perfectly! Hubby has a very focused diet through the year, but shrugs it off for the holidays. Every Christmas morning, he makes cinnamon rolls. Hubby has a whip cream addiction as you can see from his serving. We truly did relax this weekend and it was wonderful. The only downside is the realization that we could have many more days like this if he lived in town. It was very hard to say goodbye to him this morning, but he'll be back in a few days for New Years!

Knitting Projects

I can finally share my knitting projects and yes, they are both scarves. The one on the left is for me, obviously. It was my experiment with stripes and switching off colors, so now I have a Gator scarf to watch the games in cooler weather. Whereas the one on the right is for Michelle's birthday. I wanted her to have something nice to wear on our trip. The yarn created a really cool design and you can't tell from this image, but I used a stitch that really makes the colors pop. The scarf is about 6 foot in length. Love it! My next project is an afghan using a lace pattern. Keeping my fingers crossed that I can complete such a big project.

My Projects this Summer

Last fall, I told you about the projects that had occupied my time, so I thought I would share my current summer projects. I know this blog is supposed to focus on well me ... and my writing. I'm pleased to announce that I have completed and edited 60,000 words of my continuing project. I'm actually done with the whole book, but I'm currently in the editing process. Besides catching grammatical errors, I'm catching plot lines that seemed to disappear whenever I took a break. It's been a fun but grueling process. My goal is to have it ready for Miss Michelle to read on our trip. I'll have to wait until after the trip to show you my knitting projects, since one of them is a gift for someone's birthday. As for my flowers, they've turned out lovely this year. I went back to get some of the "pink" ones but this time in purple, pink, and white variations. My cat mint survived the winter and re-potting process and I tried my hand at some New Guinea impatiens. I had to buy the impatiens to go with my darling coffee cup and saucer shaped flower planter. Love it! So there you have it, my summer projects, which will segue into my fall projects.

April Writing Challenge

So how did we end the writing challenge after extending it for another month?

Kay was working towards 10,000 words and reached 7453.

Sarai was striving for 5000 words and dashed across the line with 5042.

Dawne was hoping for 750 pages and created an amazing number of 583 pages in her genealogy work.

Delia had the goal of 15,000 words and managed a whopping 14,779.

I struggled to complete my 20,056 which met my goal of 20,000.

We're all doing an amazing job and this challenge has kept us motivated. I've heard from several of you, who would like to continue writing. I've been told by Dawne that I'm the social coordinator, so I ask for your May/ June goals, since we seem to do better with a 2 month window.

The challenge is on.

Messages

Hubby and I have differing schedules, so sometimes the only communication we have for the day is via email. Sometimes the emails are all about plans for the weekend or details of our day. Some are crazy messages from hubby, like the time he explained he had a last minute report due the next day that entailed him time traveling to accomplish it, but he didn't recall time traveling being part of his job description. Or him finishing a rant I want to begin about something involving my day.

Or I receive messages like this one when I'm upset about falling and injuring myself: "Unbelievable; it’s really almost (what’s the opposite of a miracle) a curse. I believe at some time in the past a member of your family must have offended a gypsy, or defiled a corpse, or threw a baby at a troll, or stepped on a fairy, or broke a very large mirror, also a crack might have been stepped on, or traded three magic beans for a favor from a demon, and then it turned out that the beans weren’t really magical but the demon ate them anyway and as a result had horrible indigestion, and then, of course, as is often the case with these demons; who are here illegally taking jobs from American soothsayers, a curse was placed upon your family that caused you to slip and fall in the not too distant future."

Tonight I received a message with this subject line and the following message:
Harry (is that an Edward in your pocket, or are you just happy see me) Potter

I noticed the Twilight Companion book (it’s only been advertised for about a year) and the new Harry Potter DVD are both being released this Tuesday. Muggles and vampire nerds rejoice. I guess the streets will be safe for us normal folk this weekend. Oh, wait…

So hubby is a bit crazy, but he keeps me laughing even during my rants.

Hi There!

I've been viewing my google statistics the past month and have discovered people are reading me that I don't know, which is cool! But I would like to at least have a hello. So, if you read my blog, could you comment to this post saying hi! so I can feel as if I've "met" you. It's all a part of the online community feeling and since I write about my opinions, friends, family, and some personal things, it helps to know who's participating. So "drop by and say hi!" Then you can return to anonymity.

April Challenge

We decided to extend our writing challenge from March. I haven't heard from everybody and would like to know if Becky or Cheryl met their goals and if they would like to continue. If anyone would like to join us in our April challenge, please let me know. There really aren't any rules to it. You set your own challenge of how many words or pages you would like to create this month. You can write a story, poetry, memoirs, your research, whatever you like.

Delia extended her goal to 10,000 words and I'm going to maintain my 20,000 word goal and hopefully meet it this month. For those who didn't complete their goals last month, let me know if you want the same amount and last month's work counts towards April if you like.

Otherwise, everyone let me know what your plan is. And I have to say Congrats to Dawne and Delia who did complete their goals. And the race is on again and I'm positive we will each reach our goals this month!

Reissued Challenge

Since it appears several of us involved in the writing challenge feel the need to extend it another month, let's go ahead and reissue our challenge. Let me know what goals you have set for yourself for March/ April. If you finished your March goal or are close and want to gloat, please do. I'm so proud of all of us for jump starting our writing projects. I know for myself, my goal was 20,000 words and I'm at 9,000. I'm proud of this accomplishment since the whole point of this challenge for me was to overcome my writers block, which I've accomplished. So get prepared for another writing challenge.

Almost There ...

I have to begin with a funny story. Benita stopped in the other day and told me that she thought I was a great writer and that she had been enjoying my blog entries. I asked if she meant my personal blog and she responded, "you have a personal blog? I meant the genealogy blog." It cracks me up that I can barely write for my personal projects at the moment, yet I've produced quite a bit for work and that someone enjoys my genealogy entries.

I hope everyone is doing well with their writing challenge. I've heard from a few of you and I'm impressed that you've almost met your goal. Some of us, I won't name names, but will admit, I'm not even close to my goal, have debated extending the challenge. After some thought, I've decided that would be unfair to those who are so close to finishing. So as a compromise, I say let the challenge stand. We know our goals for March and need to work on finishing them then recalculate for a new challenge in April. Those of us who couldn't reach our goal may need to lower our numbers, while those who meet their goal might consider raising the stakes. Another 8 days left! Either way I'm proud of all of our hard work.