The Lady Vanishes

Nothing too dramatic to account for my disappearance. I've been sick most of this month. Just a cold that grew into something worse. With three kids, work and all the other stuff, I didn't get the opportunity to convalesce at all. Anyway, this is the first week where I've actually felt human.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. There always seems so much to do. And instead of diving in and getting it done, I sit almost catatonic and play video games instead. I know most of that is due to pounding sinuses and nights spent hacking up a lung, but it can be crushing. I didn't realize how much I would miss those four hours a day I had at home that I now spend at the office. I certainly didn't appreciate it when I had it. Isn't that how it is in life? We don't have the wisdom to appreciate what we have until we lose it.

I actually like work. I'm not sure why, it is kind of dull work, but it isn't housecleaning. At first it was difficult to get into the swing of things, but now I find it kind of relaxing. And it doesn't involve my kids.

Oh, for Valentine's Day I did get these:

They are pink fresh water pearls. I love pearls, I think they are so elegant. I wear them all the time, particularly when I clean house. Gives me that June Cleever feeling.

Cool Things

Last week was insane. The whole work-home thing totally sucks. But since the bulk of you know all about that, we can skip that discussion. It didn't help that the weather was miserable. Today is actually sunny and it has lifted my mood considerably. This is a picture of my new stained glass window. We designed it with the help of the artist and picked out the colors. Isn't it awesome? This is a picture of the view from the window. When we planned the window, I made it clear I wanted to preserve this view. I'd like to cut the neighbors' trees down, but I don't think they are going to go for that (I'm kidding).

I found this little do-dad at Costco this weekend. It's called an Alto Cordless by Logitech. One thing I miss about the desktop is how nice and high the monitor is for my vision and for a full-sized keyboard. I get both with this. Of course my notebook is starting to tire. The kids don't like using it because the letters have all worn off the keyboard. But this device really helps.

A Little Before and After

I've been a slug about posting any pictures from my remodel. I can't seem to keep any of the rooms clean long enough to take a nice picture. The first shot is a before, I dare you to find description that doesn't include the word "igloo." The second is the after. The picture is one I bought in Hawaii and had the space above the fireplace designed to fit. The firebox was replaced with a wood burning stove which has had a lot of use lately. Hopefully I will be getting some more photos up.

I did get some good news last night. My housekeeper was able to slot me back into her schedule so she will be coming this week.

Reading Revolution or Evolution

This is a photo from the mountains behind my house (I found it at the L.A. Times website. It would take me about 20 minutes to get there from my house. Isn't it pretty? That's about the only nice thing I can say about the weather right now. I'm a weather wimp. I don't like the cold. Winter for me means I have to put on a sweater. And when you have kids, rain sucks. They spend the entire time at school inside their classrooms and they get home so wired and obnoxious, they could be mistaken for rabid chimpanzees.

I hate going out in this weather. I just want to cuddle up with a book and a cup of tea. I have a stack of books calling my name and little time to read right now. I could sit and read at night, but by the time evening rolls around, I'm so tired and my brain is so numb, I just want to watch t.v. However, previous to this, I had been reading quite a bit and I've noticed how much my reading has changed. My choices have broadened considerably. I notice I go through changes periodically. When I was young, I read nothing but romances, historical romances, nothing else. Even in college that's what I read. Then I moved onto techno thrillers a la Tom Clancy. Then I moved on to Robert Ludlum. I slipped there into John Steinbeck and into non-fiction adventure. Then somehow I slid back into romance although I moved away from historicals and read other sub-genres. I discovered paranormal romance and that was it, I read paranormal romance exclusively. But that has petered out. I think I got tired of angsty vampires searching for their soulmate. I moved onto dark urban fantasy, but I choose books with little romance. And that isn't my exclusive reading. I've been reading cozy mysteries, literary fiction, horror and whatever else strikes. Except for romance. I have no taste for it. Odd considering I'm a card carrying member of RWA, a board member of my local chapter and have a stack of Golden Heart entries to judge.

Of course I haven't been writing romance much lately either. Perhaps as I start writing in the genre again, my interest will pick up. I have nothing against the genre, but perhaps a break is necessary to bring a fresh perspective?

Does your reading tastes change on a regular basis or are you stalwart of your favored genre?

The Other Blog

I blogged over at Villa in Tuscany today about the heart and soul of our stories.

I was going to post here as well but I had a lousy morning and I have a ton of stuff to do before the end of the afternoon. I would rather take a nap right now but there are about three loads of laundry crying my name in piteous tones.

Would You Like to Buy Some Cookies?

It is that time again. Girl Scouts are out to ruin our diets with their innocously named cookis. A "Thin Mint" doesn't sound dangerous right? How can an "All About" be harmful? Every cookie has a Girl Scout virtue baked right in.

Last year I was the cookie manager for my daughter's troop. I've retired. Once was enough, I was far too stressed. The leader is taking it over and I told her I would help. I much better in a supporting role. Each girl has a goal to sell 200 boxes of cookies. My daugter wants to go out door to door and sell cookies. Ughhhh....Which means I get to go door to door selling cookies. I'd rather get a root canal.

Oddly enough I still have cookies from last year. I got real tired of cookies. But I don't think it would take much to get me hooked into the cycle again. And they've introduced the "Lemon Chalet" cookie, a sandwich cookie with lemon cream. Yum. Course this little thing has 80 calories per cookie. Yikes.

Do you like Girl Scout cookies? Do you have a favorite? Were you in Girl Scouts?

Sometimes We Get What We Deserve

Have you ever heard a song on the radio that digs itself into your skin like a tick and you aren't satisfied til you own it? This happnes to me pretty frequently but with the power of iTunes I'm usually pacified rather quickly.

The other day the radio played an old song from the early 80's that I loved. Nothing would do, I had to have that song. For those interested, the song is "Nowhere Girl" by B-Movie. Not a big top ten in this country or anything but it was one of my favorite songs back when I was in high school.

Anyway, I downloaded the song from iTunes and synched my iPod, preparing to start the rest of my afternoon. I had plenty to do. There's laundry, sweeping, dinner, heck, even writing to be done. But I my song and I was ready to go. I get upstairs and decide to fold a small load of laundry before I went back downstairs to do some writing.

It was the wrong version.

Totally sent me into a tailspin. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for the right version. It couldn't be found on iTunes or Amazon (Amazon offers downloads for use with iPods now). I finally found it on Yahoo and downloaded it (a total pain, I might add). So of course I tried to move it into iTunes so I could play it on my iPod. No such luck, the damn song is protected. I can listen to it on my computer until I can think of some way around it or the song finally gets offered on iTunes.

But there is a lesson to be learned. I lost valuable time looking for something silly like an obscure pop song. That time could have been used for a multiple amount of other activities. Anytime that I complain that I don't have time to do something, I can remember the parable of the pop song. I can never have that time back and the rewards are limited.

Long Time No Post

Where has the time gone? Nowhere fun, I can tell ya. I'm no longer an SAHM. My hubby's secretary moved to Las Vegas and lucky me, I get to take her place. I work four hours a day at the office. It totally sucks. Luckily I have Yahoo messenger there and I can chat with Melissa and we can figure out who's day blows more. I should probably install MySpaceIM so I can compare rotten days to my other chat friends.

It isn't hard work but it is boring. My dh is an attorney and he does most of his own stuff. I pretty much do all the filing and make sure his documents get filed with the court and served on the interested parties. I also answer the phone but fortunately hardly anyone calls him. Most of his clients communicate by email. You would think this electronic form of communication would save on paper. BUT NO...Mr. Sustainable prints out the damn things.

Of course I'm still expected to do the same things that I did as an SAHM. Volunteer at the school. Clean house. Cook. I end up doing three meals a day essentially. Breakfast in the morning. Making four lunches (which is a mighty pain) and then dinner. As you can imagine, I'm not getting much free time to do a whole lot else. I've worked outside the home before, but things were different then. I had two kids and a smaller house. Neither of them were in school yet. My husband came home and did the cooking at night. I had a housekeeper.

I'm probably going to hire someone to come in and clean. But the house still isn't done. Yeah, I know, a familiar refrain from my blogs. They are working on the outside of the house. We are having some stone work done and getting the house re-stuccoed. We decided to bite the bullet and just get it all done now. Then we will never have to do it again.

I'm back to writing again. I should be doing laundry or something but I'm squeezing in some time. I've gone back to writing a romance and I'm doing it in 3rd person, more to see if I still can. Romance writing is so hard. Making a relationship the focal point of a book is tough. In the last few years I've written more about one character developing with the romance being a secondary element. I write a lot of action with fight scenes and magic. Switching that concept the other way around is a lot harder. Which is why I'm doing it in third. I can get into more heads that way.

I'm going to try and visit y'all throughout the day. I'm home right now waiting for a fireplace to show up. Long story.

Happy New Year

It's hard to believe 2007 is already drawing to a close.  Talk about a tumultuous ride.  The year opened up with a lot of promise on the writing front but didn't pan out.  I suppose I should feel a little worse about that, but writing has never been the basis of my life.  Yes, I want to get published and I still think I will, but the desire doesn't consume me like other writers I know.

I'm not going to make any resolutions this year.  It is a fruitless exercise in any case.  I've yet to accomplish them.  But they make good blog fodder, don't they? 

I do need to work on goal setting.  I've taken a vacation from any sort of organization for the last four months and now I need to get back to some kind of routine.  Especially since it appears I will be going back to work part time for awhile.  I'll save those details for another post.

But back to what I was thinking about for the post.  What happened in 2007 that profoundly affected you?  Without a doubt, for me, was the remodel.  I truly had no idea how drastic an event it would be and how difficult it would  be to live through.  I'm thrilled with the results (I promise to get pictures up one of these days.  We still aren't finished, hence the delay).  It gave new meaning to the phrase "Home, Sweet Home" for me.

What about you?  I know many of you have been through some major events this year and I wonder as you look back and reflect, how you thinks those situations changed you.

How to Clean a Kitchen

I'm thinking about cleaning my kitchen today. And I'm researching the subject. Yeah, that takes a special kind of illness to do something like that. But I have my Martha Stewart book out and a book called Cleaning Plain and Simple to show me the proper way to clean. I actually give a damn about my kitchen now so I want to do it right. Also, my kitchen is bigger with more surfaces needed tending, so I want to find a more efficient way of cleaning. And efficiency is not part of my natural make up.

I love instructions. I'm not much of a free-spirit in most facets of my life. I like to be told how to fold, how to cook, how to sew, paint, apply make up, raise my kids, etc. etc. Until it comes to writing. Then all of my rebellion comes out. Oh, I apply some of the rules because some of them make me a better writer. But I like to think it is my own choice and I'm not following anyone's rules but my own. In truth, as much of a rebel as I think I am, I admit while I'm writing, I'm pretty rigid. I have my own rules for how I write and I don't vere from them. Nobody is telling me what to do except for the voice in my head.

My theory is that my yearning for order in my outside life spills over into my writing life subconsciously. All of those skills I hone in the other parts of my life make themselves useful in writing.

Do you notice behaviors or skills you use in your daily life making themselves known in your writing life?

Thirteen Things I Bought for my Kitchen

I just remodeled my kitchen and have had the fun of filling it with new stuff. Here's 13 great things I've bought:

1. Cookware from Kohl's. This is the Food Network brand and I love them.

2. Senseo Coffeemaker. This pod maker is actually for the bar. I've had one before and totally used it to death. When it died I was stuck with enough pods to keep me in brew for a year. Hence, a new one.

3. A toaster oven. I got it for the kids to use for heating up pizza.

4. A whistling tea kette. Suddenly everyone drinks tea in the house.

5. New everyday china. This isn't it exactly...I bought the set at Costco so they have their own sets. But it is based on these patterns.

6. Nice china. I never got china at my wedding. Really had no need for it. But Costco had a deal.

7. A new toaster. My last toaster was a fire hazard. I love this one.

8. Food storage containers. I can tell you, these are the best I've ever had. Got them at Costco. You can put them in the dishasher. My husband had chili in one, left it at his office for over the weekend. I put it in the dishwasher and it came out perfect.

9. New baking sheets. Superglue won't stick to these.

10. Dish rack. Real Simple recommended this one and it works great.

11. New glassware. We are generally acrylic people, but I was at Costco....

12. New flatware. Yeah, you got it, Costco. We had a flat and two carts when we left the store.

13. My favorite, a new Kitchenaid. I already have an older one when there was just one model available to the public. This one has 575 watts of mixing power. It was also my Christmas present.


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There's No Place Like Home

I'm back home and it feels...okay.

I know, as badly as I wanted to come home, it has been very difficult to get back into the swing of things. It feels like a new home, everything is so different. They aren't done hence I haven't posted any pictures yet. Its more than I hoped for, but the work of moving back into the house has been exhausting. I still have people here everyday. We've gone ahead and decided to work on the exterior as well. There are a few cabinet pieces missing and my book case around my fireplace isn't done. But it is livable.

As you can see, I'm trying to get into the holiday spirit. I haven't put up my decorations yet. We tend to wait until two weeks before Christmas. Also, we aren't sure where our decorations are. My attic was completely re-arranged, so heaven only knows where my stuff is. I did buy a new Christmas village from Kohl's. The contractor built in a pot shelf in my family room and I'm going to put it there.

My car got broken into the other day. It was a smash and grab. They smashed my driver's side door and ransacked my center console and glove box. The only thing they took was the dock for my iPod that I plugged into the cigarette lighter. Oddly enough, there was a wad of cash sitting there and they didn't take it. Apparently they were looking for my iPod. As it pretty much stays with me at all times, their efforts were wasted. The dock was a total piece of junk. But it did end up costing me $200 for a new window and I had to wait around all day for the glass guy to come and fix it.

I haven't gotten back into writing yet. I think by next week I'll be able to dive in. Right now I have a to-do list a mile long trying to clean up after the construction. I finally went grocery shopping for the first time in months. Anyway, I hope to catch up with all of you this week.

Getting There

By this time next week I should be in my house. The last couple of weeks have been really difficult as I came to terms with the fact I wouldn't be hosting Thanksgiving this year. I felt pretty lousy for the last couple of weeks. The constant disruptions and the inability to be home has taken its toll on me.

This week, however, they are finishing up. The are doing the last of the tile today and the painters were in today doing the final touch up. We still have more work to do but it isn't the kind that will keep us out of the house. I'm hoping they get more of my appliances in and we can get back to normal.

Sorry, Wylie, I'm not going to win Nano this year. However, I actually have written over 6K words and I am enjoying my WIP. My lack of stability has cut into my writing time. I'm the type of writer who will pound out some words in the morning before anyone is up then go back to it for an hour or so when the kids are at school and then some more time when they are out of school and at home. Ah well, I'm pleased that I got anything written and I'm more pleased that I'm actually enthusiastic about my writing.

Today is Thing's birthday. Diva's was Friday. For Veteran's Day, we headed over to the Los Angeles Farmers Market and the kids ate at a crepe booth. When we got there I realized we were next door to the American Girl Place. Diva asked for a doll for her birthday so while the others were shopping, she and I ran over there and she picked out a doll (and I'm considerably broker). She is thrilled with her doll. I stomp around and glare at any other kids who want to touch it. It definitely needs more care than most dolls. She is enchanted.

Anyway, I'm hoping to hit some blogs today although I have to go the gym today. My friend said she had some gossip for me and the only way I'd hear it is if I went to workout. Better be worth it.

Setbacks

We've had a setback in the remodel and now I'm hoping the project is done by Thanksgiving. I'm bordering on a meltdown. I feel bad because there are people who have lost everything in the fires and there are homeless people out on the streets. I don't have it so bad when compared to others. However, I'm afraid I'm going to wallow in self-pity for the rest of the day. By tomorrow I'll be more upbeat and able to appreciate what I do have.

I have determined that this fiasco will not impact my committment to Nano this year. I've decided on something new, far lighter than what I had originally decided to work on. I'm looking forward to the intense distraction that Nano brings to me. November is always a difficult month with all of the family obligations I have. My brain seems to crave the escape of writing.

This Saturday is my chapter meeting and I volunteered to present (dummy me). I'm going to talk about goal-setting, something I'm incredibly week at. I'm hoping that I can gain something from all the prep work I've done. How good are you at setting goals and sticking to it? Not just for writing but for other things in life?

The Lady and the Gentleman

Last Thursday was Cotillion for my kids. Basically it is a charm class held once a month. They learn how to behave properly and how to dance. It's quite amusing to watch but I have noticed my son says "thank you" a lot more often. I knew my daughter would enjoy it but my son seems to like it even more. The downside is the clothes. The boys must wear a coat and tie and the girls must wear party dresses, white gloves and closed toe party shoes. It gets expensive. I found a great place online for this dress called Cutie Clothes that was reasonable and got my order out to me in just a couple of days. I also got this dress for not too bad. Luckily enough for my son, I bought a coat and pants and only change the shirt and tie. I had hoped to do some sewing for my daughter but, well, this whole remodel thing happened. I think she may get one more dress and then she needs to repeat.

We've been fortunate in my area to be the only place without wind. We haven't had any at my house and all of the fires are a good distance away. We are getting a lot of smoke and I can feel my throat and nose burning from it. Hubby's oral surgery went so much better than expected. He didn't after any nasty after-effects and the pain has been minimal. We got a new 42" plasma tv this weekend and he felt well enough to mount it on the wall.

Now onto a totally different topic. Does anyone else watch "Desperate Housewives?" Is it me or is Susan the most annoying character on television? I told my husband we are speeding through her scenes. He likes Teri Hatcher so he refused although he did agree to mute the sound.

Hanging on by a Thread

Sorry, I have disappeared for awhile. Things have been...rough to say the least. I'm still trapped in remodel hell. But things are progressing. They are finishing the painting today. Hubby is having more oral surgery tomorrow so we kicked the guys out for Friday and Saturday. Monday the cabinets are supposed to come in. That will take a few days to do but at least we are at the back stretch. I had no idea how difficult this was going to be. I don't care if I never go out to eat again. For the most part, we don't come home until 8 p.m. since we have to find food. Some nights we eat with my parents and my inlaws. Other nights it is heat and eat from Costco. The other nights are made up of going out to eat. It really sucks. Before this I cooked dinner 5-6 nights a week. I really miss it.

I've tried writing but I have absolutely no focus. So I'm going to make the charge in November and do Nanowrimo. Anyone else taking the challenge?

Tonight is Cotillion for my kids. It is basically a charm school for the elementary set. They learn to dance and act properly. My son complained because the girl made him lead the whole time when they were dancing. Sigh..... My daughter likes it since she gets to dress up. However, she isn't really thrilled with the dress I picked out for her, not enough sequins I guess. I'll post pictures tomorrow and let you decide.

Well, I'm keeping this short so I can go and visit blogs before it is time to take Thing to school.

Hawaii: Summer Lovin'

First, the remodel is going well. The plumbing is done (including my bitchin' pot filler above my cooktop) and they have placed a bunch of the cans for the lights. We've decided to add a skylight to one area. When I asked the contractor if it would add to the timeline, he said no, I was too far into panic mode as it was. Hopefully they will get to the drywall next week.

Now onto Hawaii.
Hawaii was pretty uneventful and I really didn't take too many pictures since I've been to the exact same places before. But I do have a couple of stories. The first happened the very first day. If you have the soundtrack to "Grease" now would be a good time to play "Summer Lovin'."

My hubby and I took the kids to the beach the first afternoon we were there. Diva started working on a sandcastle straightaway. She loves working in the sand. Perhaps she will be an engineer when she grows up. Anyway, there were a few kids playing as well. One was a cute, blonde boy with a total Hawaiian tan. He and Diva hit it off right away. I watched them talk and dig in the sand. The girl is a natural flirt, not sure where she got it, it wasn't from me and her dad isn't too good at it either. The sun set over the ocean, turning the sand to a blazing pink and it was time to say good bye. In the car going back to our condo, she told me she sure liked that 10 year old boy. She wondered if he liked her too. I asked if she knew his name. Nope. Where does he live? Don't know. So her big summer time romance lasted about an hour. It was pretty funny. Her dad looked rather ill while she talked about the cutie at the beach.

She seems to have recovered. She is on boyfriend number 2 so far this school year. Her criteria for a boyfriend seems to be she has to beat them in arm wrestling. But I do wonder if at lunch she and her friends danced around a picnic table singing "tell me more."

Breakdowns

I think the number of emotional breakdowns I've had since the beginning of September is now in the double digits. The latest was Saturday when the contractor said we wouldn't be done until close to Halloween. The reason for the change is a change we made. Anyway, instead of three weeks, I've got another six weeks of turmoil. I keep telling myself how nice it is going to be, but it is small consolation right now.

I should be more consistent this week. I've got so many things coming up, but most of them are after school and the like. First, I'll address the RSS issue. I'm not sure what is going on. I know some feed readers are able to read the feed but many others can't for this blog. I tried to repair it yesterday and had no luck, so I will have to try again. Sorry for the inconvenience. The feed option is turned on but there is a code problem in the html I haven't figured out. I'll keep trying.
So on to the other stuff. Thing started kindergarten. Here she is coloring her self-portrait. She colored the hair yellow and green since her has a green tint from the chlorine. She is in the afternoon class which has been great. The teacher is really good with the kids. It was a little rough going at first since she is so young. I'm pretty sure she is the youngest in her class. In our district they must turn 5 by December 2 in order to be eligible to register. Her birthday is November 19, so she is cutting it close. However, after a couple of weeks, she seems to be doing well. The teacher says she is a blast to have in class.

What is most odd for me is having all this time with nothing to do. I would love it if I were home, but I really have no place to go. I've done all the window shopping I can take for the moment. I've been camping out at hubby's office (I'm here now) and I should be writing, but I'm a bit scattered. But I have 6 more weeks of dealing with this, so I better settle down. I have some ideas for books I want to write not to mention the books I've already started. I have essentially nearly four hours a day when I could do nothing but write. You think that would be movtivation enough. If only I could get over these breakdowns.

Back...kind of

I'm home from Hawaii and the kids are back in school. Unfortunately, I'm unable to be at home. When I got home from vacation, this is what I came home to:
My kitchen. More of my kitchen. my family room.
Needless to say, things are beyond chaotic. I spend most of my time out of the house. I'm at my husband's office hijacking a space in his conference room with a very slow Internet connection. I'm going to try and catach up with everyoine over the weekend. But things are going to be sporadic.

Quick Update

I thought I would have more downtime than this, but I guess that was a fantasy.

My house is mostly packed up. Today my mother is coming over to help pack up the pantry. I need to empty my fridge and freezer but I can't until my husband moves the spare fridge out into the garage and I can moved the stuff into it. Saturday night is going to be a nightmare, I just know it. At least I can sleep on the plane.

Hubby had another tooth extracted this week. That wasn't too bad except they found a dark spot under his tongue and decided to biopsy it. The dentist does't think it is anything, but he wants to be cautious. However, having surgery under the tongue is pretty painful and husband isn't feeling so hot. He should be okay by Sunday.

I finally found out this week that my kids got into their school. I'm very relieved. I won't know which classes until I get back, but I'm not too concerned. I like all but one of the primary teachers and that teacher doesn't teach either of my kids' grades. Thing is very excited to be going to school.

And because it is August, it means soccer season has begun. Both girls are playing. Thing loves it. Diva, I'm not so sure about. She is quite competitive, so soccer has a different meaning for her.

I was hoping to get around and visit the blogs, but I don't think its going to happen until I get back. Maybe I will have a chance while I'm on vacation. Hope everyone is doing okay. I'll be back first week of September but I'm not sure how soon I'll be back on line.