Late Day Post

Is it really Tuesday? Seems I lost a day somewhere between here and there.

Today I drove Oldest to art camp, and when I got home Hubby had left a message on the home phone for me to call him. I did, and he let me know the other couple who had offered to buy the latest house backed out of the deal. Woot!

Hubby called the owners of the house and made arrangements that they will not accept new offers. They agreed, so we have talked to the bank to see if they will finance the property. So far, so good... However, we still have the title search, appraisal, and survey to get through. Keep your fingers crossed for us. This is my 1st choice house out of four - and it is the only one in Louisiana. If this house falls through, hubby and I will be planning a week long trip to Kansas to view property there.

I spent most of the day entertaining Mini. He has a summer cold, and woke up two nights ago roasting with fever. I gave him baby Tylenol and spent the night rocking him while watching black and white episodes of The Twilight Zone. He's still running a bit of fever here and there, and I'm exhausted from caregiving, but it seems to be mostly out of his system. I can't imagine where he could've picked up anything - no one else in the house seems to be sick.

Today while entertaining him, I broke out the guitar. It's been several months since I've played anything, probably close to a year. But I had a few punk albums scattered about, and was teaching my son the fine melodies of Rancid and Pennywise, when I finally got the idea to play something for him.

I have a stack of amplifiers in one corner of the den, and he's been using them as Hotwheels car ramps since he's been old enough to sit up and play over there. Well, I pulled out one of the smaller amps and hooked it up. He grew interested when he saw the red power light come on, but I knew I had him fully engaged when I adjusted the knobs - oh boy, do toddlers LOVE that sort of thing. Moving parts. Eureka!

Next, of course, I tugged on the strap and plugged in the guitar. The contacts made a squelchy noise, which is normal when plugging in while powered up. Mini jumped a bit, but there was nothing going to pry him away from red lights and knobs. Oh, no no no... I unstrapped the guitar for a second and and picked him up to set him in the recliner so the amp would not be throwing vibes off in his face. I then took a seat in the desk chair, rolled a bit closer to the amp, strapped the guitar on again and played Olympia, WA (Rancid) for him.

Mini. Went. Nuts.

He likes to hop and bop to music on TV. This was music in his living room. In about five seconds flat, Mini was doing a baby boogie/mosh session in front of the TV. Reminds me a bit of myself when I was little, only my dad would play his Beach Boy records for me instead of punk tunes.

After seeing Mini Bear dance, and hearing him talk about the "gee-tar" all evening since, it feels like I've passed on a kind of magical legacy. My dad would be proud. ^_^

The Blue Period

Yesterday Oldest went with my mom to Texas to bring back a truck full of furniture. Poor guy. It turned out to be more work than he thought it would be. The relatives didn't pack the furniture well in the truck, so he and my mom had to pull over twice to keep the highways from being littered with book cases and a sofa.

I spent a semi-quiet day with Mini. Hubby and I viewed a house, which I have no idea how will turn out. The viewing went well until the guy told us what he was asking. Too much. We made our offer, and left it at that. It's likely that one is out for good, since he said he had others interested. Ah, well, the right one will come...

I am going through a blue phase, I think. Furniture wise, I mean. First, I painted the walls in the house a pale, aqua green-blue. Now I've bought an antique aqua hutch. It's the 1940's shade of aqua, which is rather bright. I am pretty sure I will paint this thing once I have it in the new house - where ever that might be - but it is sure a handy thing. It has three long shelves and cabinets beneath. Very sturdy, which is a must in our house since all the males seem to have a TOE CURSE. They basically walk through the house all Fred Flintstone-esque and stub toes on the furniture. If the old hutch was rickety, I'd imagine a few toe curses would end up with the thing overturned...

Tomorrow back to the grind. Hubby and I will continue the search, and mom will continue to decorate my house with me still in it. Ah, the life. ^_^

Happy Sunday!

On the Hunt Again

It never ceases to amaze me, the lengths some people will go to to stir up trouble for others. It's even more mind boggling to see this happen to someone you know is goodhearted, and has always been out to help and share her knowledge with others.

I can't help but wonder, in our small community, do people really feel that secure behind their internet persona that they feel so free to create this kind of bad vibe? Do they honestly think they'll never run into the person they have so much fun gossiping about at a conference? What kind of bullshit sugar coated facade will they show then? Petty, petty, petty...

I have done what I can to comfort a friend today, and it just sickens me to see this sort of thing in action. What's the point? It's not going to help you win that contract, or finish your wip. It's not going to jumpstart your career or slam anyone elses. It reeks of childish, hateful snickering behind hands. I bet if any of these people met her face to face, they'd smile and hug her, "Oh! It's so nice to meet you!" *snort*

I hope anyone that might bear me ill would never, ever be so witless to do that with me. I would not hesitate to tell someone what I think of them in just such a circumstance. Thankfully my friend is a much better woman than I am. She is far more gracious on these matters. I know I could take a lesson from her.

I only hope in the near future, the x3 rule of karma and gossip lands smack on the ASS of some of these people, who in my opinion need to get a hobby if their writing can't keep them busy enough.

On another note, Hubby and I are plotting a suprise trip for the boys. Oldest starts arts camp this weekend, so he will be out of the house. But once he returns we are going to take a trip up to Hot Springs. Woot! We're also considering taking them out the diamond mines to dig for a spell. Mini likes playing in the dirt, and Oldest has been itching to try a little diamond prospecting. It should be fun!

This weekend Hubby and I will take Mini to the watermelon festival if it doesn't rain, and there are a few houses over by the lake we hope to walk through. I'll post pictures if we find anything of interest.

In the meantime, I have been working on my wip. This is by far the most unique story I've ever worked on - these demons. I hope readers will be able to identify with the characters, who are admittedly a little out of the norm. I know my demon character is approachable. I feel most comfortable with him. I may still tweak my heroine's personality a bit. It all remains to be seen.

Onward the weekend! No great plans this way - just driving here and abouts. I have friends (and blog friends) who do fun stuff like karaoke and dancing. It sounds like fun. Maybe hubby and I will have to look up some friends one weekend and go do something radical. (For us at least! *LOL*)

That's it for me today. I'm about to go outside and paint this awesome wicker chair I found at an antique store today. Woot! I've been wanting one of these for a while. It's in fabulous shape, no busted wicker. I just needs a bit of paint and some new cushions. What a fun find! I'll post pics once I've restored it.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Dreams and Numbers

Thing morning, right before waking, I dreamed I was sitting this old consignment shop where I used to go when I was pregnant with Oldest. The shop had been moved up a few blocks and converted into a restaurant. I was sitting in the restaurant watching passing traffic through the window when a stack of letters appeared in front of me.

One letter in particular stood out, so I picked it up. Judging from the envelope, it looked like a wedding invitation. I opened it, and the inner lining of the envelope was gold. I pulled out what looked like printed a postcard, along with a rice paper sheet, and a frosted plastic card. On the printed card it showed me several wedding dresses with check boxes beside them like a survey. The boxes had already been checked, and in fine print, the card read something along the lines of: Congratulations! You're a winner! You participated in our contest to choose the most beautiful wedding dress. Your selections were in this order: 8, 9, and 16.

I flipped the card over to inspect it because I did not remember participating in any contest or taking any survey. The prizes had something to do with a glamour package, and there were instructions that I needed to come by the place of business to pick up my prizes before 4 o'clock. However, it didn't give me a date.

I thought it was a fraud at first, but then I picked up the frosted piece of plastic and realized it had words inscribed on it in a way that you would not see them unless you held the plastic up to the light. In a way, like a submliminal messge. Each of the phrases on the plastic were inspirational, and meant to encourage. I thought about the phrases and tucked everything back into the gold lined envelope.

I hadn't planned to picked up my prizes, but after reading the frosted plastic card, I wondered what if? After a moment, I decided I would accept my prizes whatever they might be. I'd go without any expectations, and that way I wouldn't be disappointed.

At that point, I woke up.

I can refer a lot of that dream to my waking life right now, so I guess it was my own subconscious way of giving myself advice. Live, work, and dream without expectations. You can accomplish more with fewer disappointments.

If nothing else, it's something to think about...

Today is Thursday, and I guess I should do some kind of Thursday 13. Here is my list:

Thirteen letters that spell out what I really, truly, desperately need...

1. A

2. L
3. O
4. N
5. G

6. V
7. A
8. C
9. A
10.T
11.I
12.O
13.N

If in any doubt, reference this post with Tuesday's post... :P

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Lots of Lemons

Around 10 o'clock last night, I walked past the chest freezer in the dining room and noticed a red streak coming out of the drain on the front. The first thought that crossed my mind: Damn it, Mini! The freezer controls are on the front, and there's a big old blinky green light that attracts toddlers like moths to a candleflame.

I checked, and sure enough, someone (gee, I can't imagine who) turned the thermostat to OFF. So, any guess what that red streak is? Try blood from thawed meat running out onto the floor.

Since I didn't know when this might've happened, I moved my laptop off the freezer and cracked it open. Rrraarrrgg!! It smelled like a hacked up corpse in there. Gotta love the funk of spoiled chicken, turkey, and ground beef all rolled into one. Hubby nearly hurled, and Oldest came lumbering out of his room "What's that smell?" Uh, try BLOATED chicken carcass. Again, I reitterate: Damn it, Mini!

Hubby and I closed the lid and shoved the freezer into the laundry room so I could clean up the mess underneath. The drain had poured about a half pint of blood under the freezer where it had dried to the tile. I broke out the mop, lysol, pine oil, and everything else I could think of and started scrubbing. It wasn't hard to clean up, but the smell! I'm not faint of heart, but geez... Since hubby couldn't stomach the stench, I knew right then I'd have to clean the chest freezer out all by myself.

I left the freezer alone until this morning because I didn't have anything to tackle the situation with. So first thing when Mini woke me up, I got ready for a shopping trip. Around 7 o'clock, I had my two cups of coffee, Mini and myself dressed to go. I peeked around the door at Oldest and told him to get up. He grumbled, "Where are we going?" Why, we are going to buy a small computer desk to put my laptop on now that the freezer is in the other room. Oh, and we're going to by a plug adapter for the freezer, disinfecting wipes, sponges, and tons and tons of baking soda.

Oldest and I picked up everything we needed - not without the manadatory three phone calls in the middle of Walmart, however. I don't know why, but everytime I get in a store with Mini yowling in the cart, everyone in the countryside decides to call me. Mom called from my house to find out where we were. Hubby called me twice. I somehow managed to get out of the store by 9. *_*

We got home and first things first - I garbage bagged all the rancid meat. Two whole chickens were in the freezer, and the packages around them had bloated into stinking gas bombs. No kidding. When I picked them up, the pressure on the corners caused the seams to pop a bit, and air came hissing out of the chicken bags like air let out of a freaking balloon. Only the air was like toxic chicken fart, or something. *GAG* We loaded all the stinky meat into the back of the Jeep, and hauled it to the dump. Oldest wheezed and hurped all the way dump. I had the container of disinfecting wipes with us, and he kept opening the container for a wiff of "Fresh scent" as labeled on the side. Lucky for Mini he was silent all the way to the dump, or I might've returned sans 1 busy-fingered child.

When we got back, the fun really began - scrubbing out the freezer. This was left up to me, and I went hands-in. I soaked up all the rancid blood in a towel, tossed it in the wash, then scrubbed the inside and outside with a cocktail of soapy water, de-funk-i-fying cleansers, all topped with baking soda. By the time I came back in the main part of the house, all I could smell was a lingering odor similar to the smell of dead fish. I do believe my sinuses are FRIED.

Oh, but then there was the desk to deal with. The only thing the store had as far as desks went was one of those do-it-yourself kits. I'm pretty good at them when need be, but dang... Mini kept running off with parts until I was screaming for Oldest to come entertain him.

I finally had my house back to normal by eleven-thirty. Lovely way to spend a morning, no? *rabid snarling*

Hubby came home for lunch and brought McD's for everyone. What a man! The last thing I wanted to do was cook for lunch. He stayed long enough to eat, and then he was off to work again. I took Mini for a much needed nap. While he was sleeping, my mom came for a visit, and the day started to look up. We sat around chit chatting, waiting to see if Mini would wake up so she'd have a chance to visit with him. He didn't, but I did get a call from Hubby. He called to tell me that the one house I reaaaaally, really liked (that is actually nearby) had just been taken off the market. Damn. Which pretty much sums up my day.

What can you do, you know? I hung up the phone after talking to hubby and looked at my mom. "Oh, hon, which one?" She asked, then it dawned on her. "Oh, no! The one with the circular kitchen!"

I nodded.

"Are you okay?"

Quick, somebody say something funny before my effing Relacore wears off...

Chasing Dragonflies

It's been a long, but interesting day. Hubby and I actually agreed on a few houses. The kicker? They are both across the country from where we are right now. We are debating this very heavily right now. It would be a big change for us, but the price is so right and the houses are incredible. I didn't realize Louisiana was such an expensive place to live until we started looking outside the state. So, the drama is really starting to unfold now. Will we or won't we consider a house outside of Louisiana... Truth be told, we have no idea from one day to the next what we may do.

Mini went through the "cling on Mimi because I'm bored" mood today. I finally got tired of wagging him (he's a heavy chunk-a-lunk!) and fished the old music keyboard out of oldest's room. We hooked it up in the dining room and set it on the floor. He's been playing some of the scariest music you've ever heard. And every song is apparently a remix of Old McDonald's Farm. E-I-E-I-O. ^_^

I took off writing last night to actually sleep. I had such a stark raving headache by 9:30 last night, the only thing I could think of was closing my eyes. I feel better today, so I'll probably make a night of it again. I'd like to put in another 2k if at all possible.

Speaking of writing! I got my first review in for Dominant Territory. It received four roses from www.mybookcravings.com. Reviewer Pam called it "a keeper". That is absolutely the tops with me when it comes to reviews. *thumbs up*

That's it for me. Another late day post, when I'd rather had had it up in the morning. I'm thinking this may very well become the standard until hubby and I get our ducks in a row. I can't seem to get anything accomplished short of fifty phone calls and listings first thing in the mornings these days. *lol*

I hope you all had a snazzy-rific Monday!

Travelin' Sunday

Today I woke up to find Mini standing an inch from my face. "Miiiimiiiii.... Wake up!" I stayed up writing so late last night, I never felt hubby or Mini climb out of bed. Hubby came into the room, picked up Mini and carried him to the den. He shut the door behind him, and I heard him say, "Let mommy sleep." Bless him.

It was too late though. I tossed and turned for another thirty minutes, but decided it was time to roll out of bed. I glanced at the clock, and it was almost 8am. I came into the den to find Mini and hubby sitting on the couch watching Go, Diego, Go. And there was even a pot of coffee made. I had to glance around. Am I really in the right house?

Hubby suggested we go for a drive. I've been wanting to go to Bonnie and Clyde Trade Days for a while now. It's supposed to take place the third weekend of every month. It's basically a huge outdoor flea market with everything from food, to rusted iron bits, to glasswear and old furniture. It's a really cool place if you're into that sort of thing. I definitely fall into the category of one of those "into that kinda thing" people. ^_^ We asked Oldest - the lump that we could see through his bedroom doorway - if he wanted to go with us or to church with his gram. He was out of the bed in a flash - "Trade days!"

We corralled everyone into hubby's truck, and thirty minutes later we were on our way. As soon as we reached Arcadia (Trade Days central) we realized it probably wasn't open this weekend. There wasn't enough traffic to indicate it. We stopped for a tank of gas, and decided then and there if the flea market wasn't open, we'd just play it by ear. Turns out they held the flea market LAST weekend. We stopped by the Outlet Mall, but it wasn't yet open, so we climbed back into the truck, and after checking on a few properties we'd been considering in that area, we headed on to Ruston.

We stopped by Ryans for breakfast before heading on to Lowes. There we put Mini into one of those carts shaped like a race car and went around looking at the appliances and shower kits before heading out to the garden area. While browsing I found a section of deep red brick edging, and pointed it out to hubbby. When our two little old lady dogs passed away last year, I said I wanted to edge their grave area with that, and top it with white rock. As bizarre as that might sound, I want a pretty resting place for them. We bought the edging and two bags of whiterock for them. I still have to get a bottle of grass killer - which we forgot to buy, and then I'll start landscaping the graves. I suppose it's best to do it now. When mom and dad take over the house, they won't know where the old ladies are, so it's best to mark them. It could very well save my parents any horrible discoveries.

On our way home, we stopped and bought the boys an Icee. While waiting for hubby, I had an epiphany. A writing epiphany. Oh yeah. You know I was packin'. I jotted down a make or break scene in no time, and so I will have that to type up this evening to add to the demons.

Speaking of demons...

This is the fourth rewrite on this story. As I've mentioned a million times before, the demon tale is a proposed story, and part of the deal with the book is it has to have certain elements. The elements aren't noticeable, and I won't mention them, however I have struggled tooth and nail from the beginning to make the whole damn thing work. Then this fourth draft came around. It's completely different from the other story I'd been trying to "force" to work. It's so much different, I had to change the title. Even so, there is more of the proposed elements in this one than I had in any other draft.

I have hated this story until only very recently. I am back in love with this project. Hubby and I were making a Harry Potter run the other day, and I told him a breakdown of the story and he looked over at me. "You're going to waste this story line on an erotic romance?" Okay. Give him a half credit. He loved the story line, and while he is supportive of what I do, he's also one of those guys who rolls his eyes at romance novels. Especially erotic ones.(Although he has never read a romance novel, erotic or otherwise, in his life.)The point is I finally am back to writing with heart. *thumbs up*

My dad just arrived, so I am going to cut my post short. Overall, it's been a good day. I hope it carries over to Monday.

Brightest wishes!

Two of Swords

It's been a busy morning. I didn't want to get out of bed because I stayed up so late last night writing, but Mini managed to convince me it was time for Fruity Pebbles and his favorite shows. I turned on the tv for him, managed to get the coffee on, and then the phone rang. It was mom. We had a long talk, apologized to each other, and are on our normal, friendly terms again.

After that, I began my online rounds. I put up a post at the Midnight Moon Cafe for some very sexy recipes. If that sounds interesting to you, I hope you'll drop by and check it out.

I plan to work a bit more on the demons today, but first I need to get Oldest up to the store to get his copy of the new Harry Potter. I saw the standups for it yesterday when I was browsing the book section. I wonder how many copies will sell in our area. I remember when Order of the Phoenix hit the shelves. I think there was one small dent knocked in the stack. This is a very religious area we live in, and you don't have to go far in town to find those wanting Harry Potter banned, but I wonder if this book will fare better than the others because of all the hype behind it. You know, it being the final book and everything. I personally can't wait to get my hands on it. Muahahahaha!

Today's pic is the two of swords. That's a card that appeared in an actual reading I did for myself this morning. I've actully been drawing this card a lot lately in my personal readings. It represents two choices. The woman needs to act, but can only take up one choice. Fearing she may make the wrong choice, she has blindfolded herself to look within. The moon symbolizes the subconscious knowledge of what she must do.

I think that's a pretty good estimation of what's going on in so many facets of my life right now: writing, house hunting, hubby's work. In almost everything around me. And not all the choices leave for perfect or desireable results, either. I have this urge to just jump in and get things finished, but somehow it just doesn't feel like the "right time" to act. Soon, but not quite yet. That being the case, I think instead of pushing things one way or another, I will just hang back and wait for fate to unfold. Of course, I could be wrong about that. But at the very worst, I will only be delaying what is inevitable.

Well, that's enough waxing cryptic for one day. I have writing to do and errands to run. I hope you have a snazzy Saturday!

This is Friday? RANT WARNING

I love my mom. Really, I do. We're very close, but there are days... oh, there are days....

She dropped by this morning to see the boys, and as usual the conversation turned to the housing situation, our move, her plans for remodeling our current house once we're out of it, and all those lovely topics that are absolutely driving me slapnuts crazy right now.

When the conversation dipped precariously into territory regarding my two elderly dogs and the fact we may not be able to put up two custom yards right away to keep the males separated, things got a little heated.

See, what started out as us getting another house in order to give my parents this one, has turned into us also leaving everything behind for them. Appliances, gas service, you name it. My mom also needs the custom dog yard we have here - which takes up a good quarter of an acre - a yard we spent a jaw dropping amount of money on to keep our dogs clear of the neighbors. Common courtesy, you know? Well, with the new range of houses we're being forced to look at right now, to try and keep everyone happy and in the same damn town, it's looking like hubby and I will end up wiping out our savings completely with this move.

When the parents taking over our house gradually began to get more and more expensive, I finally told mom and dad that if everything but our living and dining furniture must stay here, then ONE of our dogs may have to stay in the custom yard on this property temporarily until we can afford to build separated yards at the new home, wherever that may be.

Granted, I know it's a big deal leaving your dog with someone to care for even temporarily, and I do not want anyone else caring for my dogs any better than I'd want someone else caring for my kids, but shit, we've been bending over backwards to make this work for them, while not killing ourselves financially or mentally. Anyway, first thing after Mom arrived this morning, she brought up the dog staying in the fence. Right away, I could hear it in her voice, the wheedling. I could see where the conversation was headed. In a nutshell : I don't want your dog to stay here.

My parents have elderly dogs of their own, and I can see their reservation about taking on another dog. However, given the situation, and given the mood she caught me in this morning while I was trying to wrangle two kids into something clean and out the door for our errand run, I had to say: Mom, I realize that you don't wish to be incovenienced at all with these upcoming moves, and I'm not trying to be a bitch about it, but hubby and I are going to need your and dad's cooperation on some level to make this whole thing work.

And thus the shit bomb fell...

My mom is not a weak woman in any way. She's always had a granite hide, a warrior's spirit, and a lashing Texas tongue on her. When my mother crumpled up and began to pout on me about this much in the same way Oldest pouts on me when I tell him I won't buy him more Yu-gi-oh! cards, I cannot even begin to express my shock. If I'd have pulled that pitiful routine on her, she'd have flat out told me to suck it up. Instead, I stood in the face of a full 20 minute rant because she might potentially have to go to the trouble of dropping down a dish of kibble to my dog for a few weeks. It's not like she has to babysit him. The dog stays in the laundry room, has an exit so he can put himself outside, and doesn't even come in the main part of the house.

While, I'm listening to all this, I feel my own Irish temper kindling. When finally she finished chewing my ass about this, I told her calmly: Fine. I don't want to leave him behind anyway. When we move, you and dad pay to have Laundry Room Dog's corral built, and we'll take him with us.

I mean, otherwise, what other option do we have? My mom said nothing, just glared at me, and looked like she would cry at any given moment. Finally she declared she had things to do and left.

I have to say, I was relieved. Oldest, who witnessed all this while he was eating his Fruity Pebbles, looked at me in horror once she'd gone. "What alien took over gram's body?" I honestly do not know, but searching out houses in distant towns is starting to look better and better every day.

Writing things...

On a brighter note, all is well on the writing front. Things are heating up with the demons. I did retitle that particular wip considering the new direction the story has taken. After the changes I made, the old title just didn't work with it anymore. I also cut out a scene I'd been hanging on to because it I loved the flow of it, and I set it into a file for later use. I had to. It no longer suits the story as is. Geez, I hate letting chapters like that go, but I can't let the story suffer to keep in one well loved chapter.

Tonight I plan to take over the couch and write until the wee hours of the morning. I've already put in about 300 words today. I'm hoping to take that up by another 2000 before dawn. I aim to have this baby finished by the first week in August.

That's it for me this week. Maybe by Monday I can get my blog and posting back on track. At any rate, I hope you all have a snazzy Friday, and an even better weekend!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I'd do with a million dollars... if it's possible to stretch the money that far.

1.) First things first, I'd pay off every bill I have. Every single one!

2.) Next, I'd hand hubby whatever amount he needed for that custom Vespa he's been itching to buy. (It will give him something to do while I'm shopping! Muahahahaha!)

3.) I'd buy a nice house for the parental units.

4.) Buy a comfortable house on the lake for myself and the family.

5.) Book a very long, all inclusive cruise.

6.) Buy new luggage.

7.) Book a day at the salon.

8.) Hm... Dad always wanted a Harley.

9.) Italian lessons sounds like fun.

10.) The rest of the money...

11.) ...if any is left...

12.) I'd probably donate to...

13.) ...the ASPCA and North Shore Animal League.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Happy Thursday, everyone! ^_^

You call that waterfront?

Hubby and I browsed an ungodly amount of house listings today, and we found a cute little red brick ranch style house with double carport, 4 br., and on waterfront property. Sounds good right? We began flipping through the portfolio on this house and we're like - where's the money shot? We wanna see some water!

We get to the second sheet of photos and there is the waterfront. About a 10 feet stretch of pond scum with lily pads floating on what looks like an open sewage pit in the back yard. Uh...right.

That's what you call a "creative marketing" real estate listing, in my book. What do you say?

At least the demons are on track. I added another 1200words today. Woot! More of that tomorrow I hope.

As for today's pic - I absolutely love it. That cat kills me! *lol* Does he look seriously pissed off or what? ^_^

Happy hump day, everyone!

Lunch Break

I'm behind on my blogging rounds, and I apologize for that. Especially to those who I regularly visit and read. If it's not the persistent rain meddling with my connection, it's house hunting, or writing.

I have been working my tail off for the past few days. I've been working on two wips at once, hitting up one story when the other seems to slow. Both of them have to be finished by the end of the summer. I want them both to be the best they can be, but it's not easy to find those little hidden moments throughout the day to sneak in a fifteen minute writing jag. On the upside, both stories are progressing nicely, even though it's not typically my way to write - two at once. I'd much rather focus on one at a time, but some writing is better than no writing so I'm not going to complain.

Hubby and I have expanded the house search to another area. I swore I'd never move back to my old home town, but we found a house for sale there that may make me reconsider that. From the pics I've seen, it has an awesome kitchen and living space, and has an deck that's to die for. I'd really like to take a stroll through the place. It's only 3 bedrooms, but it's 5k square feet so I'm sure we could either section off one of the dens, or take the office area and convert it into a bedroom if we actually ended up with a place like that. I would be at no loss to do something that kind of simple remodeling - I have an office here that I never use. I always write in the den, bedroom, or dining room.

Am I the only person that does that? Writes everywhere BUT the office?

There is also another house in my old home town we've considered requesting for a walk through. It's closer to 3k square feet, but it has five bedrooms. I am curious to know how small the bedrooms are, because really, that's a key feature for us. We need three bedrooms at least - one for us, one for each of the boys. But I also like having a room for my books, dolls, art supplies, yarn and all that. (What we actually call the home office...)With that additional fifth bedroom, we could have a nursery on standby, and not have to worry about rearranging or remodeling when and if the stork visits again. So that's a big plus for that house.

It's a lot to think about, and my brain is very, very tired. This house hunt has been going strong for longer than we'd hoped. My parents have until the end of the year to move out (allegedly - I've seen no proof of this and wouldn't be shocked if they received a MOVE NOW notice any day) but I'd hoped to have everything settled by late August, or early September. It doesn't look like that's going to happen, though. Ho hum. I really didn't want to have to move Oldest once the school year starts.

Well, I should really get back to work. No work, means I can't take time out to play later. LOL!

I hope you all have a snazzy Tuesday. :)

Need More Sleep

I'm still recovering from the weekend...which totally rocked! Friday I stayed in the Jeep with the kids most of the day, then had to get right back in and run more errands Saturday. Hubby was off this past weekend, so we zipped over to BigCityVille and went to Books a Million and Toys R Us.

I got home Saturday evening in time for the Midnight Moon Cafe Tarot and Hydromancy chat. It started around 7pm central and was kind of slow at the start, only a few people that first hour, but after that the party was on! The Moon Maids and I left the chat open ended because we didn't know how long our readings might take... We ended up doing readings for just about everyone who popped in (Cass did most of them, bless her!) and the chat ran until after midnight. I'd say that's a fairly successful chat, lol. It was tons of fun, everyone went away pleased with their readings. And that says nothing for the book, and tarot deck giveaways. It was a really good time, Saturday night. We're already talking plans for another tarot/hydromancy chat around October.

I have prizes to mail off today, but once I'm home, I have writing to do. I managed only sporadic writing jags over the weekend. We spent most of our time house hunting, and chasing the kids around.

Hopefully Monday will be as pleasant as the weekend was. One can wish, anyway. ^_^

Fun-tastic Friday

It's not going so good on the housing front. The owners of "the house" are wanting more money. Hubby and I said emphatically NO because they listed the house as having working C/AC, but when we checked it out, the AC has compressor issues.

My mom went through that years ago, and once the units start leaking, you can pretty much count it they have to be replaced. My parents spent hundreds trying to save their old unit, but in the end it went kaput. This unit is far older, and looks in worse shape. According to a friend of the family, an upgrade to a unit the size of what SHOULD be in the house, along with any duct work/ replacements, and labor would run around 3k. There's no way we're going to cover that, plus add to our bid, when the listing says the effing AC works. This is Louisiana, yo. It gets hot down here in the summers. Air conditioning is a must. So, we told them our offer stands, and in the meantime whilst they argue amongst themselves, we'll just keep browsing.

Last night we had more thunderstorms, and right as the rain started, hubby ran outside to check the car windows. He came in with one of the elephant ears off our bushes out front. Remember I said they were small this year? This one seems to have picked up the pace a bit. I told hubby it was a shame he picked it. At any rate, Mini thought the thing was FANTASTIC. He went nutty over the leaf. "Leaf, leaf, leaf!" Today's pic is of him making a bed out of it in the dining room floor. Around the time hubby reached for the cellphone to take a pic of him, Mini discovered he has something on his foot. "Ew, foot! Mimi, fix it!"

Of course, give daddy the cuteness. Let me wipe the mashed spaghetti-o (or whatever the heck it is) off your foot. ^_^

Saturday night at 7pm CST/8pm EST, Cassandra Curtis, Tempest Knight, and I will be having a Tarot and Hydromancy chat at the MMC chat room. This chat is a part of our ongoing one year anniversary bash that we've been (and will continue) celebrating all month long. We'll be doing a few readings, and offering a few books for giveaways. It's going to be a lot of fun. If you have the time, we'd love for you to drop in and chat with us. :)

At any rate, I hope your weekend is a fun one. I'm planning to catch up on my writing and take full advantage of my freshly mowed yard.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thursday 13

Thirteen Things I'd put into a personal time capsule...

1. Pics of my parents, hubby, and kids.
2. Disks containing all my ebooks.
3. My current laptop.
4. My brown and cream "Kurt Cobain" sweater. I still wear that sad thing in the winter, and really, I shouldn't.
5. My 8 eye doc martens. A classic!
6. My first ever cabbage patch doll.
7. All my Carebear T shirts - one day it'll be vintage. lol
8. My Magic 8 ball - which has lots of dents and dings.
9. My Betsey Johnson winged heart necklace...
10. and the Love Sucks belt buckle, which sorta matches.
11. A burnt CD of all my favorite songs.
12. A print copy of Carnal Desires by Celeste Anwar
13. A note to myself, reminding me that things are just things, and the journey through the years is more important than the destination.

Happy T13, everyone!

10 pm Post

We viewed "the house" today. Today's pic is of the sunroom and further back - the den, which flows into the kitchen/dining area. Hubby took the pic with his cellphone cam. The black square at the end of the bar is where I paintshopped the realtor out of the image. *lol* I didn't want to post a pic of her without having her permission - bad karma and all that...

The house itself is dirty and needs work: paint, flooring, new central air system, probably some electrical tweaking, etc. But it has no structural problems, and we can't beat it for the price. The house is 4bd/2bath, 3,000 sq. feet with double carport and attached brick laundry house. There is a front and back patio, sliding glass doors to the outside (as seen in the Sunroom there). There are 2 linen closets, 1 hall/coat closet, and a gas fireplace and built in hutch in the den. Outside there's a covered breeze way, and the whole thing sits on three acres with mature fruit trees.

It's nothing fancy: a brick ranch style, but it's perfect for a growing family. We're hoping to know whether the seller is interested in our offer sometime on Thursday. *fingers crossed* I asked the realtor what our chances were since there is another offer on the house, and she seemed to think it will go in our favor. We will see. You never really can tell about these things. But if it doesn't work out, we will just keep looking. What else can we do?

It's been a long day. When I got back from viewing the house, I planned to lounge with the kids a bit (my mom came over to watch Mini and Oldest while hubby and I took care of business), but Mini instantly wanted to hit the sack for a nap. I took him to bed and fell sound asleep. I guess I needed the rest. ^_^ I intended to do some writing in the afternoon, but ended up taking both boys on a late day grocery shopping excursion when Mini finally woke. Now I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. :P

I don't think I will attempt to write much tonight. It's okay though. I think I can afford one evening to sleep. LOL! I'll do my best to make up for it in the morning.

In the meantime, I'm out... Oh! Before I go, don't forget to visit the Midnight Moon Cafe for all the fun and games this week. Tomorrow the talented Naomi Bellis has an interview up - that alone is worth a visit, hands down!

Also, there will be an MMC chat in our personal chatroom this Saturday night. We're going to be giving away books, and doing tarot and hydromancy readings. It's going to be lots of fun. We hope to see you there!

Pleasant dreams!

8 pm Post

It's been a long, trying day. Hubby and I spent most of it wrangling the realtor over the house we're making a bid for. Where the hell are the realtors hiding out anyway? Why is it you can never reach them until you leave them a message that you're about to find a new realtor?

I did have a fantabulous chat today with my moon sisters Tempest Knight and Cassandra Curtis, though. That put me in good spirits. We've been cooking up some fun new things for the Midnight Moon Cafe celebration this month. Speaking of which, this week there'll be a Midnight Brew featuring Naomi Bellis, and we'll also be giving away more fun prizes. Tomorrow we're doing the drawings for a free box of SOHO chocolates, and a Picasso scarf. Then later in the week, (Saturday the 14th) there will be a tarot chat in the MMC chat room. We'll be giving away free tarot and hydromancy readings, as well as a few books. A free copy of Dominant Territory will be among the prizes. It's going to be lots of fun. ^_^

Fun things aside, tomorrow hubby and I are scheduled for more wrangling with the realtor. They keep dragging this shit on, not giving us a straight answer. Today hubby finally reached realtor #2 in her office, and we are supposed to have our walk through at 11am tomorrow. We'll see. This will be the second time we've had a near miss if they don't show. At which point, I think we'll have to look elsewhere. Whoever moves and where ever we go, we need to be settled in by the end of August at the latest.

Writing things...

The demons are progressing nicely. I wrote 800 words last night, and was too tired to keep going. I finally see the end in site. This script will definitely be my final. I'm sure my publisher will be glad - if they still want the darn thing since they've had to wait so long!

Today's pic was taken in our front yard last night. I thought it was around 7 or 8 only to look up at the clock and realize it's 9pm. Wow! 9pm and still daylight out? I had to go take a pic of that.

That's my Tuesday and I'm sticking to it. I hope your day was a good one!

Waiting For News

I'm waiting for a call from Hubby this morning. We're making an offer on yet another house today. He's going to call me sometime early on and if necessary, I'll go put down a retaining fee on the property. If we were to get this place, it would mean that we would be moving, and we'd be giving our current house to my parents. So, two moves instead of one. I'm a bit nervy, but I think if it goes through I'll be okay with it. When it's time to move on, it's time to move on...

I colored my hair yesterday. I had to do something about that gray hair. It was driving me nuts to look at it. So, I went and bought a box of L'oreal Natural Match 7W - Dark Natural Blonde. I'm usually pretty skeptical about anything claiming "completely natural results" but hands down this is the BEST haircolor I've ever bought. I would've settled for anything, really, as long as it didn't turn out green, or too light at the roots. But it really is a perfect match. You can't tell I've colored my hair at all, and that @$%&! single gray hair has been colorized to boot. Mauahahahahaha!!! My hair does have a residual chemical smell though... I'm gonna slather some Pantene ProV on it later and hope the scent soaks in.

Oh! A bit of good news... I found out yesterday that Dominant Territory had debuted at #4 on Cobblestone's Best Seller list for June. Woot! Thanks to everyone who helped push me into that spot. I appreciate your support!

As for other writing things, the 1 year blog anniversary celebration is still going on over at the Midnight Moon Cafe. Lots of good stuff is going on over there, so be sure to drop by and partake in all the festivities. You could win some really cool prizes.

I gotta say... I'm really proud of the MMC and the ladies who devote so much of their time to the Cafe: Tempest Knight and Cassandra Curtis. They really pull out all the stops, and their work on the Midnight Brews is top notch. Gotta love my Moon Sisters. ^_^

I'm out for today, I think. I have writing to do. I hope you all have a snazzy Monday!

Sleepy Sunday

Yesterday went by in kind of a blurr. Hubby came in and took both boys to see Transformers the movie. I knew that probably wouldn't work, since Mini can't keep quiet to save his life.

They came in and told me that about midway through the movie, Mini popped his head up and said, "Where'd Mimi go?" And then he started freaking out, looking for his mommy. Yep. You guessed it. The movie was pretty much over at that point.

They stayed through the rest of it so Oldest could finish watching it. But I understand that hubby had to pace outside the theater with Mini in his arms from that point on. Poor hubby...

While the guys battled Saturday evening movie traffic, I stayed home, watched The Last Unicorn and worked on my wip. I got in five pages yesterday, so the time home alone worked it's magic. Woot! *chicken dance*

Now for a last grab for fun this weekend, I'm running a contest over at the Midnight Moon Cafe. So if you'd like to walk away with a free box of exotic flavor chocolates, pay me a visit there. The contest is super simple (just name your favorite flavor or brand of chocolate in an email). The full rules are posted at the Cafe, and the contest itself runs through Tuesday, July 10.

That's it for me today. I'm about to go hunt for my shoes, and take a trip to the store. We need grindage... Happy Sunday, everyone!

Saturday BlogThings

You Are Grape

You are bold and a true individual. You are very different and very okay with that. People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts. You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you. People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person.

What Color Purple Are You?

Your Life Path Number is 4

Your purpose in life is to build your vision. You are practical and responsible. You work hard, knowing that there are no shortcuts in life. You work for a better life for yourself and those you love, but you are not an idealist. Trustworthy and honest, you also demonstrate great courage. People can count on you. In love, you are a loyal and committed partner. You are the ideal spouse. You don't give up easily, and sometimes you can be too stubborn and unwilling to change. You also can be too conservative at times. You sometime miss out on good opportunities. Also remember that not everyone can work as hard as you, as disappointing as that is!

What Is Your Life Path Number?

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring. You would be forced to break up with someone who was insecure and in constant need of reassurance. Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it. In this moment, you think of love as something you can get or discard anytime. You're feeling self centered.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Happy Saturday, everyone! ^_^

I Want Doughnuts

Grrawwr! I want doughnuts NOW. That pink one on the bottom is asking for it, I swear. Even if it is sans sprinkles. You know the sad thing about all this? I've been doing so well. I'm down five pounds, and I haven't craved anything for over a week. Then stress hits, and brings a full blown case of pms with it. :/

We have been waiting to hear about the house. We presented everything to the bank, made our offer, we even have the bloody downpayment... and they have not been returning our calls. We know the guy who is working our case is there, but with Hubby's job, he can't get away to go over there and speak to him personally. At least until today. He's planning a suprise visit on that banker. I mean really, just tell us: are you going to finance the house or not? Yes or no is fine, because if you don't think it's worth the asking price, say so. Don't you think we'd want to skip a bad investment? Do you think we'll not survive the shock, and will never look for another house again? What's the deal?

The banker said to call him the day after we filled out our paperwork. We did. Repeatedly. No one ever is there or returns the call. I called mom this morning and told her I don't think this is a good sign. But I'm not so much worried about not getting this property, as I am annoyed that we could be looking elsewhere while waiting for this man to decide to give us the loan. Houses get snapped up quickly here, so you have to be ready when they come available. I realize the house we're looking into is an older one, and we knew from the start the bank might not like the idea of financing it. We've already got a backup house in mind if that one falls through. But geeeezzzzz....

So today is banker wrangling day. And errand day. One way or another we hope to have an answer about the house. If not, we'll probably begin asking about our second choice. The thing is, it's bigger than the other place, and more expensive. We won't be able to move my parents into it because of insurance costs, which means we'd have to move there and give them our house. A double move. I hate to admit it, but I'd already gotten use to the idea we'd be avoiding that.

On another note...

The rainy weather is lingering. The guys are going to see the Transformers this weekend while I do a bit of writing, which works for me because I don't care to get out much in the rain. Too, I want to catch up a bit. It's been busy this week, and I think it's catching up with me. I didn't stay up quite so late last night working. I want to make up for that if I can.

At any rate, today is Friday, and I'm dancing in my sneakers for that. I'm sooo ready for the weekend. Maybe I'll get to sleep late tomorrow morning. That would be awesome...

I'm outta here. The rain has ceased, and I'm gonna make a break for it. Hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Can't Stop The Rain

No Thursday 13 for me today. Ho hum. I just haven't had the time. First thing this morning I had to get the kids dressed and make a run to the city and take care of some errands. That took up most the morning, and by the time we got back, Mini was ready for his nap. Of course it rained all the while we were out, and didn't fizzle out until after we made it home.

I half wonder if the local hospital flooded again, what with all this bad weather. The fire deparment had to pump the water out of the first floor just a few weeks ago, and since then we've only had more rain. It's been falling almost every day of the past two weeks. Aside from what you'd expect... soggy yard, kids tracking mud in the house, it's playing heck on my connection speed as well. Hubby's on highspeed sattelite connection at work, and even with that there are days he has connection trouble.

This has truly been one of the wettest June/July's I can remember. Usually summers are hot and dry here. Well, there's the humidity of course, but the rain usually peaks out around April or May.

On a brigher note, I got a new Kid in today. Miss Summer Ivy. I ordered her straight from the .com. She was just too cute to pass up. It's hard to tell by her pic, but her eyes are very, very green and she's beautifully blushed. I also had the BLGH staff add a chin dimple to her. She is absolutely stunning. The pics I took just don't do her justice. After seeing her, I wish I'd been able to get her twin brother, too, but someone adopted him before I could snap him up.

On to writing things...

Writing is going well. No stalls lately. *knock on wood* I took the laptop into the living room last night after everyone went to bed and wrote 1400 words straight up. I tried to push it further, but after that I was spent. I closed up the laptop, grabbed out my notepad and scrawled out a few things, mostly plotting the direction of the story a little more. Overall, I can't ask for a better writing session than last night. *thumbs up* Let's hope the streak lasts.

Geez, I just got to thinking... Is it really Thursday? It doesn't even feel much like it to me. Somewhere I must've missed a day this week. Oh, right. The 4th. Holidays taking a bite out of things... At any rate, I'm thrilled tomorrow's Friday. Seems like it shouldn't be, but I'm not going to knock it! If all goes well, I'll be making a trip to the bookstore this weekend. There are a few new titles out I'm wanting to pick up.

That's it for me today. I have to do a laundry transfer (washer to dryer), and look around for my shoes. (Darn gnomes!) Hope your day is a bright one. :-)

Pics from the yard

Happy Independence Day!

We've called off our BBQ because of rain, but that won't stop us from celebrating tonight. We'll have fried chicken, macaroni, baked beans, watermelon and salad. Good stuff, even if the meat wasn't cooked in the yard.

I did a bit of writing last night, but didn't get as much done as usual. Only a few hundred words. Ho hum. It just wasn't happening for me. I think I was just too tired to concentrate. I've been staying up super late these days, and when I do finally feel tired enough to get to bed, I have insomnia. I end up getting out of bed again and laying about on the couch until the early hours of morning.

Anyway, I started up on the wip again when I got up, and I've put in a few hours writing time, but it's sooo hard to commit on a holiday...


This morning when I let the dog out, I realized how pretty and green the yard looked. We've gotten so much rain lately the ground can't seem to soak it all up. The grass looks like it's about to need another trim as well, and there are mushrooms popping up all over the yard.

It's still very pretty out, so I grabbed up the digi cam shortly after I talked to hubby on the phone this morning, and did a walk around outside. I noticed our crepe myrtles are LOADED with blooms this year. And my fig tree (precious...) has started producing too, even though it's still quite short and there are only maybe two fig buds on there.

No pics of the fig tree (I didn't think about that until now) but I did get some of the palm and crepes. Oh, and the elephant ears.... Just three years ago, they were taller than hubby. This year, they stayed very low all summer. I thought for a while they weren't going to come up at all, and wondered if the wild rabbits that are always sitting around in our side yard had gotten to the bulbs. (Not sure if they eat bulbs, but hey, it crossed my mind.) But then suddenly after all this rain began pooling up in the area, they began to grow.

They're not as tall as they've been in the past, but they are still pretty. That's them in the very top picture, next to the side of the house. The ones around back are a smidge taller, but who's measuring. ^_~

That's it for me today. I think Mini is getting ready for a nap. He's in my lap and singing an ode to ketchup, (I don't get it, but it makes since to him) so it's either that, or he's hungry.

Hope you all have a wonderful day, and if you're celebrating... Happy July 4th! :-)

Snazzy News Tuesday

Break out your checkbook, vampire fans! Dracula's Castle in Transylvania is up for sale!

Archduke Dominic Habsburg of the former Romanian royal family has agreed to sell the castle to the right person, under the right circumstances.

The place is expected to fetch over a 100 million. Vlad Tepes, who was (as everyone knows)the inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula, spent only one night in the castle, but there is significant history tied to the house since it's beginnings, when it was built in the 14th century as a fortress to protect against the invading Ottoman Turks.

Sigh. Where's the money tree when you need it?

Nope, I can't top that bit of news. However... I'm gonna tell my piece anyway. :P

When hubby went to Shreveport a few days ago, he stopped at a roadside grill and won a significant amount (okay, significant to us) of cash at a video poker machine. We're not really gambling folks; this is Louisiana, and we've never even been to the casino boats. So when something like that happens, it's pretty cool. Our bills are well in check, so I told him to find himself something fun to spend his money on. He did: he bought the iPods (which have since gone back to the store. (A very long story with too many tech glitches for me to recount!)

I didn't think anything more about it until yesterday. Hubby came in and started asking me about how you order from BLGH . Okay, hubby's asking me about dolls, so of course I got suspicious. I told him you pick out a 'Kid and call the number. He nodded, then reached in his pocket and handed over enough for an adoption fee. *_*

I asked him three or four times if he was absolutively, posilutely sure, and he assured me he's found what he wants and he's covered for it. So now I get to be naughty and order a new doll. *evil squee*

My mom hears this news and sighs, "Dolls... When are you going to grow out of that?"

NEVER!

I might grow old, but I'll never grow up. One day I'll join the ranks of other crazy tracksuit grannies with blue hair that spend half the time spoiling their grandchildren - and spend the other half by going on cruises, playing cards, and drinking mint juleps all day. Yep, I can see that in my future. Doll collection and all...

Happy Tuesday, everyone! ^_^

Birthdays, Lives, and Dreams

I'm late posting today! Before I say anything else... super mega HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the gracious and talented Tempest Knight! I wish you light, love, and laughter, my friend. :)

Early this morning, around 3 AM, Mini woke up crying. He dove on me, so there I am with a toddler pretty much on my head, and he's got a death grip on my shirt. I finally managed to sit up with him, and he started muttering something about me missing and a truck picture that wasn't colored. Poor thing! I picked him up and rocked him, but after his dream there was no going back to sleep for him. I'd come to bed around 1 AM (I'd been up writing), and he never went back to bed, so I've pretty zombie-fied all day. Thank. The. Gods. For. Coffee.

I had errands to run earlier, so Mini and I piled up in the Jeep and went on a run. Oldest is in a typical teenage angsty mood - and I warn him my ansty lack of sleep mood is probably far more fatal than his - so I left him home to brood over his corn Pops. The little bear and I went first thing to take care of a bill, and I get a phone call while I'm in line - it's hubby! He's in town, too, so we arrange to meet at the hardware store just to steal a few minutes time together - the three of us. That was pretty romantic of hubby. Mini seemed more interested in his bag of chips, but at least I thought so. :)

When we got home, I got in touch with a few friends. It seems the stork is very busy visiting homes in the US south these days, so for those who didn't know - be aware. LOL! Three friends are currently pregnant, and I'm very happy for them. :) (Just for my own notes: so far, team blue is winning. Boys 2/ Girls 0. Soon as B. gets her utrasounds, we'll know if at least one little lady will come from the crop. I hope there's at least one - someone to keep those little boys in line. ^_^)

I spent the rest of the day writing on and off. I added another 1-2k to my wip and so I feel like I accomplished something. Whew! It's been a long, busy day. I'm glad it's finally winding down.

Sunday Daydreamin'

I stayed up til the wee hours of the morning watching cheesy horror movies. I can't remember the last time I did that, but I gladly sat through Big Bad Wolf (yes, that is the real title), and Unrest - which is uber creepy. I highly recommend that one if you haven't seen it. I wanted to stay up and watch Gravedancers, which I've started watching on three separate occasions, but just can't seem to get all the way through.

I hit the sack around 2 AM - I couldn't hang any longer - and got up again with Mini around 6. Hubby had already gotten up and started his day by the time we got up, so it wasn't long before he dressed Mini in his day clothes and took him out for some daddy/son time.

While they went shopping, visiting relatives and all that jazz, Oldest attended church with his grandparents. So... I had the house ALL TO MYSELF. I felt like doing that whole Tom Cruise move from Risky Business, I swear. Instead, I broke out the laptop, found a comfy spot on the couch with my wip prints and a cup of coffee, and wrote about 3k words, give or take, on the demons. That was awesome. Totally, completely rockin'.

I spent all my creative impulses, then called hubby. By that time, he and Mini were on their way back home. So that all worked out very well. The minute they were in the door, Mini was put to bed. He'd fallen asleep on the ride home. So there was a little extended peace time there. ^_^

Tomorrow, back to the grind. I've got a few errands to run, the typical chores, and writing to do. Oh, and there is the big bash going on over at the Midnight Moon Cafe. It started today, and it's going to last all month - it's to celebrate the blog's 1 year anniversary. There will be all kinds of fun stuff and giveaways, so if you like paranormal romance stuff you might want to drop by and join the celebration. You could walk away with some really neat goodies.

That's it for me. Mini is telling me is "baff time". I didn't realize it was so late. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. And if your going out of town to celebrate the fourth - Happy Independence Day!