She's ba-ack!

I know it's been, like, forever, ya know? 

(Okay, okay...no more channeling my inner Valley Girl)

I keep meaning to post and then I get side-tracked and I just never get here.  I have, however, made lots of little lists of things I want to write about and share and I'll get to them, I promise.

First, Lent.

It began last Wednesday, February 13th.  Yes, the day before Valentine's Day.  So, no, I have not had any Valentine chocolates.  And I won't until Easter.

Like years past, I've given up all junk food and all computer games.  Well, almost all.  Wine is not junk food.  Beer is.  Don't ask me why I think that way.  Maybe it's the carbonation?  And Words With Friends is, technically, both a computer game and a phone game, plus it's interactive, so I'm still playing it.  On my phone. 

The junk food has been relatively easy.  Every now and then I want something crunchy, but it's not in the house, so I have to make do.  I don't usually have chips in the house anyway, except the occasional bag of plain corn chips, so it hasn't been too challenging.  Same goes for candy.  I've had moments, like the Valentine party last week, where it might have been nice to pop a few M&Ms in my mouth, but then I got busy leading the activity and the feeling passed.

Computer games, however, are a completely different animal.  I have discovered that I have virtually NO self-control with them.  Zero.

There is a school of thought, backed by folks way more educated in said matters than I, that says that Sundays are like mini-Easters and, therefore, one can indulge on Sundays during Lent.  This is backed up by the way Lent is figured.  It's the 40 days before Easter, not counting Sundays. 

Now, I should know better.  I really should know myself a bit better by now, but I "allowed" myself to play some computer games on Sunday.  And I played and played and played.  I planted and harvested my virtual crops on FarmVille, and I fired off all those little bubbles on Bubble Safari.  I even cleared a few levels!  I worried that my friends would surpass me in FarmVille, getting to the next levels way ahead of me. 

And the next thing I knew, two hours had passed.  My back ached from sitting in the chair.  My foot was asleep, and there were two dirty bowls and a glass next to my laptop, since I couldn't be bothered to eat anywhere else. 

To add insult to injury, then I had to go through withdrawal again yesterday!  I got up and I automatically went to my games on Facebook.  Whoops! 

This, friends, is why I do this in the first place.  I really need these few weeks to reset myself as Spring approaches.  And this year, I think I need it more than ever.  The seasonal depression has been worse than ever, leaving me struggling to get out of bed and do even the most basic of care-taking.  I eat crap and play games all day in my PJ pants, finally getting dressed just before it's time to get the kids from school.  Obviously, this isn't good for anyone.  I hate it, but lack the will and motivation to do anything about it.  That's depression for you, in it's purest, most insidious form. 

Lent, in spite of it's deprivation and seriousness, is a sign that winter WILL lose it's grip on us eventually.  Spring WILL come.  And changing a few things in my life as I wait so impatiently for that renewal helps give me a jolt, a startle perhaps.  I have to find things to do to entertain myself.  Sure, I could wind up on the couch watching TV for hours, but that gets old after a day or two and I move on to something more productive.

Last week, between Wednesday and Friday, I read two books!  Granted, they were young adult fiction (Peter and the Starcatchers series), but I read instead of playing mindless games.  So far, there's no weight loss to show for the 'no junk' thing, but that's okay.  I did discover that my clothes do, in fact, weigh 2 pounds.  LOL! 

Now I'm back on the program, working to resist clicking that Bubble Safari link (I LOVE THAT GAME!) and I'm back to blogging.  Yay me!

So Nervous!

This fall, I got really brave and applied to be a reporter for a small local monthly newspaper.  Bruce actually saw the article that said they were looking for writers and left it for me on my computer.  I hemmed and hawed around about it, then took the plunge and applied.  I had to create a resume, something I haven't done in at least 10 years (probably closer to 15), plus submit writing samples.

I nearly fell over when I got an interview.  She likes me!  She really likes me!  LOL! 

And then I got the job!  I was astounded.  That sounds ridiculous, I suppose.  I like to write and I think I'm good at it, but the idea that other people want to read what I write is still new to me. 

Today I submitted my first two stories.  And I'm sooooo nervous about them.  It's all those self-doubts creeping in.  What if I'm terrible?  What if she doesn't like it?  What will I do when I see all that red ink splashed across my computer screen?  Gah!!! 

I'm sure I made some mistakes.  I've already learned a lot.  Talking to people was fun.  One story is about the busiest fire station in the county system.  While I was at the station interviewing the battalion chief, they got an ambulance call, and they invited me to go along!  That was absolutely fascinating! 

But will she like what I wrote????? 

Tristan's Yard Sale

I think I posted that Tristan has an opportunity to go to Europe next summer with the Utah Ambassadors of Music program.  He'll visit seven countries in 16 days, and play in the band in several cites, plus listen to the choir sing in some of the most beautiful cathedrals on the continent.  It's an amazing chance for him and we're so thrilled to be able to send Tristan.

But, as you can imagine, it's not cheap.  So we're brainstorming ways to make the money we need.  Our first idea was to hold a benefit yard sale.  I should say it was my idea.  The boys (the one I birthed and the one I married) had their doubts.  We papered the neighborhood with flyers asking people to donate items to us.  Bruce and Tristan didn't think people would give us their junk, uh, I mean, gently used household items.  Boy were they wrong!

The two-car garage was FULL, all the way to the garage door opener.  By the day of the sale, it had spilled over into the house.  We borrowed clothing racks from the church basement and filled them with the clothes--4 full racks.  There were shoes, furniture, household items (2 KitchenAid Mixers), books, movies, and more.  It was amazing! 

Tristan and I spent a full week going through everything, pricing it, sorting it and such.  Some people's idea of what it "useful" or "gently used" were interesting, so we sorted through it all and filled several trash bins/recycling containers.  We had to borrow from the vacant house next door!  (Though, really, that was perfect since much of what went in those bins had come from the previous owners of that house!). 

We held the sale over two days and made nearly $1200.  Over the two weeks after that, we sold items on a local website and made another $150 or so.  We've still got a number of children's items that we'll be selling at the Consignment Sale.  What doesn't sell there will be donated. 

We are thrilled with the progress.  So far, we've got Tristan to New York!  LOL!  There's a lot more to go, but we're well on our way and that's exciting. 

The Wedding Coordinator From Hades

As some of you know, we were honored to host our neighbor's wedding reception in our back yard.  She asked us when they got engaged and we were thrilled to say yes.  Little did we know what we were getting into......

The neighbors hired a wedding coordinator.  Now, I know this is a profession that serves many people quite happily, but for smaller weddings, I've never really seen the point.  Since it wasn't my wedding, and they didn't ask my opinion, I kept my mouth shut. 

At first glance, she seemed nice enough.  Wedding Coordinator (WC) had a bit of a challenge since the MOTB had her ideas about things and the Bride had some very definite ideas of her own.  WC was trying to balance between the two, though it got crazy.  Seriously, the Bride wanted to invite people they actually knew.  The MOTB invited the hairdresser's nephew's best friend!  Estimates on how many guests varied from 75 (Bride) to 400 (MOTB).  In actuality, there were probably about 200 people at the reception.

So, about a week before the wedding, we got a rather condescending email from WC.  In it, she went over some of the things we'd discussed, like moving the boat trailer and the camping trailer out of the way.  But she also mentioned that the dog mess needed to be taken care of, or did she need to send her "staff" to do that?  And, did I make plans for the "family animals" during the event?  Nah....I figured we'd let Psycho and Scaredy Butt run loose amongst all those people and the food!  *rolling eyes*

She told me that they needed my refrigerator empty and everything removed from my counter tops.  I told her that I wasn't moving the microwave and she could have 2 shelves and a drawer.
 
This email also mentioned that the lighting guy wanted to be climbing on my roof and did we have a ladder for that?  When I asked if the lighting guy was insured, she got a bit put out!  But she did email me and say that he was insured......I doubt it, but I did my due diligence.  Thankfully, lighting guy didn't fall off (or thru) the roof, so that wasn't a problem.  The email did not mention grills or trash.  This is important for later.

The happy couple got married at a nearby Temple (they're LDS/Mormon) on Friday.  I was at the Temple when they came out and I attended the meal afterward at WC's house.  After dinner, as I was leaving, WC told me that her staff would be at my house at 8:00 the next morning and she would be there between 8 and 9. 

Saturday morning, I got up around 7:30.  This is not something I do willingly.  Ever.  And especially not on a summer Saturday.  Seriously, something had better be on FIRE for me to be up at that hour.

You can guess the next part, right?

She didn't show up.

Not at 8....or 9....or 10.

At 11, Bruce and FOTB went over to her house to get the tables and chairs from the party the night before and bring them over here.  Oh, there's been a change of plans.  Lighting guy can't be there until 4, so that's when we're coming.  WC didn't call because it happened late at night.  Oooookay.....

What lighting guy has to do with when she arrives is beyond me.  And there was no phone call, email, or text message to anyone.  Yes, she had all that information.

Strike 1.

I went to pick up Tristan at 4:30.  WC is NOT at the house yet.

Strike 2.

When I got home around 5:00, WC is in the back yard having a temper tantrum.  She's shouting at her "staff" and the various and sundry neighbors and family members who are trying to get the chairs and tables set up.  "We are running behind, so I'm going to repeat myself for the fourth time!  The chairs go in conversation semi-circles of 8....."

Strike 3.

At that point, I was so furious that I was ready to throw her off my property and do it myself.  Just who does she think she is?  Yelling at people who are there to help and talking to them about running behind?!

Then Bruce told me that they'd arrived, with a Uhaul full of stuff, and WC, the only person who knows the plan, went across the street to do hair.  When they finally went to get her to answer all the "what's the plan?" questions, she went on her tirade.  

I ran to the local granola store to buy a gluten free cake for Shannon since it appeared that they'd forgotten.  I wasn't particularly irritated by that, except that we'd be told there would be gluten free cupcakes so I hadn't worried about it.

Seriously, it all went down hill from there.  The kabobs were all cut up, but not skewered, so the "staff," of teenage boys were doing that.  She'd made crepes, but not in the flavors the bride requested.  She'd prepped fresh peaches and strawberries for those as well, and she was making fresh whipped cream for those before the party.   

"Where are the grills?"  Um, what grills?  Apparently we were supposed to have borrowed the mondo grills from the Boy Scouts for this shindig.  I vaguely remember making the offer back in June, but she waved it off saying she'd rent them, so we didn't have them.  So, with less than an hour before the reception, we're frantically borrowing grills from the neighbors. 

We ran out of crepes pretty quickly, and Shannon heard her say "I made crepes for 300 people.  It's not MY fault people took more than one.  I'm not making more!"

The kabobs seemed to take forever to cook, though WC hadn't wanted to start them before the party started at 7:00.

Half of the cupcakes weren't frosted.  It turned out that she'd planned to make cream cheese frosting and frost all 150 of them at my house, sometime between 4:00 and 8:00.  Except.  Yeah.  She was busy doing the decorating and putting out sauces for the kabobs and on and on and on.

Essentially, she bit off way more than she could chew and she was not prepared for the reception.  One neighbor spent the entire evening in the kitchen, helping with whatever she could.  It was unbelievable.

Then they wanted to know what we were going to do with all the trash?  Excuse me?  What are WE doing with the trash?  You're taking it with you!  WC's husband said "Well, I guess we'll have to find a dumpster somewhere for this trash."  Great, add theft of services to the list.

At the end of the night, WC kept promising they'd leave food for us (didn't happen) and they decided that the *only* thing that went wrong was that they'd left the gluten free cupcakes at their house by mistake.

Really?  That's the ONLY thing?!

On the upside, we got lots of compliments about the party.  The vast majority of the guests had NO idea what was happening behind the scenes. 

Other gems we overheard "Well, everything was going fine until Bride talked to people and turned them against me."  Nope.  Your tantrum in my back yard is what did it for me.

Sheesh!   For the amount of money they paid her, we could've hired a caterer and done the decorating ourselves.  It would've been a lot less stress all the way around.  We still have an extension cord that belongs to the lighting guy, but WC won't return our emails so we can't get it back to him. 

And the final problem, Psycho (the old and crochetty dog) got bit on the ear by one of the neighbor dogs while he was hanging out over there.  At the vet on Monday, she called him a drama queen, for the way he was acting about how much it hurt!  I laughed cuz it's true!  So he had 10 days worth of antibiotics to clear that up.  It was just the final straw in the whole thing.

This whine brought to you by....

mozzarella!

ROFL!  I crack myself up.  (Get it?  Whine and cheese?)  Okay, so maybe it's not that funny.

I'm sick.  Alana brought home a tummy bug that has my stomach rebelling against everything I put in it.  Over the last three days, that amounts to 2 cups apple juice, 27 Saltines, 3 cups of tea, and 2 packets of Cream of Wheat.  On the upside, I've lost three pounds.  Though really, this is not the weight loss plan I'd recommend.

*sigh*  So I'm whiny and bored.  And I really can't be too far from a toilet at any given time.  Not to mention that I don't really want to wear pants.

I'm stuck at home.  Now, there are a dozen things I *could* be doing around here.  It's the end of the first week of school and my house surely shows it.  The laundry is scary, the papers have exploded, and no one is quite sure what's for dinner.

But I'm sick.  And I don't have the energy to care.  Except maybe about dinner (Tristan, what are you making for dinner?).

Thank heaven's the kids are old enough to mostly manage on their own.  And Bruce is trying to be helpful.  And there's always tomorrow or next week when I'm feeling better.  We'll live.

So, instead of playing more stupid Facebook games (anyone wanna be my neighbor on ChefVille?), I thought I'd FINALLY update around here.  There are about a dozen posts I've been meaning to write.  Though I'm sure I've forgotten half of them.

Sit back and enjoy!

On Writing

I entered the Iron Pen competition again this year (I did it in 2010), with a poem and a fictional story.  Essentially, it's a speed-writing contest.  You're given a "visual" writing prompt (a picture) and you have to come up with your submission based on that photo. 

The writing was a BLAST!  I had so much fun with the story and waiting to see where it would take me next.  I have to say, though, at first I was stumped.  The photo was not particularly inspiring.  Then I started brain-storming a bit.  First I was going to write a murder mystery, but I quickly shelved that plan.  Too many questions to answer in too few words (there's a 4000 word limit).  For a murder mystery, you have to have a victim, who has a life that led to his/her death.  You have to have a reason for the crime (I suppose it could be random, but where's the fun in that?!).  You have to have a murderer, and a connection between the two.  And it can't be obvious or the story's no fun.  Way too complicated for this contest. 

So the new story was born, out of the old one.  I thought it was really good.  And it was a crazy, wild ride, writing and seeing where the story went.  It truly had a mind of its own.  I did find myself doing a bunch of internet research, and I'd have LOVED to do more in-depth research using historical documents and the like, but at midnight on a Friday night, well, that's not possible.  I pored over maps, after rounding them up from 3 different vehicles.  I went back to National Parks brochures saved in my scrapbooking piles. 

And the story was born.

And it was good.  My neighbor did some proofing for me, since it's nearly impossible for me to do that when I was so close to it....I knew what I meant to say, so I wound up reading that on the page, whether or not those words were actually ON the page!  LOL!

Neighbor loved the story and added some crucial comments; questions left unanswered, that sort of thing. 

I turned it in. 

And I didn't win.

Disappointing, for sure.  But it wasn't about the destination.  The journey was very important for me.  I haven't been writing much in recent years.  The contest was a challenge I *almost* bailed out of at the last minute.  Simply completing the story was a victory.

And yet.

Dh thinks that the judges were looking for something specific.  The contest is in conjunction with a local arts festival, and there is a bit of an environmental leaning to it.  Dh he asked me who my audience was.  When I answered that it was your garden-variety historical fiction buff (just like myself), he pointed out that perhaps I should remember the judges. 

Which brings up something very interesting.  Do I write the story that is emerging, or do I write something I think will win?  Obviously, I chose the latter.  I was hoping that a good story would trump the (admittedly assumed) bias of the judges. 

Of course, there's always the possibility that mine was one of a number of good entries.   Perhaps it made a short list, but a few typos and at least one run-on sentence tanked me.  All things being equal, I suppose those things could've done me in.  I'm hoping that the winning entries are posted online (the author would need to give permission for that and some don't) so I can see what won.  I'm sure I can be objective....right?

It's also possible that it's not as good as I think it is.

Naaaaah!

What I Learned Working Full-Time

1.  My family is more and less capable than I thought.  On the one hand, they pulled together and things worked out.  On the other hand, lots of things that I normally do weren't done and no one really seemed to notice that they needed doing until it directly impacted them. 

Bruce had to be more of a parent because I couldn't, for any reason, leave my job, if the kids needed something.  He had to make and keep orthodontist appointments for the girls, for instance.  Thankfully, his job is pretty flexible and he could take care of things.

The kids became more inter-dependant, leaning on each other, because I wasn't as available.  Shannon helped Alana finish up a poster for her county report.  Tristan helped Shannon with her math homework (that one probably would've happened anyway because it's been a loooong time since either of her parents have done that stuff).  They also became even more independent, as well, solving problems on their own.  Some of that made me feel guilty, but then again, they have to grow up eventually.

Now, the laundry and much of the cleaning fell to the wayside.  It seemed as if I was the only one truly aware of how underwear gets from the hamper back into the drawers.  While they all have an idea of how this happens, planning for it is apparently impossible for anyone but me.  *sigh*

There were numerous cooking "experiments" that went awry, and I have to say that grocery shopping in the evenings or on the weekends was a huge challenge.  I like showing up to a nearly-empty store on a Tuesday morning, thankyouverymuch. 

2.  I drive a lot less when I'm working.  I usually average a tank of gas per week.  While working, that went to about a tank every two weeks.  So, while I felt guilty driving the mile to the school every morning rather than walking, in the end I used far less gas.

3.  I also spend less money when I'm working.  Payday would come and go and the money just hung out in my account.

4.  However, my drinking increased quite a bit.  I often had one of my "alcho-pops" while grading papers or inputting things into the computer.  The bottles piled up to prove it. 

5.  One would think that I'd eat less and potentially lose weight, being on a stricter schedule.  Notsomuch.  I'd have my smoothie for breakfast, a snack during morning recess, lunch, and then a snack after school, plus dinner.  I don't think I ate too much junk because I tried to keep healthy snacks as my only option, but I didn't lose any weight.  However, I didn't gain any either.

Would I do it again? 

I don't really know.