Rambling

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~Anne Frank

Craziness abounds!

I spent yesterday working on book video creation. I've been inundated with requests to make them, which has been a "good news / bad news" thing. I skipped agility both nights to try to blast through the backlog and got several done. I still have seven more, but I'm getting there.

We're planning a massive overhaul of the LASR/WC site in order to make it better for the reader, but less labor intensive for us. The problem is, I need time for that and I'm so backlogged, I have none. But Judy and I would like at least a little of our lives back, so that's what we're working toward. Currently, if we're breathing, we're working and that's just a little crazy.

On a related note -- while most of the authors we work with are absolutely wonderful, occasionally we get a rotten apple. It's amazing how unprofessional some folks can be and it really makes working myself to the bone for nearly nothing a difficult task. It's sad how a few bad apples can spoil everything. But I'm so grateful for the 99.9% of authors who are just amazing.

My mom got to participate in one of DD's meltdowns yesterday. My poor daughter is SO emotional and sensitive. She always has been, but being this close to puberty is just exacerbating the problem. Poor kiddo...

Today, I'm gathering together a care package of self-care items for the Salvation Army. Every week I get free or nearly free toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, etc. And really, who needs 50 tubes of toothpaste on hand at any given time? Especially when I replenish the supply so regularly? For those who snicker at folks who coupon, for the merchants who get irritated at us, for people who call us "hoarders", THIS is why I do what I do. Not only do I save my family money, and we never have to run out of the things we need, but I can help others.

So, yes, my linen closet is full of 30 sticks of deodorant. I have every kind of razor known to man. My DH could wash his hair daily for the next year and have enough shampoo. I'm proud of my stockpile. And I'm even more glad I can share my bounty with others.

And now ... I have to go wake up the family, so I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

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You Are Quirky

You don't think you are weird but others do. You have your own definition of normal. You have a strong personality. You are who you are, and you're darn proud of it. You act spontaneously, without planning. You don't like to commit to any one thing. You are a calm and steady person. You may be whimsical, but you're also well grounded.

The Sphere Test

About 50% right....

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This and That

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. ~Russel Baker

Yesterday I had one of my most productive days, work-wise, in a long time. Not sure what the difference was, but I *felt* organized and efficient, and it apparently reflected on what I was doing. I'm still behind, but not as badly. Mostly my "behind-ness" is related to creating book videos, which takes an absurd amount of time. But that's okay, I'm getting there!

DD is learning to sew at Grandma's house. She's helped make some Barbie clothes, and she's very excited. Maybe the sewing gene skipped a generation? I hope so, because one of us should like and know how to sew. I can do the bare minimum, but it's just never been anything that excited me. I might should look into getting better at it (and getting a sewing machine) because it would certainly be a money-saver, and I'm all over that, even if all I make are hair scrunchies and pillow cases.

A couple weeks ago, I picked up two huge bottles of multipurpose contact lens cleaner for free (after coupon and rebate). I really love couponing ... and mostly I try to get stuff I'd use, but I couldn't pass this up. My DH is the only one here who wears contacts, and he uses gas permeable (aka "hard") lenses, so doesn't use the solution. I asked around, couldn't find anyone to take it. I didn't want to toss it -- that defeats the purpose. But, wow, was it hard to find someone who wears contact lenses that I knew. Yesterday, it finally found a home with my neighbor's SIL.

Now I have about 15 bottles of aspirin I got for free that need a home...

Today, I'm hoping to get out and weed a little before it gets too hot, but I have to take DD to the bead store -- she got a custom order request for some earring, and we don't have the right beads.

Wishing you all a wonderful, refreshing summer day. I'm getting to your blogs, a few at a time ... and I swear, when I'm caught up I'm going to STAY caught up!

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You Are a Nose Smiley

You are a very detailed oriented person. You feel happiest when all your ducks are in a row. You are conventional and orthodox. You are the most normal person you know. You like to work hard, but you also value your downtime. You seek balance in your life. You are smart to the point of being a genius. You are very learned.

What Smiley Are You?

That's me ... smart to the point of being a genius... :::pats self on back:::... LOL!

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How I Am

I think my idea of retirement might be to one day work a 40-hour week. ~Vince McMahon

Dru asked me yesterday how I was. Truth? I'm tired.

Here's the thing. Despite gabbing daily on this blog, I'm a pretty private person. The things that affect me the most seldom get discussed -- here or anywhere else. I'm the kind of person who only has a couple REALLY close friends and it takes a long time for me to be comfortable enough to bare my soul to anyone.

I know you've all had significant hints that things have been bumpy for me lately. Trust is, it's been more than bumpy -- it's been overwhelming and exhausting and very nearly more than I could handle. I had a bit of a meltdown last week. I hit the wall HARD and didn't feel like picking myself up.

I did, of course. That's the Type A in me... but it didn't make me happy, or less stressed and tired.

That fact is, my life revolves around the LASR/WC website. It's the first thing I work on when I get up, and the last thing I do at night. It's a labor of love, but it's killing me. It's also killing my business partner (who has a full time job outside the home) and the other ladies who work with me. Honestly, we all rather hit the wall last week -- we don't usually coordinate so well!

The good news is that I'm trying to take steps to help eliminate what stressors I can. I miss having a life: playing board games with my daughter, scrapbooking, cross stitching, even gardening (which I did precious little of this year). I didn't even do the cooking from scratch that I'd intended. I miss visiting all the blogs I love on a daily basis. And WRITING! How I miss writing. If I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me when I'd write sequels to several of my stories, I'd be rich.

Those steps will take place slowly over time, and some things will probably make me MORE stressed before they make me less stressed (like learning software that will ultimately make my life easier), but I have hopes it will happen.

Fact is, it has to happen. I don't know that I'll discuss things much unless they impact the blog, but behind the scenes, there will be changes. And hopefully, you'll start seeing a happier more relaxed me.

And that, to answer Dru (*G*), is how I am.

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You Are Ruled by Saturn

You are a driven and focused person. You always have at least one major goal in site. You are responsible and capable. It drives you crazy to sit still for any amount of time. You love to be productive, and you're definitely guilty of sometimes being a workaholic. You have experienced a lot in your life. You are very wise, and people look up to you.

What Planet Rules You?

HAHAHAHAHA... could there have been a more perfect quiz for today? And, yeah, it's 100% right on - well, maybe not the wise and being looked-up-to part, unless you count Dakota. *snort*

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Baby Steps

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you. ~John De Paola

Yesterday was obscenely busy. Just plain crazy. We started a new promo in LASR/WC for Easter, and I got slammed with emails (which is good... but not, yanno?), we were all running out of socks and undies, so laundry was a must-do (six loads... yeah, it had been a while), the dog needed her food made (chop, chop, cook, cook, grind, grind), we had books due at the library, I had no cheese for what I had planned for dinner (drive, drive).

I ran flat out all day long.

Dinner, though, should be getting easier soon for two reasons. First, I'm doubling everything and making one pan for the freezer on anything I can (last night I made enchiladas -- one for us, one for the freezer), so I'll have things I can just pull out on nights that are crazy (like my agility nights where I lose a good four hours). Second, I'm having DD work with me every time I cook now in the hope that she'll eventually be able to take over cooking at least a couple nights a week (she can already do the simpler stuff like stew and spaghetti). She may not like that idea so much (yesterday ... after I washed and she dried/put away three sets of dishes, and then I told her she was helping me cook, she said, "Do I get paid for this?" and I replied, "Yeah: room and board."), but it's all part of growing up, IMHO.

During the time I was sending out about 100 email responses for the promo yesterday, my brain was working on my story. I just let it drift and kept a pad of paper beside the computer to scribble ideas. I had a few that will be so much fun to write... my favorite thing about writing romance that's a little nuts is that I can do just about anything and it's okay (like my character in "One Love for Liv" who is trying to break a Guinness World Record).

I still have obscene amounts of work to do, but that's okay. I took advice from Kris Kringle yesterday (couldn't find the original clip, but this works):



So, I'm off to put one foot in front of the other...

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You Are Sleepy

You are an easy-going, relaxed person. You don't have a care in the world, and you find it easy to nod off anytime. People enjoy being around you. You are a complete natural, and you always act however you feel. Despite what people may think, you don't have a lazy bone in your body. You are a very hard worker. When work needs to be done, you'll work your hardest. That's why you're so sleepy at the end of the day!

Which of the Seven Dwarfs Are You?

Uh... that first part? SO not right...

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Today, the Night Before

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. — Stephen King

I'm writing this the night before, so that I have plenty of time to write in the morning. If you want to know my word count for the day, check JaNoWriMo a little later for what I've accomplished.

Today was crazy -- I had lots of work to do on the LASR/WC site, but despite this, DH decided to cut down a huge oak tree in our back yard. DD and I went out to help after it was down: dragged brush, moved logs, stacked them in the place where the OLD stuff we just split and moved used to be so it can season for next year.

I also hurt myself. I have a bad toe -- no one seems to be able to figure out WHY it hurts all the time, but it does. It's the big toe on my right foot (and writing that makes me think of a song the Smothers Brothers sang:

I have a daisy on my toe,
It's not alive it does not grow,
It's just a tattoo of a flower
So I look neat taking a shower,
It's on the second toe of my left foot,
A stem and flower, but there's not root,
(spoken) Because that wouldn't look good.
I have a daisy on my toe,
My right foot loves my left foot so-o-o-o-o.

*ahem* ... moving on...) and it's -- my toe, remember?-- it's hurt for a good ten years or so. In any case, today while I was carrying a log to the trailer on our tractor, I stumbled and landed with that toe on the edge of a log. I heard :::crackle, crack, crackle::: and then was overcome with pain. It's currently swollen and bruised, and it's a little hard to walk.

Ow.

I also had to make dog food. I'd cooked the chicken yesterday, and had DD remove it from the bones this morning while I chopped and cooked veggies. When we came in from processing the tree, I put the dog food together.

And I still had time to do the LASR/WC pages AND this:



Because NaNoWriMo isn't NaNoWriMo without a collage.

How was your weekend?

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You Are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Hmmm... maybe.

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Pioneer Woman

Yes, I am positive that one of the great curatives of our evils, our maladies, social, moral, and intellectual, would be a return to the soil, a rehabilitation of the work of the fields. ~Charles Wagner

Lately I've felt a bit like a pioneer woman -- with my gardening, canning and, most recently (yesterday) splitting wood, hauling it and stacking it. I told DD that we were so spoiled as a culture. So few of us actually do manual labor any more. We pay people to cut our grass, to grow our food, to split our firewood, to groom our animals.

As we where stacking the wood I said, "Isn't it incredible to think that the pioneers worked like this from sun up to sundown?"

And, IMHO, it IS amazing. No wonder their life expectancy was so low (well, on top of the fact that their medical care was pretty much non-existent).

I used to love to watch Frontier House on PBS. I wish it was still on. It was so interesting to see how folks had to struggle to survive. One man thought he was dying of something because he lost so much weight. He finally requested a medical check, and the doctor said that his weight was actually HEALTHY and that his body was simply adjusting to being physically active for the first time in a long time.

I don't glamorize how things were 100 or 200 years ago. Times were hard. People died of things we can't imagine happening today, like broken bones. Women regularly died in childbirth (I would have been one of them). Even so, I think they had their priorities right and typically had a work ethic that folks today just don't have.

And then I look at the stack of un-split, un-hauled, un-stacked wood and just sigh.

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You Are Eggs Over Easy

You have good taste and high standards. You are very detail oriented, and you know what you want in life. When everything is in its place and things are as they should be, you can finally relax. You may seem like the kind of person who has things come easy for you, but it's all an illusion. You work hard to make your life perfect, and part of this perfection is making things look effortless.

What Kind of Eggs Are You?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

LOL... this is almost spot on. Cracked me up (cracked...eggs... ha... get it?).

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After the Rain...

God in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.
~Ogden Nash, "The Fly"

....come the mosquitoes! LOL... DH decided to mow last night after the rain stopped (yes, it was still wet, no he didn't care), so was out about 7ish and I swear he was followed by clouds of bugs. I suppose they didn't eat much the past few days while the rain fell and were making up for lost time. Yikes!

Was reading Jen's blog yesterday (see, Jen... told you I was lurking, lol) and she's going to start doing Local Love Fridays -- she'll be highlighting small, locally owned businesses in her area. And, I thought that was a cool idea. So, although my local area isn't as big as Ann Arbor, I'm going to give it a try. I'll consider all of NH my "local area". That's fair, right? I mean, I'll bet NH isn't that much bigger than Ann Arbor, lol. My DD finds it amusing that the population of L.A. is higher than our entire state's.

In any case, maybe some of you might be interested in doing the same. In this sluggish economy, it helps to give the little guys a boost.

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Last weekend, Judy and I took a little time off over at the LASR/WC site -- we did was was urgent, but let the rest sit. Neither of us has done that in... um... ::scratches head:::... forever?

And now I realize why. Why, when I only took three days "off", do I feel three weeks behind? LOL... So, if I haven't had time to comment on your blogs, that's why. I'm reading when I can, and will be by the moment I have time to breathe.

So, I'm working this weekend. What are YOU up to?

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You Are Thick-Skinned

People may not always love you, but that's totally fine. You're happy with who you are, and you don't really crave outside approval. You love yourself, and that's the most important thing. You have high self esteem. And because you don't care what other people think, they tend to like you a lot!

Are You Thin Skinned or Thick Skinned?

LOL... this is about half right...

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Late!

Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness. ~Richard Carlson

I'm late, I'm late....

Dill pillars ran out of food. Again. Not pillars, PIGS. Had to run to SILs and get some more dill at the crack of dawn.

DH woke up at the same time as me. Wanted to gab. Now I am WAY BEHIND.

Then DH called on his way to work and talked on the phone for thirty more minutes. Who says men don't talk?

Broken links on website because I was trying to talk and upload pages at the same time. GAH.

When sanity returns, will post normal blog.

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You Are a Fork

You are truthful, direct, and straight forward. People find your honesty to be a bit piercing at times. You are driven and wildly ambitious. You know what you want, and you take the most direct path to getting it.

What Utensil Are You?

Monday Morning Meme and More!

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it. ~Charles Schulz

Worked like crazy yesterday... mostly on the website. I'd had big plans to garden but it ended up being COLD here. Dang it. Windy, too. I did get out with the dog a few times, all bundled up (warm coat, ear muffs... grrr... It's APRIL already), but mostly, I took the opportunity to work on my computer stuff.

I had a lot of work to do on the LASR site. We're now offering a limited number of author pages! I'm excited. Any chance to get a persons name out there and in front of a reader (and, honestly, we have about a 50/50 mix of readers vs. writers who come to the site, based on the emails we get) is a good thing. But, I'm not a visual person, so to figure out how to create something that has to LOOK good is very time consuming for me.

Because I'm running late this morning, tho, I'll give you a meme:




April 14th Questions:

1. If you had one week to do anything you wanted, unlimited means to do so, what are some of the things you would try to do?

Visit my mom. Visit my friend, Cathy. Both of them are in California -- how convenient is that? Take my DD to Disney World. Get a daily massage (maybe twice daily). Take the private jet to visit all of my online friends.

Probably this would take longer than a week. I think I'd need a time machine, too.

2. What’s the last thing you bought for yourself? Do you buy yourself things very often? If you were rich, would you buy yourself things more often? Why or why not?

A pair of jeans. I seldom buy things for myself...I feel strangely guilty spending money on myself. I imagine I would spend more on myself if I was very rich, BUT... I can remember the one time I received a windfall and I spent it all on other people. I had so much fun! It was right around Christmas, and I let myself buy what I WANTED to buy for everyone, regardless of price, instead of what I could afford. It was truly one of the best times I've ever had.

3. When was the last time you sang? What did you sing? Do you ever sing in front of people? Why or why not? Does your significant other sing well? If you were (are) a good singer and it was financially within your means to do so, would you ever consider auditioning for American Idol?

I sing all the time! I love to sing. I sing walking down the street, in my car, in my house...I've even been known to break into song in public. People don't like it, they can go away. I was in drama and choir my whole life, so don't get squeamish performing in front of people. Now...that said. Do I have a GOOD voice? I have a decent voice. I make a GREAT choir member. I'd never be a solo artist. So, no...wouldn't audition for American Idol (of course, I'm also a few years too old to do so as well, Ha).

4. If you found $1000 dollars in an unmarked wallet on the street, what would you do? Be specific. Don’t just say, “keep it,” Or “turn it in.” WHY would you keep it? HOW would you turn it in? (And if you turned it in, would you follow up to see if anyone claimed it later?)

I'd probably take it home and then place an ad in the lost and found saying something obscure like: money found in ((name of city)). Lost some? Call 555-9999. Then, they'd have to tell me how much, what denominations and where it was lost. I'm the kind of person who tells the cashier if they've given me too much in change (of course, I can actually figure out what my change can be -- unlike most of the younger folks today, sheesh... my favorite thing to do is to pay for something with a bill, wait until they ring in $20 or whatever and then say, "Oh, wait! I have two pennies!" and watch the slack or panicked look that comes across their face...LOL... I'm evil...).

If no one claimed it, I'm not sure what I would do. I don't think I'd feel right keeping it for myself. Maybe the red bucket of the Salvation Army would get an extra gift that year?

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Your Personality Is

Guardian (SJ) You are sensible, down to earth, and goal oriented. Bottom line, you are good at playing by the rules. You tend to be dominant - and you are a natural leader. You are interested in rules and order. Morals are important to you. A hard worker, you give your all at whatever you do. You're very serious, and people often tell you to lighten up. In love, you tend to take things carefully and slowly. At work, you are suited to almost any career - but you excel in leadership positions. With others, you tend to be polite and formal. As far as looks go, you are traditionally attractive. You take good care of yourself. On weekends, you tend to like to do organized activities. In fact, you often organize them!

The Three Question Personality Test