It's Monday ...

"Creativity, as has been said, consists largely of rearranging what we know in order to find out what we do not know. Hence, to think creatively, we must be able to look afresh at what we normally take for granted." — George Kneller

But not a usual one because ... yes... DH is still off! LOL!

The weekend wasn't too bad, and WOW was the weather beautiful. On Saturday we were in the low 60s and I had my house all opened up. Amazing.

Unfortunately, I got nearly NO writing done, and am now about 10,000 words behind on NaNoWriMo. I should have time to write this morning, though, after DH leaves to go hunting and before DD wakes up. I did manage to write about Geoff's unexpected mentor and father figure (he never really had one), so that was good, and I shifted POV in one scene I was struggling with from Emmy to Geoff, and that worked. Not a lot of words, but some, and at this point I'll take what I can get.

Honestly, I'm struggling with creating real chemistry between my H/H. I know it's there somewhere, I can totally picture them together, and the scene I wrote with the Traveling Shovel of Death was exactly right and showed it perfectly, so I just need to channel that into the rest of the story. I'm still working on writing random scenes for a few reasons: because sometimes it's just easier to write the fun stuff, and it helps me really get a feel for my characters (which I think I need -- I *thought* I knew them, but new stuff keeps popping up).

Onward and upward...

I also posted a few new items on DistinctivelyDD yesterday. I really LOVE the new camera -- it takes amazing close-up pictures. Check out this picture of the beads I took of one pair of earrings.

Here are the earrings, and this is the type of picture I had to use with my old camera:



And here is the close up I took with the new one so I could show the detail:



I did it with a few of the items and was so amazed!



LOVE, LOVE my camera!

=======================

I am going to try to catch up on my blog-hopping again ... I hate getting behind because then it's just overwhelming, but I needed the break from everything this weekend. I'm very much a person who needs a routine, and this month I've had none. It's incredibly stressful for me, and is taking a toll on my health, mental and physical. I swear, next year I'm going on vacation in November. But then, I say that every year!

========================

You Are Lucy

You are smart as a whip... maybe a little too smart for your own good! Other people tend to annoy you. You tell it like it is, and you're not about to spare anyone's feelings. You're very blunt. You are assertive to the point of being aggressive. You know what you want, and you're going to make sure you get it. Deep down, you're trying to be helpful. You give good advice, even if people don't want to hear it. You always shoot from the hip.

What Peanuts Character Are You?

I had a feeling that was what I'd get! LOL....

Monday Again

Family is just accident.... They don't mean to get on your nerves. They don't even mean to be your family, they just are. ~Marsha Norman

Crazy busy weekend. And it rained most of it -- finally cleared (sort of) Sunday afternoon, which was fortuitous because we were having a family get-together for my MIL's birthday and if we'd had to stay inside with all those kids? Oy vey.

Dakota is having tummy troubles AGAIN. I have never had a dog with so many digestive issues. It's making me crazy. She had me up half the night needing to go out, and I really tried to not get cranky but MAN am I tired. Today, I'll be taking a stool sample into the vet to see if she has giardia AGAIN. And maybe this time they'll agree to vaccinate her if she does. Cuz, I'm telling you, this is getting old.

We started helping at a new agility class last week. And, as always, there was a bit of drama. One of the dogs, a pit bull, has some dog aggression issues (and before anyone thinks, "Oh.. well.. a pit bull..." -- remember: aggression isn't breed specific and bad dogs aren't born, they're made). Interestingly enough, when they walked in, Dakota was off leash running around while we set up, and in her way (her way being, "All dogs love me.") ran right up to him, licking his face and trying to get him to play. And he didn't react to that in a negative way at ALL.

He's a sweetie toward people, too. And I have to admit to having a soft spot toward pit bulls because they're terrifically misunderstood creatures.

But...

After the entire class was there, we were talking and introducing dogs and whatnot, and one lady lost the leash of her schnoodle (schnauzer / poodle cross). And he trotted right over to the pit who was being kept a little apart from everyone, and stuck his nose in a .. hmm... private spot, and ... **sigh**... yes, he got attacked.

The scariest sound in the world has to be that scream a dog makes when it's scared. Thing is -- the pit bull didn't grab anything but fur. I was the closest, so I grabbed for the schnoodles leash and pulled him away. The schnoodle didn't have a mark on him and, amazingly enough, he bounced right back like it had never happened.

In any case, the instructor separated the dogs to work with them: pit bull, shy german shepherd and a beagle for me (I think she knows I love the big dogs!). She and DD took the little dogs: a dachschund, the schnoodle and a papillion (who is NEVER quiet ... yao, yap, yap... I thought I'd lose my mind).

We're having a grand time.

==========================

You Are a Açaí Berry

On the one hand, you tend to be very controversial. People are always talking about you and trying to figure you out. On the other hand, you are quite wholesome and humble. You don't know what all of the fuss is about. You are unsettled in your life. You're not sure what you want yet, and you're a bit of a searcher. If there's one thing you know, it's that you crave adventure and travels. You want to see as much of the world as you can.

What Type of Berry Are You?

Um... not really...

===================

Monday, Monday, Yay

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in every day. ~Author Unknown

So far, so good this morning.

Let me backtrack... DD caught my cold and started feeling punky on Friday. Yesterday was her worst day, the "over the hump" day where you feel like dog-doo, but know that it's all going to better after if you can just make it through. I broke down and gave her night time cold meds last night so she can sleep (I'm not a proponent of medication, but I usually do ONE night of these, on the worst night because, yanno... sleep is good). This morning she got up and, though she was still coughing and her nose is still stuffy, she was smiling. She feels MUCH better.

That's good thing #1.

We were supposed to have a massive rain/ice storm overnight. The type of precipitation depended on when it started. As of right now, it hasn't even begun... yay! This means when it does get here, it should definitely be RAIN and not ice.

Good thing #2.

So.. yeah, bay-bee... Monday is working out for me so far. What about you?

======================

You Are a Cirrus Cloud

You're a bit mysterious and reserved. You mostly keep to yourself and do your own thing. Some people may even consider you allusive. You're hard to track down at times. People who know you find you to be very transparent. It's always easy to tell what you're thinking about. You tend to drift more than most people. You're always trying out new ideas, friends, and even personalities.

What Kind of Cloud Are You?

Hmmm.... maybe 50/50?

============

Okay... It's MONDAY

The time just before dawn contains the most energy of all hours of the day. This has helped me become an early riser and an early doer.... When I wake to see that it's light out already, I feel like the world has started without me. ~Adabella Radici

Okay... got the problem with the sites fixed (yay) and I'm ready to face the day. Nothing like wasting three hours of time working on a problem that you can't fix by yourself (it ended up being a problem with how the graphics were created... and once Judy was up and online, we figured it out in a matter of minutes).

It's back to the grind today. DH grumbled on his way out the door to work, DD woke up grumbling about school and homework and reports. Me? I wouldn't have grumbled at all if the site had gone up smoothly because I LOVE MONDAY.

I'm glad today is sunny and relatively warm (it's supposed to be in the mid-30s). I'm tired of shoveling snow. If you keep in mind that we had pretty much NO snow left after the recent rains we'd gone through, you'll see why I'm sore and tired. Check out the piles on my lawn NOW. And, yes, DD and I shoveled it all.



I updated DistinctivelyDD with about 10 more pairs of earrings and a couple of bracelets. I have about 20 more to add -- hopefully today. I told her I wanted 100 items on the shop, so she worked like crazy during her Christmas vacation. There are some really gorgeous ones on there, but these were a couple of my faves:




Now... gotta go drink my yogurt and blueberry smoothie and get back to work. Have an awesome day!

=====================

Your 1920's Name is: Queenie Mozelle

You're the Bee's Knees

What's Your 1920's Name?

I AM the bee's knees.. how did they know?

====================

Monday!

Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home. ~Carol Nelson

It's MONDAY!!! After a very long weekend, during which I barely left the house because of the weather (I do my very best to NOT drive in snow) I'm celebrating the return to normalcy (or what passes for normal in my house).

I still haven't even started my Christmas shopping. I'm a bad, bad wife-mother-sister-daughter-niece-aunt-friend -- I have a list (I've even checked it twice *g*), but I haven't gotten my butt in gear and done the shopping. The worst part? I plan on doing 90% off it online!! I don't even have to leave this chair. Sheesh.

I will (I WILL) get it done today. Dang it.

How about you? Christmas shopping? Do you do it? Have you done it? Any hints?

I have one hint: Instead of shipping via the post office (where the lines are already insane), use your local UPS store. I had to mail something out the other day -- I had one thing going UPS cuz it was cheaper (the heavy stuff? SO much cheaper via UPS Ground than USPS, just saying), and saw that they ship via regular mail, too. They add a tiny surcharge for the service, but IMHO walking in and getting helped ASAP as opposed to waiting behind 10 - 15 people with piles of packages was worth it. I don't know if your UPS store is this "un-busy", but you should check it out.

=======================

After much agony and see-sawing back and forth, I decided to tell DD about Santa. She cried for a minute (childhood lost... it broke my heart a bit) and then her sense of magic took over. I told her that we, as older people, were charged with keeping the spirit of Santa alive, and to keep Christmas magical for children. She's totally into "magical" and is so excited now. She did pepper me with questions:

"What about the letters to Santa? Where do they go?"

"Who eats the cookies?" -- this one still has her baffled, because I told her I didn't eat them ... I didn't! DH did, but for some reason that answer hasn't occurred to her yet.

And lots more, but all-in-all, it went better than I thought. It hasn't translated over to the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy yet. We'll see if it clicks in her brain at some point in the future.

=======================

You Are Brie

You are sophisticated and elegant. You know how to carry yourself well. And while you make a great entrance, you don't make a lot of fuss. You are really quite laid back and mellow. You don't have a care in the world, and you're not going to get worked up about anything. You are a natural romantic, and you have a tendency to day dream. You find it easy to go to your "happy place."

What Kind of Cheese Are You?

Uh.. no. *Maybe* the "You are a natural romantic, and you have a tendency to day dream", but the rest? So wrong...

========================

Monday, Monday... I Love This Day!

Just remember, if the world didn't suck, we'd all fall off. ~Author Unknown

I love Mondays. It means I'm back in my routine...ahh...

So... the weekend weather was a bust, but this week looks like it'll be nice. I have big plans for pooper scooping (how can ONE smallish dog make so many piles???) and raking. Woo! Part-ah time at the old ranchero.

I was thinking about doing a meme, but didn't like all the questions. One (well, two -- but the other was about the weather) really made me consider. It was:

When was the last time you were afraid and why?

I'm not a fraidy cat. I'm not afraid of animals or bugs or noises. So, I had to really think... and realized that my only significant fear is for my daughter. And it's sort of a constant hum under the day-to-day acts of simply living.

My BIL asked me, a long time ago when my SIL was pregnant with their first baby: what's it like being a parent? One of the things I told him was that ... you're always afraid. Not in a conscious or crippling way, but it's just always there (a little like the electronic buzz in your home that you don't realize is there until the power is out and it's gone) -- a worry of all the things that could happen to your child.

That's not just me, is it?

My only other fear is that I'll NEVER move out of this state. Ha.

==========================

Sadly, no writing was accomplished yesterday. The weather didn't cooperate -- it ended up being overcast, windy and drizzly -- so DH stayed home and puttered. Actually, essentially having two days away from the computer put me so far behind website maintenance at The Long and the Short of It, that I spent most of the day trying to play catch-up anyway. Today!!! Today is the day I will write!

===========================

You're
Easter Island!

One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do. So, since you were so lonely, you decided to make up a bunch of friends to entertain yourself. Rather than being classic imaginary friends, they had some real strength and substance to them, and have shown themselves to stand the test of time. There has been much discussion of your name, but you generally dislike its Christian implications. You wish you didn't feel quite so chilly. But you would not feel so all alone; everybody must get stones.


Take the Country Quiz II
at the Blue Pyramid

Um... NO... **shakes head**... Not even close... sheesh...