Spring Break!

Tags

getting ready to leave, spring break, thoughts, time off, vacation

Tomorrow spring break begins!

No school tomorrow and all next week.

As usual, we are headed to visit family, first my parents and sisters, then my in-laws!

I am ready to get away from the everyday routine. I am ready to chat and laugh and let all the things swirling in my head go…let them float away…float…

We all float down here…

Sorry! After seeing the trailer for the movie IT coming in September…I have been slightly obsessed… OMG IT LOOKS SO GOOD!

Okay. Right.

Back to spring break!

Before we leave, I have things to do. Some of the chores have begun. Hello, laundry my old friend…

Most will happen tomorrow…

An ortho appointment…

Grocery store…

Packing…

Dropping the dog off to be boarded…

Cleaning…

I will run about like an idiot wondering what I have forgotten. I will fight the little voice in my head telling me to stay home, home is good. Because I love to visit family, I love our adventures out in the world, but I am always reluctant to leave my house. It’s just me…

Luckily the kids will be home to help me!

When we drive away…all will be well. I will no longer care if I forgot anything. I will no longer care if all the chores were completed. I will be able to focus on the fun waiting.

Today, I want to sit and write. We’ll see if that happens. I tend not to be able to focus right before we go anywhere.

However, if my Weeping Cherry trees bloom while I’m gone…I WILL BE UPSET. They shouldn’t bloom this early, but…*eyes buds*

Have a great week, next week! I’ll be back with more thoughts and words when I return.

 

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Thanksgiving, Deadlines, and Me…Oh My

Tags

anxiety, deadlines, do my best, family, Thanksgiving, thoughts, unfocused, vacation

I don’t know about everyone else, but holidays always throw me off. They chuck me right off my path, rip any plans to shreds, and laugh at me.

And that’s okay. I like holidays.

Last week I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. WE HAD THE BEST TIME! We ate yummy food, we laughed, we chatted about life, I got to visit with my nieces (well, three out of four, one was too sick to come), we saw Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, we played the board game Risk (I was doing okay, until my baby sister wiped me out), and celebrated Christmas early because we won’t be seeing each other then.

I love those moments I get to spend with my parents, my sisters, and nieces. We never know exactly how much time we have left.

But the week leading up to our trip, I tend to freak out. Anxiety flows freely. There are things to do before we leave…cleaning, packing, shopping.

And don’t get me started on taking the dog to the vet to be boarded…that was a disaster. We made it, but WOW what a stressful hour. Dogs are weird.

I don’t like to leave my house, my cats, my routine. I mean, once I’m off, I’m fine, but there is a voice in my head that tells me to STAY HOME, until we leave the driveway. So I’m pretty useless the few days before we go. I can’t focus. I can’t settle. I can’t think.

When we returned, I was tired. Emotionally exhausted from all the visiting. There is laundry, shopping, picking the dog up from the vet (that went smoothly), and getting everything back to how it should be.

So settling back into my routine takes a minute…or several.

Usually, I excuse myself from being a human being during all these moments. Get what needs to be done done and don’t worry about the rest.

Except, there’s this anthology and I have a pretty cool story idea. I want to submit it! But it isn’t written. It should have been written before Thanksgiving, but that didn’t happen.

I got home and should have sat down to finish it, but that didn’t happen. Until yesterday when the story passed 3000 words and I went to bed last night knowing I have one scene THE FINAL AWESOME SCENE left to write.

YEA!

Sure…

But…

Deadline for submissions…SUNDAY. As in this Sunday.

I got this. THIS IS FINE. I will submit it, all they can do is reject it. No biggie.

So Thanksgiving hurled me off course. I wouldn’t do it any differently. So my weird brain made it hard for me to focus, I am me. Fighting against my nature tends to cause more frustration.

I shall carry on. Do the best I can with what I got. As we all should.

One Week in Massachusetts…

Tags

family, hiking, Massachusetts, Mount Monadnock, mountain climbing, New Hampshire, ocean, Salem, slot cars, vacation, witches

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a fabulous day, and, if not, then may you find your happiness.

Last week ,you might remember, I went on vacation with my family. We traveled 12 hours in a car to see my mom’s family in Massachusetts.

Mom grew up in Holliston, Massachusetts, a small town outside Boston. Though she moved to the Midwest, her sister and four brothers are still in the area, as are most of my cousins.

Growing up in Illinois, we made the 18 hour trip to visit every other summer. I always loved it, and still do. I love watching the landscape change from flat cornfields to hills and mountains. I love the rock walls that line the highways. I love the feel of Massachusetts, the way the houses seem to have been there forever. There’s a great sense of history in New England.

If you’ve never been there, you should go. Boston is full of cool stuff, but we didn’t head there this trip. This time we headed to a couple new places and some favorites. Let me share.

We headed to my uncle’s beach house and played in the water. Because when you live in Indiana, you go to the ocean whenever you get the chance.

Me and the hubs on the beach

We visited another uncle’s house for a carry-in dinner and talked and laughed. I don’t see my relatives a lot, but when we get together, it’s a good time. Now some of my cousins have kids and the place is hopping.

Because of my love of horror, we visited Salem for the first time. What a neat place! We didn’t have enough time to get to every where I would have liked to go, but just being there made me happy.

Street of Salem

House of Seven Gables…Nathaniel Hawthorne’s house

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s birthplace

Cemetery in Salem…some OLD headstones!

I want to go hang out there at night…in the dark…anyone else coming?

And my favorite place… The Salem Witch Museum, where we heard what happened at the famous witch trials. It was creepy, but focused on the horror of the time being the paranoia and made sure to recognize the innocent people that died. Of course no pics were allowed inside…so you’ll have to go.

 

My aunt and uncle are big football fans…Patriots fans! My son isn’t a huge football watcher, but the Patriots are one of the teams he favors, and, when the Patriots played in the Superbowl not long ago, my son was thrilled that they won. My aunt and uncle sent him a hat. So, we went to see Gillette Stadium. Pretty cool place. Even if you’re not a football fan, the story of the team and its loyal followers is quite moving.

Gillette Stadium, Patriot Place…home of former Superbowl champions The New England Patriots

And we went in the museum to hear about the New England Patriot’s journey from not so good to awesome and saw some historic Patriot’s memorabilia.

That’s my aunt rocking the helmet.

 

One of our favorite fun places to go is my uncle’s shop…Modelville Hobby. Slot car racing! The kids (and sometimes the adults, I mean who doesn’t want to play with the race cars) set those vehicles flying around the numerous tracks while the adults man the corners and as quickly as they can set the correct car on the correct track after they spin off course. It’s stressful! But tons of fun!

Looks like fun, right?

Finally, we went to one of our favorite places. Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. This is no easy trek up a hill, kids. There were points where we would stop, stare at the steep rocks and wonder how we would ever make it up. But we did. It’s so worth it, especially on clear days when you “can see the whole world” as one of my cousin’s boys exclaimed.

See that rocky top? That’s where we went.

And at the top!

Seven hours we hiked. Seven. My feeeeeeeeeettttttt!!!!! My kneeeeeeeessss!!!!!!

So, a few images from our trip. All these special trips were SO MUCH FUN, but the times sitting on my aunt’s back porch eating breakfast and chatting, the hours spent putting together my aunt’s new puzzle she bought in Salem, and the moments of being together as a family were just as fabulous.

Family rocks! Adventures are great! Massachusetts is one place I love to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Writers’ Group and My Story…A Tale of Panic

Tags

fears, hopes, reading for a critique group, Short story, taking a break from writing, thoughts, vacation, writer's group, writing

Today, I feel a bit fuzzy.

I’ve been working and working on a short story, and the best writing time hit in the middle of the night. A few nights going to bed at 3 or 4 am can seriously deplete your energy.

Yesterday I read that beat up draft of my unicorn story to my writers’ group. There’s something about this story I love, like LOVE LOVE. Is it the unicorn aspect, a unicorn with a dark twist? Maybe. Is it the theme that there is no happily ever after, only moments of joy that drive you to search for more? Maybe.

I want…I need it to be good. Submissions for the anthology open on September 1, and I would love to see it published.

So I was extra nervous to read it.

As in I thought I was going to throw up nervous.

For your amusement, let’s visit the thoughts that went through my mind as I read…

 

Oh. Wow. Only on page two…this feels so long.

 

Geez, me, can you repeat that word any more?

 

I think I already said something similar to that…DID I SAY SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT? Ugh. Repetitive much?

 

Oh. Yes. Too long. Dragging.

 

Tension…all the tension. Too much tension?

 

Is anyone understanding what I meant there?

 

That sentence…

 

Hmmm…that scene, I thought I deleted it? Why didn’t I? SHOULD I HAVE DELETED THAT?

 

Everyone is really quiet…maybe they fell asleep…OMG THEY FELL ASLEEP THIS IS BAD!

 

I’m sweating…I think I’m sweating. Do I smell?

 

Oh. More words I obviously can’t live without.

 

Maybe I should go home and burn this.

 

Seriously quiet in here…no one is moving. I think I killed them.

 

Aren’t I done yet? This is so long!

 

Almost done. THEN WHAT WILL EVERYONE SAY??!?!?

 

LAST LINE THANK GOODNESS I’M DONE!

 

Of course as everyone commented, my brain spun a million miles an hour, deciphering what they said, translating their thoughts into what it meant for the story. What did they hear? What did they get from the story? What did they like? What did they not understand?

Did these words do the job I wanted them to do?

Yes. I had positive feedback. The story is there, I just have some problems to fix…problems I knew existed, because, dude, I do those things all the time. Repetition is a fun thing I do. Beginnings, not my forte, I need to add a bit. I think I have a good opening line and closing line…SO YEA THESE ARE IMPORTANT TO ME!

AND THE GRAND POOBAH OF ALL…the message was in there. Those listening got the point of the story.

Anyone else have similar experiences? Anyone else send work off to be read, or read it in front of people and feel like they’re going to explode? My guess, pretty much everyone. Our work, our art, is a bit of ourselves and we want to be liked, we want to be good enough.

This is a good thing. It makes us strive to be better, to learn. Now I will take what my notes and see what will help my story and what won’t.

But I’m not going back to revisions for a while. Like I said, my brain is mushy… *pokes it with a stick*…yup, mush.

And perfect timing, I leave for vacation on Saturday and will be gone for a week. So today and tomorrow will be me crossing the I MUST DO THESE THINGS BEFORE I LEAVE off the list. And because I will be out of the state visiting family, I will be absent from here.

DON’T CRY I WILL RETURN!

Promise.

Have a great week!

 

Vacationing… Part 4

Tags

back to life, coming home, end of vacation, tired, vacation

Today we are making the eight hour drive home.

I am full of great new memories, but I’m tired, need a shower and to sleep in a real bed, and am ready to get back to life. Bring the puppy home. Sit with my kitties. Spend time on Twitter catching up with everything!

The kids go back to school soon.

Hubs goes back to work.

And I have all the words to write and hopefully edit notes to contend with.

Vacations are fabulous. But so is HOME.

 

 

Vacationing… Part 3

Tags

relax, vacation

Shhh! I’m in Michigan, doing something fun I’m sure… and relaxing. You should take time to do that too.

I miss interacting with everyone out in social media land. Remember me! I’ll be home soon and tell you all about out trip.

 

 

Vacationing… Part 2

Tags

camping, family, fireside reading, hiking, Kayaking, vacation

EEEEEKKK!!! We are on our way to the UP! For those of you who don’t know it stands for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! We will make the eight or so hour drive up to our campsite where we will meet up with my parents and sister and her family!

We will be staying near Pictured Rocks State park!

I have never been there, but it looks gorgeous! Camping (No tent this time! We’ll be in our trailer that we convert to sleeping quarters after taking out the kayaks and motorcycle). Hiking. Kayaking. Reading by the fire. General fun with my family. And s’mores. LOTS OF S’MORES!

We are getting away! No wifi. No work. ALL FUN!

Everyone needs time like that! To recharge. To relax. To smile and be carefree.

Have a great weekend! I will send positive vibes out into the world.

Vacationing… Part 1

Tags

family, in-laws, vacation

Psst… I’m not really here.

I am visiting my in-laws on the first part of our summer vacation. My hubs did a good thing. He put out a call to his parents and sister for them to all get together in one place. Everyone is getting older and being together is a fabulous thing. It’s family. Our older two nephews and hub’s brother-in-law won’t be able to make it and we will miss them. I will chat with my niece and nephews and take time to read… because two books needs reviews… TWO! Maybe in there get some work done on planning Doors 2. Maybe.

But no wifi! Nope. My in-laws don’t have a computer and have no need to reach out into the interwebs. *shrug* I don’t know. So I will miss my Twitter and FB friends!

But during our stay I get to meet up with a fellow writer and Twitter friend! Heather!!!! I love her, you should too. So… BONUS!

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, have a great time!

When Twitter and Reality Collide… BOOM! MAGIC?

Tags

excited, fears, friends, meeting new people, nervous, thoughts, Twitter, vacation

We leave on vacation tomorrow. There is camping involved, so there’s a lot to do.

I am running around moving things here and there, adding things to the list, checking the list, doing laundry.

BAH!

Yes, we’re excited to see Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone! I am nervous about leaving my home, spot on the couch, my wifi (SERIOUS PANIC HERE!), computer, and cats. I’m sure the pool, which I have been working on keeping clear and gross-free, will be a mess when we return.

But that is nothing. I’ve done all that before. And I survived.

This trip is different because we are stopping (TOMORROW NIGHT! RED ALERT) so I can visit – face-to-face! – a friend I ‘met’ on Twitter about a year ago. RENA!

I AM SO EXCITED!

AND NERVOUS!

What if she doesn’t like me? What if we sit there staring awkwardly at the floor?  What if putting two Twitter friends together in reality (let’s be honest I don’t like it there) will make the world explode?

Comfortably conversing with people over the Internet from my couch is my happy place. I can edit all my thoughts so I don’t sound like the true idiot I am. I can sensor my words so I can be cool. That will be taken away from me. I’ve seen pics of her, but really I don’t know how tall she is. What if I’ve been pronouncing her name wrong in my head this entire time? I’ve never actually heard her speak? Will she sound like I imagine?

This reality thing is serious beeeezzzneezzz, people.

*flails*

*takes a breath*

Anyway…

I’m sure it will be awesome, because Rena is a fairy queen and incredibly nice and super supportive. Stalk… I mean follow her on Twitter @originallyrena. Because.

And we will not let fear conquer us. Another Twitter friend Jamie Adams blogged so beautifully about fear http://jamieadamswriting.wordpress.com/2014/07/09/about-fear-and-the-things-beyond/ … go read it. And then follow her on Twitter @Jamie_Adams22. I get to meet her too later this month!

AH! All the new things! I have dreams of how magical this could be. A fantastic new friendship beyond the boundaries of the computer. I WILL BE AWESOME!

I think.

I will return a better me. All who face their fears will be.