Friday-itis

Friday, April 4, 2008

I have a severe case of Friday-itis, a condition characterized by spending long hours staring into space and pushing sentences around without actually doing any work. This wouldn't be so bad except that I've also suffered from Thursday-itis and Wednesday-itis as well.

Also, I've been watching the mailbox like a fiend this week and (I never thought I'd hear myself say this but) when are the darn rejection letters going to come in? I'm getting anxious over two stories that I've had two stories out since November. I also mailed a batch in March and have another batch that I'd like to send off before most mags close for the summer. So in this case, getting some rejection letters wouldn't be all bad. (Except, of course, for the spirit crushing nature of rejection letters.)

And finally, on the current theme of not being productive, I'm trying to decide which of these three albums should be my next iTunes purchase:

The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America -- To indulge the part of my that loves a good rock n' roll song like "Stuck Between Stations."

Shout Out Louds, Our Ill Wills -- Happy Swedish pop group whose "You Are Dreaming" has already firmly lodged itself in my head. (Beware! That link goes to a Harry Potter fan video. I am not happy about this, but it's the best version of the song on YouTube. I'm sure spoilers abound.)

Charlotte Gainsbourg, 5:55 -- Lots of beautiful, quiet tracks like "5:55" and "Beauty Mark" that would make a nice accompaniment on days that I do actually write.

What do you think?

Las Vegas: Before and After

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Again with the apologies. Hubs and I went off to Las Vegas this weekend to make our annual donation to the Casino Association of Nevada. Well, Hubs did anyway. My idea of gambling is to put $10 into a 25 cent blackjack machine, lose it, and call it a day. Although, this time I made an attempt at playing craps, but more about that later.

Anyway, it's been hectic here and that means no writing. Instead, I have a week filled with vets and pet sitter interviews. Before we left last week, I took White Cat to the vet for the third time in the last two months. He has feline IBD, but lately he's also been losing weight and acting funny. We did some blood work and he was diagnosed with feline diabetes. There is nothing that will make you feel worse than getting news like this, then hanging up the phone and getting on a plane to Las Vegas. So today we have an appointment to learn the ins and outs of feline diabetes, including how to give White Cat a daily (or maybe twice daily) shot of insulin. Good thoughts, prayers, and other vibeage directed toward White Cat will be much appreciated.

On top of that, we returned to find that Tabby Cat, our normally healthy, resilient cat had been ill while we were gone. I blame the food, but am also feeling like a terrible Cat Mom for leaving them in their hour of need. And on top of that, we're leaving them again in a couple of weeks so I have to quickly find a trustworthy pet sitter who can give insulin injections.

So, yeah. Not writing today. In the meantime, I'll have some pictures from Vegas and some highlights from our trip up on the blog shortly.

What To Do On a Rainy Day

Friday, December 14, 2007

When the weather outside looks like this:
And the kitties inside are doing this:
It's the perfect kind of day for making these:

This week has been dreary for reasons beyond just the weather, so I decided to just call it a sick week and not worry about the writing I haven't been doing. Today I braved the muck to get some Christmas shopping out of the way; however, a couple of hours in the rain was enough to convince me that errands can wait too. So I came home and made spiced nuts.

Spiced nuts are a Christmas staple in my family. My mother makes them every holiday and a few years ago, I took her recipe and began making them as well. Every year I bag up some nuts as gifts and they're usually a hit.

Unfortunately, this is the one recipe I selfishly hoard. I gave it out once when I was a secretary and my boss fell in love with them. She demanded the recipe. She even went so far as to call me at home on a Saturday to make sure she was doing it correctly (not that it's that complicated, but she was a bit flighty). Anyway, she made a batch and gave them to her clients. For several days following I fielded phone calls from clients who gushed over the nuts. One of our bigwigs even gushed while he was in the office and not once did she even mention that it might just be my recipe that she had used. Not that you have to credit the source, but even a private thank you to me would have been nice.

Anyway, since then I've refrained from giving out this particular recipe. Any other I'll be happy to share and take Saturday clarification phone calls, but this one stays in the family.

Bad Day

Thursday, November 8, 2007

I spent a great day writing at the Green Muse on Tuesday. Unfortunately everything else in my life went to hell on Tuesday night. Okay, so not really to hell exactly, but immediately after writing, I went back over to the condo to find out that a pool of dirt had seeped back through the carpet after the cleaning. This was blamed on a dirty pad and so now I have to replace the padding and have the carpet cleaned again.

And of course, the bathroom project has gone over the estimated two days and the condo can't go on the market until it is finished.

And then I got home and found that my white cat had dug into my knitting bag, pulled out my Lopi Lace Scarf, and, in dragging it to the living room, had dropped half the stitches and broken the yarn. This scarf is cursed, I tell you.

So on Wednesday, I spent no time writing, and all my time calling back carpet cleaners, tracking down documents for the condo, and getting a thousand other chores done, that all somehow involve around the condo.

I was hoping today might be better. That I could get the condo stuff out of the way in the morning and spend the rest of the day focused on the story I started on Tuesday or, at the very least, fixing the story I want to get submitted this week. No such luck.

I got to the condo to meet the Salvation Army pick up people, with whom I was sending off my sofa, bookcases, entertainment center, and other heavy stuff. As they were backing their truck down the drive, one of the yard people came over and told me that they couldn't drive their truck down there. Um. Okay. One of the residents of the codo drives a huge truck that is regularly parked down that drive. I told him that they had to drive the truck down there because there was no way they were going to carry a queen-size sleeper sofa out my door and few hundred feet back to the street. He kept going at me about how it was against the rules, how they could ruin the trees, how someone was going to have to pay. . . and all the while, the truck is safely backing its way down the narrow drive and how exactly am I going to stop them without being run over? So I just shrugged and walked away.

Y'all, I am not normally that rude. But I am at the end of my rope. What the poor yard guy didn't realize is that I am already on my last nerve with the HOA because every time I tried to report my neighbor's noise violations, they refused to do anything about it, even while acknowledging that the noise was a problem. And because the minute it looked like my condo was going to go on the market, they began passing stipulations to keep me from renting it out. And so, on what should have been my last day of dealing with this stupid HOA, I was being chewed out over rules that are not universally enforced.

I am so annoyed. So writing today? Probably not. Sitting and fuming sounds a little more like it. Sorry for the vent, y'all. We'll return to our regularly scheduled snark and cheer shortly.