In Case You Were Wondering...

~ This year's Christmas card drawing - click to make biggerer ~

I am still alive.

I thought I'd be back before now but 

all of my best laid plans are apparently just suggestions.

I hope to be catching up with everyone soon.

Break Time

~ click image to make biggerer ~

Work is kicking my ass. My word count for NaNo is sad. The edit on my novel needs attention as do the real live people and puppy in my life. 


OK, I admit it: I am an internet addict. There I said it. Let the twelve steps begin. (It’s not December yet so don’t think of that song.)


Your excellent comments and your wonderful blogs are a distraction I can not control at the moment (does that qualify as a successful completion of step one?)


I will be back on December 1st (with the exception of my traditional Thanksgiving Day Turkey.) In December, I will celebrate my five year blogiversary which is actually on November 23rd.


In the meantime, I must take care of things in my non-cyber world. I will miss all of you but I must detox.

Merry meet and blessed be.

Yay! Finally Some Internet Access...Now Catch Up Time

We are camping down the shore. The hurricane turned out to be a lot of wind and high waves but really passed far out to sea so New Jersey was ok.

Between extra work (the bane of taking some days off), packing, travelling and the storm, I was unable to get online. 


I only have one bar even now. Boo, woo.

I hope to do catch up over the next couple of days.

Still Orbiting Like the Space Shuttle

Like the space shuttle, I will remain in orbit until the weather clears.

Tomorrow is Tales on Tuesday. I will have a story to post. I hope you do, too.


It will be my mother's 76th birthday and the theme for Tuesday, April 20, 2010, will be "All in the Family." 
Suggested by Weirsdo.

      

We Have a Winner!

The Random Number Generator brought back the number 1, so our winner of the Bunny is Susan of Inappropriate Sue. I hope your daughter, Chloe, really enjoys this babbit. Please email me at goldennib at gmail dot com with your shipping address.

(A note about addresses: If you ever give me your address, I will never give it to anyone else.)

I like to make things and give them away, so stay tuned for future give-aways.

It seems people have more to say about blogging. If you have not done a “Netiquette” (term coined by Quilly) post yet or have more to say on blogging practices, join me on Thursday’s 13 for more thoughts on blogging. I will put up a Netiquette Mr. Linky that will include the previous posts on blogging and you can link in with your new posts. I’ll do a Netiquette button, too, that you can use for the occasion.

Don’t forget tomorrow’s Tales on Tuesday with the theme of “Dark Shadows.”

Nichols visited this weekend.

On Top of Everything Else...

Besides this

My husband's computer was attacked by the malware "XP Internet Explorer Anti-Virus" trojan. I have spent last night and tonight fighting this thing. It's a horror! People that create these things should be strung up by their little toes with fish hooks. Yes. It's that bad.

Oh. And I'll only be posting here from now on. What is this sickness where I need several blogs? Does it have a name?

     

Getting Reaquainted in 55

Ever feel like you’re just one step out of sync with the world? Like a shadow on an old television show? 

I’m visiting my daughter this weekend. Hopefully, by February 1st my psyche will be realigned with the rotation of the earth. If not, I will continue to float in a gossamer no man's land.

****

Not really a story, Mr. know-It-All, but it is in 55.

Flash 55 is hosted by G-Man (Mr. Knowitall). The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you’ve posted your 55. Thanks G-man for hosting.

Not Dead Yet

I am still alive. This year has begun as a very powerful time for change, lots and lots of change. I just wanted to make a quick note that all is well, I am flourishing and I WILL be visiting soon.

Guilt and Sadness

I feel guilty posting because I have no time to read the blogs of those of you who comment here.

I am sad because I love to read your blogs and I have no time.

I am working on several short stories, trying to get some ready to submit to the WD contest which deadlines May 15th. I am also trying to re-write and edit my two NaNo stories and add to my Divine Death story.

If someone with lots of money wants to be my patron so I can quit my day job and write full time, email me.

Breathing Again

Thanks for your comments on my last post. I'm going to use it as part of a short story for the next Writers' Digest contest.

There were lots of new programs, benefits, employees and year end reporting that needed doing at work. I read eleven or twelve sexy novels (see my side bar), started The Cookie Diet two weeks ago and lost 20 pounds so far, had teeth fixed, so now I'm broke and I think I've found a way to reduce my depressive bouts a bit. All in all a productive three week period.

I think I'm ready to get back into the swing of things. I'll see you all on your sites.

Yes, It's the Amazingly Bombastic Creativity Scavenger Hunt Game - List for February

First, I must say Rabbit, Rabbit, before I forget again. Thanks everyone for all of your lovely comments. I will respond before the weekend is over. I must make my brother's birthday cake tonight (He's really, really, really old, like 46 or something.) I'll post the card and prezzie I made him later, too. Tomorrow, we're all going to the horse races 'cause that's what he wants. I'll rest and play during the Super Bowl. Tomorrow is the first ever Astrology Monthly and it's all about LOVE. This week at work was hell on wheels. (That was a long first.)

Second, the Wieners of January's Amazingly Bombastic Creative Scavenger Hunt were

ACTONBELL,
TLP,
TOM & ICY
and
TSDUFF.

The competition was fast and furious and bombastically creative. I, of course, never finished my list. Go see all of their wonderful submissions. The links go right to the posts. You'll get a good idea what it's all about.

THE RULES ARE HERE.

Get Ready. Get Set. GO!

Amazon Antelope
Big Bozzo
Cozy Couch
Dead Dora
Elevated Engine
Flat Feet
Green Gills
Horny Heaven
Inky Ice
Jammed Joke
Kissing King
Long Lock
Married Mouse
Naked Newt
Old Oats
Popping Pimple
Quivering Quilt
Roving River
Smiling Smoke
Tall Tree
Useless Uniform
Voluptuous Vine
Winding Wind
Xeroxed Xylophone
Yellow Yam
Zero Zinnia


And get a chuckle at Humor-Blogs dot com.

A Boy and His Balls

My husband is in the kitchen pounding his meat. We’re having hamburgers for dinner. Was it wrong of me to start off this way? You must forgive me. My mouth hurts. I have a bad tooth which kept me awake all night and I’m tired. I have a tendency to be bad when I’m tired. Poor impulse control.

I love double entendres. Almost everything I think or say has more than one meaning. I find saying things with underlining risqué meanings in a very offhand way entertaining. Most people don’t even pick up on it but every once in a while I’ll look at someone and they’ll have a stupid lopsided grin and I’ll know they’ve understood. People I click with play the same game.

I particularly love to do this in large groups and office meetings when I become bored out of my gourd. I feel bad sometimes because I really can get carried away and I make others laugh and misbehave, too. I do it so subtly that I never get in trouble. I get tingly just thinking about it.

I put up a slide show of Longwood Gardens on my Photograph Site. It used to be a DuPont estate and is now a horticultural wonder. I went there on New Year’s Eve with my Mommy. My Journal Site has some short, short, story snippets that come from random phrase five minute timed writing. If you have been reading Divine Death there have been a couple of additions and things have gotten a bit hot.

I commented at Nessa’s Reading Room and updated my reading list. And finally, to see some of the things I made in December have a look at my Craft Site.

Now I am so worn out from exposing myself to you, that I must take a nap.

Have a Focused and Persistent New Year

I feel like I've been away forever.

People that get what they want have goals. People that achieve their goals are people who never give up. These are the things I wish for you (and me) this year.

I have spent the last couple of weeks deciding what I want, what I really, really want (just like the Spice Girls.) I've looked at a bunch of successful people and quite frankly, if they can do it, so can I and so can you.

Let's realize our dreams this year.

Never Say Never...

...unless you want to eat your words. This morning I did something I said I would never do. I stood in line to buy a rain check from GameStop for a Wii console. I see some of you snickering at me. I deserve it, I know. I have caved to Christmas Commercialism and no one feels worse or more disappointed than me. I will now have to qualify every declarative statement I wish to make in the future, even this one.

I think I will have Sunday all to myself. I am planning on catching up one everyone's blogs and even updating my own. Thank you all for your wonderful comments and especially for reading what I write. I can't express fully how much it means to me. A special thank-you to Pauline from Glimpses Intangible who writes beautiful poetry. She has been reading my NaNoWriMo 2007 novel during this busy season and leaving comments on each section. I couldn’t have gotten a better Christmas present. If I don't see you until later:

Happy, Merry, Peace, Joy and Love.

Oops, My Bad.

Minka The Ice Princess and Actonbell The Tempest in a Teapot have found my 2007 NaNoWriMo novel on their own and have made some very kind comments. If you wish to peruse the 50K+ words, you may do so HERE. Sorry for the delay. It seems the holidays are getting the best of me. I thought I had loads of time but all kinds of things are happening at once and I think my innards may become my outards. Of course, the books I’m reading are not helping my time management (shush, don’t tell anyone.) And I can’t find my calendar (where I schedule everything) which has begun to obsess my thoughts and really screwing with my head.

Best, Better, Bestest

Thank you all for your well wishes. The puppy and I are doing very well. The funk has lifted and i am moving on. My word count for NaNoWriMo 2007 is over 16,000. That's a little light for the 18th but I'm getting there. I've been doing between 2,000 and 3,000 words a day, so by the end of the month I'll be there.

Time to go do my daily chunk.

Pity Party Passed

Mercury being retrograde during October and November this year is really doing a number on those around me, which is effecting me and it’s also doing a number on me personally. I haven’t even had the energy or time to check the comments you’ve so kindly been leaving.

Just so you can all have a pity party for me and mine, I will tell you my sweet little puppy hurt his leg last Thursday and I was too sick to take care of him. I had to call my husband home from work (which I never, ever have done) so he could take the Codes to the vet. The Codles had no serious injury; it looks like he slipped on the tile floor and twisted his knee. He and I whined for several days. Make with the little violin thingy, go ahead.

So, I am recovering, as are all of the other people who have been bombarded around me. I am horribly behind now on NaNoWriMo, but do not despair, there’s still time to catch up there, too. These past two weeks have been a lesson to me that sometimes I need to go with the flow more instead of trying to bulldoze my way through things.

The weirdness factor is still operating but I think I know what that is about too (extra sleep from sickness sometimes has advantages.)

I’m sorry for neglecting you all, but it could not be helped. I will make the rounds this week and catch up. Here’s to hope.

Weird

The past week or so, I have had that weird out-of-body, out-of-mind feeling. I am my physical self, slogging through everyday life like pulling myself through a muddy swamp and then there’s me, watching, listening but not quite there. If you are old enough perhaps you remember the shadows on TV – that has been me. I have been caught several times, staring into space. The looks I’ve gotten are priceless, as I usually reserve my complete disconnect for when I’m alone, but my will power has been lacking. I just didn’t feel like being my usual excessively focused self. I’m straddling various realities, but I feel a major change coming (I hope it’s not schizophrenia) and it’s very strong so instead of hiding from it, I’m waiting and looking and listening. And I am writing my little heart out for NaNoWriMo, which takes precedence this month.

I have read everyone’s comments, which I love and for which I thank you. I will respond during those brief times when my selves are merged, but I make no guarentees.

Heaven

A bird warbles just outside my window. A breeze, cool, constant and caressing, flows over me as I sit reading and daydreaming. I consider the peace of this sunny, crisp autumn day and thank God for the gifts I enjoy.

Whispers of calm and murmured mantras shuffle the branches high in the trees. Light dances through the leaves: yellow, green, red and orange mosaics shimmering across the grass outside and the tile floor on the porch. The play of lights and darks hypnotizes me; heaven could not be better than this moment in time.

* * * * *

NaNoWriMo 2007 starts in a week and a half. I am working on my outline. I won last year writing a 50,706 word novel during the month of November. Granted, many parts of it sucked, but there was NO planning involved. I just went after the word count. From now until November 1st, I will actually think about a story before I begin. Despite the pressure, it was loads of fun just slopping words on the page. Consider joining me.

Lines

Thanks everyone for your concern and well wishes.

We are starting to sleep again. But we are still a little jumpy, hearing noises, triple checking locks and looking over our shoulders for Vodka Man.

The backyard of our house is full of sand. The previous owners had a beach theme going on. We are covering it with a stone patio. Vodka Man was the person installing the stone.

Vodka Man once had a lovely wife, three kids, a great house, cars and a well paying job. When he was a young boy in Georgia, his father killed his mother and he shot his father. He never got help for what that must have done to him, so I think a melt down was inevitable. He used copious amounts of alcohol to self medicate. His wife divorced him and took his kids across the country. He's had his car reposed and he has no job. He's now been padlocked out of the rooming house he lived in.

QV had him doing our patio thinking he was helping VM out and VM was doing a good job. He'd lay the stone for us and QV gave him all the beer he wanted and paid him, too.

We think this is what happened: Friday we were going to leave first thing in the morning for the mountains, but we had to wait because we were having a lawn irrigation system put in the front yard and the company decided to do it Friday and we had to be home. All day Friday VM sat around drinking beer and watching the guys install the sprinklers. VM drank up all but three beers. When the guys were done, QV gave them tips. Then we were going to leave. He gave VM the last of the beers in a cooler because VM was going to do some stone after we left. QV said that's all he had and he had no more cash but he'd give VM some on Sunday when we got back.

Saturday, VM did stone in the afternoon. It was hot and humid. He was still at the house at 4:30 when Snoogs was leaving the house. VM was on the front porch when she opened the front door. She told him she was leaving. He said he was thirsty and water wasn't cutting it. She told him we had no beer. He walked by her, into the house and got the BIG bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet and took it out back.

When Snoogs got back to the house at seven, Vodka Man was gone and the vodka bottle was empty on the backyard bar. We think he downed the vodka in a very short amount of time and since he had no food all day and it was very hot, it sent him into a rage because QV didn't leave him beer or money.

When his ex-wife was fixing up their house to sell, he got drunk, broke in and destroyed the newly renovated bathroom, just because he was mad.

It has now been over a week and no one has seen him. Many people are looking though, as they want to see QV pop him one. We have since heard that he has been banned from several local bars for stealing money off of the bar when people go to the bathroom.