Rain

Once again it's a rainy day. Warm at 71. But it's cold in this building, so I'm wearing a sweater. I froze yesterday...don't plan on doing it again today.

Haven't had much to say lately online and off.... guess the stress of the holiday orders is keeping my mind occupied. Plus I've been working on my novel every chance I get. Tomorrow is the deadline and I still have 6,000 words to type. Being sick last week put me behind, but I'll get it done by tomorrow.

The meds I'm on make me feel slightly drowsy. I have to think a moment before I do a task and remind myself what I'm doing. Not a good thing.

Monday again

I'm finally here... at work. Truck wouldn't start until this afternoon due to condensation on the engine. We had a horrible rain yesterday and today has been warmer and humid. Water stood in puddles under the carpot and my truck was covered in condensation. When I opened the hood I saw that the motor was wet with condensation. My uncle came over and we checked the battery, starter, etc and so on... I said, "I wonder if the engine's too wet to fire." He said I could be on to something.

My mom called my brother to ask him something and he told her the truck wouldn't crank. She told my sister who sent her husband over...and he wanted to take a screwdriver and remove a few things. I said no. It would crank once the engine dried off. Then he told me everything I should do to the truck, like grease the tire irons, spray something on the engine to keep oil from getting in the gas, put some caps on something, etc... that's Randy though, he likes to talk about stuff he doesn't know what he's talking about. I humored him a little and agreed with him.

I guess he called my sister who told my mom that the truck needed this and that, etc. She called me and I said, "Mom, the engine's wet from the rain. It will crank once it's dry." To add clout I said, " Uncle Jerry says so." She must of called her boyfriend/fiance John F ...he came over and when he tried it, the truck fired right up. I looked at the engine and it was dry. He used to run a service station and he said, "I told your mother that you were probably right."

I drove the truck around so the engine would get hot enough to burn the rest of the dampness off. I didn't get to work until 2.

Things weren't too chaotic. I'm behind a bit but will catch up once I can concentrate...one of dad's buddies is here and they're arguing politics. It's too cool to run my fan and drown them out.

I had a nice weekend. I'll try to write about it later.

A Thanksgiving Thanks

I am always thankful for what I have all year long. But it's on special occasions like Thanksgiving that I like to take a moment and thank the people I love--off line and on line, for being a special part of my life, for sharing and laughing during the best of times, for caring and support during the worst of times. For putting up with my goofy humor and my constant need to laugh or smile. Life is a path--it's not the destination that's important, but the scenery along the way and...the way that we travel. It's also about what we leave behind. I hope I've touched your lives as you've touched mine.

Thanks for helping make my path smooth and beautiful to envision.

Love you guys.

Harry Potter was not a Rotter

I enjoyed the movie, except for the gum-popping ninny behind me... it was a pretty good movie. Much better than #3... they changed things to fit but most of the things changed were allowable. When I heard Dobbie and Winkey weren't going to be in the movie, I was a bit apprehensive about how they were going to explain the Mark at the World Q-cup. Barty Jr. made it in the book and he made it in this movie...but with his own wand. I can live with that. I wonder if people who hadnt read the book knew that though?

In the last movie, there were many moments wasted on cool visual effects that could have been used to explain the story --like the maurader's map... there was no mention that James--Harry's dad, Sirius, Lupin and Wormtail made the map and used it to get around the school. Also, the whomping tree... it was shown a lot in the movie but no mention was made that it was planted over the shack that Lupin used in school during the night's he was a werewolf...nor was it explained that James, Sirius and Wormtail learned to be animuses so that they could help control Lupin when he was a werewolf.

I didn't like that at all.

But the Goblet of Fire...well, it passed 98% of my approval rating... they worked around Dobby not being in the movie, yes they embellished the dragon challenge but it didn't take away from the story, the fact they added Barty Crouch Jr into the scenes with Wormtail and Vorty sort of got to me at first, but I didn't sit and shout "what the hell?" at the screen like I did in the Priz of Az.

I give a standing applaud to Ralph Fiennes who played Voldemort. He brought the villian to life with the creepiness only Ralph can do.

They also used the kids we all love this time...last movie they had kids speaking lines and I was like..who is that kid? This time we see more of Nevelle, Ginny, Seamus and the very funny Weasley Twins...they crack me up.

My one regret was the small scene where Sirius's face was seen in the embers of the fireplace. I love Gary Oldman and was sad to see his part trimmed.

The ending seemed the lack steam... I'm talking about the goodbyes at school. Harry didn't appear to be bearing a lot of weight from the death of Cedric, seeing his dead parents or fighting Voldemorte like he did in the book. It was Hermoine who showed a bit of unease and Harry was the one comforting her.

But all in all... I give it an A-... it's by far my favorite Harry Potter movie to date.

Potter Tonight

Hope the movie's not a Rotter.

I'm feeling super duper today. Either my meds are working or the coffee is.

Hey John..this horror-scope belongs to you--they sent it to me by mistake:

Work might be even harder than usual as you boss pops in for a chat and ends up boring you silly. You can't just walk out or roll your eyes, so practice a little self-control and see what happens. -

Monday

Another one arrived.

Had an ok weekend. Was very Lazy. Oh.. Happy Birthday Lorraine... I read about the noodle incident in the newspaper... I sure hope those male exotic dancers are eventually found and if you sold them into white slavery without letting me get first pick, I'm gonna be upset with you.

My mom has to have minor dental surgery tomorrow. That means its up to me to cook the T-day feast. Can I do it? You bet, but if I don't get over this viral thing, I'll not feel like giving it my best. Granny's driving in tomorrow, too.

My brother is going to Georgia to visit relatives and will miss the dinner. He's excited and so am I ..I'll have the house to myself this weekend. I'm going to have some friends over Saturday night. Haven't entertained in ages.

Other than that... life's status quo...

What a #&$%#&#@8%$# Day

Hey, thanks John, Jo and Sarah hb for the get well wishes. I'm feeling better today...running on 60%... though I started out at 70%.

We've been waiting for a delivery from the UPS guy since 11 this morning... Dad's film. He's got some appointments this afternoon and he's out looking for the driver. I swear, he's driven me crazy today. Going on wild UPS goose chases. Our regular driver is on vacation, so the guy who has the route today is doing it his way. Instead of calling some of the other photographers who use the same type of film and asking to purchase a roll from them, Dad's been stressing out, cursing and driving around on speculation.

Tomorrow is Christmas Parade day. We haven't taken time to put the Xmas tree in the window. I've been fighting with telemarketers in disguise...aka..Charity donations. One's called 3 times. What part of N-O is misunderstood??

In other words... it's been a hectic day.

After work tomorrow I plan to park it on the couch and rest. I need to get my strength back. I'm running on fumes now.

So... have a great weekend ... I hope to get more of my novel posted. I'm still connecting the dots.

Posted in wrong blog (a repost)

(I posted this yesterday at the novel blog by mistake)

Shot thru the Heart....

... ok, in my hip.

Seems I have a viral respiratory infection. My white cell count is freaky high. So, I was given an antibiotic shot in the hip, which still burns. And some other meds. Told to stay home for a few days.

HA... love my doctor's sense of humor.

`````````````

Yes, I'm at work... slowly getting stuff done. Fever is low and the headache is ebbing a bit. I slept 13 hours last night and plan to go to be extra early tonight.

If I'm a bit silent...it's not that I don't have anything to say...its just a chore to say it.

migrane ..day 3

It eased off a bit last night, but when I woke up this morning...later than usual... it was raging again.


So I called my doctor... and have a date with him at 3. I hope he takes me someplace nice...
Hopefully I'll get some relief. It's hard to focus on work, when your head's in a vise.

Migraine today

It started yesterday afternoon. I was in bed by 9:45... slept til 6:30... what woke me was the sensation that my head was splitting but when I looked in the mirror I realized it wasn't.

So today it's an easy day of doing mindless tasks and dealing with Dad who's in one of his scattered brain moods. I'm not help because my brain is scattered, too.

So...that's all I have to say.

Happy Second Monday in November

I'm behind on my novel. Shame on me. I took the weekend off from typing it. Guess my fingers will be flying on the keyboard later, eh?

Let's see... what's new...

Friday night, I babysat the nephews. Thursday, I picked up a copy of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory so we watched it twice. One time all the way through. The second time starting when the kids and their parents get to the factory. The boys loved it. Especially the singing and dancing. After the second showing, we checked out the bonus DVD. It had some games, which I couldn't do. Who can press the up and down button on the DVD remote control 30 times in 10 seconds? Not I!

But the best part of the whole bonus section was... Deep Roy..the guy who played all the oompa loompas. He teaches you how to dance like one. We danced and danced. Sat morning, we danced some more, fastwarded the movie to the oompa loompa songs...and... you guessed it..danced some more.

I had to work Sat, so I took the boys home and had a slooow day. Got done with my work and left early and stopped by to see my beautician. I had a photo of her that was taken by Dad at a Chamber of Commerce affair. She was drunk and dancing with another downtown business man. It was a funny picture because he popped two buttons off his shirt at the waist probably because he was doing some sort of monky dance.

A word of advice--don't stop by a barber or a beauty shop when you're having a bad hair day. I ended up losing 4 inches of hair. Now it's a perky length, shoulder length. I confess it's easier to manage. Saturday night, some friends from my belly dance class and I went dancing at a new club. It was one of those places where everyone was on the dance floor, with or without partners. So me and the girls were getting down to the funky sounds mingling belly dance hip drops and tummy rolls with other groovy cool dance moves when I realized that I kept unconsciously dancing like an oompa loompa--a belly dancing oompa loompa...the funny part was a GI who was dancing by me.. he yelled "oompa loompa" and gave me a high five. But all in all, it was fun. We left early though, it got too crowded to dance without rubbing up against strange men. I don't mind the rubbing ... it's who I'm rubbing against!!! A guy with a fungus thing on his lips kept rubbing his crotch against my ass. I elbowed him and he moved over to one of the other girls who said, "let's go."

My Sunday was quiet. Didn't do much. Watched "Rome" and "Curb"... on Hbo.

Today...when I got to work I had an ornery old geezer in here first thing. He wanted a copy made of an old photo... he's what I call an "echo talker--someone who makes one syllable sound like two" (patent pending). I kept asking him to repeat himself. I thought he said his name was 'Johnny R (r-rah) Colton'. He saw me writing it down and said, "That's not right. I'm not a johnny-ee." He paid with a check and I saw he was right.. and I was wrong on all parts..his name is John L. Cole.

My dear friend Sam got his author questionairre from Publish America. He told me that instead of 30 days, he has 14 to get everything together. I was stunned. 14 days isn't enough time to get it ready. I'm considering self-publishing my next book. I can sell my books from my website or at the studio. Most want signed copies and most of my sales are from books purchased directly from me. Course it's something to study over, before doing.

Who are You? a Quiz

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character. Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character you most resemble? A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters. The information that was gathered was made into this test:

Answer all the questions with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end and look for your results. Do not cheat by looking at the end of the quiz before you are done.

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts.)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts.)
e) Pop (3 pts.)

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you could only choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.)
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt)

5. What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts.)
d) Dark Blue (2pts.)

7. What do you prefer to eat right now?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.) e) Salad (5 pts.)

8. What is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween (1 pt.)
b) Christmas (3 pts.)
c) New Year (2 pts.)
d) Valentine's Day (4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts.)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt.)
d) Hawaii (4 pts.)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time?
a) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points.

(10-16 points) You are Garfield: You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy: You are fun, very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you never are out of style. You are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28 points) You are Elmo: You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer, if not you will have many conflicts with life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants: You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never want to lose. You never cause harm to anyone and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it's funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people, then you will be stress free.

(36-43 points) You are Charlie Brown: You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few Birthdays. Don't let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points) You are Dexter: You are smart and definitely a thinker. Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. Maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I scored 32.. I'm Sponge Babe Square Panties

I'm feeling better today. Got a lot of work done yesterday. Belly dance was fun and when I got home, Lisa and the nephews were there. She dropped by to get something one of them left the other day.

I made a Christmas List with all our names on it. Decorated it with Xmas stickers and sketches. We're slowly adding gift suggestions. William was in the den, looking at a Toy catalog. Under his breath, he was reciting the list. He's memorized it. Funny kid. Wish he would memorize important stuff like his spelling words, etc.

I spent a long time off line writing last night. But like a dummy I forgot to email myself the file so I would have it here at work.

This morning, I turned on the tv to check the weather station, see what we were in store for today. Instead of pressing 2-0... I pressed 2-9... got Nick Jr. It was suddenly clear that I'm a Stepford-Aunt. The nephews have me trained to immediately go to their favorite channel. To do their bidding. I''m doomed...I'm doomed.

Still no word from Seth. Though I try not to think of him, I find myself remembering intimate details or a joke we shared. Oh well, life goes on.

I've changed a lot over the last few years. I don't sweat things as much, let stuff roll off me, even if it hurts at first. I'm more tolerant and forgiving... willing to take chances and am getting used to the idea that I can't control my life and instead adjust to the changes...that I should live for each day and love instead of hate or be resentful or bitter.

Like the saying goes... "Life is short--Art is long."

Colors

I was in our display window about 30 minutes ago, removing sun-damaged photos, when a crowd of blacks walked by. One gal said, "yo, there's a fucking white girl in there...we would scare the shit out of her if we went in there"...

I looked around and didn't see a white girl fucking...lol... seriously though, she irked me..why would I be scared of them just for coming into the building. Many of my best customers are african-americans and I'm fond of them--they're fond of me. The merchants next door ar A-A's. Wes is one of my dearest friends. I don't know if it's a just a southern thing, but around here they're the first to scream racism if a person of another race even mentions their race, but when they say racist stuff about whites, they feel its their right to do so because of old transgressions...

I rarely get on the racial bandwagon, but today, this bothered me...a lot.

Wednesday Funk

Where's my afro wig, my rhinestone studded pantsuit and my platform shoes?

Too bad it's not that kind of funk.

Went to bed with it...woke up with it... and its still hanging onto me, like an ugly monkey on my back.

Funks are weird...they're never about one thing. A cauldron of poisons brewing...self-doubt, that horrible sense of loss I get on this day, the burden of my caretaker role, Seth dropping off the face of the earth just to name a few. Funk..Funk Stew... have a helping? I can't eat it all by myself.

I'm good at hiding my funks. Lipstick paints a smile... glasses hide the eyes...and my pre-recorded joking ways set to play.

I voted yesterday...my voice was heard but didn't count... at least not in the way I wanted. The Pro Park people won in a landslide. It was all I had to vote for. All our government positions in my district weren't up for re-election.

It's printing day... I'm off to pull up the novel file and invent my own world, manipulate people and cause chaos or wonder with my imagination.

Vote

It's election day here in the good ole U. S. of A.

I voted...it's important. Think of all the people in other countries who will never get the taste of freedom of speech, freedom of choice... vote for them (but don't get caught..hahahaha)

"What this country needs is more unemployed politicians."--Angela Davis, FBI fugitive turned college professor.

She's right... I really believe that most of the politicians in office are so busy getting fat off the proverbial feast of the land that they've forgotten what it's like to be at the bottom. I don't agree with many of the politics of today. That's why I vote.

And my opinion is this...if you don't vote, then shut your mouth about the problems of the Union. You're voice isn't heard...unless you vote.

(off the soap box and shouting...NEXT)

Happy First Monday of Nov

Finally a moment of peace...so here I am...scribbling a quick post.

My weekend didn't work out as planned. Saturday at work, I was overwhelmed with some rush work. So I didn't get a chance to write on the novel.... nor boot-scoot around the internet.
When I got home, my family (mom, her John and sister & sons) were there...we decided to have a fish fry. My bro-in-law had been fishing at the beach the day or so before and caught a bunch of spots. Enough to feed all of us. It was actually fun. No big clash of wills in the kitchen. Everyone left at around 7 or so...except Mom who insisted she stay and help me clean up. By the time she was gone, I was too tired to get online and type, so I wrote my novel by hand...

Sunday, I went to Walmart-ville and got some items I needed that I can't find at my Ma and Pa grocery store. I made sure I was 'pretty' and not hiding under my "Boy George" hat (as Wes calls it). Didn't see one soul I knew...murphy's Law # 89.

Promised the nephews I would go with them and their mom to see "Chicken Little." We got there really early. Let them play video games and then got popcorn and a soda. It was Ben's first visit to the theatre. He asked "Where's the tables?" When I took him into the movie area, his blue eyes grew twice their size. I think he felt small, compared to all the rows of seats. He held my hand tightly. William demanded we sit up front and center. I managed to get us on the second row...but now I wish we hadn't. It would have been nice to stretch out on the front row without having the crushed feeling. When Ben sat down, the seat almost closed back up on him. I put my handbag in the seat to help weigh it down. The movie was ok...was surprised to see a 'potty' scene, where chicken l. and his friends spent an estimated 60-90 secs on 'urine' nicknames.

After the movie was over, we went straight home... it was almost 6 and the day was gone. I had to take John to an eye doctor appointment this morning. We were there an hour and a half. I had enough time to read 100 pages of a novel!!!! I told him that I felt as if I didn't get enough 'me' time this weekend, which made getting to work harder than ever.

But I dove right into my task for today. Trying to find time to connect the dots with the portions of my novel that I've already written.

First Friday in December

...that's today.

Worked on my novel last night but forgot to post the chapters this morning. The files at home. I know where I left off but since I can't review the last portion, I decided not to try and write the next section. Instead I've been writing out the scenes I have in my head and the final ending, just so I will get my 1800 words a day done. I really wonder what will happen...if I'll stay true to the ending. Should be interesting to see...if to no one else..but myself.

The magazine issue is up. I'm not sure what I'll do for December. I need to think about it when I need a break from the novel.

This week has been extra busy. I hope it continues to be so. A few orders were dropped off Monday and the deadline for the pickups are today at 5 and tomorrow at noon. I've got them done, dispite a brief interlude with a hot stud. Talk about melting panties...well, we'll leave it at that. ;) I'll just say it was a delightful suprise and so wonderfully decadent.

I'm sure I'll be blogging tomorrow ...I've got a full day of work and not much to do, except type...type...type.

Enjoy the evening, my dear readers.

Crazy Little Thing Called Work

Sorry for not posting yesterday...

Busy at work and haven't had time to transfer handwritten pages of my novel to type, so I can post. I'll work on that today and tonight.

I did get the Nov issue finished...

http://www.opalrose.com/magazine/November.html

first chapters up

on my nanowrimo.org novel

its called Blood of the Goddess

link to the blog is on the right.

Candy, anyone?

I've got candy flowing out of the woodworks at my house. The boys racked up and I have some left from trick or treating. We didn't get as many kids as we did last year. Too many carnivals going on everywhere. There was a big one on the plaza.

The boys were perfect little gentlemen while they trick or treated, saying thank you to everyone.

I still have candy left over...so if you want a piece, let me know and I'll email it to you.