Exercise?

Back in November when my life starting getting a little hairy exercise fell right off of my ‘to do’ list.  For three years I had basically exercised 50 minutes a day/six days a week.  Close your eyes and imagine what has happened to my body in the past three months?  Not a pretty picture; you might even say scary!!!!  The thought of getting back on my recumbent bike actually freaked me out.  Would fifty minutes leave me wheezing like an overweight bulldog? 

I racked my brain trying to come up with some incentive (non food related, of course).  Finally I picked up my Kindle and dove into a book that I had downloaded months ago.   After putting on oversized sweatpants and a huge shirt I plunked myself down on the bike.  The good news?  I survived a forty-five minute workout (I quit a little early because my boys were begging for lunch).  The better news?  I became absolutely engrossed in a story that I wouldn’t normally pick up.  For the most part I’m a traditional reader.  Going outside my comfort zone doesn’t happen often.  THIS BOOK WAS WORTH IT!  Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight is an emotional rollercoaster.  Ms. Knight is an author I love, but this story was a departure from her normal genre.  She weaves characters that will stay with you for a very long time.   I waited almost six months to read this book; when I orginally purcahsed it I knew I had to be in the right state of mind.  So I waited.  And waited.  And waited.  I’m not going to provide a synopsis here (there are plenty of places that will do a better job than I can).  But if you need a book that will grab you emotionally…check out Butterfly Tattoo.  Deidre Knight deserves every ounce of praise she receives for this work!!!!

An Unexpected Goodbye…

 

Yesterday I lost a very important part of my family.  Guinness, my ten year old Bassett Hound, passed away in my home unexpectedly.  My head and my heart just plain ache this morning.  He was a beautiful pet…the self proclaimed head of our hound posse.  Whenever his brothers (human or canine) stepped out of line, Guinness would howl in disgust — alerting me of a problem.  He was sweet, devoted, full of life and personality.  I miss him….and that feeling won’t go away.  He is a part of me now and always will be.  He was a gift and a blessing, coming into my life with a swagger and leaving with his head at my feet.

A winter wonderland…

Outside the snow is falling and it’s responsible for putting a big old smile on my face….

This photo sort of captures what it looks like on the side streets in my area.  Pretty.  Peaceful.  Of course as the day progresses and the lake effect snow continues to fall, I’ll feel less joy and more concern about getting back in my Toyota (yes, a recalled vehicle) to pick the kids up from school. 

For any HGTV fans — remember their Dream Home giveaway contest is still running.  You can go to their website and sign up daily for a chance to win.  Every year I faithfully fill out on line entry forms and spend weeks dreaming about…WHAT IF?  Now I know there is no chance in hades that I will actually win but that doesn’t even matter.  I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE thinking about how cool it would be to win.  Take a look at the pictures of this year’s house.  It’s very cool:  www.hgtv.com

Now I’m going to close down my desktop and start cleaning my kitchen!!!!!

If I Could Turn Back Time…

When I was young I thought the best show on television was Bewitched.   I used to curl up on the floor and watch reruns on TBS.  With a twitch of her nose, Samantha Stephens, could go back in history (loved the Salem witch hunt episode) or zap into the future.  Is there anything cooler than that? 

Right now I’m fighting the urge to run away (with my kids, hubby, 3 dogs, 4 frogs, 2 snails in tow).  Just packing everyone up (along with some high fat snacks, diet Dr. Pepper, and Wrigley’s Gum) and hitting the highway.  For a month I’d like to forget about school, work, bills, my unsold house, and my mother’s illness.  I’m not a big believer in regrets…I prefer the ‘it is what it is’ school of thought.  But lately I’m constantly wishing I could roll back time just a few months.  Some of the choices I’ve made during that period have turned out kind of stinky…and I’d love to get a ‘do over’ chance.  I keep telling myself that uncertainty can lead to opportunity — but the truth is that it also creates stress. 

A few weeks back someone close to me said “you’re a strong person, you can handle this” — I laughed and cringed at the same time.  I’d like to be about a thousand times stronger.  I’d like to put down that bag of Doritos befoe I reach the crumbs.  I’d like to read back my current WIP without my face turning red (the last two chapters I’ve worked on have been interesting – I’m attributing that to lack of sleep).  I’d like to finally send the emails I’ve been avoiding (lack of energy is such a lame excuse).  This is starting to sound like a ‘to do’ list, which means I need to add getting on the recumbent bike.  My legs look like jello (white jello if that’s possible).  Yah, too much information.

Okay, time to face the laundry.  Oddly, it’s the one task that doesn’t send me reaching for a box of Ring Dings!

Morning madness…

Most mornings I enjoy the fact that I drive my children to school.  With our recent move, the daily commute jumped from 15 minutes to 25 minutes.  This is my opportunity to crank up the volume on the car stereo and force my children to listen to songs from the 1950’s – present.  I’m proud to say that they do a mean cover version of “Lean on Me”.  We roll the windows down a few inches (even though it’s winter in W. New York) and sing at the top of our lungs. 

Today, there wasn’t much singing.  We were in crisis mode.  My oldest misplaced his snow boots.  No boots means no outdoor recess fun.  We scampered around our hall closet and came up empty.  Mud room empty.  Under the bed, empty except for some dust bunnies.  Hence, there was no singing on the ride in.  As we pulled off at our exit, my youngest realized that we forgot to pack his library book.   Crisis changed to bedlam.  Yes, there were tears (maybe from all three of us). 

The good news is we were all able to turn those frowns right around.  My second grader and I marched down to his classroom and with the help of his very cool teacher – found the misplaced footwear!!!  Then I stopped by the kindergarten class and told the teacher I’d be back in 1 hour (25 mintues each way) with my son’s library book.  Even though my car was running on fumes, I made it back with three minutes to spare.  My five year old had a huge smile on his face…1 hour 45 mintues in morning traffic was a distant memory.  Seeing relief wash over his face — PRICELESS!

Guess how long it took me….

The past few days I’ve been trying to tackle those pesky things that have been hanging over my head.  Let me tell you…it was a good thing that I took a couple of Advil before I dove right in.

1. Those darn vertical blinds have been silently tormenting me in my boy’s bedroom.  Yesterday I picked up some cool navy panel drapes and hunkered down with my set of screwdrivers.  It took 45 minutes (honest) to get the existing hardware down.  There were literally screws everywhere.  To make my afternoon even brighter the rod I had just purchased was bent in the middle.  I literally used my teeth to get it adjusted to the point that it was functional.  Hmm…two hours to hang curtains in one room!!!

2.  It suddenly hit me why I had been avoiding my ‘work in progress’.  Can you guess?  I had reached the point where I needed to write an intimate scene (yes, that’s code for sex).  Wow…talk about tough.  After three hours of scratching my head I finally pushed through five pages.  They’re not perfect but at least the deed is done.

3.  As I’ve mentioned on this blog, I’ve just moved.  For two weeks I’ve been searching for a large box of Waterford crysal.  I’ve unpacked a good majority of my crystal collection but can’t find about 20 items.  This is not making me a happy camper.  Historically, my husband and I lose items each time we move.  Often it’s a box of coats or books — this time it’s Waterford.  NOT GOOD

Today I’m meeting with my mini critique group!  Yippee – I’ve haven’t seen any of them since the beginning of December so I’m pretty excited!!!

Things I’m Digging…

Some years are simply tough…2010 is going to be one of those years for me.  Lately I’ve been an emotional roller coaster  — like the woman you see crying in the card section of your local grocery store.  As much as I try not to think about things that are upsetting to me, my brain automatically detours there when I’m not paying attention.   Hence, I’m going to try (very hard) to keep my blogging upbeat.  This is a perfect place to focus on the bright spots in my world:

• Started the new year with a contemporary reading binge.  Plowed through  Lead Me On (Victoria Dahl), Sugar Daddy (Lisa Kleypas), Blue Eyed Devil (Kleypas),  and Smooth Talking Stranger (Kleypas).  After avoiding LK’s contemporary novels I decided to give them a shot….LOVED THEM!!!!  Actually I enjoyed all of these stories and regret that I no longer have a backlist to choose from either Dahl or Kleypas.
• I hung curtains in my kitchen yesterday.  Our house has a huge amount of windows that were all covered with vertical blinds (ugly, ugly vertical blinds).  It’s taking time, but I hope to have new window treatments everywhere by the end of the month.
• Our old home is finally on the market.  My fingers are tightly crossed that some lovely person will fall in love with it immediately!  PLEASE!
• A spot opened up to read in my older son’s class this week.  I LOVE when I can sneak in and read a couple of my favorite books.  These second graders are so darn attentive and sweet — at least when I’m visiting!!!
• My family finally seems to be germ free…we spent vacation battling a persistent stomach bug.  For the time being everyone seems to be feeling groovy!
• Looking for a cool website for wall decor…Check out www.tradingphrases.com   – I picked up some of their stuff for the new house and I’m totally pleased with it!

Signing off for now.  Still have boxes to unpack and Doritos to eat!!!!

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December 30, 2009

“What can be said in New Year rhymes,

That’s not been said a thousand times?

The new years come, the old years go,

We know we dream, we dream we know.

We rise up laughing with the light,

We lie down weeping with the night.

We hug the world until it stings,

We curse it then and sigh for wings.

We live, we love, we woo, we wed,

We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.

We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,

And that’s the burden of a year.” 

 Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Hello again….

So very much has happened since I last blogged.  Of course, it was a healthy mix of highlights and lowlights!!!  From the top:

• Christmas in Boston was lovely.  A truly special holiday with my family.  As I mentioned here previously, we are coping with a serious illness (mom) which made this year’s celebration extremely important to me.  We had fun…lots of smiles & lots of laughs.
• My oldest, however, picked up a severe stomach bug that has put him severely under the weather during his holiday break.  Yesterday we thought he was on the path to recovery…now, not so much
• My family moved on the 19th of December.  It was #@%!   The week before Christmas is not the most opportune time to schedule a move.  Although we relocated to the next town over (about 15 minutes from our old home), it was still crazy hectic.  Right now I’m surrounded by moving boxes — I’m in no rush.  Our new place has quite a bit of space (3300 square feet) and needs some updating…but it’s nice to be able to spread out a bit.  We hope to put our old house on the market next week.  Two mortgages are not my idea of fun!!!!
• Spent last night sleeping on the kitchen floor with my bassett hound.  He was sick as a dog.  Too gross to describe…but scary sick.  He’s lost eight pounds…the Vet seems to think it is stress related.  My dogs had been at a farm for a few weeks as we completed the move and traveled to Boston.  My four legged friend needs to chill out…and so do I!!!!
• Excited to start writing again.  It’s been a long time…probably Thanksgiving since I’ve touched my WIP.  Although I doubt I’ll make progress this week, when the kids go back to school on Monday I should be able to spend some quality time with my laptop.  Writing tends to relieve stress for me…so I really need to get back into a daily routine.
• Yesterday I started trolling the Harlequin writing boards…I used to hang out there a few years back and then dropped off.  Even though I’m not targeting Harlequin I love reading their subcare forum. Frankly it usually inspires me to focus more on my writing.

Okay…must go check on ailing child and ailing dog.  I’ll be checking back soon…so don’t be a stranger.