Officially moving

No, we don't have to sell the house. I'm moving the blog over to Wordpress. At some point I'll figure out how to move it to an actual website, but for now I'm happy playing with new toys. I'll save the domain change for when I can concentrate on things for more than a minute. The new address is http://wendyblanton.wordpress.com/ in case you want to update your bookmarks. See you over there!

The Year of Expansion

Last year was the Year of Letting Go. Alex was heading off to college, and I didn't want to be "that mom." I didn't want to cry all the way home from dropping him off or, worse yet, all the way to the college. I didn't want to be a helicopter mom, hovering around him, afraid to leave. I spent the best part of a year learning to let go, and it paid off.

This year is apparently the Year of Expansion. Yes, I have gained a pound or two trying to kick caffeine, but that's not the part I'm talking about. What I'm expanding, or trying to, is my comfort zone. I talked with a publicist at the conference I went to about getting over feeling like self-promotion is the opposite of humility, and she told me I have to stop hiding my light under a bushel. It can't be the opposite of humility if you can back it up with scripture, right? ;-)

In the spirit of expansion, if you haven't already done so, go to Facebook and join my fan page!

Catching up

It was a busy weekend. My mom and aunt came down for the TSO concert at the Fox Theater on Sunday, which rocked, by the way. They got here Friday afternoon. Saturday we went to Grant's Farm to see the Budweiser Clydesdales. The horses were cool but the rest of the park was largely a disappointment. President Grant's house is there, and they don't do tours, which was the part I was looking forward to the most. We packed a lot of visiting into three days, and they headed home today.

I thought I had a lot more to say. Maybe I do, but my brain won't give up the goods right now. Looks like another early night for me. I'll be back if I think of what it was.

Eric's office

I thought I posted 'before' pictures here, but I've gone all the way back to January and I don't see them. In fact, I don't see that I've said anything about Eric's office. Odd.

OK, so we converted the downstairs office to Designated Eric Space. We painted and got him some grown-up furniture.

Here's what we started with:



And here's the almost after.




I have a shot of the final, but it's a little fuzzy, so I'll try to get a better one. If I didn't already have an office of my own, I think I'd be a little jealous!

Marking time

Sometimes I'm getting ready to go somewhere, and I end up ready way too early. I know that half an hour is more than enough time to get the dishwasher unloaded, scoop litter, and start a load of laundry, and sometimes I do those things. Sometimes I end up on my computer goofing off. Those are the days when I'm feeling overwhelmed by my schedule and for whatever reason, my brain refuses to believe that I have time to get things done.

That's the way my week is heading. I have things to do, and I'm getting them done, but I know sooner or later I'm going to flop down in front of the TV, completely overwhelmed. I'm leaving Thursday for a writers' conference, and I'm about ready to go. I just need to pack the stuff I've chosen, switch purses, and get gas. I also have to take Vicky to the DMV, work, go to band practice, and have dinner with a friend. Part of me wants to throw my stuff in the car and go. The rest knows I have to be a grown-up and take care of first things first. Hence the eventual overwhelm-ment.

It's hard sometimes to be a grown-up.

Mixed blessing

The weather is lovely--warm and breezy and sunny. The earth is coming alive again, but it's only mostly good. Pollen counts are coming up. Facing allergy season without coffee suddenly seems very daunting indeed. Still, it's been 34 days, there is no good time to quit, and I still have tea. If I'm lucky I'll forget all about coffee. It could happen; days like this I have a hard time remembering my name!

Enough whining; I'm off to expose my pasty whiteness to the sun and get my garden started.

Or not...

I thought I was prepared to get a lot of work done, but the e-reader didn't charge nearly as much as I thought it did. I got Lesson 5 read before it died. If I had read it before I left home, or even before I went (futilely) in search of printer ink, I would have known that Lesson 5 needs a notebook. That's the only thing I didn't have with me.

For a change, I spent 45 minutes reading a magazine.

Pft.

A little thing that simplified my life

I'm cramming on "How To Revise Your Novel." Yesterday I applied three lessons to the part of "Still Gracie Mac" that I'm submitting for a contest this month. Tonight I'll have nearly two hours to sit in a waiting room, and I was thinking about how convenient it would be if I could put the lessons on my e-reader rather that printing them to do away from my computer. I wasn't sure if I could put them on, but I tried it, and it worked! So now I just need to print the applicable worksheets and put them in my folder, and I'll actually be able to get something useful done while I'm waiting.

Between that, the sunshine, and my caffeine levels apparently high enough for upper brain function to work, it's a pretty darn good day.

Slow progress

The piano has moved to its new home, and my house is partly in shambles while we repaint the office. The one green wall is now blue; the other three walls will get done in a pale yellow-ish sort of color this weekend. I think furniture delivery will coincide with Alex's spring break, so we may have extra labor handy. I did remember to take 'before' pictures, and if I get brave I'll take some 'in progress' pictures to post.

Other than that, the most exciting thing going on here is the delivery of the heated mattress cover I ordered last weekend. It might not get a lot of use in the short term but will be nice next winter. Now if someone would just make a cooling mattress cover, we'd be in great shape.

I think I'm making progress on Gracie Mac, but I'm not sure. Right now it's more a collection of loosely related scenes. I have two bits to finish before the bones of the story are done, but right now I can't in good conscience call it a first draft. It's pretty bad when you decide you have to edit it to get it to first draft status.

Other than that, it's finally warming up a little, and the water globes in the herbs I'm wintering in my office are empty. Again.

I guess I should post something,

but there's nothing exciting going on. It's all errands and working and chores. I have written a little, and today I cleared off the piano and dusted it, but mostly because it's supposed to move to a new home this weekend.

It might get a little more interesting next week. I might even have pictures. After the piano moves, we're painting the downstairs office, and I'm thinking that while we have paint stuff out, I should really do our bathroom. We've only been here 4 1/2 years. Maybe it's time to finish painting. After the painting is done, I need to get the carpets cleaned. I think I'll be surprised to find they are a different color after the cleaning is done. That's how long overdue they are.

*sigh*

Decaffeinating

This will come as a shock to some of you, but I'm in the process of giving up coffee. Again. I tried to quit about a year and a half ago but never really got to the end of the process. I do drink a lot less coffee than I used to, but I'm thinking it's time to take it to the next level. Part of the reason is that I've just learned the coffee can interfere with the absorption of B vitamins and some minerals, like magnesium and zinc. These are nutrients that people with ADD are typically deficient in. The whole over-taxed adrenal thing doesn't help at all.

My hope is that as I detox from the caffeine my body will adjust and I'll find my focus and energy again. My mom is the frigging Energizer Bunny, and I'd like to be able to keep up with her! I've found non-caffeinated substitutes that I'm hoping will fool my brain into thinking it's getting the morning fix. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see how it goes this time.

Hybernation

Eric has been teasing me lately about being solar powered. When the sun sets, I shut down. On cloudy days I have a harder time getting things done. Often, I find myself thinking, "Good grief, it's only 6:15. I can't go to bed yet."

Yesterday was bright and sunny, and I felt pretty good. I wasn't home much to get things done, but I did things for other people that I hadn't planned on earlier in the week. I worked last night and I wasn't exhausted when I got home about 9:30. Today has been cloudy with bursts of snow, and I've managed to go to church, wash a load of laundry, and put another load away.

There might be something to his theory. Now if I could replace my batteries so I could store the sunlight, I'd be in great shape.

New author photo

What do you think? Is it too casual?
Tintype photo taken by Robert J. Szabo, Traveling Artist.

Cars

When I was driving home from band practice Wednesday evening, it was about 10* and I noticed the van was running hot. The temp gauge was hovering just south of the red zone, which I thought strange given the frigid conditions. Thursday and Friday were snow days, so I didn't go anywhere. Yesterday we did some shopping, but we drove Eric's car. This morning, on our way to church, a mile from home the temp gauge went into the red. We turned around and took the car instead. The van is at the mechanic now; we took it up and dropped off the keys right after church. The shop is less than three miles from home, and the temp gauge was pegged past the red when I parked, but the van seemed to be running all right.

At this point, I think it's the thermostat. It's just too cold out for the engine to be overheating so quickly. However, the van has topped 116,000 miles and it's a Pontiac. It could very well be the head gasket. We've replaced four of them in 17 years, all in American cars.

I grew up in a General Motors family. Many of the men in my family worked for GM in some capacity. Everyone drives GM vehicles. I'm all for brand loyalty, but four head gaskets (maybe five) in less than two decades seems excessive to me. I do drive vehicles until they drop; 150,000 miles is common for us. I'm wondering now, though, if it's time to consider a foreign car. We don't buy new vehicles, so it really doesn't matter what we buy. It's more a matter of where we buy. As long as we stick with an American dealer or a private seller the money will stay in America. We're not in the market to buy a vehicle anytime soon, but there will come a time when we need an additional car. If anyone drives foreign cars, I'd love to hear about how they hold up. It would be great not to have to replace a head gasket before 250,000 miles!

Bless those who curse you

In April 2005, I went to Paris with my kids, Mom, Aunt, and friends. Getting around the city was rather confusing (I spoke more French than any of us, and I only had one semester in 9th grade), but we managed to figure out where the train stations were and set about going to all the places tourists go. One morning we bought our Metro tickets, and Mom asked the man in the booth a question. I don't remember what it was, but he looked at her like she was trash, and it ticked me off. I repeated her question, probably in a more authoritative voice than was necessary, and he answered me. I wanted to tell him what I thought of his Parisian attitude, but Mom was standing beside me. Instead, I glared at him and said, "God bless you!" I didn't mean it, and Mom was amused.

Since then, I've tried to actually live Luke 6:28. The more I do it, the more cathartic it gets. Blessing those who irritate me relieves stress and irritation. Even on the worst days, when I'm behind some jerk who is determined to keep me under the posted speed limit, a well timed, "Well, bless your heart, honey!" will break the tension and maybe even make me laugh.

Matthew 5:11 says that I am blessed when people are ugly to me because of my faith. It doesn't happen that often specifically because of my faith--most people are at least nominally Christian here--but it ties in with blessing those who curse you. Some people are only happy when they're angry. If I am pleasant to those who are ugly, one of two things are likely to happen. Either their mood will lighten and they'll have a better day, or I'll tick them off, which will cause them to have a better day.

As we head into a new decade, I think about that guy in Paris. I wonder if he was having a bad day, or if he's always that way. I'm sure I haven't crossed his mind since that morning, and I smile when I think about the way a chance encounter has changed my long term thinking. Joyeux Noel et bonne annee, Parisian Metro Dude, and really, God bless you!

Mental dump

I haven't posted for a while because, frankly, there hasn't been anything constructive, entertaining, or enlightening to say. It's been a busy couple of weeks. Between extra work hours, fetching Alex home from school, and a quick family visit I haven't had time to write or research. To be blunt, I've barely been keeping my head above water. The cold I'm fighting isn't helping my attitude. I have things to do but no energy to do them, and I'm too stubborn to give up and go to bed. I was going to enjoy this Christmas season, but so far it's just been Christmas as usual--work, shop, fight crowds and traffic, and try not to get sick. Yesterday my family did the Advent Candle at church, and all the way through I wondered how we'd gotten to the last Sunday in Advent already. I know--I'm starting to sound like a broken record.

Maybe I'd better just log off the 'net for the day and try to keep human contact to a minimum. Maybe if I sit in the hot tub later I can trick my body into thinking I have a fever and get it to kill this virus faster, which, I think will do more for my attitude than anything. It sure won't hurt my voice, now that we're three days from Christmas Eve.

Liquid Christmas cheer

I have Christmas shopping still left to do, so I just checked online to see what time Target opens. In addition to expanded hours during the Christmas season, the nearest store has a pharmacy, photo center, and wine available. *L* Target markets to young moms, apparently.

The last few days haven't been my best. A few fitful nights have had me cranky. It's been a challenge to maintain an attitude of gratitude. After all, it could be so much worse. I have a long list of things to do to prepare for visiting relatives and Alex being home for Christmas, but at least I have family who loves us enough to make the trek during the holidays. Some of the things on my list will make life easier in the long run, like planning holiday meals weeks ahead of time so I can grocery shop before the huge rush. Things are looking up, and I'm going to try to get some shopping and cleaning knocked out today. I might even attempt some baking. This is me, living on the edge.

Left turn at, err, Charlottesville

'Still Gracie Mac' is trying to turn on me. I thought of a way around the legal procedure problem I ran into, but it will require a rewrite of about a quarter of what I have so far, plus I'll have to rewrite my outline. Not a big deal; words are words. I haven't completely decided to do it, but I'm leaning that way. For now I'm working on a later part of the story.

I've discovered that it's better to write in the afternoon, not right after dinner. For some reason, my average size dinner seems to be a little on the 'too much' side lately. Tonight was steak (2-3 oz), garlic mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and I'm stuffed. I really haven't been hungry all day, which is so strange for me. Not that I mind. It's easier to grab a piece of fruit when my concentration starts to flag than to deal with actual meals. I think I see a cup of mint tea in my future, though.

Time to get some more work done. I'm working two extra days this week, and I get much less writing done on work days. I'm also getting the house ready for company at Thanksgiving. Lucky for me there's nothing good on TV...

Here After Syndrome*

Nope, it has nothing to do with The Here After. It's when you walk into a room, look around, and say, "What was I here after?"

I've been doing that a lot today. I didn't sleep well last night, so I've spent more time than usual staring into space. Usually when that happens it's because plot bunnies are stirring. Today, not so much. I can report that I have another 21 lbs. of clothing ready to donate, bringing my total for the year to an even 200 lbs. That's not including the junk mail I've tossed.

Plans for tonight include backing up my hard drive. Living on the edge, I know, but I'll try to restrain myself.


*It's more or less the opposite of But First Syndrome, when you have to do this, But First you have to do that. I do that a lot, too.

Toasted hard drive

It's not a computer this time, thank goodness. I was watching recordings on my DVR Sunday evening when the screen went green. Neon radioactive pea soup green. That's never a good sign. I rebooted twice before calling the satellite company. After wading through the annoying automated thingy and two customer service reps, they pronounced it dead and promised to ship me a new box. It only takes three business days!

Of course, my first reaction was, "THREE BUSINESS DAYS!!! I have to go THREE BUSINESS DAYS with no DVR???!"

I didn't say it out loud. There was nothing the guy in South Dakota could do about the shipping time, and it's not his fault I'm so spoiled with being able to pause, rewind, fast-forward through commercials, and record.

So we're roughing it this week. We're limited to DVDs downstairs and a non-DVR box upstairs until the new box comes. I did have the foresight to ask if the new box will have the capability to support an external hard drive so I don't lose all of my recordings when the new box GSODs* on me, and he told me it will, so we'll be looking into that, too. He also suggested we look into an HD converter box so we can at least get local channels when the satellite gets rained/snowed out.

I really love the DVR, but somehow I think life was simpler when we had the antenna and VCR set-up.

*Green Screen Of Death, similar to Microsoft's Blue Screen Of Death, but I think Microsoft copyrighted the blue.