Notes

1. Michael Jackson's death. So conflicted about this. On one hand, I danced to his music in the eighties and adored his style. On the other hand, repeated accusations of pedophila and other bizzarre behavior will just not go away in my mind. For me, the MJ I loved has been gone for a long, long time. As someone on Twitter put it, "I wish I could take that talented and handsome young man and put him into another dimension before it all went wrong.

2. Son went to a party last night and texted me to say he wouldn't be home. He's 19. I'm so thankful he's mature enough to know ahead of time that he won't be driving. I'm so thankful he doesn't do even a quarter of the stuff I was doing at 19. So how come I still couldn't sleep???

3. How come now that I'm jobless, I'm so busy I have no idea how I made time for an actual job?? I can't seem to find time to write, let alone work. The yard, the house, my family and my parents take up SO MUCH TIME! There is always something that needs to be washed, weeded, trimmed, taken to the vets, taken to the doctors or cleaned. WTH?

4. Tomorrow is our last book club Starbucks/B&N trip until fall. So. Much. Fun.

My New Project

As many of you know, I put together a teen book club through my former job at Community Partners of Affordable Housing. I love me some book club girls... they're funny and insightful and all the things you would expect girls ages 11 to 15 to be. I'm not doing book club this summer, but will start up again in the fall. But one of the girls wanted my RACE for the CURE T-shirt and an idea was born.

So now we are doing a running club and hopefully will all run the 5k race at the Komen race this fall. I'm doing this for many reasons,

1. Self worth. Completing a 5k gives you a huge sense of self accomplishment. This is something I would love these girls to have.

2. Health. The statistics on low income teens and obesity is through the roof. If only a few of these girls learn good nutrition and how to care for their bodies, it will be worth it.

3. I miss them like CRAZY!

I plan on talking about nutrition and self care during our training sessions. We'll meet once a week through the summer to train. My biggest concern is not only the money it takes to enter, but also lack of good running gear. We are meeting today to talk about our schedule and the kind of equipment they have... I don't know if they have shoes or running bras, because a few of them will definitely need running bras!

So yeah, I will probably be hitting you all up for clothing later in the summer once I ascertain what they actually need. You all have been so great about sending books for their library and the book club, that I am sure I will have no problem getting the right gear for them. I also plan on putting up some pictures so you can meet my girls... Shamsa, Kameellia, Jennifer, Ana, April, and Jayteanna are all in and I am trying to get a couple of the others, as well.

I wanted to change the world... I just didn't know I was going to do it a few girls at a time:)

Just Call Me the Gravel Queen

The last two weeks have been all about gravel. Big gravel, little gravel, in-between gravel. I had no idea how much gravel one yard could hold. And they measure gravel by the yard and no, one yard of gravel does not finish the yard. Fancy that.

It's also been about paint. Spray paint and regular paint. Finished painting the caulk on the front of the house and will hit the back this week, so our house will no longer look as if it were held together with Elmers School Glue. Spray painted the shelf in the bathroom. Who knew that spray painting would hurt so much. My forefinger had a crater sized hole in it by the time I was done.

Am still plotting my WIP. The story is told from the POV of four different girls and I can admit I am floundering a bit. I'm getting the hang of it, but it is different. Am experimenting with different plotting techniques to see if any fit this particular book. None of the techniques I've tried--colored stickies, index cards, standing on my head and talking into a recorder, seem to be helping. Going to experiment with an excel sheet at some point. I really need to see how the plot strands hold together. Any pointers would be great!

Okay, must run. Taking my car in to be serviced then making two more gravel runs. Hope everyone else is having a good summer!

Blogger Break

I think I'm going to take a break from blogger for a week or so. I hate leaving it lie fallow, so to speak, but honestly, I need a little perspective right now. A wee break that will hopefully leave me fresher and ready to write.

I'll probably still twitter because I can't help myself... plus, oneliners come easy to me.

Hugs!
Teri

We Done Been Skunked

For the past few mornings we've had a skunk nosing around the greenspace next to our home. You all remember my dog, Scrappy, right? Well, Scrappy does take offense to any creature roaming to close to our back yard, hims does.

This morning at 3AM, my exhausted Dh let Scrappy out to go to the bathroom.

Scrappy is part Dachshund, part Beagle and ALL HOUND. The skunk had the audacity to actually come INTO the backyard and Scrappy went ballistic in an effort to drive him out. Woke me out of a sound sleep. I sat up and thought, S&%#, he's got a coon cornered.

Nope, just your average, ordinary skunk. I don't know what actually happened out there in the dark--some Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon crap, no doubt, but I do know who won. Scrappy got a full frontal skunk assault. So DH lets him into the house and says inanely, "He got sprayed."

No shit, Sherlock. Ya think? I'm running around in my old stripped nightgown, trying to function, my son is yelling from his bedroom to get the dog back outside and my daughter has slipped on a gas mask.(WTF? Does she keep one under her bed in case of a random mustard gas attack?) Dh just stands there, blinking wildly, while Scrappy rubs his offending face all over the couch.

Chaos. Mayhem. Bedlam. Confusion in the ranks.

So far, we have washed him with vinegar and shampoo, Hydrogen Peroxide and dishsoap, and then used degreaser and a bounce sheet on his head where we could actually see the skunk oil. We've set out bowls of coffee grounds and vinegar and sprayed the house with Febreze. Now DH is headed to the store for a Massingill Douche. Yes, I will be douching my dog at 6AM.

Sorry Ann, I don't think I'm going to make our Starbucks chat this morning.

Out of Commission

The yard finally got the better of me.

After more weeding, staking, snipping and trimming, the husband and I decided last Saturday to buy a couple of loads of bark mulch to spread. I mean truck loads because we have more flowerbeds than the queen does at Buckingham Palace. I went ahead of him and prepped the beds while he unloaded and spread the mulch. Sunday morning we got up and found free gravel on Craigslist. FREE! We made two trips during which we shoveled, loaded and dug like mad people. But it was WORTH IT because we finally got the area in front of our woodshed graveled. Which is a good thing because in the winter, people could actually disappear in the mud trying to put another log on the fire. In fact, I think that's what happened to my great Aunt Agnes.

Now this is all good stuff because we are spitting distance of being done with the yard. Which means all we have to do is maintain the darn thing while we work on other projects like the front patio and the side fence. It made me very happy and I went to bed Sunday night, sore but satisfied.

Too bad I woke up a cripple yesterday. Not only could I not move without pain, but I had to take my parents to the doctors. And wait for three hours. And then go to work.

After another restless night last night, I have come to the conclusion that I am old. And not only am I old, but I no longer want to take care of a yard that boast 13trees, 15 rose bushes, a pond and 12 flower beds. I want a hot tub for my back, huge patios, hammocks and lounge chairs, an outdoor kitchen and maybe a potted plant or two. HGTV needs to come and give me a yard makeover. I'm desperate.