60,000 words in three days. Oh boy!

     I am going away for a few days with some pretty big plans. My writing friends have taken on the challenge of writing a book in three days. That's 60,000 words in three days. It is a lofty goal, but I have spent time outlining and planning and I am going forth to accomplish.
     A hotel is the only place I would be able to even attempt such a feat. I'm stocking up on coke, 5 hour energy drinks and snacks that will keep me fueled for success. Wish me luck.
     Our motto for this little challenge is, Do or do not, there is no try.
    

It Ain't Over Til It's Over

     I have to confess to being a list maker. I have lists for so many things from groceries I need to buy, to projects I want to do, goals I want to accomplish and everything in between. Do I follow those lists? Not always... Well, most of the time no. Why?  Because I tend to shoot for the stars. Why not? I'm only setting these goals on paper and paper is cheap.
     I know deep down that I need to be a little bit more realistic when it comes to setting goals but let's face it if you don't shoot for the stars once in a while you won't know what you are capable of achieving. In the last year I have learned that I can make a menu for the entire month and follow it. I have written a whole book, I have exercised for thirty days in a row and lost a significant amount of weight all because I set goals.
     I feel pretty good about accomplishing these things and I choose to dwell on what I have done rather than what is still on the list. After all everyday is a new day and I can start again. I can make a new list or adjust an old one. That is the beauty of life, it ain't over til it's over.
    

It's Not About You Anymore

     I have always told my kids that the minute you are expecting a baby it's not about you anymore. As a parent, especially a mother, your whole life if dedicated to making sure that child has everything they need from food and diapers to the love and emotional support they need to grow up to be the best person they can.
     Once you are a parent, it doesn't matter how old your child gets, you worry about them. Are they happy, are they healthy, are they doing what's right? When they marry, you just take on another person to worry about. Then when they have kids it starts all over.
     This leads to hours and hours of worry and concern. And, of course, the more kids you have the more you worry.
     Yesterday my youngest fell off his scooter and hurt his wrist. He really didn't cry that much and it didn't look swollen so I told him he would be fine and he and his brother went to the Clearfield Aquatic Center for several hours. After dinner he was complaining about his wrist hurting and when I looked at it I saw that it was swollen. I knew it was broken. I had that sick feeling in my stomach you get when one of your kids is hurt and you haven't paid it enough attention and you feel like a really bad mom. In my defense this is the kid that thinks he needs to go the ER when he gets an eye lash in his eye.
    Off to the urgent care we went and after the Dr. looked at it and X-ray's sure enough it's broken. The cast goes on next week, after the swelling goes down. On the bright side, he'll have a nice new cast on his arm when he starts school and kids love that.

Camping?????

     I have to admit that I am part Irish, Scots, English and stick-in-the-mud among other things. Especially when it comes to doing things like camping, swimming and taking my life in my hands, for various reasons. The first one, I don't like bugs dive-bombing me while I am trying to sleep. That's one of the reasons I tend to stay in my house from spring until late fall. Not to mention the heat. I am totally in love with air conditioning.
     Swimming is a problem, you actually have to let people see your body while you parade around in fabric that is thin and clingy. For someone who's puffy, that can be very traumatic. And I think once you become a mother you start rethinking all those crazy things you do when you are young because you have children to take care of and what would happen to them if you got hurt or, heaven forbid, died. Roller coasters suddenly lose there allure.
     That is why I think I deserve a special high five from everyone on the plant. I went camping with the fam and not only did I sleep in a tent with no A/C, I put on a swim suit and went jet skiing. I have pictures to prove it. Which my daughter kindly put on Facebook for all the world to see. Yes, that is me on the back of a jet ski with the hubby. Yes the life jacket makes you look twenty pounds heavier. And yes I really am that white. What do expect from a person who has avoided showing her legs to anyone since she was seventeen.
     I even endured the pit toilets....and they where AWFUL!!! I almost barfed when I went in there the first night. And I have changed more diapers in my lifetime than just about anyone you know. To make it worse the smell would drift on the breeze and come through our campsite every so often.
     I think I might go camping again someday, but not unless there are flush toilets.
     I will try to post the pic later since I can't figure out how to snag it off of FB.
     I hope you all will still respect me in the morning.

Stressed Spelled Backwards is Desserts.

      The pressure is on. I have to have everything ready for our family camping trip when the hubby comes home tomorrow. That means grocery shopping, packing and laundry. I have so much to do and not enough time to do it in.
     I know that is the lament of every mother on earth. What if we could do all the things we want to do everyday instead of all the things we have to do. How would you fill your time? Naps? Reading? Watching anything but the Disney Channel?
     It's not like I don't like soccer, I do. I just don't want to dedicate my life to it, but that is a mom's duty in life. Finding the soccer stuff because they didn't take it off and put it in the laundry like they were supposed to and now they are going to be late for practice and it's everyone's fault but their own!
     Can you tell I've been down this road a few thousand time?
     I think I need to make a list so nothing gets forgotten. I can't take this pressure. I think I need Coldstone to help me get through the day.     

Feeling the Back to School Hunger

     Have you seen that pin on Pinterest that says, "Cleaning the house with the kids at home is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreo's" I'm there. They have been home all summer and because of the heat have been inside most of the time. Now I am finding myself wanting to do a deep cleaning of the house but there are too many bodies here to work around.
     I need school to start so the kitchen can get a deep cleaning and the floor can get mopped. As it stands now, I feel like I'm just smearing the dirt around. There are perpetual finger prints on the walls and windows and socks everywhere, courtesy of our dog Koda, who loves to chew on dirty socks. Gross! Have you ever smelled the socks of preteen boys? I just can't wrap my mind around the attraction he has for them.
     When your kids go back to school do you do a deep cleaning? Do you clean all summer and then relax? I'm always curious how other moms do it because after all these years I still haven't found the right system.
    

Camping, not for the Feint of Heart.

     We're going to buy camping stuff today. I guess this is really going to happen. It's kind of like watching a car accident in slow motion. You see it coming, but there is not a darn thing you can do about it.
      The hubby is making lists. That's always a dangerous thing. I can feel the tension already. This may be one of those trips where, even before we leave, we are all at each others throats. What fun.
      Of course next week when we are supposed to go the weather is going to be changing on us. Let's hope we don't get rain and really cool temperatures while we are sleeping in tents. It won't be much fun at the beach is its too cool.
      I hope this doesn't come across as having a bad attitude about our trip. I'm not normally a negative person, but I have been here before and I know the signs.
     

Thank You, Thank You and Again Thank You

     I want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who supported me by buying my book on book bomb day and who have since mentioned it to friends and family. The response has been so much more than I hoped for. Everyday the sales seem to get higher.
     This morning my ranking on Amazon was 12,557. This is amazing! I know it's because of all of you and I don't forget that for one minute. Digital publishing is word of mouth and reviews since very little marketing is done, so I want you all to know how much I appreciate it. For those of you who have taken the time to Like it or review it on Amazon, thank you so much.
     Your kind words have really touched my heart. I am blessed to have so many friends and friends of friends who have gone over and above to make a writer's dream come true.
     Thanks again from the bottom of my heart.      

A Busy Time

     Just when you think life can't be any busier than it already is it gets busier. We had to be a doctors appointment at 8:45am this morning. That means up early, shower and out the door by 8:15am. Even though I'm usually awake at this time I like to do my own thing during the summer and stay in my jammies until, well, until I feel like a total bum and I hit the shower. Because my day can't really begin until I shower.
     I wish I was one of those moms who can put her hair in a ponytail and go but I'm not and I never have been. I've really been enjoying summer for the freedom it gives me in the mornings. (If it wasn't for the heat it would be a good season.)
     Now the countdown to back to school has begun, not to be confused with the countdown to September. I do a lot of counting down. It occupies my mind. Then we will be back into the rhythm of up in the morning and off to school, and homework, and soccer and all the rest. There are advantages though, I can go to lunch with the hubby without taking along three extra kids. Yippee!
     Is back to school something you're looking forward to or are you dreading it?
    

My Alfredo Recipe

     I have to pat myself on the back because I made the most awesome Alfredo Sauce ever the other night. I mean it was the best thing I ever made. If I wasn't afraid I would balloon up to a massive weight I would make it every night.
     I know you want to know how I did it, don't you? Well, I will share it with you because you are my friends. I started by reading the Olive Garden Alfredo recipe on Pinterest but to be honest I have made that before and it lacked something. You don't think the OG would intentionally leave something out of their recipe so that we keep flocking to the restaurant do you? I'm sure no big corporation would sink that low. Sorry I haven't forgiven them for taking Garlic Herb Chicken and Broccoli off the menu. My favorite thing ever, ever in the whole world.
      Okay here's what I did.
     3 tablespoons butter
     1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic (I buy the little jar at the store and use that)
     1 1/2 cups milk (I had low on hand so that's what I used)
     1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (Yumm another one of my favorite things.) I won't tell you what else I do with this because you would think less of me as a woman.
     1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. (I buy the tub of it at Walmart in the lunch meat section)
     1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of shredded Romano cheese (this is smelly but good)
     Three eggs yokes
     Heat and on low to med heat until it is creamy and delicious. Be careful not to scorch it on the bottom.  
    
    

The Circle of Life

     Have you ever noticed how one project leads into another? We have been planning to paint our garage floor and put those sprinkle things on it since we moved here. It's been five years now. The reason we haven't done it yet was because we wanted to get some more shelves put in. We did get that done last summer. Now, when we are about to take the plunge and paint the floor, the hubby has decided to paint the shelves first and he wants to fill in the grand canyon sized cracks in the garage floor with that rubber stuff. Which is a good idea because I almost kill myself in those cracks whenever I have heels on.
     Of course, painting the shelves and the garage floor lead to totally reorganizing the garage and doing a deep cleaning.
      When you hear the term, "The circle of life," is not that you are born you live and die while your children carry on, it the vicious cycle of having to do ten different things before you can do the one thing you really want to do. Just a quick observation for today. Love Ya.

Where is my Master Planning Menu Calendar?!!!!!

     I try to be organized, I really do, but it's like the forces of nature are against me. This time I am missing the cheap three dollar calendar that I bought from Walmart that I was writing down my menus on. Granted I had slacked the last few months and not written down as many well planned out dinners, but the first few months of the year were perfect. Now the calendar is AWOL, that's absent without leave for those of you not familar with military lingo, and I need it to plan dinner tonight. I hate this. Who would take my menu planner and abscond with it!
     The frustrating thing is this isn't the first time this has happened. I had a tiny three ring binder years ago that I had page protectors in. In each page protector I had a blank monthly calendar on which I was planning menus. I was doing it as the year went so I could take advantage of sales and seasonal produce and incorporate them into my menu plan. It all sounds really impressive doesn't it? Except that one of my kids needed a small three ring binder with page protectors and they found mine. They tossed all of my menus and took it to school. I didn't find this out until months later when said binder came home in a backpack.
     Did I mention it was September when it disappeared and I had nine months worth of meals planned on that thing. I was never going to have to plan menu's again. I would just look at the month and make whatever was listed.It has taken years for me to work up the courage and fight through the disappointment and try again to make a master calendar. AND NOW IT'S GONE AGAIN. I had such hopes for that menu planner.
      Were having pizza tonight!

The Survey

     Some of you will remember that we took a trip to Cali in May and went to Disneyland for several days. Our passes were about to expire and we had to get in one more experience.
     While we were there I was asked if it would be okay if they contacted me for a survey about my trip. Being someone who has an opinion about pretty much every thing I agreed. I was curious if they would actually do it. Well, yesterday I got the email. I opened it and started in. They asked the usual questions, like how many in your party and what were their ages. What was the best memory and what was the worst? Where we stayed while we were there and things like that.
     They never once asked if I thought Disneyland was overpriced and greedy. I mean, really, $3.75 for frozen lemonade?
      They also asked for my eleven-year-olds opinion so I called Ryan into my room and asked him a few questions. When I got to, "What was your worst memory?" He smiled and said, "I don't have a worst memory. It was all awesome." What a way to end a survey. Don't think for a minute they didn't think that one through.
     Well played Disneyland, well played.

Bad Dreams

    I had a dream the other night that I was shopping with my girls and they were making me try on maternity clothes because I was pregnant again. NOOOOO!!!! I don't ever want to do that again, even in my dreams. It's not that I have anything against having babies but I had children in three different decades and it took me twenty-seven years to get them all in school.
    I love being a mom and I loved having my kids, but ten was enough for me. When my last baby was born my oldest daughter got married. I told her the baby making was now in her hands and she was to make sure I had access to a baby at all times. She abliged by having her first just before her first wedding anniversary. What a good daughter.
     My other kids have kicked in and we are going on number ten now. I have babies around all the time and I can smell, kiss and snuggle all I want without having to get up at night and change diapers. It's the best of all possible worlds.
     So you can see that my dream was more in the nightmare category. :)

Ode to September

     Here it is August 3. The hottest month of the year, or one of them at least. Now I only have to survive 28 more days to make it to September. I know September is still hot, but it's like the light at the end of the long, hot, desert tunnel. In September the days are noticeably getting shorter and the nights cooler. Some of the leaves begin to change colors and I know summer's days are numbered.
     I love September. It's one of my favorite months. School's back in session and the house once again gets quiet, well, quieter during the day. The evenings feel like fall and have that orangy glow about them, especially late September. People start to decorate for fall and I love that. Yard work slows down because the grass and weeds aren't growing quite so fast. The hubby loves that. I'll be able to set the self-cleaning option on my ovens without the air conditioner going crazy or feeling like I'm living in an oven.
     There are so many things to love about September, I could go on forever. Come on September!

I Wish You All Could Have Been There!

     I just got back from Cali last night late and am happy to have been able to sleep in my own bed. Here are a few observations from my trip. I don't like flying. That being said the flight was fast and it didn't crash, so it's all good.
     The weather in Cali was spectacular, cooler than here but the humidity is higher.
     I really hate seeing all the graffiti everywhere you look. It just looks trashy.
     My daughter and I stopped at Archibald's restaurant and shared the most delicious fried zucchini ever made on this planet. It is truly the reason zucchini exists and a chicken salad. The chicken is the most tender and tasty meat known to man. Yumm!!!
     To the Asian woman who got off the Vegas bound tour bus in Barstow with the bleach blonde hair that has been dyed pink and who was wearing the hot pink spandex leggings with a dress that looks like it came from the Barbie collection, not a good look for you, Hon. You look like a clown in training. And to the man in Vegas with the bright orange Crocs with gray socks, who was pumping gas in a gray hula shirt and silky boxer shorts, seriously?! Was it too hot to wear real shorts, you know, the kind that don't have the little opening in front for bathroom emergencies???
     Just wanted you all to share in my road trip experiences. :)