Another Weekend Done Done...

It simply flew by! The whole week simply went by so fast I couldn't even see it, let alone remember it.

I've had a lot going on. I nearly backed out of everything on Wednesday. We had another family crisis and we were just feeling the pressure from it. I had no idea what I was going to write for NaNoWriMo and that was due to start at midnight on Wednesday. When I went to bed that night, well before midnight, I still had nothing.

I went to work on Thursday. I had sent out prayer request to every person I knew who I felt would pray for me and I don't mean just a "God bless Dixie" prayer. I really needed someone to fix this mess I found swirling around me.

Thursday at work a phrase I'd stumbled on the night before in my stress induced haze began to take shape. So I spent breaks building on it and I was pretty happy by the time I got to my write-in that night.

Spending time with other WriMos is always energizing. I have a really great group this year. They're smart and witty and just interesting to be around. There were four of us there and it went well for me.

I felt a bit better and some of the family chaos ended and we've made some decisions on how we're going to handle future issues. David will probably move home soon and try to put his own life back together. I'm sorry for this. I just can't fix other people's problems anymore... I guess I never really could.

So, I'm at the end of day 3 of NaNo and I'm about 800 words from the daily count. It isn't where I want to be but as of today, I really hate the story so I'm in a bit of a pickle. It is hard to write what you hate. Once you've invested 5000 words in something you really do not want to have to start over. And honestly, I like the opening scene of the story. But there's no place to go and that is a bad thing.

Tonight, I've got Sarah spending the night. She's been here all day and that's a nice feeling. She went to the morning write-in and was just so good. The afternoon we had a few runs to make and we spent time watching Scooby Doo videos we bought. At the moment, she's been doing some drawing, writing and watching some dinosaur videos. I've done a bit on the story but I'm basically at a stand still.

I got an email today from someone who told me not long ago I used to be the most optimistic. I emailed back and simply said there is nothing to be optimistic about. To be honest, I have no idea who he's talking about. I don't recall ever being an optimist! I've always been the first one to say that the world is not going to get better. Life is going to get harder. People are going to get worse.

Now I'm going to try and get 800 words so I can put the thing to bed.

The Run to the Weekend

Remember that busy weekend I had a couple of weeks ago? I'm in a time warp.

My brother called around 4 p.m. on Friday and said he was in town for the weekend. It was unexpected but he's always welcome. He drives a truck and sometimes his route brings him  through here. David's car had broken down and he had to use mine Friday so he headed to the truck stop to pick him up. I got off at 4:30 Friday, so I rode home with my friend Carolyn.  Dave and Bill walked in right behind me so it worked out well.

I had the NaNoWriMo Meet and Greet I had to be at by 6. I got a shower, and got my gear and David dropped me off, my brother along for the ride.  On the way Dave's wife called. She was with a friend and they ran out of gas. She expected him to drop everything and go help them. Remember, his car is in the shop and I have a meeting I'm on my way to and can't stop.

I got there around 5:30, found a few early arrivals and chatted for a few moments then got my supper. By 6:30 p.m they had been filtering in and gradually working their way to filling up the tables in the area where I was sitting. I'd wander around the place and when I found them I just asked them to move once they finished eating. Eventually, by 7p.m. we had 27 WriMos in Panera Bread.

I made a little speech welcoming them and how this was the largest turnout I'd seen in the 6 years I'd been doing NaNo. I gave out my goodies bags and told them what the items were I'd provided. And then I simply turned them loose to visit among themselves. It was really amazing. Everyone had a really great time and mingled and chatted until 8 p.m.

I got home and spent some time visiting with my brother and answering the email response from the WriMos expressing their excitement over the kick off. It was a resounding success by all accounts.

Saturday... I hit the ground running. I was up by 9:30 and relaxed until about 10. My brother and I had plans to go to lunch with my sister and Mike. Dave's car was in the shop and he still had mine. So I met him at the shop and he got his car. I left there and picked up Mike and headed back home and my sister had arrived. We left to get gas and headed to Cancun, our favorite Mexican restaurant. We left there at 1 p.m., my sister headed to work and I stopped on the way back and picked up Sarah. We came home and spent the after noon and evening watching movies, talking and entertaining Sarah. I took her home around 9:30 and Mike and got back around 10 p.m.

This is my last chore of the day. It is now 11:48 and I still have to brush my teeth. Sigh. I'm tired. In the morning I have to take my brother to his truck and then head to church until noon. I believe I'll come home and crash then.

My back and right leg have been giving me fits for several days and my left hip feels like it is trying to lock up. Did I say I'm tired. NaNo starts in four days.

Someone loan me some energy.

Rolling Down Hill

I am in the process of doing just that.. at least it feels like it. Remember that I am the municipal liaison for my region of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and have a kick off planned for Friday evening. I did this last year and had 19 people. It was nice and I enjoyed it. Well, I had everything lined up with a local business and wasn't expecting more than 20 people. Last night I went over 23 RSVPs. The local business backed out. I was up until midnight rushing around getting notices out to everyone of the relocation.

Now, first off, I felt like I should find another venue from the beginning but I figured it wouldn't be a problem. Really didn't think anyone would be showing up. Today, I have more RSVPs and I'm looking at around 30. 

If you go back to my last year's post about this time, you will find that on my way to the kickoff then, I was concerned suddenly that everyone registered could show up. That happened to be over 100 people. The thought horrified me. It does this year, too.

 I have four days to go and the number is climbing. I have 25 gift bags. Not 30. So between now and Friday night I need another 25 made. I think I can do it but it is going to be close. I have to go buy ink! Yikes. Most of the stuff I can print off but it takes time and I don't have a lot of that. None of it is complicated or expensive except as the cost of the items. It is the time involved in creating them, cutting them out, and bagging it. 

Idea... I need Friday off. Yeah! That'd do it. We'll see. The positive is that if I pull this off, it will be a lot of fun. And the TGIO WILL be somewhere I can get a room. Hopefully the library.

At any rate, I suddenly feel like I'm rolling down hill. Someone needs to reach out and grab me. 

The Minds of Children

If the world can survive until this young lady becomes an adult, the world will see an amazing leader in Canada! 

And if there are other adolescents with this kind of concern for their nations who will make the effort to change it, the nations might just survive. 

How I Spent My Weekend

It was an insane Saturday. I was up at 7 a.m. and went to the hospital. I the ultrasound on my gall bladder, x-rays of my hands and feet, and they drew about 8 vials of blood. Then I dashed back across to the east side of town to take care of a bill. It was around 8:30 or  9. I stopped at Sonic for breakfast. My blood work and ultrasound had to be fasting so I was getting hungry. I turned around and went back to the west side, stopping at the house to pick up NaNo signs and continued on, picked up my first son so he could help me get some furniture I had seen beside the road for sale and bought. I headed back to the east side, stopping briefly to drop off said signs for a patron, before continuing to the far east side to pick up second son.

The three of us went north to Menards to rent the truck. We went west to my house to get the furniture (dresser, chest, and bunk beds for Sarah's room). We followed the owner to a second house on the south side to get the second bunk. He'd originally planned on keeping it but the room was just too small for a bed and sewing machine. On the way the mirror flew off and shattered on the road. Yes. We got the bed and went back to second son's house on the east side to unload truck.

We went back to my house to get my car, unload the mirror frame. I'm going next week to have the mirror that is sitting against a wall in my study installed in the frame. We once again headed north to turn in the truck, drop second son off on the east side, and first son and I came back to my house. He did several errands for me and then it was 6 p.m. when I took him home.

Second son, wife and Sarah came by around 8 to do up laundry in prep for his trip to Indianapolis for job training. He'll be there a week. I am praying this will be a good job for him and lead to other things. Pray for him with me please. He really needs a job that will allow him to provide for his family.

I got daughter-in-law to help in preparing my NaNo gift bags. I'm getting there but the minutia is just so tedious.

My feet have been hurting for about a week now, particularly the right foot. Previously, the left one acted up. It got better but it too is a bit sore. So far no one has offered a solution which makes me think there isn't one. This is not good. At its worst I can barely walk. If it gets worse, I'm in serious trouble. I live alone and I have to work. My house is not set up for wheelchairs or crutches. I couldn't do crutches anyway. I have too much shoulder and neck problems.

I sat up late after the kids left last night. I don't feel I've had a relaxing weekend at all. I overslept as a result and woke with a headache. The weather is gloomy but actually warm. I'm praying that the headache goes away.

I was unable to get the Imitrex because when the doctor rewrote the prescription she didn't say, "No generic". This hasn't been a problem before but I was under a different insurance. Anthem wants you to get generics only. I only get to non-generic medicines. This was a trial and error decision on my part. One is a patch that stays on a week. In the generic patches they don't stick. They won't replace a patch if you run short because it came off and you had to replace them. In the Imitrex, I did try a generic. I don't know what was different but I got really sick with it. This is a dangerous medicine and I don't feel like playing roulette with it. I'll call my doctor on Monday and ask her to resend the script. If she does, great. If she doesn't, that'd be bad. I'm not getting migraines as frequently but I still get them. The reduction is because I've been treating the neck and shoulder differently, making them the focus rather than the headache. I think I've proven the headache is a symptom rather than a cause.

Now it is Sunday and I overslept. I was looking forward last night to going to church this morning. I feel doubly bad because Mike misses when I do.

I'm supposed to got to David's to eat later. Becca called and asked me. I'm going to lie down again I think later and put up my foot.

I've got to actually start planning something to write in the event pantsing doesn't work. I actually like starting blank because my mind is forced to go in some direction of its own choosing. Those are the times when the story can get very intense and the characters start talking. Maybe it is because the want to talk and with no restraints they can do so more freely. I don't put expectations on them. I let them go where they want and say what they want and do pretty much what they want. Sounds like fun.

I'm going now. I've killed enough time. I've had my coffee, eaten breakfast, and read a bit. Now I can sit and listen to the clocks tick.