Friday, October 5, 2012
I need a J-O-B!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HIZUhDUV2ns" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Back in the Saddle
Well, after a long hiatus, I am back on my diet. I started tracking again on Livestrong.com, and after three weeks, I am at the weight I was when I last used their fitness tracking program. When K heard I was going on a diet, she jumped on the bandwagon. She is a "me too" kind of person and always wants to do whatever anyone else is doing. I swear, she is part lemming...
My goal is to get below 200 pounds by the first of the year, and never have to see a "2" in front of my weight again. It is a very attainable goal, and I have got to do it--my health depends on it. I have a mother and a brother with diabetes, and I don't want to go there...
The lack of a job is really starting to get me down. We are so strapped financially right now, and the friggin' SUV we just got has been in the shop 3 TIMES. Grrrrrrrrrrr, don't get me started on that one. I think all the major kinks have been taken care of now, so hopefully (knocking on wood like a mad woman) it is good to go for the winter months. It is a V-8 and a 4x4, so you know the gas mileage sucks. But we should be able to put at least another 150,000 miles on the engine!
I just know something good is going to happen soon. We have a shut off notice on the electric, cable has already been shut off, and we don't have a dime for fuel oil. When you hit bottom, there is no way to go but up, right? Upward, ho--except my weight--that can continue to drop for a good long while.
My goal is to get below 200 pounds by the first of the year, and never have to see a "2" in front of my weight again. It is a very attainable goal, and I have got to do it--my health depends on it. I have a mother and a brother with diabetes, and I don't want to go there...
The lack of a job is really starting to get me down. We are so strapped financially right now, and the friggin' SUV we just got has been in the shop 3 TIMES. Grrrrrrrrrrr, don't get me started on that one. I think all the major kinks have been taken care of now, so hopefully (knocking on wood like a mad woman) it is good to go for the winter months. It is a V-8 and a 4x4, so you know the gas mileage sucks. But we should be able to put at least another 150,000 miles on the engine!
I just know something good is going to happen soon. We have a shut off notice on the electric, cable has already been shut off, and we don't have a dime for fuel oil. When you hit bottom, there is no way to go but up, right? Upward, ho--except my weight--that can continue to drop for a good long while.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
House Divided
Half the house is cheering for Michigan
the other half is cheering for the Crimson Tide
Things could get ugly....
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
It's the Little Things...
While I have been mourning the fact that one of the few bloggers I follow is not going to be blogging much any more, another, who stopped blogging back in December, resurrected her blog, and that made me very happy. She is such a fantastic writer--love her wit! I am glad she is back.
I also had a great dream last night involving a wonder home that we were looking to rent. The woman renting the place said we didn't have to pay rent for the next seven months, because the the previous tenants had paid that far ahead, and didn't leave a forwarding address for her to send the rebate check. The only condition she had was that we clean it before moving in. We took the tour of it, and wasn't too bad, just needed a good once over and the carpet cleaned. (For the record, Bud and I re-cleaned any apartment or home before we moved in, as you just never know...).
The cool thing was that the home was fully furnished, and not with cheapy furniture, either. It even had dishes, pots and pans, etc. The only thing we needed to move in was our clothing and personal items! It was so cool, too--it was actually a duplex, but instead of side by side it was front and back. The front was empty, too, and my step-sister was going to move in to it with her daughter (in my dream, the rental was owned by a member of her church--that is how we found out about it). While the woman was giving Bud and I a tour of the back unit, her son was giving my step-sister a tour of the front half.
I felt bad, because our side overlooked a beautiful lake, and her side would face the road, but she told me not to worry, because she and the son really hit it off. Turns out they had dated on and off over the years, and were reconnecting. He owned a huge house down on the lake, and he had invited her to come live with him, no strings.
Our side was set up pretty cool. The entrance took you directly into the kitchen. Not the kitchen of my dreams, but it was as small as some of the kitchens we have had in the past. Beyond the kitchen was the dining room and living rooms, with a staircase that went to the lower level. At the back of the unit was a bedroom and a bathroom. The lower level was a finished walk-out style basement, and it was obvious it had only recently been remodeled. It had three bedrooms (fully furnished, one with bunk beds) that opened to a large family room. Off the family room was a well-appointed laundry room with a new washer and dryer. The family room had a slider that opened to a walk-out patio with patio furniture and a fire pit, and that view of the lake.
I woke up thinking, "I want that house"! I am in such a good mood, feeling positive and hopeful. I had went to sleep feeling stuck and depressed (this house is sooooooo small, it feels like we are constantly on top of one another).
Maybe things are about to change for us...fingers crossed!
I also had a great dream last night involving a wonder home that we were looking to rent. The woman renting the place said we didn't have to pay rent for the next seven months, because the the previous tenants had paid that far ahead, and didn't leave a forwarding address for her to send the rebate check. The only condition she had was that we clean it before moving in. We took the tour of it, and wasn't too bad, just needed a good once over and the carpet cleaned. (For the record, Bud and I re-cleaned any apartment or home before we moved in, as you just never know...).
The cool thing was that the home was fully furnished, and not with cheapy furniture, either. It even had dishes, pots and pans, etc. The only thing we needed to move in was our clothing and personal items! It was so cool, too--it was actually a duplex, but instead of side by side it was front and back. The front was empty, too, and my step-sister was going to move in to it with her daughter (in my dream, the rental was owned by a member of her church--that is how we found out about it). While the woman was giving Bud and I a tour of the back unit, her son was giving my step-sister a tour of the front half.
I felt bad, because our side overlooked a beautiful lake, and her side would face the road, but she told me not to worry, because she and the son really hit it off. Turns out they had dated on and off over the years, and were reconnecting. He owned a huge house down on the lake, and he had invited her to come live with him, no strings.
Our side was set up pretty cool. The entrance took you directly into the kitchen. Not the kitchen of my dreams, but it was as small as some of the kitchens we have had in the past. Beyond the kitchen was the dining room and living rooms, with a staircase that went to the lower level. At the back of the unit was a bedroom and a bathroom. The lower level was a finished walk-out style basement, and it was obvious it had only recently been remodeled. It had three bedrooms (fully furnished, one with bunk beds) that opened to a large family room. Off the family room was a well-appointed laundry room with a new washer and dryer. The family room had a slider that opened to a walk-out patio with patio furniture and a fire pit, and that view of the lake.
I woke up thinking, "I want that house"! I am in such a good mood, feeling positive and hopeful. I had went to sleep feeling stuck and depressed (this house is sooooooo small, it feels like we are constantly on top of one another).
Maybe things are about to change for us...fingers crossed!
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Rain!!!
We also got a new (to us) vehicle. It looks like this:
We went to visit Bud's mom today as well, and took her for a ride. She liked it--SCORE! And a copy of my book arrived today. It was waiting for me when I got home. So crazy--seeing it in print. It is finally real. Even if no one reads it (oh, but I hope they do!), I feel like I have accomplished something to be proud of.
Lots of things to smile about today. :)
Monday, August 6, 2012
I'm Published!
You can review the first three chapters here:
https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1106695
Your feedback is appreciated!
You can buy the book here:
https://www.createspace.com/3956420
You can download the Kindle eBook here:
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Mrs-West-Story-ebook/dp/B008TE3DGW/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1344266753&sr=1-3&keywords=mrs.+and+mrs.+and+mrs.+west
The book will also be available on Amazon.com in book form in about a week.
K is throwing me a party to celebrate. I am so excited!
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Completion
I finally finished writing my novel. As it turns out, it looks like it will be a trilogy, so I will need to get started on the next one while I am waiting on the copy write for this one!
I am having Bud, K, S and our friend B read it. Bud finished it and like it, but I still have to fix any typos, spelling and grammatical errors that they find. Then I will need to edit. I have read it once all the way through, but I need to do it when I am not so tired, as I missed a lot of spelling errors. I am going to start reading it again tonight, but I am only going to read 4-5 chapters at a time (book is 35 chapters long, plus about 20 pages of recipes at the end).
K is about 1/2 way through, and B is a 1/3 of the way through. I have to take it to Sue for her to read next. If I get the thumb's up from all of them (Sue will be my biggest, and most honest, critic), it is off to be copy written, which takes about 3 months if I do it online. Like I said, I will take advantage of that time to start the next segment in the story.
I will self-publish using either Lulu or Amazon--probably Amazon, as I would have a larger audience. We will see.
It feels good to have it done. Took three years, and several starts and stops in between. I may have to do am major edit, though, as I may have crossed the line between adult content and porn--I will have to investigate and find out what the parameters are.
Other than that, I feel pretty good about what I have accomplished.
Hope everyone is having a great day!
I am having Bud, K, S and our friend B read it. Bud finished it and like it, but I still have to fix any typos, spelling and grammatical errors that they find. Then I will need to edit. I have read it once all the way through, but I need to do it when I am not so tired, as I missed a lot of spelling errors. I am going to start reading it again tonight, but I am only going to read 4-5 chapters at a time (book is 35 chapters long, plus about 20 pages of recipes at the end).
K is about 1/2 way through, and B is a 1/3 of the way through. I have to take it to Sue for her to read next. If I get the thumb's up from all of them (Sue will be my biggest, and most honest, critic), it is off to be copy written, which takes about 3 months if I do it online. Like I said, I will take advantage of that time to start the next segment in the story.
I will self-publish using either Lulu or Amazon--probably Amazon, as I would have a larger audience. We will see.
It feels good to have it done. Took three years, and several starts and stops in between. I may have to do am major edit, though, as I may have crossed the line between adult content and porn--I will have to investigate and find out what the parameters are.
Other than that, I feel pretty good about what I have accomplished.
Hope everyone is having a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)