Castle in the Clouds

No progress on anything. I've thought about writing, though, if that counts. An old story line keeps intruding on my thoughts, beckoning me away from current artistic (LMAO) obligations. I'm resisting but not very well. Small scene snippets, dialogue, and character-development ideas get through to my consciousness every now and again. My vampire romance is no longer my main focus. Now that NaNo's done, which I failed miserably by the way, it's time to focus on ED again. ED sucks majorly by the way. I'm tempted to trash the entire thing and let it marinate for a while. There's a few things I'd like to salvage but most of it needs major overhauls. Do I continue to push through on the basis that this is a "first draft" or should I cut my losses now? Arguments for Keeping On: Nothing is out in the mail. Writing, thanks to RL, is always agonizingly slow for me. It's taken two years to get this far. It is salvagable with som

Things continue to worsen at work. Can't divulge any details but I can say I'm not a happy camper and I wish I were independently wealthy. I'd so cause a stink.

Who knew it could be so hard to teach a six-year-old little boy how to read? A show of hands, please. Ok, you bunch of know-it-alls, hands down. Maybe I'm delusional but I seriously didn't expect to discover such jaw-clenching frustration during this phase of my son's education. The truth is reality has become a mockery of my parental expectations. Maybe I thought he'd get it by osmosis or maternal telepathy (reading has always been so easy for me!). I'm not sure how I managed to convince myself he'd be able to grasp the intricacies of reading but I did. Not only would he be able to grasp all the rules, he'd get the exceptions, too. Insert a big, fat "Ha!" here. Oh, he's learning, but not as fast as the school seems to think he should. And I hate the feeling that they think my kid is dumb. Stupid. Challenged. I don't care what terminology you apply, it stinks just the same. He is none of these things. He's a boy.

Happy Turkey Day! Be safe and don't eat too much! I'll be back in a few days.

Sometimes the weekends are so busy it feels as if I've hardly had a chance to sit down and relax. When you work full-time inside and outside the home, sitting and relaxing can be very important. It's good for your health, mental and physical. This weekend was so very busy. No wonder I'm sitting here exhausted. Friday: Friday night, after work, we picked up the kids and drove out to my cousin's house. My hubby had fixed her computer and as payment she and her husband took us out to dinner. We went to the Capri, which we used to frequent on our double-dates during high school. Only it's been 16 years and there were four extra people sitting at the table: our two boys, their two girls. It's hard to believe the four us--me and my husband, her and her husband--used to regularly go out on double-dates and now we're all married and procreating. Two sets of high school sweethearts. What are the odds? After dinner we went back to their house. I looked a

If you don't want to read about politics or religions, skip this post. I'm not much on politics. I watched a debate here and there, I browsed the candidates websites, and I based my vote on what information I had. Apparently, I voted for the underdog as he's not been elected to office. So be it. I may not be happy about Bush's reelection but I can appreciate the process by which he was elected. My fellow countrymen (and women) voted for the candidate they felt best represented our chance at a successful future. I know many people are enamored of Bush because of his religious zeal. The consensus seemed to be "if you're truly a Christian, you'll vote for Bush". Guess that leaves me out. Oh, I believe in God and Christ. I've been baptisized of my own free will and with complete understanding of the symbolic statement my decision signified. I go to church (admittedly not as regularly as I should), I pray, but most importantly, I believ

Well, Opening Day has arrived with frigid temperatures, overcast skies, and a horde of insane hunters marching into the woods in the pre-dawn hours. I say they're insane because who in their right mind would willingly get up in wee hours of the morning just so they could go sit motionless in the woods until fate brings a nice buck or doe into sight? I'd much rather be in bed sleeping, all warm and snug in my jammies, thank you. However, I wasn't quite so lucky today with it being a Monday. I couldn't sleep in but at least I didn't have to face the prospect of freezing my toes--or any other valuable body parts--off. I went from a warm house to a warm car and while my office isn't exactly sweltering, I do have a space heater to combat the chill emenating from the windows behind me. So, in honor of my hubby and all the insane hunters like him I thought I'd share the lyrics of my favorite deer camp song. It's called the "Second Week of Deer

Just finished my exam. Took nearly an hour and a half. I think I did pretty well on it. Work was hell today. First day of early registration usually is, though, so I've gotten pretty good at muddling my way through to quitting time. Tomorrrow should be better. The kids were good tonight. My first grader had some trouble reading to me tonight--we were working on the family group -EST (nest, pest, zest, rest, etc). He just couldn't get it most of the time. We'll keep practicing until he does. Good news, though, from Day Care. They're willing to have him do his Reading Recovery homework there! That will save me probably 30-40 minutes a night. He's still going to read to me (I want to make sure he's progressing and the only way to know is to listen to him read) but it'll be just one book a night instead of the two to three we've been doing. Of course, we'll still have to spend time on his spelling words and speech activities.

Hey, check it out Blogger's going to let me post! Too bad I don't have the time right now.

I knew I wanted to type tonight--50K is not magically going to appear overnight. Yet, I had hoped to be in bed by 10:00. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened. When I dropped off the fundraiser pizza kits at my dad's, I ended up talking for nearly two hours. I got upset at one point but maybe I overreacted. Work, the stress of driving down to North Carolina over the weekend and rushing back in time for Halloween, and dealing with highly emotional people in both instances has frazzled my nerves. I wish I could pour my heart out about work. But I can't. Who knows who could run across this little blog and use it to totally ruin my life? Suffice it to say there's some nasty shit about to hit the fan. (They can't fire me for cursing on my blog, can they? No. Freedom of speech. Whew.) I also wish I could pour my heart out about my family. But, once again, I can't. It wouldn't ruin my life but it might unintentionally hurt someone. I know w

It was nice working on a different story tonight. I've been so immersed in ED for so long that this change of pace is very welcome. I might not be writing at my best ability but I'm writing! Let's hope this little hiatus from ED will help rekindle the flame. You know, "Distance does the heart good" and all that.

If you're an American and a registered voter, don't forget tomorrow's the big day. Every vote counts. It's important to find the time and worth your effort!