Squeezing the Last Drops Out of Our Break

Today I piddled around and did a whole lot of nothing. It felt wonderful after my busy New Year's Day.
Yesterday I had clarified my goals, made sure all my Linda Howard Finalists got their calls, and I had friends over for my annual New Year's Day Chili (which is totally amazing and awesome if I do say so myself *grin*). We all stayed up and chatted till about 11PM. Much vino was consumed, my girlfriend and I chatted about our writing while the men discussed guns and ammo (seriously), and the three girls played tons of Wii games upstairs.

Hard to say goodnight.

Harder to wake up this morning.

But my DH and I had a lovely drive to see some stuff in Tennessee, we returned to chill with our DD and now DH and I are hunkered in for the night while DD is off to a final holiday sleepover at a friend's.

I treasure this do-nothing day. I am enjoying fiddling with puzzles (yeah, the 1500 piece puzzle is COMPLETED), answering emails, watching mindless TV and reading one of my favorite author's books. I have cat on lap, wine poured and a good feeling of general happiness cloaked around my heart.

For this year starts off so well despite many of the hurdles we'll jump through as a family and as individuals. We have good friends, we have a roof over our  heads, we live in a wonderful country where we are free, and we are all allowed to dream.

I hope and wish for all of you that you have a wonderful and prosperous new year filled with more blessings than sorrows, more victories than failures and more friends than enemies.

Catching Up

This Christmas break has been busy for me in that we had to travel to Texas and we usually don't go anywhere during the holidays. While there, I managed to get a lot of work done during the early morning hours. When we returned home, I focused on one thing: my family. This is Christmas and we're usually busy scrambling all over the place as we run from home, to school, to dance, to voice, to shopping, to friends, to home, to malls, to school, to meetings, to .... to.... to ... you name it, and we're there.

But this is a time to regroup for all three of us. We're all busy and seriously need time to catch up on our sleep, our time together as a family and on our little this's and thats that we put off during the busy days.

That's what I mean by "catching up." How are you all catching your breaths? Spending more time with family and friends? Reviewing and reflecting on goals accomplished? Reading? Cooking real meals? Fixing little things around the house? Playing games and doing puzzles? This is a season for renewal. And I use it for exactly that one thing.

I know I'll be busy again and running all over the place in my little truck with Darling Daughter in the passenger seat. I'll be scrambling to meet my new goals, working toward gathering information for my husband's upcoming hip replacement, girding myself for my FIL's upcoming health problems escalating, fortifying my mind for the days ahead, and focusing on generating more words in my writing.

So now, Catch Up Time is very much appreciated.

Forced to Relax

I'm gearing up for the BIAW Intensive writing week, starting this Saturday. Well, I have LIST THIS LONG from toes to shoulders to complete before I am BICHOK in a big way. But all of that went the hell in a handbasket due to a weird allergic reaction while stripping the sheets from the bed. I must have gotten a strange touch reaction to the shellfish in hubby and dear daughter's clothes/bed sheets or something, and I had a swelling lip. I popped two benadryl, called my neighbor and went over to her house to wait it out. Popped another benadryl and now am free of swelling, but unable to stand hardly due to the side effects of the benardyl. It is the worst. Now my entire afternoon of good deeds is SHOT.

argh.

and my plan to start tomorrow is out the window.

STUPID SHELLFISH And really could my people be any more STUPID?????

All I am capable of doing is showering and dressing--maybe.

What a waste!!