What the hell happened to this week? I’m truly perplexed. My to-do list hasn’t shrank appreciably and I’m not that much further along in any of my projects. :o This week has been one big blur of orthodontist appointment, ENT appointment, kid home sick from school, field trip, yada, yada, yada….

Do you ever do that? Look back and wondered where it went? What happened?

Today is the Girl’s fifth grade field trip. We’re leaving at 8 a.m. this morning on chartered buses to spend the day in Chattanooga. We’ll take in an IMAX movie, the aquarium, a riverboat cruise with a picnic lunch, and last, but not least, we’ll see Rock City before heading home. Girl was so excited last night she couldn’t get to sleep.

It cracks me up because all the kids are bringing Game Boys and ipods. I told Girl I totally didn’t get this because they’re not allowed to talk to one another in school during class so now when they have the opportunity to gab they all want to have their noses stuck in a Game Boy with ipod headphones on. Wouldn’t you just want to talk to your friends? I’ll shed the same light on it for you that Girl shed for me. “It’s the way we are, Mom.” Alrighty then. (i) Have you got that?

Great mini-conference at the Volusia County Romance Writers in Deltona, Florida. They were the nicest group of people and it’s always inspiring to talk writing…well, at least it is to me.:d

Unfortunately, I returned to computer problems. :[ I’m having major problems with Internet access and I’m pretty sure my monitor cable needs to be replaced. And I’m going to do my famous ostrich imitation and bury my head in the sand and live with the spotty Net access and the monitor that occasionally goes a not-very-pretty shade of blue because I need to push forward on this book and because I loathe, above all things, working on my computer to figure out a problem. I’m not tech savvy and I live in mortal fear that I’m going to do something heinously stupid and inept and wind up doing even more damage. :(

What inspires you? What intimidates you?

I wouldn’t exactly say we live in abject filth, however let’s just say no one’s dropping by to hand out the spic-n-span tidy award at Chez LaBrecque. But this morning I got up at 3 a.m. to clean. Why? Because I’m taking an overnight trip to Florida for a mini-conference and I can’t stand to walk back into a mess. Ridiculous and probably neurotic I know but whether I’m gone overnight or a week, I want my house to be tidy and clean when I return. Unfortunately I don’t suffer this same dementia when I’m gone for a couple of hours. I s’pose that means I should travel more.8)

Anybody else out there with this wierd hang-up? What’s your travel neurosis?

No one looks at me and says, “You’re how old? I could’ve sworn you were nineteen!” No one, even those with vision problems, comments, “You don’t look a day over twenty-five!” And well…we’ll stop there. Except given the above I find it horribly unfair that my one claim to continuing youth is…acne.:o

Tomorrow I’m flying to Florida to speak at a mini-conference. Two hours in the spot-light with my mouth blabbing non-stop. Yesterday I notice not just an annoying zit but an eruption to rival Mt. Vesuvius on my forehead. Not fair. Not fair. Not fair. I AM TOO OLD for this crap. There’s something inherently wrong in the cosmic scheme of things when you have a big forehead zit and gravitationally challenged boobs. :[ There should be a trade-off. You’re young and grooving along with no sag factor…okay, your penance is the occasional acne. But sag factor and acne. That’s just wrong!;(

But, being the ray of optimism that I am, I’m going to rush out and buy the stuff my flawless-complexioned buddy Rhonda suggested in the hopes that it will miraculously go away. If not, there are two up sides. Instead of the woman picking me up at the airport having to hold up a sign with my name on it, I can tell her to look for the one with the third-eye zit. And if it’s still my boon companion come Saturday morning, it won’t matter what I say in front of the group, they’ll all be staring at my forehead thinking, “That’s a shame.”

The dh is lucky to be alive this morning, having kept me up the better part of the night. Forget the wink-wink-nudge-nudge.:( This started about 2:30 a.m. when he yells out “Hey.” Zoing. I sit straight up in bed, dazed and confused, but awake. He, on the other hand, is asleep.

No harm. I roll over, get comfy and am drifting back to la-la land when he belts out “Whazzup?” Play this scene again and in a few minutes he yells something else. Three times a charm. He got an elbow in the side.

“What? Whatsa matter?” he says.

“How about shut the hell up? You’re yelling in your sleep.” I admit to extreme grumpiness under these circumstances.

“Sorry.”

Not nearly as sorry as I am when he rolls in my direction, promptly falls back into the sleep of the dead and within minutes begins to snore in my ear.

By now I am awake and resentful and try deep breathing to relax myself back to sleep. But that snoring…. At this point, just the sound of him breathing is working my little sleep-deprived nerves. And then the talking and yelling started again. Imagine the grating noise of a bandsaw alternating with outbursts. I thought about a pillow. If I just held it over his face long enough for him to shut-up…. Instead, around 4:30 I opted for the couch.

I don’t know what was up with that yelling but he better figure it out before he climbs in bed tonight because I might not be so rational and generous again. I might just have to reach for that handy-dandy pillow beneath my head.:[

I hate it when this happens!  I’m rolling along in a story and all of a sudden the characters I thought I knew so well just get up and leave.  Walk out the door.  Exit stage left.  Vamoose.  Gone-gone.:(  What’s up with that?

Today I’m finding them and dragging them back.  In case they haven’t heard, I’ve got a deadline and if they don’t cooperate and I don’t write forward — it’s not pretty for any of us.  I’m late and they’re stuck in story angst. (u)

Am I the only one this ever happens to?  Fess up.  Neurotic misery loves company. 

Yesterday Girl and I potted lots of plants for the decks.  Pentas, zinnias, caladiums, ornamental grasses, gerber daisies, bouganvilla, fuschia.  We also decided to pot our herbs this year so we mixed basil, cilantro, parsley, thyme, dill, rosemary, and chives in with the flowers.  We planted gardenias down by the lower deck and Girl and her dad planted tomatoes, squash, jalapenos (for me), and cucumbers. If all goes well, the back should look good, smell good, and taste good from now until fall.  :)

I say if all goes well because I’m not proud of it but I’m a fair-weather gardener.  Today and yesterday and probably for the rest of the week, it’s lovely.  It’s sunny and warm but without the cloying humidity that comes with summer.  But the absolute best thing about now is the relative absence of bugs. I know they’re important in the cycle of life…right!  Mosquitoes are the most miserable, hellish creatures. I hate when you can’t step outside the door without either dousing yourself with bug spray (total ick) or being eaten alive by those horrid, biting, itching monsters.  ;(  Hold on, I’m getting all worked up just thinking about it.  Deep breath.  Okay. Better now.  So, blame it on the mosquitoes that I’m a fair-weather gardener. 

But, while they’re still absent, I think I’ll grab my laptop and go up top to work today amongs the flowers.