Rumpelstiltskin

I'm not sure why I look forward to Friday. It's not like the weekend is any different. In fact, it's often more busy and exhausting. But I guess it's a different busy. What I've got on tap for this weekend: girls night for a friend who is having a baby, a 6 mile run, a baptism, soccer games...I'm sure Aaron will want to go see the puppies. (And I have to admit, they are stink'n cute. But they'll eventually be dogs that will destroy my house and yard. Swine dogs.) These are all fun things, yes? Yes. So it should be a good weekend.

My current frustration: I'm running like a mad dog right now to get ready for Bolder Boulder (Tuesday, alone, I ran 7 miles) and I'm not losing any weight. Sure, I ate my weight in cookies once this week but the rest of the time, I've been a saint. I know there's the argument that I'm building muscle. But I don't want to be ripped, I want to be a gazelle. (or a puma. pumas are sweet.) I feel like a contestant on the Biggest Loser who busts butt all week and gets a 1 on the scale. Or in my case, a zero. Doesn't my body know the pools open at the end of May? And that I'll be living in a swim suit?

You cuss'n with me?

We are officially getting a dog. The money has been laid down. German (huge hyper) short hair. The puppies are only 4 weeks right now, so we have about a month to get doggie-proofed. Let the record show, the dog will not live in the house. And the basement or garage is adequate for the winter.

I give it two days before I start cussing it.
I give Aaron a week. (He loves animals more than me and this is his dog.)

If you think we'll cuss about the dog sooner or later than what I just bet, enter your bet in the comments. Person who gets closest to the actual cussing will win something fabulous (like a scoop of dog barf..I kid, I kid...it'll be better).

It's nuts I know. The kids will love it. But I do not want to scoop poop. uuuuugghhghhghgh. dogs.

McLovin, just McLovin

I have a byline. I'm writing a weekly roundup for the Northern Colorado Writers blog. It isn't much but some of the big blogs link to it. This first one could have been better but I got the gig on Tuesday. So not bad for a two day turnaround. I'm really excited about this because it will be great for my querying bio and it gives agents a direct link showing them I know the biz. woo hoo.

It's a twister

Today, I took Ava and Morgan to the park. It was a beautiful day (compared to the rainy blustery days we've had this week). After an hour, I took the kids home and we settled into a snack...and then it came. A big black cloud. I thought it was just a rainstorm until I heard the sirens. I didn't mistake them for a car alarm this time. So before scrambling down to the basement, I decided to investigate what had the fireman's panties in a bunch. Then the hail started. There was hail last year when the tornado touched down. I was a bit more concerned. I opened the garage door and took a peek. I never really understood "green" clouds until today. The low black storm clouds had huge patches of slime green daring to start something. Then the hail came down hard and fast. And then sideways from the wind. That's when I closed the garage door and bunkered down in the basement with the girls. Nothing touched down, but it was freaky. More freaky than the actual tornado from last year. This thing just looked bigger and nastier. Who knew Colorado was so prone to tornadoes? I guess knowing is half the battle.

Mmmm, they're so moist

Today has been a cookie binge day. My kids are wearing me thin. Almost translucent. Sweet Ava, who is now 4, is making everyone over tired. She doesn't sleep and the sun coming up at 5a doesn't help. They've all been fighting like rabid banshees. I can't take it anymore.

My life is officially crazy right now. I have too many balls in the air (none are goals...just life). And it shows because sweet little bryn lost her first tooth yesterday and the lazy tooth fairy forgot. Thankfully, the fairy has a horrible track record with Lauren so Bryn didn't shed a tear. And tonight we're cool. But I had to set an alarm. Dirtbag mom, that's what I am.

Thank goodness for May. Almost all the kids extras end in May: dance, art, soccer. It will be nice to have a summer of george. Although Lauren will still take guitar. She is jamming by the way. She started in Jan and just finished the first book. Her teacher is amazed. Piano practice soothes me like a rusty cheese grater, but guitar practice hasn't been bad. I think it's because I love guitar. And I love seeing her progress.

Other May fabulosity: Weekend trip with the Birch girls in SF. I need to get out of town. And the Bolder Boulder is at the end of the month. 6 juicy miles.

There's a bunch of us that run every saturday at the res. We did a 5 mile last saturday and it didn't kill me. I'm hoping this week will be even easier.

and thus concludes my thoughts. end scene.

it's my turn to stay at home and plot the death of Dora the Explorer

While my mom was here, we had a few nights together just the two of us since Aaron was out of town. And it was really fun to hang out and chat. My mom loves girly movies. She's seen everything Kate Hudson and JLo have been in and admits it without shame. So when we decided to watch a movie it became glaringly noticeable that I own zero girly movies. My Shakespeares were the closest thing. All we own is comedy/action/kung fu/and an occasional drama. So I thought (knowing my Mom will visit again) I should pick up a few girly flicks. Here's the rub: I don't know which girly flicks are the best. If anyone has an opinion, please pipe up with your favorite girly show.

Please keep in mind that I discriminate against JLO, Kate Hudson, Reese Witherspoon, and the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. So if your favorite girly show includes any of the previously mentioned, please accept my deepest sympathies for your lack of judgement.

knuckle bump

to Soccer Moms--literal soccer moms. This is my first official year dragging kids to soccer practice and games and I have to say: I hate it. Three times a week plus two games every Saturday (which are never back to back) equals love for my kids. And then I think about my neighbors that have 3 kids in soccer; the two older boys are in competitive soccer which runs them all over the Denver Metro. I'm glad my girls aren't loving it. Don't get me wrong they love to kick and play soccer but they are not aggressive. And both have said they don't want to play next year. I can only hope. We'll just have to stick to soccer camps. Short and sweet.

friday sidebar: top ten movie trailer spoofs . My favorite is office space.

Oh my holy crap!

Last night while I was procrastinating sleep. ( I just wasn't ready to start today. But it happened anyway.) I was flipping around on the TV and discovered this:

PajamaJeans

I thought the snuggie was ridiculous but this has topped it. They leave me speechless...almost.

What kept me up even later last night? These thoughts:

1. The price point of the Pajamajean. $40 + S&H. Steep for a pair of shhhhweats. Seriously, who was the marketer that thought that price would be justifiable. They're not in touch with their demo. Now if it were $19. I'd buy a pair for Amb and Stew for Christmas.
2. Someone is making a lot of money selling these things. Enough to run an ad campaign. Astounding.
3. And finally, did you take a look at these things? They are breathtakingly awesome-bad....ass? No, they are worse than bad. They are the worst.
4. And ultimately finally, I love America. Only in America would someone dream up, make, and sell PajamaJeans. Suck on it China. You may produce and save but we have PajamaJeans. Although, I'm sure these are made in China...so touche.

hello gorgeous

Long time, no talky. Yeah, it has been a busy one. So I'll recap my life quickly (for posterity) and then move on to the current swirl in my head. [warning: my recap is wordy and probably boring. I'd send you to a youtube video if I knew of a funny right now. But I don't. Sorry.]

NCWC
Two weeks ago I went to the NCW Writing Conference in Fort Collins. And thank you mom for surviving my kids while I went. The conference was very educational and in some ways surprising. Being that this was my first conference I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I dreaded a Gentlemen Bronco experience and was delighted that only two of the many sessions had pontificating authors and no suggestions for naming your characters...although I need help with that one. Naming characters can actually suck... a lot.

Pitching The Faster Shoes to Joe Monti was an eye opener. He liked my characters and dissected my plot to make it more literary than adventure which surprised me. But my ten minutes with him gave me lots of direction. And then I went to his class on Writing for Boys. Sucker. I pitched the wrong book. My Puddlejump adventure is exactly what he's looking for. But my puddlejumpers lack character. So I've decided to rework them and my first chapters and then query Joe. Hopefully, he'll still remember me (a little).

What surprised me most about the conference was how many older people were there. At least 2/3 of the attendees were 65+. Most all of them writing memoirs. And the majority of the writers were not as far along in becoming a better writer. This is subjective of course. But after hearing the slush pile, I walked away more confident about my writing. I still have a ton of work to do, but I recognise what I need to do and I feel myself inching closer to becoming published. Oh and I did meet two great girls that are about my speed as far as understanding the biz and the craft. I need to email them.

Spring Break
So the conference ended on Saturday. Mom flew home Sunday. And then Tuesday we packed up for a long week in Utah. Aaron worked the entire time but it was fun to hang out with family. On a crappy note. My cell phone's battery died on Wed and I had forgotten my charger. So I had no way of calling friends I intended to see. That sucked.

April Fools
So of course it was April Fools. I did a few standbys on the kids--although toothpaste Oreos backfired because they just thought they were mint. But for my parents. I rescued a kitten from the animal shelter and gave it to them. I thought my mom wanted one. She didn't. So it was funny until we had to find it a real home. And Aaron being the sucker for animals wanted to bring it home. Luckily my parents' neighbors wanted the little guy otherwise it would have come home with us to Denver. Bullet dodged. I'm not quite ready to scoop litter.

Easter
Saturday between conference sessions, Amb and Sun and families came over and we played games, ate, and did a big game for the kids. Good times. Sunday, the kids were higher than kites when we drove home. We thought for sure that Morgan would throw up but she didn't. Shew.

Monday
We detoxed.

Today
I cleaned the house, we played with friends, and now I'm about to go run. I'm doing a long run on Saturday with a bunch of friends...hopefully it won't be too cold. I'm a wimp when it comes to wind.