Today is for writing.

Today, I am writing. Finishing up two new books for Hallmark and turning them in tomorrow. I feel a little distracted because for the past month, I've been promising myself that I'm going to weed my garden and detail my car. I've been putting those two chores off for four weekends in a row and now that I have a weekend full of writing obligations, all I want to do is be outside doing those chores. Life is funny.

Listening to Band of Horses, finishing up my morning coffee and thinking about taking a shower. I've been watching my parents' pup Sophie all weekend while they are visiting Nevada. She is a doll and has the best time playing with Lola. They run laps around the house, play chase, share toys and Bully Sticks (chewing treats...cured beef tendon, better for them than rawhide). It's adorable. Lola likes to nap on my bed, on her bed or on the couches and Sophie will only nap on the floor, pushed up against a wall or piece of furniture. It's cute how dogs have their own preferences and personalities, just like people. Lola snores, Sophie sighs. Lola watches you move about the house, Sophie follows you. Sophie is on alert at every noise, Lola rolls her eyes at the disturbance.

This is procrastinating. Need to get back to the books.

Bailey Devo :)

Here's a couple of pics from last Monday with Bailey -- we just hung out at the house, made Hamburger Helper (her favorite) and Rice Krispy Treats and put up some Halloween decorations. I wasn't feeling well, so we didn't have a big outdoor adventure like the week before, but she still had a blast. She quite enjoyed my Devo hat from Meghan's costume party. I don't know what we're going to do today, I'm going to leave that up to her. I need to leave in 15 minutes to go pick her up from school, but for now, here's pics from last week.

Marvelous Monday #1

I started a new tradition with my niece today. Every Monday, I plan to pick her up from school and spend the rest of the day with her. Today was our first Monday, and it was four hours of FANTASTIC!

First, we went to play Pirate Golf (putt-putt) and then had dinner at Sushi House (she had miso soup and tamago with rice, I had miso soup, tea and a California roll).

Then we went back to my neck of the woods, and I took her to see the Sycamore Log Church which was built in 1933. We signed our names in the guest book and she noticed that the piano wasn't dusty at all, so they must still use it during services.

Afterward, we drove further down the road and saw a snake, so we stopped to look at it (from the car, of course). About a hundred yards after that, we saw a tarantula crossing the road, so we got out to see it up close.

We ended up at the Ruth & Paul Henning Conservation area and waded in the stream. I taught her how to skip stones and now she's a pro. We collected some cool looking rocks, saw minnows, crawdads, water gliders, spiders and a sleeping bumblebee. She found a broken branch that served as an excellent walking stick, and we saved it to use during our next exploration.

We plan to hike the Homesteaders Trail (a 3 mile loop) at some point, but maybe on a Saturday when we can get going early. On the drive back to my house, we saw a herd of white-tailed deer! It was a day full of critters.

Then we took Lola for a little walk and went to the park in my neighborhood where Bailey played on the monkey-bars and successfully avoided playing with a strange little boy with a rash. All-in-all, our day was a huge success! My favorite quote of hers was, "This is the best day ever, I don't want it to end!" Score!

Fall Becomes Winter, Winter Becomes Christmas!

So, I may be a little bit ahead of myself, but I think that's a good thing. Usually, Christmas rolls around and I haven't had a chance to plan or think or SAVE. This year, though, I have a little hoard of cash already tucked away, enough for all my holiday spending. I feel proud. I feel like an adult.

Yesterday, though, our family came to a decision of sorts. Given the current economic state of our country and seeing as people all over are struggling to make ends meet, we've decided to forgo the whole gift-giving part, except for the kids. Everyone will get a present for the kids, but other than that, there will be no presents. There will be family and togetherness and several potentially garish meals and of course, the Christmas Story marathon on TBS.

It has been suggested that next year we take what we would have spent on gifts for each other and give it to charity.

It simultaneously makes my heart swell and my inner-child throw a loud and elaborate tantrum. I mean, it reeks of the true spirit of Christmas, but it's also a swift kick in the teeth to a capitalistic tradition I've been mainlining for 28 years. So while intellectually, I agree with our NEW family tradition, I'm still processing it emotionally.

And what, you might ask, will I do with all my Christmas savings? An Alaskan cruise? A fancy robot vacuum? Tap-dancing lessons? Nah. I'll probably get my carpets cleaned and use the rest to pay my Home Owner's Association dues. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!

Another Spider Post

So, my parents came over today to help me clean out my messy garage. It was full of Luigi's boxes and junk on the floor. We organized my shelving units, hung up tools, swept it out and generally made it awesomely clean. In the process, we found this giant Black Widow behind my wheelbarrow. Normally, I try not to kill bugs, but I have NO soft spot in my heart for spiders, especially ones with toxic venom. I had my dad smash her with a broom, and although I felt a little bad about it, I am glad she's gone. By all means, make a nest and procreate, just not in my garage, because at that point, all bets are off.