Saturday, May 12, 2012

TSS: The Extreme Home Makeover Edition

The Sunday

Wow, it's been ten days since I posted anything.  That might be a record for me.  In case you're wondering, I do have excuses.  Good ones, too.  Things like a 3-day writer's conference, a flooded upstairs, head lice, and a needy 3 year old.  See?  I told you they were good.  

I think a new Sunday Salon post is about the perfect way to dive back into regular blogging.  It's Saturday evening, but whatevs.  I'm flexible.  Here goes:

Outside my window:  The sun is going down, but it's still very, very warm outside.  I believe today's high was 100 degrees.  Boo hiss.  My girls did convince me to go swimming today.  It didn't last long as I very un-gracefully fell off a floatie and scraped up my foot.  As I was bleeding out, we saw a mongo spider.  Plus, the water was still pretty cold.  So, yeah.  

I am listening to:  The very annoying background music to a video game my son is playing.  Also, my kids arguing.  It's lovely.

I am reading:  Thanks to all the chaos going on in my life (see my good excuses listed above), plus the fact that I was so inspired after attending LDS Storymakers that I've been working on a novel of my own (not the one I've been taking to Boot Camp/Publication Primer for the last three years, but a BRAND NEW one) I haven't actually been reading much.  I am, however, just about done with Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver.  It's non-stop action, with not a lot of actual plot.  Entertaining, though. 

I am going to read:  Excellent question.  I don't know.  I'll decide when I finish Pandemonium.  

On the Blog:  Um, yeah ... did I mention I've got excuses?  Really, really good ones?

Around the Book Blogosphere:  I've barely had time to think about my own blog, let alone anyone else's.  Sorry.

I am thinking:  That once my house gets put back together (See Excellent Excuse #2: a flooded upstairs), it will look fabulous.

I am grateful for:  Mothers.  I've got a great one.  So does my husband.  Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  Keep doing what you do because, frankly, you're awesome.

Around the house:  I mentioned the flooded upstairs.  Yeah.  I'm not sure what happened exactly (I was out of town), but the bathroom flooded causing $10,000 worth of damage.  After 4 days of heavy duty fans blowing 24/7, it's all dried up, so this week, we'll be having guys come to do drywall upstairs and in the garage, paint three bedrooms, and lay down new carpet.  It will look great when it's done.  I just want it to be done now.  I'm tired of living in a construction zone, you know?

In the kitchen:  The only thing that has happened in the kitchen this week is a pan of chicken enchiladas.  It's one of my standard meals—we all love it.  Other than that, we had some yummy sandwiches from Steve's Krazy Subs, Blizzards from DQ and I believe the kids had Panda Express while I was out of town.  Yeah.  We should probably eat real food sometime soon.

High of the Week: I've been on a creative high, writing like mad.  It's been fun.

Low of the Week:  Picking lice and nits out of my daughters' hair.  Not.  Fun.  

Family Matters:  Since the girls' bedrooms were both damaged in the flood, they've been bunking together in the guest room.  Neither of them are getting much sleep, but it's funny to hear them chatting together at night.  The boys went on a Father/Son campout on Friday/Saturday, so the girls and I had a sleepover in my room.  Good times.

The coming week:  Besides the aforementioned home repairs, I'll be cleaning, catching up on book reviews, and getting end-of-the-school-year stuff together.  My kids only have 9 days of school left.  Yikes! 

Words of Wisdom:  Don't sweat the small stuff.  I've really learned that this week.  A sense of humor goes a long way in times of chaos.  

Have a wonderful week, everybody! 


  1. I am SOOOOO sorry. What a welcome back to reality! I love it that you can see the up-side and celebrate new paint, new carpet and new drywall. Way to go!

    Have a Happy Mother's Day - - slip back into things a little more slowly next time?!?! (Grins)

    1. Well, we were planning to do new paint and carpet anyway, just not quite so soon. This just fast-tracked it all, which is good in a way. It gave us the kick in the pants we needed to get it done!

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  2. Yikes! You've had a rough few days. Flooding is bad enough, but lice and nits? That would be enough to put me over the edge.

    1. Yeah, it was all a *little* overwhelming. I may have been crying a bit and wailing, "Why me?!" It's been a loooonnnngggg week!

  3. Holy smokies! Sounds like your family was having a blast while we were actually having a blast.

    The book you're writing . . . is it the one Robin and I were heckling you about? Whatever it is, we want to read it when it's ready.

    1. Yeah, I'm not sure WHAT they were doing while I was gone. I may never leave them home alone again.

      No, this books isn't the one we were talking about. This is one that just came to me last Monday. I don't know if it's going to be any good, but I'm having fun writing it.

  4. Sorry to hear about the flooding troubles! What a pain in the neck. Hope things get back to normal quickly.

  5. Oh gosh! I'm glad to hear you're at least keeping your sense of humor. I'd be losing it about now! I hope this week goes much better for you. Good luck on the writing. I'm glad you're doing it!

  6. So sorry for all your recent annoyances! Care to share the enchilada recipe?

  7. This is my 3rd attempt to post this comment so I hope it doesn't post multiple times. I'm sorry for all your annoyances this week and wanted to ask if you'd share your enchilada recipe.

  8. YIKES! $10,000 worth of damage?! Ugh. I am so sorry!

  9. Noticed that you kind of sneaked in the head lice thing. Those little buggers never are convenient.The flooding, too. I am been flooded 5 times since April. Tip watch for creepy things that may have tried to escape the flood and moved into you counters. Sorry to tell you that.I have mice now. Yuck!




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