Permit Me to Vent

It's Valentine's Day. Ughhhh.

It wasn't always this way. In elementary school, I loved decorating my valentine box and I looked forward to making my own valentines or finding the perfect kind in the store. Mom would decorate the house and we'd make homemade valentine's.

Once I hit high school and the whole "boyfriend" stage, I started to get highly irritated with this holiday. By college, it had turned into full-blown hatred.

Could it be that I never seemed to have a boyfriend during the most saccharine day of the year?
College was the worst. When I lived in the dorms, the front desk in the lobby was the gathering place for the flower deliveries and balloons. And I always secretly wished that one of those blooming bouquets would be for me from a secret admirer. Guess what? Didn't happen. One year my friends and I all wore black on Valentine's Day in protest.

The year that I actually had a boyfriend - my junior year - he was out of town on a wrestling trip. No romance for me that day!

Here's the thing that gets me about Valentine's Day: I want to have flowers and cards and special presents all throughout the year from my significant other. I want to be told "I love you" each and every day. I don't want my husband to buy me roses and candy on Valentine's Day because he has to. It should be because he wants to and not because a commercial holiday makes him feel guilty if he doesn't. And really, doesn't Valentine's Day have a guilt factor associated with it? If you're a woman and you don't receive something for Valentine's Day, don't you feel a bit of resentment towards your significant other? I think it's perfectly normal to feel that way because society (i.e. the stores and their merchandise!) puts the pressure on a man to deliver and when he doesn't...watch out.

As a romance writer, perhaps I should love this day more. But I still cling to my original opinion - couples should celebrate Valentine's Day every day-no guilt allowed.

The Long Weekend

There is a book by this particular title that I read while in undergrad school. I don't remember the particulars (probably because I didn't read most of it, as I was wont to do during undergrad school), I do know that it aptly fits this weekend.

Saturday I managed to get quite a bit of editing done on my novel. I even caught up on the laundry (is that even possible?)

But yesterday seemed to go on forever. I didn't get any writing done and my daughter was still sick. It's always difficult to muster up enthusiasm to do anything when you have a sick child. She's still home from school today, but I think she'll be ready to go back by tomorrow.

As for me, I think I could use a nice, long vacation.

Friday Tidbits

--Didn't go to work today since my daughter was running a fever and generally feeling icky. Staying home really was a blessing since I have been mentally and physically exhausted from everything I went through this week. On the down side, however, her illness has prevented us from going to the Nickelback concert tonight. But really, it's not that big of a deal. I already sold the tickets and I have a sense of relief about not being around crazy, wild, and screaming fans. I am craving peace and quiet tonight.

--The new Wallace and Gromit movie, The Curse of the Were Rabbit, (www.wandg.com) just came out on DVD last Tuesday. If you haven't had a chance to catch it yet, I highly suggest a trip to the video store! It took five years to make and it was definitely worth the wait. It's even been nominated for an Academy Award!

--I nearly forgot that I volunteered to judge an RWA contest. I just received the entries in the mail today - all of them historical - so I'm looking forward to that. I always find judging contests to be a great way to help other authors as well as look at my own novel with a more critical eye.

--Rene (http://alittlecheesewiththatwhine.blogspot.com/) has a great post today about feminism and today's role models - if you haven't read it yet, get thee hence!

It's Friday...the weekend is here! I have nothing planned other than writing and that's just how I like it. :-)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Ode to a Printer

Ode to a Printer

No longer must I wait

And risk being late

For a document I need

At the utmost speed

A laserjet now sits

With all its working bits

Bright and shiny white

And full of laser might

Printing 400 pages at once

Can be accomplished at lunch

Giving me more time

To indulge in the sublime.

You Know You're a Writer When...

Last night I felt completely overwhelmed with all of these health issues. I went home, ate supper, and decided to work out on my treadmill. Well, the treadmill wasn't working right. In disgust, I went upstairs, flopped down on my bed, and cried.

A few minutes later, however, I got up, went and booted up my laptop, and started writing. Sure, it was only for ten minutes or so, but in those ten minutes, I completely forgot about my health and dived into my characters' world. It was amazing.

I wanted to work on it longer, but I only had so much energy last night. Medical issues sort of suck the energy out of you.

I took my glucose tolerance test this morning and thankfully, my mom came with me to keep me company. The whole thing took two hours since they had to check my blood every 30 minutes. But that's just one test out of the way, and hopefully, it will be the test that will help give them a diagnosis.

I really just wanted to go home and sleep after that, but alas, duty calls. The day job and all that. *grin*

A Kingdom for my Health!

I moan and groan about my headaches and various other ailments, but things took a decided turn for the not-so-good this morning.

I'd gone to get some lab work done a few weeks ago and hadn't yet heard the results. So when I called and talked to the nurse, she promised to get back to me. This morning I heard what I really didn't want to hear.

Very high triglycerides, high cholesterol, elevated liver functions, and...a glucose tolerance test.

Y'know, I was in relatively good health until July of 2000. That was when I took Depo Provera, the birth control shot "that you only have to think about four times a year." Yeah right. I finally had to get over being angry at myself for taking that shot simply because I have never been the same since. I won't bore you with the details, but gaining 50 pounds in a year should tell you something. :-)

Now I'm looking at a possible diagnosis of diabetes. To tell you the truth, this doesn't surprise me. In fact, if that's what it is, then at least I know what to target, y'know? I can fight it. I have a history of diabetes in my family so at least I'll have a good support system. :-)

Anyway, the whole point of this post is this: I want to be healthy so I can be there for my daughter, for my family, and for my writing. I have all these goals and dreams and desires, but I can't accomplish any of them unless I'm healthy.

So let the tests begin. Let them poke and prod and do what they will to figure out just what it is that is keeping me from accomplishing my goals. I'm ready!

The Tag of Four

Just got back from the dentist. He worked on 4 teeth and one was really stubborn, so I ended up laying there a lot longer than I thought I would. I'm exhausted. Thus, I can't think of a good blog topic so I'm doubly glad that Rene tagged me.

Four jobs I’ve had
Library assistant
Pizza chef
Legal secretary
Bookstore clerk (3 different bookstores!)

Four Places I've Lived
Bridgeport, Nebraska
Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Chadron, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska (yup, I need to move out of state!)

Four movies I watch over and over
Laura (old 1940's movie)
Under the Tuscan Sun
National Treasure
Frenchman's Creek (another old 1940's movie)

Four places I’ve vacationed
New Orleans
England
California
Texas

Four favorite dishes
Lasagna
Turkey and stuffing!
My husband's enchiladas
House lo mein from the neighborhood Chinese resteraunt

Four Sites I visit daily
MSN.com
My bank's website
Um...the rest are blogs

Four places I’d rather be right now
England
Italy
Ireland
Virginia, specifically Colonial Williamsburg

Four t.v. shows I love
As Time Goes By (BBC comedy)
One Foot in the Grave (another BBC Comedy)
Friends (yeah, not terribly original)
History's Mysteries on the History Channel, which I desperately miss

Four bloggers I’m tagging
Um....anyone that wants to do this is welcome! I'm too tired to think of anyone...

Plot Problems Resolved!

I figured out my plotting problem and I've been working ever since! Unfortunately, the weekend never lasts as long as I want it to and it's back to work tomorrow. To add insult to injury, I also have another dentist appointment tomorrow to start getting some of these teeth fixed. *groan* I am REALLY not looking forward to that. Yeah, yeah, it will be completely numb, but I still have shivers over that whole numbing process. It's a needle and that's enough to make me skip the entire thing!

Didn't do much this weekend, though. Had a very relaxing Saturday night. Hubby made his famous chicken noodle and butterball soup and we sat around and watched movies. I went to church this morning, did the tax return this afternoon (another *groan*), and have been working on my novel ever since.

Yes, I am actually missing the Superbowl right now in favor of writing!

It's just the cat and I in the house. Classical music playing in the background, and no t.v. The cat and I are becoming better acquainted. Fortunately, I'm not as allergic to her as I thought I would be and she's now taken up permanent residence in the house. I'm still not a cat person - I love how my dog will come to me when I want him to - the cat could care less if I'm alive - but we're getting along now. She'll even come and lay on my chests sometimes. It's the whole claw thing that gets to me - and when she unsheaths those things, I want to bolt out the door.

It's days like this, when I'm totally immersed in my writing, that I really groan over the whole day job thing. But that's why I'm really hitting the writing hard tonight - I want to someday not be indebted to that whole day job thing. Of course, I realize that hubby will still have to keep his job- and it better be a darn good one- to allow me to stay home part of the time and write. But that's the goal.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

My Love Affair With Fridays

Oh, how I love Fridays. There is just a certain feeling in the air, one of sweet anticipation and relief that the work week is nearly through and two whole days of vacation are nearly here. The atmosphere at work is nearly the same. Everyone has a bit of "It's Friday, I'll deal with it Monday" attitude. I love it.

I think we all need this sort of anticipation in our lives, otherwise the daily grind becomes too much of a grind. The light-heartedness that accompanies a Friday gives me the motivation to keep going through my work week. It's a little thing, yes, but it's the little things that count.

RWA Conference!!!

I am determined to go to RWA's national conference this year in Atlanta. I love the South anyway, and maybe I'll get a chance to sneak away and visit a few plantation homes. But if not, that's okay. I'll be around a ton of other like-minded individuals and that is going to be AWESOME.

I told hubby that I am going this year. I've wanted to for five years now, but never had the money to do it. This year, it's going to happen. I've already got two others gals in my group who are going to room with me and when the next payday rolls around, I'm going to register. Airfare isn't too horribly expensive, but I want to get my ticket before they go up, as I'm sure they will since it will be the summer touristy season.

The only problem I foresee is that my husband's job status might be a little shaky. I think he will probably have a new job by then and heck, maybe we'll even have a new house. But I figure if I invest now, I will work it out so that I can go, no matter our job situation, etc. I don't have plans to look for another job and I know I'll have more than a week's vacation built up by that time.

Since I'm also the president of my chapter, I'll get a bit of money thrown my way for attending the president's retreat. That will definitely help.

Happy Friday!!!

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY!!!

It's my husband's birthday! He's 34 today. And he doesn't want a cake or any sort of party. :-( To him, it's just another day. But I'm going to make it special for him anyway! Love you, honey!

In Writing News...

Wow! Had a BIG brainstorm last night! I came up with an awesome idea! BUT...if I decide to go with this idea, it will be a lot of work to work it into the manuscript. However, I have a feeling the book will be SO MUCH BETTER if I do this. Really, there's not much of a decision to be made, is there? I must do this! I just need to flesh out the idea a little more and I think I'm good to go!

Inching Forward

The meeting went well last night. We talked a lot about writing (which is what you're supposed to do!) instead of getting bogged down in business stuff. That made me feel good about the direction we're headed for 2006.

I did get a few ideas last night for my plot problem, but it's not "there" yet. I'm inching forward on finding the solution, but the lightning bolt of "yes, THIS is the one!!!" hasn't hit me.

I think I'll put my mind on it tonight while I'm exercising. Makes the time go by quicker.

I'm itching to get back to the keyboard. I haven't written anything new since last week.