A Little Bit of This

To say I've been busy would be an extreme understatement. If I stop and think a minute about everything I had to do in October, I think it would send me screaming for extra large doses of chocolate. And even though finishing the novel was the highlight of the month, I'm hopeful that November will be slightly less crazy. A little bit of "busy" can go an extremely long way.

So for this blog post, I'm going to clear my head of the junk that's been crowding into every single corner in hopes that I will be able to relax a bit more and start focusing on my novel edits.

The Top Ten (Or So) Things on Melissa's Mind

1) The internet is fixed. Turns out it had nothing to do with my computer, my modem, or user error. Instead, it was the cable lines outside on the pole - they were corroded and basically, needed to be replaced.

2) Hubby's snoring has got to stop. I say this with the greatest affection possible, but after numerous nights of subtle kicks and pushes on any part of his body my feet will reach, I'm ready for an undisturbed night of rest.

3) My daughter's room looks like a giant Toys R Us reject room. If that makes little sense, you know exactly what the room looks like.

4) Pepsi One is not nearly as good as Diet Pepsi, a.k.a. the Hard Stuff, but it doesn't have the aspartame in it. I've heard mixed reviews of this partiular ingredient and I've decided to try and steer from it as much as possible.

5) I went and worked out last night and lost another pound. Yay! Yeah, yeah, it's only ONE pound, but I didn't lose 40 pounds by not taking it one pound at a time.

6) I love, love, LOVE the fall colors. Our street is lined with golds, reds, and dark yellows. The squirrels scamper among the leaves and our dogs like to lay in them. My two kids made a big leaf pile the other day and jumped into it. As my thirteen-year-old stepson told me, "It was like I was a kindergartener again." That's always a good thing to hear.

7) Dove Dark Chocolate might possibly be in the running against Godiva Dark Chocolate as Best Dark Chocolate Ever. The jury is still out.

8) I am starting to miss the world of eighteenth and nineteenth century England. My foray into WW2 hasn't left a lot of room for me to indulge in that particular passion. I get frustrated with not being able to equally dwell in both worlds.

9) I really, really, REALLY want to edit my novel. I feel, however, that my life must be a semblance of some sort of order before I dive into trying to get something else in order. My living room is done, but my kitchen, basement, and daughter's room is in serious need of arrangement. I can only ignore the mess for so long.

10) I am a big fan of Jared Hess's work. He's the director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. I couldn't resist buying Nacho yesterday (it was on sale, of course) and we all watched it last night. Two words for this movie: stretchy pants. And if that doesn't intrigue you enough to go watch the movie, well, watch it anyway. ;-)

11) I am dreadfully homesick. Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, but I can't wait. I miss my grandma and grandpa, my brother and his wife and kids, my dad, the family farm...sigh. I wish I had a personal jet to take me the 450 miles. Strange that I wanted to get out of that area (Western Nebraska) so badly, but every 3-4 months I have to go back, otherwise I get terribly homesick. It's mostly my family that I miss, but on the other hand, that area has a way of making me regroup and reevaluate.