Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day to all my American friends.  Actually, all my non-American friends should celebrate, too, because us being independent helps make the world a safer place.  And we're getting back to being the place we need to be... i.e. a shining example of liberty.  

Anyway, because I'm free to do whatever I want, I'm going to do exactly that today.  It'll probably be nothing, but that's okay, too.  

Oh, and here's an art pic I made of some kids on their way to watch the Independence Day parade where we used to live in CO.  I just loved the little red-headed trio, so I snapped a shot and then played with it until it looked like a painting.  It makes me happy.  Hopefully, it'll do the same for you...

 

Suckage

Ju-Lo-Wri-Mo... Day Three.  Or as I like to call it 'The Day of the Suckage'.  I wrote 298 words worth of total crap last night... then I deleted 208 of them and started over.  I had a net gain of 452.  And even those aren't my best.  

But that's all okay.  It's all about giving myself permission to suck.  As I've said before - still true even though it's been a while since I've said it - you can fix suck.  What you can't fix is a blank page.  You gotta put the words down before you can fix anything.  

I guess last night I just wasn't feeling it.  Like I said, that's okay.  I started off down a wrong trail and it felt wrong, so I deleted it.  I set off down another trail.  Not sure if this one is right either, but it's less wrong than the other one.  I should be able to find my way tomorrow.  We'll see.  If this one is wrong, too, I'll fix that.  

Let the suckage flow.  The good stuff will come out eventually.

Oh, and Happy Independence Day.  This day will be spent like any other, but it is a holiday.  I'd be more inclined to celebrate if I were happier about where this country is right now.  Maybe I'll just celebrate it as my own independence and leave it at that.  

Sunday Update - Week 26

:blink blink:  Oh.  Hi there!  Let's not dilly-dally around, eh?

Writing is temporarily on hold while I adjust to working a full-time job. So's editing and marketing. Reading and baking ain't looking too good either.  It is what it is.  

I did finish reading one book, but I forget to do a reading wrap-up yesterday.  I'll add it to next week.  And I baked a double batch of applesauce bread (2 loaves).  Part of that, I took to the office - then brought home because there aren't that many people in there and I didn't want it sitting there getting inedible.  The other loaf I took next door to the neighbors.  Yay.

Oh, and don't even ask about activity.  I spend M-F basically sitting at my desk and then I come home and sit.  I'll find my groove and work some exercise in somewhere.  Another part of the not exercising thing is the heat.  Blerg.  And every time I go outside, I get eaten alive by bugs.  I need to work on being active in the house for a while.  

The really active person this week was Hubs, who has been cleaning.  And doing yard stuff.  And feeding the critters.  Dude's a powerhouse.  And he's making me look bad.  LOL

I had my first full week of work.  I think I'm doing pretty good.  The very last thing I did on Friday, though, I screwed up.  Not anything major major, I don't think, but anyone who could help me fix it was gone for the day and I didn't want to screw it up worse by trying to fix it myself.  (Y'all know how that can go.)  So I left it with a note that I would fix it Tuesday.   In hindsight, I realize I should've left it entirely to Tuesday when I would have support of some kind and I wasn't already branfried from my first week of work, but nooooo, I had to forge ahead like the bull I am.  Derp.  Thank goodness I don't work in a china shop.  This, too, shall pass.  And hey, smart people learn from mistakes.  Right?  Right.   Doesn't mean I haven't been obsessing over it since, but that's me.  :shrug:

Yesterday, I hit Wallyworld.  What a zoo.  Loads of people, doing their 'holiday weekend' shopping.  Fortunately, the only thing the big W was out of was my preferred types of tissues.  (Cheap and plain.  No 'super soft'.  No lotion.  Lotion on tissues grosses me out. Ew.)   I picked up a cube of the soft stuff so I at least have a backup if I run out before I find the kind I like.   Got everything else on my list, which wasn't comprehensive by any means, and still dropped nearly $200.  I didn't even buy any meat.  This economy sucks.  

Of course, if the economy hadn't sucked, I wouldn't have had to find my job, which I love.  The universe works in mysterious ways.

Okay, I'd better go do something constructive today.  Have a great day and a great week, if I don't see ya.  :hugs:  How was your last week?

Sunday Update - Week 27

:blink blink:  Sorry, folks.  It's almost seven and I just woke up.  Well, I guess if you're going to oversleep, Sunday is the best day to do it.  And it's a holiday, too.  Even better.

Speaking of which... HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

Okay, now for wrapping up this week...

If you follow along on Outside the Box, you'll see I had an epiphany and wrote the climax scene.  But, if last night's writing session is anything to go by, there's so much more to write.  :shrug:  It is what it is.  I wrote 4 out 7 days and came up up with 4700 words.  Woohoo.

Still no editing or marketing.  Someone in the UK is reading the SCIU series one after the other, so I got that going for me.

In reading news, I finished two good books and DNF'd a dud.

As for baking, I made oatmeal apple raisin cookies.  

On the active front, I was only active 4 days - three on the exercise bike and in a row.  Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided to tackle the storage tubs.  I'm counting it as active.  Weight: unchanged at 184.4.

Speaking of storage tubs, here's the deal...  We were looking for something the other day and couldn't find it.  In any of the tubs.  And we have a lot of tubs.  What a pain.  So, I got the idea to sort through all the tubs and achieve some measure of organization.  Which is what I did yesterday.  (Still didn't find it.  After all our moves, who knows where it went.)  Hefting tubs around, sorting through reams of stuff, up and down off the floor, back and forth to the storage closest.  And all the shredding.  By hand because paper clips and staples.  I ended up with two black garbage bags worth of crap to throw out.  I'll talk more about that in another post.

We're seeing fawns just about every day now.  Which is totally awesome.  And we have a pair of prothonotary warblers checking out our little birdhouse on the porch.  Which is also awesome.  

That's what I assume is the female.  The male is more colorful.

The garden loved all the rain we got this past week, but still no fruits.  =o\

And that's all I can think of for the past week.  How was your week?  Got any plans for today (the real holiday) or tomorrow (the government's holiday)?

Thursday This n That

Happy Independence Day!

Project Hermes is on sale starting today.  I thought it was apropos.  Blink would also be apropos - it's on sale next week.

The neighborhood is full of people right now - most of whom I don't recognize.  Friends of weekenders, I assume.  And the new people who've bought homes recently.  I'm looking forward to Labor Day Weekend.  Or rather, the day after.  That's when this place will return to normal.

I have a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence on the wall next to my desk.  It was one of the first things we bought for decor after we moved here.  Kind of a nod to our own freedom as well as to this wonderful country we live in.

The big fireworks show here is set for the 6th.  We're not going.  I don't enjoy fireworks - the loud noises, crowds of people, bugs... :shudder:  More power to you if you do. 

We have the best light show going on outside right now - fireflies.  They're really going all out this year.  So cheerful and pretty, but also quiet.  Last night, it wasn't even dark yet and they were flashing out in the woods.  =oD

Peace and quiet.  It's a wonderful thing.  It's my thing. 

Tonight, I will lay in bed, pretending to be in a thunderstorm rather than cringing over every bang and boom.  Once you realize that you can sleep through thunderstorms, sleeping through fireworks becomes easier.  A couple times in my life, I lived quite close to railroad tracks.  If I can sleep through that, I can sleep through anything. 

We're not doing anything today.  That's freedom, baby.

Have whatever kind of Independence Day you enjoy.  Celebrate your freedom any way you choose*.  Because, hey, that's what being free is all about.


*without infringing on anyone else's freedom, k?