I'm Baaaack!

Tonight's my birthday. I'm so not telling which one, but I'm over thirty.

So much has happened since the last time I blogged...that trip to the mountains in Colorado over Spring Break turned into an idea that maybe I should pack up the fam and head back to the Emerald City.

And here we are!

The months since that decision were (obviously) filled with tons of hours of challenges and choices; work and worry; and finally some closure. I am home.

I moved my little-at-the-time family to Colorado Springs over twelve years ago. That fact alone is mind-numbing. How can anything be that long ago? The whole high school reunion thing blows me away too but that's an entirely different story.

Colorado Springs never felt like home to me. It was kind of like a really long vacation. Or maybe Summer camp. You know, you met some nice people, and you'll probably swap emails for a few years, but no lasting commitments. How bizarre to live somewhere that long and have no real connection...how sad.

But I do believe that God has plans for us, and I know Colorado was part of His plan for me and my kids. By the way, I did pick up several more of them while on that twelve year excursion. Kids that is. Left Seattle with two and came back with five. Funny how you just keep collecting more stuff the older you get.

At any rate, I will do my best to get back on track with blogging. It helps keep me focused on how I can feed my soul (writing, singing/music, some art). I tend to get swallowed up by the daily drama generated by my little crew.

God bless you and yours, and it's good to be back!

Status...

still ear-infected. I'm on my second round of antibiotics and starting to tilt to my left. Back to the GP today and then on to the Ear Nose and Throat doc. Yippee. This is so boring. And it's not a very grownup kind of problem.

Meanwhile, the move to Seattle is looking like a go. Just a few more bumps to work out before putting my house on the market. This is where being a realtor (insert trademark symbol here) comes in handy. I can sell my own home for 1/2 the regular commission. Big yay there!

Gorgeous day here in Colorado. It's supposed to get into the mid-seventies. Now, we will probably get snow next week. There is usually one more heavy Spring snow before we move into Summer.

In Seattle, it's time for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Acre upon acre of tulips laid out like a gigantic multi-colored carpet at the base of the Cascade mountains. This is a must-see if you visit the Northwest in April.
I think it's raining there today.

Much love-

Another Saturday Night

This is Kelsey, my daughter. She is miffed that it took so long to post her picture here. No special reason for including it in this post. Just trying to maintain my motherly standards of excellence and keep her off my back.
Problem solved.


Getting old(er) is interesting. On the one hand, it sucks. Your body freakin' rebels. The laser eye doctor says, "Well, we could make one eye for near vision and one eye for far. Or, you could get bi-focals", (What happened to all that new technology?), your kids get jobs and don't need you anymore (not necessarily a suckie thing), you go snowboarding, fall on your face and feel it for a week...or more. And so on, and so on, and so on.

On the other hand, there are many benefits. Umm...umm...hang on, I knew what they were a minute ago...musta forgot my ginko today.

Ah, well.
Status: a tad confused.
Listening to: not much. My left ear is shot, and it is my "good" ear.
Not that this is such a loss. Things inside my head are a lot more peaceful lately.

One Swollen Gland...

Yeah, right. So, the kids go back to school, and I get a major (really major) ear infection. I'm talking lots of antibiotics, and shots in the hiney for pain.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to the doctor soon enough, and my ear drum popped. So the past few days I've been walking around with a tissue hanging out of my ear soaking up the ooze, and taking horse-sized pills of Ibuprofen and Vicodin (which I NEVER take. Honest, never).

If this is how my kids feel when they get an ear infection, I will be infinitely more supportive of them the next time. Owie.

Not getting much writing done, but I am catching up on sleep.

Today I woke up and accomplished a few things. Like laundry, checking my emails and doing some dishes. And thankfully, tonight I'm thinking book. That's comforting. I thought I'd never think about anything except my ear ever again.

Thinking is the first step. Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to actually look at my material and figure out where I am in it. Then, maybe Saturday, I can think some more and get some kind of word count accomplished.

It's good to have goals. I mean besides keeping the oozing stuff off my bedding and trying to remember when to take my next dose of medication.

Hidey Ho, Neighbors!

That's me on the right, my great friend, Stephanie on the left. We are sitting at the Continental Divide...

Well, we all survived Spring Break.

The weather was fantastic. We got snow every other day, with full on sunshine the days in between. Amazing boarding, great breaks in the lodge, FABULOUS nachos. My ribs still hurt. I'm thinking that I definitely cracked one or two during my big fall that first day, but I'll heal.

The last two days in Salida the fam started coming down with a strange virus. High fever, swollen glands, very sore throat, but no other evidence of strep, and it goes away in a day or two.

So, today, the first day after Spring Break, I have three kids home with me. Humm. What's the point of breaks if the kids never go back?

One of the cool things that came out of the vacation was a real desire to move back to Seattle. I've lived in Colorado for eleven years, and it's never felt like home. I just can 't quit Seattle...

Besides, since my book/future series is set there, what better way to research? I'll keep everyone posted as this potential new journey unfolds. There are a ton of things that need to fall into place - foster kiddos to transfer (if possible), selling my home here, blah blah. Never a dull moment. But, if I don't act on this, life will be the same and change is fun.

More to come...

Status: One blocked ear and swollen gland.
On the TiVo: Starting Over.

Workin' hard

Status - trying not to be pissed.

Whew! Got in many runs yesterday...

Also got three good (according to my 19 year-old) falls. Two on my back and one on my front. Missed my face, but I'm pretty sure I bruised a rib. Oh well, that's the price you pay for throwing caution to the winds and having a great time.

I did manage to remember the sunscreen this trip. So my nose and chin aren't quite as red as ususal.

The mountain got about six new inches this morning, and the report is clear and in the 40's for tomorrow, so we're looking forward to at least two more days on the slopes. Yippee!!

We have way too many people in this cabin, though. People are starting to get tired of each other, you can totally see it. I, myself, would love to be on my own, but since I have all these children, it doesn't ususally pan out that way. Bummer, but life is seldom 100% the way we'd like it.

I am excited to get home to work on my book, however. Vacation is not as fun when you have ideas percolating and want to spend some serious time noodling them out -- alone.

Ah well...another day.

On the i-pod: Ain't Nothing 'Bout You by by Brooks & Dunn (I like country music from time-to-time!)

Hugs

PS - My search for suspects led to a serious plot revision so I could get some. Problem solved.

SPRING BREAK!!

Well...We are on Spring Break.

I took the fam to a cabin in the Colorado Mountains to get in a last snowboarding trip.

Included are: A CNA to help take care of the medical kiddos, two friends from Seattle here on vacation, a friend who's a Physical Therapist (with her two kids), and my mom. That's in addition to the seven kids and me. All in an 1800 square foot log cabin.

Thankfully, the cabin has a huge TV with a DVD player and Direct TV.

This is the first family vacation we've been on in many years. It's going great. We hit the slopes tomorrow.

The only downside to this is that I'm not working on my book. This makes me sad and a bit frustrated. Oh well, a day on the slopes followed by an evening at the hot springs should make me feel much better...

Where I confess...

I have a confession. I watch the reality daytime show: Starting Over.

The show is set in a large home in California (LA, 'notch). Six women who want help getting rid of negative, destructive patterns in their lives (or who want to achieve some long-lost dream), get daily coaching and assignments while we look on. I get so invested in their lives and watching them overcome their demons.

I should be writing.

The book is changing (again). I started laying out scenes, and saw all kinds of flaws...It will be a better, stronger book.

Started data bases of character names and reasons why people kill. Next is methods of killing. My contact with the SPD is awesome! She is so quick to respond to my emails, and so thorough in her answers. Just wonderful.

Oh...weather update: Today it is about 60, snow melting all over the place. Goofy. It was -10 (with wind chill) on Monday. We have the most bizarre weather...

TTFN -

A little weather update...

You probably heard about the huge snowfall we got yesterday. Reports are not overrated. We got about seven inches, schools were closed, etc.

GREAT news for our Spring Break snowboarding trip!

Today, in typical Colorado fashion, it is sunny and about 30 degrees. We are supposed to get another couple of inches tonight and tomorrow.

Pretty fun weather for the first day of Spring...

In Search of Suspects...

WANTED:

FIVE OR SIX SHADY CHARACTERS.

MUST HAVE LITTLE OR NO ALIBI FOR THE AFTERNOON OF SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2000.

MUST BE WILLING TO BE TIED TO MY VICTIM, DAVID MACKENZIE, AND BE WILLING TO COME UNDER INTENSE SCRUTINY AND SUSPICION.

POSITIONS IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE-NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY, PAY NEGOTIABLE

I wish it were that simple...

Here I am, plotting away, when I realize that, while I have my victim and my villain, and while I have my main characters fleshed out nicely...I don't have any other suspects!! What the heck is a mystery without a mystery? Without clues, red herrings, bunny trails, and lots of people for readers to narrow their eyes at, considering, figuratively tapping a finger on their chin...

Gee Whiz! What an amatuer!

So, that's where I am today, and will be until I find them-all my suspects. Any and all may apply. I'll take temps or day laborers.

Does anyone have an uncle Guido?

Another sigh...

Thoughts on the NCAA Tournament:

GO HUSKIES!!!

That would be the University of Washington (State) Huskies, not the UConn dogs.

Okay, moving on...

My nineteen-year-old son came home last night for Spring Break. This is a wonderful thing. He completes me. Well, maybe I'm overstating it. But I've often said that if he weren't my son, and if he were about fifteen years older, I'd marry him. You would, too if you knew him.

He's helped me with all these children of mine for the past eight years (since he was eleven). Along the way, he's learned a bunch of stuff most people never do. For example, five years ago I fell in love with a little blond-haired one-year-old boy from Denver. He happened to have a ventilator attached to his neck by two long, plastic tubes (he was a 25 week premie, born with Crack flowing through his tiny veins along with the blood, and horribly under-developed lungs).

Needless to say, a bit of training was needed before I could take him home.

Kris volunteered to learn with me. He and I drove the 120 mile round-trip to Children's Hospital in Denver so many times I lost count. There we learned how to suction stuff out of his little trach tube (ick), how to do daily cleaning around the tube ('cause the stuff leaks out sometimes), how to replace the trach tube weekly (that was kind of scary). Also we learned how to troubleshoot the ventilator, how to give little man breathing treatments, and how to feed him through his g-tube (a feeding tube that goes into his stomach with a little cap on the outside for easy access). When we got Kameron, he was kind of a mess.

Now he's an amazing six-year-old boy. But that's another story...

Kris is a pretty typical guy. He hangs with friends, goes snowboarding, plays Halo online, gets the occasional speeding ticket, and hates his English class - sigh.

I think he's the most amazing young man I've ever met.

That's what's happening here. What's happening in your neck of the woods?

Just another sunny day!

Ahh...Just another sunny winter day in Colorado. It's supposed to snow over the weekend. I've lived here ten years and I'm still not used to the strange weather. It can be in the sixties today and then snow four inches tomorrow.

Never boring.

My book is coming along well. I'm blocking out my plot, I'm not a huge fan of concrete outlines, but if I don't have something to work off of I can get distracted. You know, shiny object syndrome.

I'm liking my characters, getting help from the Seattle PD (yay! And thank you again!), and absolutely LOVE Google Earth . For those who don't know, it's a free program from Google that gives you gps-type maps of anywhere in the world. The pictures are great, and it's FREE!!

All the kids are finally well and back in school, just in time for Spring Break which starts for us on the 24th. We are heading for the mountains to get some last runs for the season. Three of us snowboard, and the little ones and those who are disabled, will tube it! The mountains are getting a ton of late season snow, and the sun will be out. It's a great time of year to board or ski.

I have to give props to Colorado for this. I miss the water in Seattle, and even the rain, but I do love the snow here!

Have a marvy St. Patties day!

I've been bitten by the Blog Bug.

Well...I've succumbed to the blogging craze.

Don't know how much I'll write, but it's nice to have the option.

Mom's Night Out is my first novel in a planned mystery series. It's also my motto for the unforseen future.

With nine kids (seven at home), and no husband, a night out is just what I need - that and a possible prescription for some serious anti-anxiety meds.

My novel is in the very rough draft stage...still outlining and planning and researching. I could really use a police representative to help with some of the research. Also need a street person or two and someone who is familiar with the Headstart preschool program. No worries. It's coming along.

I might be making a major shift in tone, though. I'd really like to take a humorous slant...things to think about.

Thanks for reading - TTFN!