Busy Day, So Far

I'm very late today because Jeff and I were going through stuff. I've gotten rid of a bunch of videos and DVDs, books, and CDs. I've gone through my art stuff and gotten rid of stuff I'll never use. I've been busy, but not ruthless enough. I need to go through the stuff again...probably Monday, Jeff's next day off. We're slowly accumulating a ton of stuff for a yard sale. What doesn't sell, we'll donate to the Salvation Army. The books, though, I'll be taking to Coffee & A Good Book to trade them in for credit.

Niki had a rough night last night. She got sick around 2:00. Eric cleaned and disinfected the kennel, and he came and told Jeff what happened. Jeff took her and put her out on the chain, in case she needed to do more. Today, she'll be getting the last dosage of de-worming medicine. I hope she can handle it better.

Our shopping trip went well, for the most part. It looks like we'll be back to eating the way we used to...before I started trying to eat healthy (although we did get some salmon, veggies and dry beans). I can't wait until Jeff gets another job...or at least until we hear something about the possible job in Michigan! He's planning on working on his resume later (right now, he's mowing the lawn).

Anyway, I think now I'm going to try to organize all the stuff in our room. It's really cluttered right now.

Have a great weekend!

Lois

 

Michigan?

Yesterday was a good day. Jeff got home around 11:30 or so. We took showers, then went out to get the Focus looked at. We had to set an appointment, so we did that, then went to Sweet Bay so I could do some downloading.

Niki's been kind of sick from the shots and deworming medicine. She's sleeping soundly right now. :)

Jeff and I looked at houses online last night...in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They had a lot of houses in the $50K to $60K range. The reason we were looking at houses in Michigan is because there's a chance he could get a job there. We don't know which company or what city it's located in yet, but we know they're looking for growers. We just happened to look at houses in Grand Rapids because it's in Michigan. ;) We should know more soon. The only reason Jeff has this vague lead is because his boss (the greenhouse owner) told him the salesman got a job there.

I don't know what we've got planned for today. I'm doing laundry and catching up online right now. I don't plan to do any writing today. I may make two days a week a combined 10K Dayz like I did this past weekend. Right now, that seems to be the best way I can get any writing done. I'll be glad when things settle down again...wherever we are.

Have a great day!

Lois

Doggie Stuff, Daydreaming, etc...

I didn't get much done in the "weeding out department," but sometime after Jeff got home, we took Niki to the vet. We found out she has hookworms and whipworms. We got some medicine to treat her. She also had a test for heartworm, which came back negative, thank God! And she tested negative for other types of worms and diseases, and got her 7-in-one and rabies shots. The vet estimated her age at somewhere between one to two years, and she's between 20 and 25 lbs, but I don't remember the exact weight.

She was really good at the vet. She fought us when the vet checked her ears, and she yelped once when she got the 7-in-1 shot, and she barked at two other dogs there. Otherwise, she enjoyed the ride (sitting on my lap, since we don't have a dog carrier right now) and was better behaved than we could have hoped. The shots seemed to wipe her out somewhat, which was to be expected. Today, she's back to her old self.

When I walked her this morning, I noticed that something got into our neighbor's corn. They have a garden that looks like it's all corn, and several of the stalks were broken off and pulled out into the grass beside it. I could clearly see one ear of corn partially eaten. Now, I'm expecting to see one of our neighbors (remember, they're all related) drive up there today with a rifle over his shoulder. :-/ Thank God I'm in the back of the house with my music on! :P

It's still hot here, and I don't see any signs of it letting up anytime soon. Today's high is supposed to be around 95°, and we have a 40% chance of storms, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for them. Yesterday, it got up to 108°, and the heat index was around 117° or so.

When I was looking at houses online on Tuesday, I saw the cutest house in Van Buren, Maine for $27,000. It's tiny, at only 500 sq ft, and the roof looks funny, but I like the photos they've posted of it. I wish we could move up there. It's so much cooler! Jeff said if we sold this house, and got what we paid for it, we could buy that house outright. If only...!

Jeff liked another house in southern Maine, near the beach (I don't remember which town it was in), that's selling for around $85,000. I like it too. We can dream, at least, and hopefully someday, we'll move back there. My friend, S., in Vermont, said that we won't find an inexpensive house near the beach in Maine, but that's not true. We don't want something really fancy. We just want a house we like where we can be near the beach in a cooler climate. I love the idea of moving to one of those seaside villages and getting a little cottage of our own. Jeff likes the idea too. :)

Van Buren, Maine isn't on the ocean. It's in northern Maine, right on the Canadian border.

And on that note, I'd better wrap this up. I never finished checking my e-mail yesterday, and I still have more I need to do on here before I go offline.

Have an awesome day! :D

Lois

One Day At A Time

Yesterday was good...if you ignore the fact that Niki chewed the bottom of Jeff's shirt...while he was wearing it...and a good section of his pillowcase. *sigh* Anyone want a dog? :(

Jeff is now working half days. The greenhouse is staying open until the 30th, then who knows? He'll be getting two weeks' paid vacation, thankfully, so that will help. He'll be applying for unemployment, unless he can get a job at the other greenhouse.

I looked at apartments online, and then houses in the areas I'd like to live (as well as V. B. and F.S.)...mostly for fun, but also to see what's out there. F.S. has some decently priced houses, but we haven't looked at them in person. For all I know, they could be crappier than the crappy house we looked at up here! :P But I remember the houses we looked at down there. It seems to be cheaper there for comparatively priced houses.

We've been discussing the possibility of fixing up the house a little and putting it on the market, then trying to find something cheaper. It's too early to decide anything, but we're talking it over, at least.

We may go to the grocery store later. I have a few things to pick up.

I'll probably just see what I can do with the house...weeding out or whatever. I never did that yesterday.

Have a great day!

Lois

Sleepy, but Happy...and Ready To Write Some More

I'm a bit late because I was goofing off on the computer. :P

Now it's time to get to work. I'm going to go through my things one last time. It shouldn't take long. I've gotten rid of most of what I want to get rid of. I don't really have much to do after that, so I'll have plenty of time to write.

Or I may read.

I guess I could do both over the course of the day. ;)

First, I need to get a light snack and finish up online.

It's been hot here, and today's high is supposed to be around 99°. It will get hotter than that, as has been typical. Yesterday, it got up around 106°, I think, which means we had a heat index of around 115°. Makes me happy to have AC, but worries me when I think of Jeff in the hot greenhouse.

Yesterday was good. I accomplished and surpassed my goal of 10K words for the past two days, and I think that helped me kick that depression I was feeling...at least for now. I love writing. It's an excellent mood booster! :D

Well, I've got to run. Have a great day!

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress- Day Two, Part II:

I reached my goal! I reached my goal! I reached my goal! :D

A lot of what I wrote is romance, but there is also danger, action, and important conversation. Claire is learning to trust Arjun, in spite of what she's been through in the past. She has finally opened up to him about her background since her family moved away when she was sixteen (back when they knew each other in their youth). If it's changed anything about his feelings for her, it's made him admire her courage to make it through the hell she's had to endure.

They are closer than ever now, but he still feels irredeemable. He hates himself for getting her involved in his life. He doesn't believe he's good enough for her, and nothing she says convinces him otherwise. Still, the fact that she's opened up and is beginning to trust him gives him hope.

My progress for the day, and my grand total for both days:

This session: 5,181 words
Total for Today: 7,767 words
GRAND TOTAL FOR BOTH DAYS: 13,181 words! :D

Here's an excerpt (beware of one profanity):

Claire was asleep on top of the covers, and he sat down beside her. Unwilling to disturb her, he sat still, watching her sleep.

He hated himself for dragging her into his messed up life. He wished he could go back in time and change things. If he could, he never would have stopped in the diner where she'd worked. That one little decision changed both their lives forever.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Claire stirred and looked up at him.

“When did you get back?” she asked.

“About three minutes ago,” he answered, picking up the bag of food and setting it beside her. He handed her a cup of coffee, and she took it gratefully.

“You know, you give me caffeine at this hour, and I won't be able to sleep,” she smiled.

“So, what's new? We don't sleep much, anyway.”

“True,” she grinned, leaning over to kiss him.

“Look, I've been thinking,” he said, changing the subject.

“About what?”

“A friend of mine mentioned having a cabin in Montana. I think he said it was outside Butte, near Deer Lodge Pass. I'm sure he wouldn't mind it if we stay there for a while.”

“Cool,” Claire said, taking a bite from her burger. “How long would it take us to get there?”

“If we leave at nightfall tomorrow night, we should be there by sunrise,” he said thoughtfully. He looked at her. “That's assuming we don't run into trouble along the way.”

“If we do, we'll make it through,” she said, displaying a trust in his abilities that he didn't share.

“I hope you're right,” he said.

“I am,” she said with conviction.

“Well, we're stuck here for the night, so we might as well make the most of it,” he said. “We'll hit the road again tomorrow night.”

I had so much fun during this writing session that I couldn't stop to post until Jeff came home! :P

Well, that's not entirely true. I had a phone call, and talked for a while, then put my mom on to talk. That break aside, I wrote straight through. :)

Current Music for Inspiration: My Arjun Dhaval playlist- currently "Carry Me," by Luna Halo, and "Better Off," by Pete Stewart

Current Snack for Energy: Ozarka water, a few Tostitos Blue Corn chips

This is my last update for the day. Tomorrow, I'll be working on home stuff. If I can get some writing in, I definitely want to. It will depend on how much weeding out I can get done.

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress- Day Two:

I got a later start than anticipated again, but I've put a good amount of work into my story: 2,586 words, so far today. :D

I've just finished the "calm before the storm." It was mostly romance, but there was a particularly hair-raising experience when an intruder entered where he shouldn't have been. Now that that's over with, Arjun and Claire are about to hit the road again, where they'll get into more trouble. ;)

Current Music for Inspiration: My Arjun Dhaval playlist- currently "Living On A Prayer," by Bon Jovi, and "In the Valley of the Dying Sun," by House of Heroes
Current Snack for Energy: Ozarka water (gotta keep hydrated, after all)

I'll try to check in again between 1:00 and 1:30.

Lois

Another Day of Writing

I'm going to try to write another 5K words today, then tomorrow, I'll be back to sorting through things. I want my total for yesterday and today to be at or beyond 10K.

I'll be working on Redemption, my Arjun Dhaval story. It's the story I worked on yesterday.

I let my mom read the excerpts I posted, and she liked them. :)

It's sunny, hot, and muggy here. The weather will be about the same as yesterday (it got up to 106° with a heat index of 115°). I'm hoping Jeff will get home ultra early.

Well, I'd better hurry up on here. Again, I doubt I'll have time to check my F-List, so if you want me to see a post of yours, please comment here, and I'll see it later this afternoon or tomorrow.

Have an awesome day! :D

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress, Part IV:

I've come to a scene that's "the calm before the storm," and I'm really anxious to write more, but it's time for me to take a shower and start dinner, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

My progress, so far: My most recent session just garnered me a good 1,277 words, bringing my total word count for the day to 5,414.


Here's another excerpt:

Claire sank onto the bed and laid back. “I'll be glad when this is all over,” she murmured.

“I'm sorry I got you into this,” Arjun said, sitting down beside her. He ran a hand along her hair and face. “It's my fault you're miserable.”

Claire rose herself up on one elbow and looked at him. “Did I say I'm miserable?”

“I just assumed...” Arjun began, completely taken aback.

“Never assume, Arjun. I feel more alive than I've felt in a long time. I'm just tired. I'm sleepy. It's a normal thing for humans to be sleepy, you know.”

“Yes, I remember,” he said, running a finger along her neck to her collar bone. “We Vampires need sleep, but not much. I can live on an hour or two.”

“Well, I need eight hours or I'm no good to anyone,” she said, getting up and heading for the bathroom..."

This is a lighter scene, and there's no imminent danger, as far as they know. However, something bad will happen soon. As I said, this is the calm before the storm. :)

Current Music for Inspiration: Spoken's Last Chance To Breathe CD
Current Snack for Energy: A few Tostitos Blue Corn chips and Ozarka water

This is my final update for today. I'm going to make tomorrow another writing day with the hopes of writing 10K over the course of two days. I'll likely be working on this story. I'll work on my screenplay and the storm story later.

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress, Part III:

I'm making good progress, but it's going to end up being a 5K Day, which I don't mind. It's 5K words I didn't have before, right? ;)

My progress, so far: My most recent session garnered 1,941 words, bringing my subtotal for the day to 4,137.

Here's another excerpt:

“Wait!” [Arjun] cried out. “You didn't answer my question.”

The man turned back and sneered. “Nor did you answer mine, but I'm in a bit of a charitable mood tonight. I'll tell you who killed your sister, then I will have my fun with your strumpet.” He smiled evilly and moved closer to Arjun so that he could whisper in his ear. “The Archdemon, Xephan, killed your sister. He has asked that I hold you here for him so he can kill you himself.”

“Why?” Arjun demanded.

The man tsked, waving a finger in Arjun's face. “I didn't say I'd answer more than one question.”

“What happened to that charitable mood you claimed to be in?” Arjun spat.

“That will depend on how good your girlfriend is.” The man turned to go again.

“Wait!” Arjun called after him.

The stranger turned to look back. “Yes?”

“Who are you?”

“I am the Archhunter, Lascue. I have been after you for some time now, but it seems I am not the one destined to kill you. That is Xephan's good fortune. I wish you all the pain and anguish Xephan can put you through.”

“Why? What do you have against me?”

“No more questions. Good night, Mr. Dhaval.”

With that, Lascue turned and walked away, leaving Arjun alone with his horrified thoughts of the agony the Archhunter would soon put Claire through..."

Admittedly, this is some dark subject matter, but I'm really pushing my character. I want to see what he's capable of. You see, he's out for revenge. He's redeemable, but doesn't know it. He won't know it until the end, but I can tell you that love is what redeems him.

Current Music for Inspiration: Last Chance To Breathe CD, by Spoken
Current Snack for Energy: Nothing but refreshing, sweet Ozarka water

I'll try to check in again between 4:30 and 5:00, then I'll be done for the day.

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress, Part II:

I've been writing, but with having to do other things too, it's slow going.


My progress, so far: 875 words, bringing my subtotal for the day to 2,196.


Here's a very brief excerpt:

“How did you...?” [Arjun] began. “Don't tell me. All in a day's work, right?”

Malachai grinned broadly. “Something like that.” He walked to his own bike and mounted it. When he turned back to Arjun, his face held an expression of grave seriousness. “We'd best be moving if we don't want to be caught out here after nightfall..."

I'm loving this, so far. I just wish I didn't have other stuff to do, too. I'd get a lot more writing done. ;)

Current Music for Inspiration: Atreyu
Current Snack for Energy: Baby carrots

I'll try to check in again between 2:30 and 3:30.

Lois

My Personal 10K Day Progress:

I got a later start than anticipated, but I've put a bit of work into my Redemption storyline: 1,321 words, so far today. :)

I'm about to resume writing the actual story, but first, I've got to go get an Emergen-C packet and a multivitamin.

Current Music for Inspiration: Atreyu
Current Snack for Energy: Baby carrots

I'll try to check in again between 12:30 and 1:00.

Lois

A Too Short Weekend

Yesterday, Jeff and I went and bought our groceries. We'll have to go back for a few things at some point, but I actually like the idea of getting out of the house again.

I took out the George Foreman grill and grilled some chicken breasts. They were great! :D We had couscous and mixed veggies with them.

After dinner, we finally tackled the closets. Jeff suggested that we move Eric's, Chelsey's and Josiah's things into the studio's closet, and we went through what was left. The stuff I still had in the studio's (which will now be referred to as Josiah's room) closet, we moved either into our room or the closet in the guest room. Then I went through some of that, while Jeff went through his file boxes and got rid of a bunch of old receipts and stuff.

I never got to do any outlining yesterday, so I'll have to do some today before I start writing.

I'm also doing the laundry.

It's been really hot and muggy here. I don't mind it. In fact, it was still pretty warm last night when we took Niki out for her last walk of the day. We had another awesome light show, with lighting in the clouds and a little distant thunder. :) Today, it's supposed to be around 97°, but it will get hotter than that. Both the humidity and dew point have been very high. We have an excessive heat warning. They're saying our heat index could be around 105°, but I'm sure it will go higher than that. I'm worried about Jeff, of course, since inside the greenhouse will be hotter and more humid than being outside. :( He says he's used to it, but in my mind, you can never truly be used to it.

Well, I'd better switch the laundry over and get started on that outline. I don't think I'll be checking my F-List until tomorrow, since today's a personal 10K Day, so if you have anything to tell me, please comment here.

And happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there! :D

Have a great day!

Lois