Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm really late today, I know. I started the day fixing breakfast bowls and doing the dishes. Then I started the laundry, changed the litter in the litter box, and vacuumed Jeff's and my room and bathroom.

The technician from the ER called. She said there was a problem with the portable heart monitor and that they lost a ton of data. She wanted to know if Jeff wanted to try again or forget about it. I had to call him and give him the number, so he's likely called them by now.

Josiah's been doing a lot of walking lately. He can pretty much walk across the living room without falling. Sometimes, he'll lose his balance, steady himself, then keep going. He's so cute! :D

Chelsey's done a lot of cleaning today, and Eric cleaned my mom's fan. He also drilled a hole in the wall so he could run the satellite cable into their room instead of running it down the hallway in front of my mom's door. That would not be good when my mom's here. She would have tripped over it for sure.

I got my check for Jury Duty. That was fast! :D It's not a lot, but I sure need it! I'm going to put most of it into our joint account and keep a little out for myself.

Thanks for the virtual tulips, j0yful_melody! :D They're pretty! :)

I'm loving this new device, but I'm not so sure about the AT&T Communication Manager software that came with it. It keeps stalling, and it screwed up my computer twice already. :/ At least I haven't lost anything because of it.

I don't know if I'll get any writing done, but I'd like to work on the storm story a little more.

We're going shopping again tonight, but not for too much stuff. We just need to get a couple birthday cards, some gas for the lawn mower and some Kleenex for my mom's room...and another rawhide bone for Niki. The kids need to pick up some stuff, too.

I need to straighten up and organize my work area in the living room, then I should have time to do some writing. I want to take another shower, too...maybe. I got sweaty and dirty after my early shower, so I really should.

Anyway, have a great day!

Lois

And for...Today...Zzzzz...

I'm kind of tired today, so I'm not going to put any pressure on myself to do anything...at least not as far as artwork or writing are concerned.

Yesterday was good. I did some grocery shopping. It was nice to get out of the house.

I never did any writing, but I jotted down a couple notes for my new character.

I also watched Mission Istaanbul yet again. It's my kind of movie- lots of action, humor, a great cast! :D I haven't seen a Vivek Oberoi or Zayed Khan movie yet that I haven't loved. :)

Jury duty is finally over. I was supposed to go in today, but it was canceled. Whew! :) I should get my pay by the end of May...hopefully long before.

It's cloudy here, with a light, misty rain. We have a good chance of rain and storms for today through tomorrow. *bleh*

I've been kind of tired lately, and my eyes have been irritated. It's not from the laptop. The laptop screen never bothers my eyes unless it has a glare on it. I try to make sure it's not sitting where bright things will reflect in it. My eyes are irritated because sometimes I rub them too much. Combine that with being tired, and you've got irritated eyes. :(

Well, I've got to go take a shower before the storms hit, so I'm going to wrap this up.

Have a great day! :D

Lois

Manic Monday...Sort Of...

Yesterday went well. I wasn't selected for jury duty, so I was able to leave around lunch time. I'm not scheduled to go back in until the 27th. I'll find out Monday night, for sure, whether or not I have to go in.

I stopped at Coffee & A Good Book after jury duty, but before calling Jeff. I bought two Manga books (The Record Of A Fallen Vampire, Books 1 and 2), two Frances Mayes books (Bella Tuscany and A Year In the World), and a chai latte. All for less than $20. :)

Eric and Chelsey both had their wisdom teeth out, plus Chelsey had another tooth pulled. They're doing well, considering. Jeff and I watched Josiah yesterday, and I'm watching him today...at least for now. Lucky for me, the dog was chewing on her new rawhide bone, and now she's sleeping (as is Josiah). :)

I don't know how much I'll be on here today. It may not be much. It'll depend on how the kids are feeling.

I'm not sure when I'll get back to the screenplay, either. I'll have to hit it hard when I start up again if I want to finish before the end of April. I'm a little behind now. :(

Have a great Tuesday!

Lois

A Lazy Day, But I'm Going To Write, At Least

I have jury duty tomorrow. On the way to the grocery store last night, we looked for the Division Two courtroom. I now know where it is. It's not far from the Division One courtroom. I can walk there from the courthouse. That helps. :)

It's been rainy here, and that's made it easier for me to walk Niki. I dread the return of the sun, if only because I dread going outside with the wasps.

I did a little writing yesterday, but very little else in the way of creativity. I plan to work on my screenplay in a bit. I need to bring my page count up. And I've just discovered that the Script Frenzy Web site is having problems. I can't update my userpic, and I can't view my status. I wonder what else I can't do...

I'd better cut this short. I've got laundry that needs to be switched over, a dog that needs to be walked, and a screenplay that needs to be written. ;)

Happy Sunday!

Lois

Another Somewhat Off Day

Today's another so-so day for me. It's cloudy here, and I'm sure that has a little bit to do with it, but that's not all there is to it.

I plan to work on my screenplay in a little while. I'll also work on editing one of my short stories. And I want to do a little writing from a prompt.

Jeff and I played Apples To Apples with Eric and Chelsey last night. It was fun, but I wasn't in the greatest mood when we played. I was feeling pretty moody all day, and I'm rarely like that. I'm not quite as bad today, but who knows how things will turn out?

I have jury duty on Monday. In the beginning, they divided us into two groups. I've been in Group One, and we've been meeting at the Division One courtroom. Monday, they're calling for Groups One and Two to meet at the Division two courtroom. We're doing our grocery shopping tonight, so this will give us a chance to find where I have to go before Monday morning.

Incidentally, my jury duty coincides with Eric and Chelsey's dental appointments. The funny thing here is that Jeff will be watching Josiah. So far, he's managed to get by without having to change any diapers. He may very well have to change them on Monday, since there's no telling when jury duty will end. ;)

I'm hoping to watch Mukhbiir again later. I haven't watched it in a while, and I'm eager to see Sammir Dattani, Sunil Shetty, and Om Puri in action again. :)

Have a great day!

Lois

I'm Making Today A Planning/ Writing Day

As you can see, I ended up not having to go in for jury duty today. ;) The next date is this coming Monday, the 19th.

Yesterday was an okay day. Not great, but not bad, either. It started out great with the phone call from Milli. After that, I just got really tired. But I caught up online, and that was good. :)

Today, I plan to work on my screenplay for about two hours. I'll also work on editing two of my short stories. But before I start on those, I need to start working on a plan for becoming a certified Course Presenter.

Jeff and I watched Lost Colony last night. It wasn't an awesome movie, but it was good, and entertaining...and it starred Adrian Paul (always a plus, in my book). I've liked him ever since War of the Worlds (the series) and Highlander: The Series. I wish he'd take on more roles like the one of Duncan McLeod. He was great in that role.

Hope your Thursday is a good one!

Lois

Well, It Was A Productive Morning, At Least

I've gotten a late start on here today, I know. Well, not entirely, as I posted my dailies and other devos earlier. Then I had to take my laptop back to the studio and get it set up for a Skype call with Milli (from Fear of Writing) about my CP training. It went well, and now I need to come up with a game plan so I can give it my best.

Then I took a shower and had lunch.

And I've been catching up on e-mail and other things.

Now, I only have time to catch up on here, then I'll have to start fixing dinner.

I've been kind of tired all afternoon. I'm thinking maybe I didn't get as much quality sleep last night as I thought. Hopefully, tonight will be better.

I'm taking a break from my screenplay for today, but I may read some from my self-editing and revision book, then maybe some from something else. I really need to read more than I have been.

I'm supposed to have jury duty tomorrow. I'll find out for sure when I call the courthouse after five.

As usual, this is a very boring post. I really need to find a better, more exciting way to blog! O_o

Hope you're all having a great day!

Lois

April 9 Is the Date!

Prince: It's Showtime releases in theaters today! I wish I could see it! It's playing up in Kansas City, but that's a five-hour drive. Yikes!

The past couple of days have been busy for me. Most of yesterday was spent on feedback. I've been spending a lot of time on feedback lately...more time than usual. I'm hoping it will become easier with time, but I won't know until I've been doing it for a while.

As you can see, I didn't have to go in for jury duty today. The next date for me to go in is next Tuesday, the 13th..about two-and-a-half weeks before my term is over.

I haven't worked on my screenplay in days, so am hoping to get to work on it today. I still have some work to do first, though.

Eric's looking for another job. An error entering in some information on the cash register got him fired. :( He's out looking for a new job, and Chelsey has typed up a resume for him. In fact, he's already heard back from someone. :)

Jeff and I watched Kaal the other night. It was great! At least I thought it was great. ;) Jeff's not really into ghost/ horror stories. To tell you the truth, I'm not really into horror, either, but this one was pretty good...and it had some great actors in it.

And on that note, I'd better hurry up and get busy with things I need to do, so I can get to my writing.

Have an awesome day...and weekend!

Lois

Jury Duty...and Then Some

Jury duty was over quickly today. First of all, we had to stand out in the hallway for about an hour and ten minutes before they called us into the courtroom. Once inside, the judge explained that the men on trial made a plea bargain.

They still had to do a roll call, so they'd know who showed up, then they let us go.

I went to Coffee & A Good Book and picked up a couple books, then went to Brandenburg Book Sellers and bought another book. Then I called Eric and Chelsey to pick me up. They asked if I wanted to go to Sam's Club with them, and I said sure. So we went there, then to Walmart, then came home.

I walked the dog twice before we left, then I walked her when we got home. I'm due to walk her again in about an hour and fifteen minutes or so.

And now I'm catching up online and watching Kalyug. Kunal Khemu should do more dramatic acting. He's soooo good at it!

Anyway, that's been my day, so far. Tonight, Jeff and I will either watch Kaal or The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

Have a great afternoon and evening!

Lois

Not Your Average Weekend

Several assignments have come in, so I've got a lot of work to do...not to mention the studying I need to do for the Course Presenter training. It's nice to be busy. Hopefully, soon, I'll be busy with my own work, too. ;)

We had storms yesterday. I don't know how bad they were. We were in Walmart at the time. I didn't see any downed trees or anything, so I don't think they were too bad. After we got home, the winds really picked up and more clouds moved in. If we had more storms last night, I slept through them. Today's supposed to be partly sunny with a high of 58°. Right now it's cloudy and 48°.

The next date for jury duty was tomorrow, March 29, but they've changed it to Tuesday. That gives me another day to work on feedback and studying.

I ordered a couple things from my cousin-in-law. She's an Avon representative. :)

We didn't flea bomb the house yesterday. Jeff didn't think it was necessary, since Niki has Frontline Plus on her. No one's been bitten by any fleas yet, so he's hoping the Frontline is killing them all off.

I was hoping to get her a cage or carrier yesterday...something a lot sturdier than the pop-up kennel we have now, but we didn't. :( I sure hope she doesn't destroy this one before we can get something better.

Chloe jumped the gate yesterday and Niki chased her all around the dining room. Chloe ran into the kennel and Jeff got ahold of Niki so I could get Chloe and put her back on the other side of the gate. She made a beeline for my studio. I don't think she'll be jumping that gate again for a long time. ;) We'll need to get them used to each other before my mom comes back. Otherwise, we'll have to keep Chloe in one room all the time. I don't like that idea. :/

I watched Rocky again yesterday. I'm hoping to buy it at some point. Zayed Khan was great in a sometimes comedic, sometimes very, very dramatic role. :)

Anyway, I'd better get to work. I've got a lot of it, and I don't want to keep my students waiting. ;)

Have a great day!

Lois

Two Sunny Days In A Row Really Lifts My Spirits!

I started today around 7:00 a.m. by writing some feedback. I still have one other feedback to write, but I'm saving it for tomorrow morning.

For those of you here who are on Twitter, is it a sign of rudeness not to participate in things like Follow Fridays? I've had people include my name in FF tweets, but I've never returned the favor simply because I don't have the time...and I don't know how to keep track of everyone and how to include them all in my tweets. Suggestions, anyone?

Today is Jeff's last Friday off for a while. I'm not sure if we have any plans or not. If not, I plan to work on the outline for my screenplay. I'd like to have some kind of plotting chat, but don't know if I'll be able to.

Jury duty went well yesterday...for the most part. When they let us go for lunch, the bailiff asked if anyone needed a ride. I raised my hand, but he didn't see me and didn't say where to meet him, so I assumed I could catch him out front of the building. Unfortunately, he went out the back way and didn't see me, so I missed him. However, the judge saw me and asked if I needed a ride and he took me in his car. :) Obviously, we didn't talk about the case at all. He was really nice and it was quite an enjoyable trip. When we got there, he joked about setting the bailiff straight. The bailiff apologized and I got to have lunch with everyone else! :D After lunch, we went back and wrapped up the case. I was home by about 3:00, I believe.

While I was waiting for Eric and Chelsey to pick me up, I went to Coffee & A Good Book to find some books about India, modern day slavery and Hinduism as part of my research for the screenplay. I was only able to find books on Hinduism, so bought a couple of those. Next time I'll try Brandenberg Book Sellers. They have way more books than Coffee & A Good Book, but I love both stores. :)

Yesterday got up to at least 61°. It was sunny all day. Today's supposed to be partly cloudy with a high of 63°, but so far, I don't see a cloud in the sky. I love this weather! *happy dance*

And now I've got to go get something to eat to relieve this gnawing in my stomach. Then I'll take a shower and get to work (if we don't go out).

Have an excellent day! :D

Lois

Nervous!

I have jury duty again this morning. I guess I'll have to be Eric and Chelsey's alarm clock, because they aren't even up yet.

I have to check one thing online, then I'm getting off here. I don't know how late I'll be there, but I'm assuming I'll be there late enough that I won't want to get back online tonight.

Anyway, have a good day!

Lois

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm swamped with e-mails this morning, and I have to babysit in a couple hours. I'm going to try to catch up later though. The most important thing right now is to post this, then read and answer some work e-mails.

Jury duty wiped me out yesterday, so I never got online when I got home. I have to serve this time and already started hearing the case. I have today off, but I have to go back in tomorrow morning. I'm hoping the case will be over and done with by tomorrow afternoon, but we'll see. I found out that even after serving on a jury, I could still end up sitting on another case or more. How's that fair? *shrugs*

Anyway, Jeff and I watched Kismat Konnection last night. It was even better the second time around, and I really love the soundtrack. All the tunes are catchy! :)

And Josiah has started walking with a little walker he has! :D Eric shot a video of it. He's so cute! :D

Well, I'd better get to it. I want to be done on here before I babysit so I can do some writing this afternoon.

Have a good one!

Lois

Well, This Sucks!

I have to go in for jury duty tomorrow, so I won't be posting on here until after I get back.

Wish me luck! I'm hoping I'll be relieved again without having to serve. I've printed out everything I'll need so I can work on my outline and character journal entries while I'm there. :)

Lois

A New Day To Help Other Writers & Work On My Screenplay!

I didn't finish outlining my screenplay's prologue, but I got a lot of it done. I'll finish it today, for sure, then I'll start on Act One. I also wrote a character journal entry for Abu Faruqui. YAY! I've missed writing character journal entries. I hadn't done it in two or three days. That's a million years in my time. :P

I watched a Nature show last night. It was about skunks. I never knew they eat honeybees. There were a lot of things I never knew about skunks, but I knew that most states won't allow people to own skunks as pets because of the danger of rabies. They're number two in rank for getting rabies, just after racoons. I still want one, though. :) You can't look at the face of one and say they're not cute. You just can't! You can admit they stink, but they are adorable. :D

And then I saw a show about teen girls being sold into prostitution, which is right up my alley, considering the screenplay I'm working on, as well as my interest in Project Devi. This is one thing I feel very strongly about. Girls and women have rights, and it's disgusting for these men to be forcing them into prostitution and pornography. They do it to boys and men, too, just not to the same degree. It's wrong, pure and simple.

This morning, I've been working on feedback. And I've been e-mailing back and forth with Milli about things involving Fear of Writing. It's been good, but now I'm ready to catch up online and then work on my own writing. :)

I have to call tonight to find out if I have to go in for jury duty tomorrow. I sure hope I don't. I have three students who need me!

Anyway, I'd better get started. Have a good one!

Lois

Sicky, Sicky - Books - Weather - etcetera

Josiah woke up a little while ago and I got to be the one to see him first. :) Poor little guy was hungry. I gave him to Eric and he's quieted down now. :)

My cold is still mostly a head cold, but I'm afraid it's starting to move more into my chest. Bad timing, as I've just run out of Mucinex. :( I'm still taking it easy (except for doing laundry), and I'm still taking extra Vitamin C and drinking echinacea tea. I took a nap yesterday afternoon, too.

I finished reading The Graveyard Book last night. It was awesome! I would recommend it to everyone! :D Today, I'm going to restart New Moon. I started reading it on the laptop a while back, but never went back to it. I'm hoping I can read a good portion of it over the next couple of days (of course, that will depend on whether or not I have to go in for jury duty tomorrow *blah*). I still want to read Bram Stoker's Dracula, too. I have that in my Kindle software on my laptop.

Still haven't worked on Act Three of my screenplay, but that's to be expected. Still, I may try to finish it off today with pen and paper from the comfort of the love seat. :)

Yesterday was cloudy and rainy. Today's supposed to be cloudy again, but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. If I have to go to jury duty, I sure do hope it's sunny. I'd hate to go out in the rain when I'm sick!

Have a great day!

Lois

I'm Just Too Darned Impatient

Since I've just "discovered" Vivek Oberoi, I did some research on his movies last night and discovered Raajneeti, Prince - It's Showtime, Rakta Charitra, and Kurbaan. Having seen him in Mission Istaanbul and loving his acting, I'm eager to pounce on these movies when they come out. Of course, I'll have to wait awhile, and everyone knows waiting is hard work! LOL

I've been reading a lot about Vivek, and I think it's great that he's so involved in the charities his family's organization is involved with. They help young girls who live in poverty, giving them food, education, etc. This means a lot to me, as I've been doing a bit of reading on slavery. It's rampant in India, which is a sending, receiving and transit nation for human trafficking. It's really a desperate situation, and I'm glad to see the Oberois doing something to help!

I wish I could go help in some way, but I can't. :( I've always been appalled whenever I hear about human trafficking and how widespread it is. We are very fortunate to be in a country like the United States, where we can live free. There are many, many people who aren't so lucky.

Right, on to lighter subjects. ;)

I only wrote two character journal entries yesterday. I did a lot of research, too, as you can see. I've got a lot of reading to do, but I'll take it a little at a time. I want to do my story justice, and I want to be as accurate as I can be with the subject matter. I plan on making this story into a screenplay as well as a novel.

As you can see, I didn't have to go in for jury duty today. YAY! :D My next date for that is the 23rd.

The weather is really cloudy again. We have a slight chance of snow this morning, then a 50% chance this afternoon and tonight. I'm way ready for summer. I have to keep reminding myself that with all this cold, there is zero chance of wasps flying around. :P

Anyway, I've got to get to work. I have feedback to write and studying to do before I can work on my own writing.

Have a great day!

Lois

Nice Gifts!

Wow! Eric and Chelsey bought me a newer, better Tracfone last night. It's set up, but I've got to get a cool ringtone for it. I'm thinking "Dhun Lagi Teri Dhun Lagi," by Mika Singh or "Mission Mission," by Hamza Faruqui. The problem is I can't get the ringtone page on the Tracfone Web site to load. :(

Eric picked out the perfect T-shirt for me, too. It's black, and in white letters it says: "If my music's too loud, you're too old." *snicker*

I'm very late today, so I'll most likely take the day off from writing. :(

On the bright side, the cloudiness makes sense today. It's snowing! :D I'm not sure how much we've gotten. It looks like two to three inches, but I can't really tell.

I have to call about jury duty after 5 pm. Hopefully, I won't have to go in tomorrow, but if I do, I'll at least have a phone with me. :)

I'd better go. I still have a lot of stuff to do.

Have a good day!

Lois

TGIF...And Not Thursday Anymore!

Yesterday was a day I'd mostly love to forget. It was rainy all day, I had a tension headache that just kept getting worse throughout the day, and I spent about five hours at the courthouse only to be rejected by the defense attorney. I wish I could have just served and gotten it over with. I'm scheduled to go in again on Monday. I hope I don't have to go in again...at all!

To top things off, I couldn't find a pay phone. I walked all the way to the library...in the rain...and they let me use their phone. All the way, I was really angry that I didn't have my own phone. Chelsey had it because the Concorde's been having problems and we don't want her to get stranded with no means of communicating. The one nice thing about the walk to the library was the exercise I got along the last leg of the trip...all uphill.

I finally got a hold of Jeff. Chelsey and Eric had called him because they needed to take the Concorde to the shop (the check engine light came on). He picked me up half an hour later and took me to Taco Bell to get something light to eat (I hadn't eaten all day).

I managed to do some writing at the courthouse, but I'm not sure what my word count is. I wrote two character journal entries, then a little bit for my newest story.

Jeff and I watched Mission Istanbul again last night. I have got to buy it! It's a great movie. :) I've already got the MP3 soundtrack, which I absolutely love.

This morning, I've come up with an idea for a new story. For now, I'm going to start a document to save all my ideas to. I don't know if it will be for my new characters...probably not...but it promises to be very exciting, if I can do it justice. :)

I'm not sure what we have planned today...besides going to the bank. Eric and Chelsey got their taxes back and they paid us for stuff, so we want to put it in the bank.

Have a great day!

Lois