Dragging...

So, I'm trying to get back into the swing of working during the day again. And not just writing. Monday I started training for the census job, and the material is not hard, it's just tedious. To cover their butts, the government puts out truckloads of paperwork, hoping you'll get lost in the mess if you try to come back on them for anything. Literally, I have three manuals teaching me how to check addresses, and enter the information into a very basic hand-held computer. It's not rocket science.

The hard part is trying to stay awake during class. It is so, so dry.

Hubby is in Indiana right now, so everything comes down to me. Kids on the bus, training, pick up the kids, take care of the animals, feed the kids and try to catch up on housework. Today I took Annie in to the vet for an all day sugar-check. In addition to everything else.

Then that darn Teresa Reasor went and wrote this awesome book I've been reading when I should be sleeping. It's called Highland Moonlight. I think I got a total of about 4 1/2 hours of sleep last night. Thanks Teresa. ;-p .

Then I keep hoping to eke out just a few more minutes of time to work on an idea I had coming home from the workshop.

Sigh... I'm tired. And then Friday it looks like I'm driving to Louisvile.

I wouldn't know what to do if my life was somewhat normal.

This weekend was a blast. Friday was the booksigning at Barnes and Noble Books, and I know several authors sold out of their books. Yay, Girls!

After the booksigning ( $150 poorer, because I had to buy one from everyone) we went to Malone's for dinner. I REALLY wish I could have been 5 different places at once, to listen and participate with all the conversations that went on. Dinner was wonderful, and after several hours they finally booted us out.

The conference the next day was spectacular. I have so much information floating around in my head. Honestly, I usually nod off a bit when I have meetings in that type of setting, but not yesterday. I could have sat there another two days, just absorbing, and been happy.

I'm off now to try computer story boarding. Thanks Teresa. And maybe some script writing. Thanks Maddie.

I have too many ideas in my head right now not to go write today. Bye all...

Catching up...

So, this week has been especially busy. It started with the weekend being thrown off kilter.
Hubby works in Indiana during the week right now, and drives home on the weekends. This friday, on his way home, my brother-in-law called him and asked him if he wanted to go to Tennessee to the race at Bristol. Hubby actually hesitated, simply because he wanted to come home and see us. Isn't he sweet? But I encouraged him to go, because it was a once in a lifetime chance. Everything was already paid for, tickets, hotel, everything. Even most of the beer. (I think that was actually the deciding factor.)
I met him down on interstate 64 and swapped out dirty clothes for clean, told him I loved him and sent him on his way.
He had an absolute blast! My husband is not usually into races, but I think he may be on his way to becoming a convert.
Saturday, I took the kids to see Witch Mountain. It was surprisingly cute. For those of you that remember the original movies, you may notice the original kids, now adults of course, doing cameos in the movie. I had a pretty big 'DUH' moment when I realized. They looked familiar, but I just couldn't place them.
The kids and I built fence and worked on the garden Sunday. The sun was so nice, the three of us, as well as the three dogs, laid down in the field for a while and dozed off. Needless to say, we've gotten our first bit of sunburn for the season.
Monday afternoon hubby came home tired and happy. We relaxed for the day before I sent him on his way Tuesday morning.
Annie went to the vet Tuesday for a check up, and she's doing fine.
And today, I'm catching up on all the things I should have done this weekend.
Here's a funny one for you. We get after my son all the time to do good at school. He gets 'sticks' if he's bad. Monday and tuesday he got zero sticks, and I told him if he got zero sticks today (wed), he could go to the book sale and buy something. His teacher sent this note home :
'***** had a good day today, no sticks, UNTIL he went to the bathroom at the end of the day and locked the stalls and crawled under to keep the doors locked. He has received a stick for tomorrow.'
How the heck am I supposed to be mean mom when I read that? I glowered enough to make it to the truck, then I burst out laughing, out of his sight. What a stinker he is!! At least what he does is usually cute, and not destructive.
Sigh...

My Protector...

This happened the night I brough Annie home, but the post was running long , so I saved it for today.
It was just past 10 o'clock, and I was in the bedroom getting changed for bed when Cricket, the Pomeranian, started growling, and doing this funny chuffing/bark thing. I didn't really pay attention until she went to the back door and started doing the same thing. Ok, maybe she had to go potty, I thought. So, half-dressed, I go to the door and let her out. You should have seen the HUGE possum outside just beyond my deck. It weighed at least 15 pounds! Little Cricket goes out, barking her head off, when she sees this thing. I'm calling to her as I head back into the room to grab a gun and a flashlight. Yes, a gun. I've lost too many chickens over the years to varmints, and I take care of them myself. I prefer to do a live trap, then a trip to Clay Farm, but that does not always happen.
Anyway, I pull out one of my husband's rifles, but I could't find the right shells, so I pulled out the little Marlin 22 I gave him for Christmas one year. I grabbed a handful of shells and dropped them into my sweatsuit jacket pocket, then dug for a flashlight. Why is it you can never find a good light when you need one?
By the time I got out on the deck (in my underwear and shirt, mind you) the possum has waddled around the side of the house, with Cricket on it's heels. Murphy, all 190 pounds of him, wagged his way around the deck licking my legs as I shone (shined?) the flashlight, trying to see where Cricket was. I could hear her, but I couldn't see her. I tried to encourage Murph to 'go get it, go get it boy'. He just sat there. Murph is a sweetheart, he's just not real bright, poor thing.
So, off I went through the yard. I realized they had circled the house and headed back towards the chicken coop. Cricket ran back to me at one point, basically telling me to get my ass in gear, then took off again, barking her little head off. At the chicken coop, I looked around, but could see no possum. Cricket was still growling and chuffing, but she had lost it too. I shined the light in a broad circle, and finally saw a pair of eyes watching me. By the time I got the rifle aimed through the two rows of fence he had made it through, he was waddling down the hill. I cracked off a couple of shots, but I know I didn't hit him.
Cricket was so proud of herself, because she felt she had chased that huge thing off. So I praised her as if she had in fact done that. What a crazy little bad-ass she is! All three pounds of her.
Murphy never saw the possum at all.
I had hung up on my husband in the middle of all this, so I called him back and told him what had happened. He was at a bar with his buddies. He laughed his butt off, then told his buddies, who were horrified. They already think we're gun fanatics, now he's telling them his wife is running around in her underwear shooting rifles at wild animals at night. Yea, great image. Thanks honey.

Annie Update...

So, I haven't posted anything for a while about Annie. That was because I didn't know how things were going to turn out.

Last Friday, I thought Annie was a goner. She wouldn't get up, wouldn't eat. So, I called the vet closest to me, whom I had never been to, and they told me to bring her in any time. I carried her in expecting to have her put down, but the woman doctor told me, "Let me do a quick $12 test to check something." She whipped out a needle and drew a tiny amount of Annie's blood, then tested it on a human glucometer. "This dog looks just like a dog I have in the back right now," she told me, "who is simply diabetic."

Diabetic?

She told me that a dog's blood sugar is the same as a human's, running 80-120 for average.

Annie's was 400.

The vet told me that it presented very similar to kidney failure. The blindness was caused by the diabetes in addition to Cataracts Annie already had. She was not able to control her urine because she had a urinary tract infection from all the sugar in her body. Everything was explained.

Let me tell you, I was a mess when I took her in. And I dared not hope, just in case she was wrong and I would have to do it all over again.

The vet kept Annie and put her on IV fluids for several days, and began her on antibiotics for the UTI and insulin for the sugar. I checked on her on Tuesday, and I was amazed to find her with her head up and tail wagging when I called to her. It took a while to get her sugar down, it's still around 300, but the vet said you couldn't drop it too fast because that would cause its own problems.

I picked her up friday, and she walked out under her own steam.

The best part is, she can see. Not great, but certainly better than last week. The drawback is, I now have to give her two shots a day to keep her sugar down. I checked with the vet, and they do take boarders over the weekend, so if we do take a trip or something, I have a place I can leave her. When I asked her where I needed to get the insulin, she told me just go to Wal-mart. Same with the needles. The dogs use the same insulin as people do. Isn't that crazy?

What a tumultuous week. This has been weighing on me heavily. I'm still kind of waiting to see how well she recovers, and if her quality of life is acceptable. So far, I think she's doing good, but she could be better.

I'll keep you updated.

Word Count...

Ok, I didn't do as good as I had hoped on my word count. I only got a little over 2200 words down. My problem was, it was beautiful outside. I had to go out and get some work done. And enjoy the sun.
For writing purposes, I find that rainy days do the best. There is no guilt in sitting down at the computer for hours on end and not getting stuff done outside. If the sun is out, I should be out doing something. That's what my head tells me, even though my heart is pulling me back in the house to the desk.
I'm getting ready now to go on a long walk, and I'm probably going to work on fence after that. Have to keep the chickies out of the garden, you know. I'll come in around lunch and spend some guilt-free time at the computer as I eat.
What kind of weather is most productive to your writing habits? Or times?

Oh, Great...

So, March 16th will be a day people in Carlisle Kentucky remember. But not fondly. It's the day we made NATIONAL NEWS. Yep, not the nightly news, but the news shows that are after the nightly news. Theirs is a bit more sensational, a bit more controversial. Anyway, our local high school principal decided to body slam a student on video tape. You can look at it here. Supposedly, he had his reasons, but I don't know. The principal out-weighs the student by at least a hundred pounds, and puts him down not once, but twice. The lawyer for the principal says when you hear his client's side, thoughts will change.

I don't know.

And today is a lucky day, I guess. Remember I applied for the census bureau job months ago? I thought they had filled the positions, but I got the call today. I start training March 30th. The job will only run about 8 weeks, so hopefully it won't take up too much of my time. Anyway, we'd like to take a florida trip with the kids this summer, so the money will come in handy.

I've given myself the task of writing 3k by tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how that goes.

HAPPY ST. PATTY'S DAY!!!!!!!