Too Unreal!

And too cool, too!

First Larissa.

Then Steph.

Now Cece! Whoo-hoo!

Go congratulate her.

And how do I get a drink of that water, girls?

Positive Thinking

I stole this from Jen -- she calls it "participation positives." My grandma would have called it counting my blessings. I still count Jen as one of mine -- if not for her, I might not be writing.

Anyway . . . here are my +'s:

1) Tomorrow's payday -- and I have money left over after paying my bills.
2) Monster #1 needed prescriptions today -- and I didn't have to decide between paying the light bill, buying food or getting him his medications.
3) The ugly cabinets are gone from the kitchen . . . and new ones will be there soon.
4) Both Monsters are feeling better.
5) I have sick leave days banked.
6) I didn't have to find my own sub.
7) I wrote today.
8) My desk is clean.
9) My friends.
10) My refrigerator is clean.

Either I'm really blessed in a wonderfully ordinary way . . . or my life is dull.

I think we'll go with blessed in a wonderfully ordinary way.

Could This Be Cooler?!

First, Larissa sold.

Now Steph sold to Blaze!

Go congratulate her!

Sisters in Secrecy

First it was Larissa.

Now, Steph's in on the plot to drive us all insane.

Go nag them.

I have Julius Caesar tests to grade. I'm so excited.

Bits and Pieces

In case you haven't noticed, Larissa has an evil, teasing side. And it's showing.

It's been one of those drizzly, nasty days here. No renovation work going on. Spent the day hanging out with a friend -- went to the bookfair, where it was BOGO. What fun! Both Monsters got books (Monster #2 is sick -- he perked up some over his non-fiction selections).

Then I spent the afternoon camped on the couch, reading Stephen King's new release Cell. Now, we all know I think ol' Stephen is the master writer, and I enjoyed the read (well, obviously -- I mean, I read the whole thing in one sitting).

But.

I adored The Stand. I'm of the opinion that novel is one of his finest. And all while I was reading Cell, I kept feeling like I was reading the short version of The Stand, with the cellphone-induced Pulse taking the place of the Superflu, and the Raggedy Man standing in for, um, evil-leader-guy-whose-name-I-can't-remember from The Stand. There were other parallels and if I'd been able to shake those while reading, I'd have enjoyed the book more. I'm not crazy about reader deja vu.

Now I have Ann Rinaldi's novelization about the Salem Witch Trials to read. As I'm fascinated with that event in American history (and just finished teaching The Crucible), I'm looking forward to that, too.

Oh, and it's seven weeks until spring break.

If anyone besides me is counting. ;-)

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

Whoo-hoo!

Go congratulate Larissa, who has VERY good news!

That "G" Word

I hate to even mention it, because it always seems to jinx me.

I blame Sylvia Day. And Steph for pointing me to her site to start with. Not that Sylvia and Steph aren't both lovely people.

It's that whole "G" thing.

You know the word.

Goal.

That's the one. Whenever I set one, I might as well be slitting my throat, writing-wise. Not sure if she still does, but Sylvia used to do a writing-goal challenge on her message boards. January of last year, I set a goal of 60 pages for that month.

Easy-peasy, right? I mean, I was a five page a day writer.

Oh. My. God.

You have no idea how long it took me to write those sixty pages. Something like six months, I think.

So I said no more goals. It's kinda like no contests. I know what I'm doing. I mean, my writing mo-jo doesn't need no mo' jinxing, y'hear?

But.

I have a target. That's not quite the same as a, well, you know.

(Stop laughing, E. It's NOT the same.)

One measly page a day. That's it. If I do more, great. If that's all, fine. Less . . . well, we'll see.

Just don't call it a goal.

Okay?

'kay.

Ding, Dong, the Kitchen's Gone!

And oddly enough, it looks better with everything ripped out than it did with the off-kilter cabinets and nasty old sink. What does that say?

I'm very excited. Every bit of progress brings me much closer to my "new" house.

Today's Post . . .

Is at Romance Worth Killing For.

To E or Not to E . . .

That is the question. Whether 'tis better for the mind
to suffer the zings and questions of uncertain rejection
or by taking up keyboard and the send key, end them?

Can you guess what I'm teaching this month?

Ever want an answer to something, but we're afraid to ask? I'm wondering if I have a big, fat R in my agent's office, and at the same time, I don't want to email. I'm like, surely she'd tell me. Right? I've been trying to just fade into the background and not think about it.

You know -- playing ostrich.

I think I'll just wait. :-)

What do you think?

I'm It.

Tagged by Sharon. (Gee, thanks, hon!)

current clothing: pink pajama pants (with cute shoes on them!), big white T-shirt, green sweatshirt, slippers
current hair: Down, messy
current refreshment: Diet Pepsi
current annoyance: One of my lit classes
current avoidance: writing
current smell: New flooring/wallcovering
current thing you ought to be doing: writing a unit plan, catching up on crits
current thing or things on your wall: none.
current IM/person you're talking to: No one
current jewelry: None
current book: The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
current worry: EOCT, GPS implementation, the house renovations from hell
current favorite celebrity: Matthew McConnaughey
current obsession: Aforementioned renovations from hell
current love: DH
current longing: a clean, organized, decent place to live
current disappointment: see current longing
current lyric in your head: Theme to Spongebob
current music: see lyric above
current favorite book: Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones
current favorite movie: None
current wish: See current longing
current happy thing: none
current undergarments: Victoria's Secret (Body by Victoria.)
current desktop picture: Microsoft "Bliss" -- the field with the blue sky and clouds
current plans for tonight/weekend: None. And it's my anniversary/birthday. How sad is that? ;-)
What are you currently doing? Listening to the Monsters fight over the chessboard.

So . . . I'm tagging: Carol, Elisabeth, Kristi and Joan. Come on, girls. You wouldn't want me to have ALL the fun, would you?

We're Live!

Check out Elisabeth's excellent post on plot braiding over at the new collaborative blog ROMANCE WORTH KILLING FOR.

See you there!

New Blog! Check It Out!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day: ROMANCE WORTH KILLING FOR, a blogging
collaboration by three romantic suspense authors: Elisabeth Naughton, Joan
Swan and Linda Winfree.

All writing-related topics, all the time. With eight collective years of
serious writing between us, the subjects will range from back-to-basics
grammar and GMC, through the submission process, obtaining an agent and
beyond. Posts scheduled Mon/Wed/Fri with surprises planned in between, so
check back often.

Quiz-Happy

Scarfed from Steph:

You Are The Star

You represent the ultimate in truth and purity. Insightful and illuminating, you provide guidance for others. You also demonstrate unselfish, unconditional love. You posses many spiritual gifts, including the ability to heal. Your fortune: Your future is looking brighter by the day. The near future will be a time of both hope and healing. Luck is about to come your way, perhaps the best luck you have ever seen. Life is about to get a lot easier and much better!

What Tarot Card Are You?

Now, I ask you, does that really sound like me? Didn't think so.

This is more like me:

Slow and Steady

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It'd really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment. They expect you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it.

How Do People See You?

This is me, too:

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have high conscientiousness. Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life. Most things in your life are organized and planned well. But you borderline on being a total perfectionist. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

The Five Factor Personality Test

This one nailed me:

You Are Likely a Second Born

At your darkest moments, you feel inadequate. At work and school. you do best when you're evaluating. When you love someone, you offer them constructive criticism. In friendship, you tend to give a lot of feedback - positive and negative. Your ideal careers are: accounting, banking, art, carpentry, decorating, teaching, and writing novels. You will leave your mark on the world with art and creative projects.

The Birth Order Predictor

And if I have time to take all those quizzes, I'm either addicted to blogthings or I have no life.

Ever Read a Book . . .

That was so bad, you were annoyed you'd actually spent money on it? I'm regretting a recent paperback purchase.

Bad, bad, bad.

Baaaaad.

Really bad.

On a brighter note, some of our kids have started publishing a school newsletter in their computer applications class. It's kinda cute -- poking fun at the dress code, interviewing a student every week, showcasing poetry. The student body loves it, especially a little column called, "They Didn't Really Say That!" Our science/social studies teacher makes note of the unthinking things the kids say and turns the list in to the paper, and the editor chooses a couple to print each week. Even the kids getting zinged love it ('cause they know we love them). The funny thing is that the kids quoted are usually our best and brightest caught in a not-so-bright moment. Here's the best three from this week (all names have been disguised to protect the not-so-innocent):

L.D.: "Mr. Gabe, how do you spell IOU?"

J.G.: "So you're saying Africa and South America are the same place?"

After a student showed up with hair that was jet black in the front and brown in the back:

Mr. G: "N., your hair is two-tone."
N.B.: "Yeah, I straightened it this morning."

Now what I'm waiting on is the kids to start writing down the stupid things WE say in the classroom. Guess who mispronounced medieval today?

Still MIA . . .

But checking in.

I'm behind in my grading and midterm is a week from today. It's that darn grammar/vocabulary test where I made them correct the sentences and write examples for the words. What was I thinking? Oh, yeah. I wanted them to have to show me what they understood. Temporary insanity, obviously.

My mother is happy. I made my doctor's appointment for this Friday. I know she's worried because she keeps coming over while I'm at work and cleaning. If my mom is taking care of me, I'm not hiding things well. That's scary.

The DH scared me worse. DH thinks I'm Superwoman Who Can Do Anything. He didn't a clingy Southern bride, and he didn't get one. But. We had not much to do this weekend, and when I wasn't doing the little we had to do, I was sleeping. Hours of it. Not so much because I was tired, but as an escape mechanism. Not good, as one of my favorite students says. So. Yesterday, he makes me promise that I'll follow through on making the household journal -- the one with all the bill due dates, the user names and passwords for paying said bills, what he'd need to know about our Monsters on a daily basis. I'm like, What? At the same time, I'm grousing about having to take a half day to go to the doctor -- sub plans are a big B. And he gives me the look and says, "Lin, look. It's either a half day now or several days later. Your choice." I know what he's getting at. He thinks I'm going to hit the wall and need one of those "exhaustion" breaks that actors and musicians take. And if he's worried about me? That's worse than my mom worrying about me.

So. I'm gonna grade papers. That's my focus. And see the physician on Friday. Get some sleep in the meantime. And not worry that I feel numb, rather than all the other emotions I've had roiling around the last few months.

And I'll work on returning to active duty here.

Soon.

M.I.A.

My CP accused me of this the other day, and I guess she's right. Although, I think I'd call it Mentally Inattentive rather than Missing In Action. I'm just not with it, and I'm just not good company for anyone right now, either.

But I'm working on it. ;-)

Hopefully soon, I'll be on active duty again.

What I'm Reading

1) The Mermaid Chair -- Sue Monk Kidd
2) This article -- it's amazing what the mind can do that we're unaware of.
3) Julius Caesar
4) Romeo & Juliet (actually, kind of skimming over it)
5) Nonfiction that spans the development of American literature -- I need to buckle down and focus on Thoreau and Emerson

What's on your list?