I am wayyy behind. I spent much of today dealing with Verizon's nationwide meltdown, which entailed going to the library to check e-mail and retrieve a file I needed for a client for a new, rush job. The meltdown seems to have been averted, and everything is now accessible to me from home.

But I didn't get any new writing done on Zoe yesterday, and today looks bad, too.

I did the preliminary edit and most of the formatting for book 1, just waiting for some details from that client. Book 2 is in the works. Judging contest entries--well, since today's Wednesday, I should have three done. I have one. Deadline is weeks away though, so that's okay.

But lookee!

*Post to Gabwagon and Supernatural Sisters blogs

*Do short writeups for book sequels

I actually did something completely enough to cross it off!

Oh, and in other good news, a really great guy was helping me with the PDF thing and magically, it was fixed. I suspect the Verizon problem was the culprit, their glitches interfering with my PDFServlet thingy. Yes, I'm a techie, can't you tell? The new DVR receiver arrived this morning, so I need to get that installed and set up sometime. But not now. Now, back to rush job for Cool Client!

*rushes off*

Last night, our DVR receiver died.

At first, it wasn't dead, it was only sick. The picture cut in and out, and it kept flashing messages about trying to connect to the satellite. Eventually, resetting it got me locked into nothing while it failed to download satellite info. So I bit the bullet and called DirecTV. He had me switch the satellite 1 and 2 cables and hit reset.

THEN it died.

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry, our only option now is to send you a replacement receiver." He totally ignored me all three times I said this was the third receiver in less than a year, and why did they keep sending us crap?

Yeah, I know, I'd switch to Verizon FiOS in an instant, but DirecTV holds us hostage with their exclusive contract with the NFL. I can't live without the NFL Sunday Ticket. Well, I can, but I don't have to, so I refuse to. That's what keeps my husband married to me, you know. :)

So that's our choice, which means I have to deal with crap and idiots. Hey, at least it happened in the summer. If it had happened during the regular season, and I'd lost the entire season of Supernatural? You'd have heard the roar of fury, no matter where on the planet you are.

But that's not all. The frustration continues. Today I got an e-mail that my mortgage statement was ready for viewing. For the third month in a row, I can't open it. I get a blank screen, no matter what browser I'm using. I double checked, and Adobe Reader is completely up to date. I can open every other PDF I try, from any other site I've been on. I can open all statements prior to May. But May, June, and July, I can't open. Last month I sent an e-mail, and got what was probably an automated response that they were mailing copies and for future convenience, I could go to the website to access my statements from my account...

So today I called them. The CSR tells me there's no problem from their end. Asks me if I consulted a computer professional. What the ? I asked for technical support and got an "I'm sorry, ma'am."

There's no upside to this one.

I'm not paying a computer professional because of this random, specific glitch. It would be different if I was having a problem with all PDFs, or even just random, specific PDFs from other sites. But it's just this one.

I supposed I'll have to go spend time I don't have looking for smart, competent people on some forums somewhere that might have a solution. God forbid the mortgage company should HIRE SOME OF THEM.

I've been reading a lot of YA fiction lately, because there's so much good stuff out there. But so much of it is female-centric. It's a problem I only sympathize with from the outside, because I have daughters and that limits my perspective. But as a professional, I'm aware that YA and middle grade fiction targeting boys, or even about boys (because hey, girls don't mind reading about boys!) is rarer than it should be.

I haven't read Alibi Junior High yet, but I just added it to my Wish List. Spies, adventure, normal life, even a little (crush-level) romance! Sounds excellent!

I am so swamped.

I'm not quite sure how it happened. Holiday weekends can be deceiving, I guess. They're undemanding, family-oriented, relaxing, etc. Then Monday comes, and blammo.

What I have to do this week:

*Finish Zoe (about 10k or so left)

*Edit two books for clients

*Format both books

*Judge contest entries

*Post to Gabwagon and Supernatural Sisters blogs

*Do short writeups for book sequels

*Prepare for chapter meeting on Saturday

That's just the work stuff. I have to squeeze it in between Number Two's percussion lessons and soccer training, tomorrow's City Islanders game in Maryland against DC United, and all the regular family/pet/household stuff that never goes away.

Next week gets even crazier, if you can believe it. So I'm keeping this short, because even though I've been working diligently for hours, I still have tons to do.

Wish me luck!

The kids are at the pool. I have an hour before I go get them. I should be writing.

But I'm procrastinating because nearly everything I wrote yesterday must go. Thousands of words. I don't have to cut that much very often, but it's so painful when I do. Not because I want to keep the words. I knew they were wrong as I wrote them, but my brain wouldn't go in the right direction. No, it's painful because I always keep track of word count, I always have a self-imposed deadline or goal, and setbacks SUCK. HARD.

Alas, it must be done. I'm going to force myself to stop here, before I start to ramble, and go redirect Grant and Zoe to the proper location and sequence of events.

Wish me luck.

I am very sad that this show did so poorly. Is it one of the best on TV? Hell, no. But it's been really interesting to extend the typical old horror movie format. We actually come to care for the characters before they get killed. We have people we really want to root for, and complex relationships instead of just random screaming and stuff.

I was going to comment on Sandy's excellent write-ups at Sci Fi Chicks, but I'm a couple of weeks late and my comments really exceed comment level. But go read them, she's got some excellent insight and theorizing.

( Harper's Island Stuff Here... )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
( Other TV Rambling Here... )

What TV are you into this summer?

I always swore I would not be a cliché. That I would be open and accepting, because it's just the way life goes. But I can't help it:

Getting old sucks.

Shut up, Bicky! LOL

But you know why it sucks? It's not because of my weird tanning/freckling or the slight wrinkles on my face, or the fact that everything creaks when I stand up (that's the lack of exercise as much as the aging).

It sucks because my eyelashes have disappeared.

I don't wear makeup much anymore because it's a pain, and because it makes no difference. I only ever wore eye makeup, but now the eyeliner and shadow get absorbed in a few hours and the mascara doesn't have enough to adhere to, so instead of highlighting my eyes, it just irritates them.

So I was excited when I saw the ad in People magazine for Latisse. Even though I knew I couldn't justify whatever the cost is for a little vanity. I did some research this morning, read some reviews, looked at the before-and-afters...and it's really, really tempting.

Results, of course, vary. My lashes are shorter and sparser than most of the ones in the gallery, and one or two of the featured subjects didn't have a very big difference. Some had a HUGE difference, though, enough to make me salivate. The side effects are minimal--temporary itching and redness for some people--and the process simple and convenient.

The cost is usually $120, plus whatever the local doctor would charge (there are only 2) to see me and prescribe/provide it. And the results fade after you stop using it. Plus...who cares if I have short lashes? I mean, it would be nice to look better. I'm not totally unattractive, overall, and it's hard to see my best features (eyes, lips) fading away. I don't spend much time looking at myself, and I don't see other people all that much, and they probably aren't sitting there thinking, "I'd be enjoying this conversation so much better if Natalie had nicer eyelashes."

So I guess I'll skip it. Unless someone wants to treat me for my birthday. :)

CE Murphy is always saying that on her blog, and I keep thinking of little things to post, and that sounded more interesting to put in the subject line than something generically random.

1. I have a vacation story I forgot to tell. It's not that unique, but still amazing. We were down in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains, right on the edge of the national park, and nearly 600 miles from home.

So on Wednesday night of last week, I was walking back to our cabin from the pool. There's a couple sitting on the porch of the cabin next to ours, and the guy calls out to me. A few questions about our hot tub, our grill, etc. I, cold and wet and anti-social, kept trying to escape into the cabin, but he kept calling out to me. Finally, he asked where we're from.

Me: "Pennsylvania."

Him: "Us, too!" Before I can ask, he adds, "Harrisburg area!"

Okay, that's freaky, so I stop and actually give him my attention. "So are we!"

Together: "Mechanicsburg!"

Turns out, they live literally about a block away from us. Their street is behind our house, on the other side of the parallel street. He had his granddaughters with him, and Number One had come outside when she heard me yelling across, so he asked how old my girls were. Turns out...his younger granddaughter and Number One hang out in the mornings before school.

I apologized to him for being so rude. I told him if I was never going to see him again I wouldn't care, but since I could run into him at the grocery store... He didn't really listen, so I don't think he even noticed my rudeness.

2. I'm going to say something I never thought I'd say. In fact, some of you may think this isn't me, that my blog's been hijacked.

Scratch that. Very few of you will have any idea what I'm talking about. Where's Kim W. when I need her?! Oh, well, I'll say it anyway.

Terrell Owens has earned my respect.

I know. Totally O.o and :o and whatever the emoticon is for "are you out of your freakin' mind?"

You may know I really, REALLY don't like reality TV. I don't watch any, and never have. But on vacation, the kids wanted to watch Super Stars, and I was reading in the same room (family togetherness, 24/7) and got...well, hooked. It's going to be a regular Tuesday-night family date now.

The premise of the show is that a celebrity gets paired with an athlete. The kids wanted to watch because their favorite dancer from DWTS, Maks, is one of the celebrities. And it's a really fun show, with fun personalities. All except one. And no, that one is not Terrell Owens.

T.O. is the most loudmouthed, obnoxious member of the NFL. He is arrogant, disruptive to every team he is on...and, unfortunately, talented enough to make them tolerate it. But on Super Stars, he's met his match.

His partner is some supermodel I've never heard of. She spends all her time pooching her lips and smoothing her hair off her face. She wore goggles in one of the events--the only person who did--so she wouldn't mess up her eye makeup. And she continuously harangued her partner.

EVERY other team was supportive of each other, no matter how poorly they did, and even of other teams. By last night's show, the second round of competition, there was true camaraderie among everyone--except her. She is so friggin' SNOTTY. They got eliminated in the first round, but due to injury were brought back. No matter how poorly she does, everything is T.O.'s fault. She drops non-stop F-bombs, says "you call yourself an athlete?" and "you're not worth the millions they pay you" and so on. She's HATEFUL.

And here's why I respect T.O. He's totally the kind of guy who can give as good as he gets. But it wasn't that kind of environment, and he NEVER said anything back to her. He tried, very hard, to be a good sport, to cheer her on, to be a team player. He took her crap and refrained from whacking her upside the head, which I, a non-violent person most of the time, felt was completely justified. The worst he did was say, "I feel sorry for your boyfriend" as they walked away and he probably thought they were off camera.

Good for you, T.O. Impressive stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, well, 5 things can't make a post when you're this long-winded. Plus, I can't remember what else I was going to post about. Hope I wasn't too boring--I promise, tomorrow I'll be shorter and more interesting. I think.

I'm back from vacation! I fully intended to post while I was away, but barely had time to keep up with my e-mail. We had a lot of fun. White-water rafting, obviously, though class 2 rapids aren't exactly "white." Number Two begged us to go to the upper river later in the week, which had class 3 and 4 rapids, and we said maybe next time. My friend Jody Wallace came to see us, with her adorable children, and we spent a great day at the pool, evening at Dixie Stampede, and breakfast at Mama's Table or whatever it was called. In between we walked all over Gatlinburg, toured Cades Cove (and caught ONE five-second glimpse of a bear, despite the warnings everywhere of how active they've been), and played mini golf. Number Two's influence again. She's a fanatic.

As promised, here's what my knee looked like a few minutes after it happened:



I thought the pattern was pretty. The damned thing still hurts, because the skin gets pulled with every step I take, and there's no comfortable position for it when I'm not moving.

My inattentiveness didn't stop there. Thursday or Friday, I'm not sure when, I ran over my middle toe on my right foot with the bathroom door. I did some kind of damage, not sure what--nail bed, probably--because even though the toe itself doesn't hurt anymore, I can't wear a sock. I know. Weird, right? I put on my socks to go work out yesterday morning and the pressure of the sock on the toenail was too intense. I don't think Planet Fitness allows flip-flops on the treadmill. So no workouts this week.

Let's see, what else...oh. Yeah. Stupid animals have FILTHED up my house! I don't know, I think they had a party. How else could there be so much dirt and fur scattered so far and wide? We had a family obligation on Sunday, and yesterday I caught up with the checkbook and e-mail and grocery shopping and stuff, so today's been cleaning. I'm getting there, but I had something going on that kept me tethered to the computer. I kept forcing myself to go vacuum...then come back and check e-mail...then go scrub the bathroom...check e-mail...find reasons to stay at my desk--hey, I need to blog! LOL It's over for now, so I'm off to finish de-furring my floors.

I just wish it lasted for more than five minutes. :(

First day of vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains!

Yesterday was 10 hours of travel, and though we started out in a torrential downpour, the drive was mostly really good.

Shoney's is the most ubiquitous restaurant in the world, and I get queasy thinking about eating there again. The food was fine (except for Number One's steak--J said "never order steak in a place like this!) but the faucet in the bathroom was so corroded there was a hole in it. For some reason, that really grosses me out.

Tennessee is beautiful. A lot of the time I can't tell we're not in Pennsylvania, but then the land opens up and it's a little more rolling, and of course the mountains are grander. I can't believe all the trailers/mobile homes here. Most of them are situated on huge tracts of land. Odd.

Today we woke around 6 to thunderous storms. They moved on after a while, and the weather was good enough to hike the Laurel Falls trail in the park. It was excellent. Just enough of a hike for us out-of-shape adults, with natural A/C at the falls themselves to cool us after the uphill climb.

On the way down, I hit a patch of...well, patching on the paved trail, and my food skidded out from under me and I landed hard on my knee.

Twice.

J tells me "slow down, small steps!" I told him I'm not 5. After I realized the patches and my right sneaker didn't get along, I was fine. I took a cool picture I'll post when we get home, since I failed to bring the camera cable.

It rained hard again on the way back to our sweet cabin (I think this place is bigger than my house), but when it stopped we went swimming. Then I drove the one-hour round trip to town to get pizza for dinner.

Yeah, that's a bit of a lament, that we're so far out of Gatlinburg. It's not really a full half hour to get to town or a park entrance, but it's not close, either.

Tomorrow we're tackling white water rafting, and then I think I need to do laundry already. (We had to pack light due to reduced trunk space in the hybrid--but it's worth it to get 37+ mpg!) I'll give an injury report afterward. :)

I had my annual exam last Friday. My doctor felt fullness re: my left ovary and scheduled a pelvic ultrasound.

So I did that yesterday. They asked me a few times about feeling pain, and I said nope, not at all.

Guess what I have today?

I seem to have fallen into a Monday blogging habit. Is this the only time I can get it in gear? Apparently. Monday is like the New Year's Day of the week. Or something.

~~~~~~~~~
I blogged at Supernatural Sisters today, a list of things that would be worse than bad Supernatural. I couldn't come up with much, so I added ways that Supernatural could be made irredeemably bad. Check it out and weigh in!

~~~~~~~~~
The Summer Plan so far is doing okay. Not perfect. Last week Number One and I worked out Monday-Wednesday, as planned, while Number Two was at her band lessons. But she wouldn't get out of bed today (she did her therapy and a bike ride afterward). Last week we managed to clean all the rooms, mostly on schedule. I skipped my office, which BADLY needs it, and pushed the kitchen to Friday. I also bribed the kids into cleaning out the litter boxes for extra allowance. \o/

BUT. *sigh* The "work" period of the day seems to fill up with junk, or stuff that's not junk, that needs to be done, but isn't "work." I got all my paid work done and have a little lull, but I'm trying to do a crit for a friend and things keep interfering. Like the migraine I got last night. I finally got around to starting to plan for vacation--we leave in 5 days--but not for Father's Day, because my bank just changed its name and therefore its website and will not let me in.

So have I written yet this summer?

That's a big NOPE.

Of course, at the moment, I have no reason to write, as I wait for various people to do various things. I have a bunch of books already written and in various stages, but no direction because I don't know what's going to happen next. As soon as one of six people gets back to me, I'll have a better idea, and will have a hard-core reason to structure my time in a particular way.

Right now, though, I must take my kids bowling, to assuage the guilt of leaving them alone two weekdays in a row while I combined doctor's appointments with errands.

Is your summer going according to plan?

Supernatural Sisters has a quote quiz with a prize! Head over and test your obsession level knowledge of the show!

I just read something tantalizing and I need some advice from my peeps!

I admit, I loved Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles primarily because of Brian Austin Green. I was devastated when he was shot, and therefore not all that disappointed when the show was canceled.

Now he's reportedly going to be on One Tree Hill this fall. It doesn't sound like a huge role (Nathan's sports agent?) but I'm gonna watch anyway.

The question is, should I now DVD 6 seasons of the show this summer in preparation? Would I like it? Would it be necessary for watching season 7?

Any viewpoint welcome! Thank you!

My finger is fine. Once in a while, the joints feel crampy when I put pressure on them laterally, so I'm expecting "fine" to not last that long, but the trauma has healed completely.

I love my keyboard (Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 7000) and the mouse is mostly cool, just doesn't glide across the surface as smoothly as I want. I keep forgetting to take it up to rub dry soap on the little pads.

I miss Supernatural like crazy. True Blood is good so far (but only 2 episodes in) but it's not easing the pain.

Terminator: Salvation was excellent. I love the kid who plays Kyle Reese (also Chekov in Star Trek) and can't wait to see him in new stuff. I'd heard several people hated the ending, so I was prepared and therefore didn't hate it.

Can't wait to see The Proposal this week. I have a feeling Betty White steals the movie.

Starting summer schedule this week. Plan is as follows:

8:00 Drop Number Two at mallet percussion lesson
8:06 Work out with Number One at Planet Fitness
8:45 Pick up Number Two
9:00 Check e-mail and plan work for the day
10:00 Clean designated rooms
11:00 Work
2:00 Do fun plans with the kids
4:00 Write

We'll see how well that works out.

One quick thing before I head off to add to my work in progress...

You can't graduate from kindergarten, or eighth grade, or whatever arbitrary break in grades moves you from one school to another.

Six-year-olds in shiny caps and gowns are adorable. They finished their first year of school, and yay, they're on to big-kid classes where they actually get to learn stuff. Sixth or eighth or even ninth graders (my junior high was 8th and 9th, high school 10th-12th, and we didn't have a ceremony that I remember in between) are transitioning to, usually, a new level of responsibility and perspective and challenge.

But they haven't completed anything. In most states, they are required by law to go on to the next grade level. You don't get a diploma until you finish all of the requirements of high school, and then you're graduating.

Someone could probably pull out a dictionary definition that proves me wrong, and I admit this is just a peevish opinion, but it's been bugging me. Being able to "graduate" from every grade kind of diminishes the final accomplishment, doesn't it? That's why I was so pleased with Step Up to High School--that's exactly what it is, with equal emphasis on the achievements to date and the goals to come. The celebration is warranted, but in the right way.

I place too much importance on word choice, I guess. But, hey, that's my job! LOL

Ten years ago, when we started looking to buy a house, there were two school districts we were willing to move into. I'd been listening and watching and learning over the nine years we'd lived in the area, and we were determined to move into the one that gave the best educational framework for my kids.

It's the best feeling to have a decision like that borne out.

( Parental blather behind the cut... )
I only hope other parenting decisions bear out the same way. Time will tell.

I opened my WIP yesterday.

*pauses for recognition of momentousness*

Okay, okay, it's not all that momentous. But it's been two weeks, so it felt good to get into the story again. I barely had time to read through the last chapter and finish editing the parts I was editing, but I did do it. I was actually thinking I could finish by my self-imposed deadline of next Friday (it's a writer's group goals thing). 3,000 words a day is doable.

Then today happened.

And it was a good day, it just kind of...gobbled.

Had to get up at 7 for a soccer game at 9. Watched game (great game, despite the 1-0 loss, Number Two had some spectacular saves in goal). Took kids to get brunch, drove 45 minutes to game 2. Watched game. Cheered Number One when she stepped on field first time since MCL tear. Cheered again when she kicked ball. Stopped obnoxious behavior.

Wow, I must be tired. Look how I abbreviated my sentences more and more.

After 12:30 game (won 9-0), stopped to get lunch and drove to game 3, which was still Number One. We had about 15 minutes at home, enough time for her to ice her knee and declare it fine. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but I forgot to sunscreen my arms and they burned, and I didn't spread the SPF broadly enough so burned my chest and neck a little. Serves me right for being lackadaisical. She won that game, too (5-1) and still felt fine when we got home (with gelati).

But then we had to go get my car that we'd left in the game 1 parking lot, and I was hungry (gelati's a cool dinner but not filling enough), and then I checked e-mail for the first time all day, and now it's 10:00 and maybe I'm getting old, or maybe it's just too difficult to shift my routine back to how it was 3 years ago when I know it's not strictly necessary, but I have no energy for writing.

You know what kind of effort it took to make all of those complete sentences?

I just did my first writing since I got back from the retreat. I know! Lazy bum. Well, not really. But I finally found time to focus.

The weather isn't really helping with that. I think I've said here how annoyed I get when people claim cold weather is evidence against global warming, and I argue that the planet doesn't just uniformly get warmer, it's an average increase, and it causes instability. Well, man, have we got that this spring!

The long weekend was beautiful. Got a little hot. Ran the A/C all weekend. Tuesday dawned 30 degrees cooler. Number One complained of the cold on Wednesday morning, so I let her turn the heat back on. I wore a friggin' sweater to work yesterday, and was glad I did, because though they predicted 73 degrees, it never really got above 60. Last night and this afternoon we had thunderous storms that made me fear for my basement, as the unclogged gutters were overwhelmed by sheer volume. Thunderstorms! In May! An hour after that, Number Two and I were outside in shorts playing ladderball in the sun. Totally schizophrenic, and it makes me afraid.

Anyway. The season I'm REALLY here to talk about is the TV season, though it essentially ended two weeks ago. I can't let it pass without my thoughts.

( These thoughts right here... )

What will you be doing with your free time this summer?

I blogged today at Romance University, all about applying the pirate's code to your romance career. There's a prize drawing going on, too! Check it out!

And if you're surfing, looking for interesting stuff, stop by Supernatural Sisters, where we posted an interview with Betsy Morris, screenwriter of Ten Inch Hero. She shares what it's like to be a screenwriter (very similar to being a novelist, actually) and gives us some insight into Jensen Ackles' character.

While you're at it, for huge laughs check out Jody Wallace's interviews at I Read Romance and Jess Granger's Butterfly Blog. Seriously, don't drink while you read.