In an effort to class up my office, I decided to replace the chipped up metal file cabinet which has very few files in it. Its main job is to keep the printer off the floor and I figured a more stylish piece of furniture could accomplish that task just as easily. After checking around at a few stores, I ended up at Target, like I always do. I love that place. They carry everything I didn’t realize I needed.
The cabinet in progress
Okay, yeah, I get it…I’m whining. We all hate winter. Well, except for skiers and snowboarders, but they probably recognize that they’re crazy, right? Or maybe people who live in warm areas where winter means “light jacket.”
Lucy doesn’t mince words.
Has this ever happened to you? Yeah, probably not. It’s a funny memory now, but at the time, I wasn’t too happy about it.
I had to be about 7 years old. My friend, Andy, and I were playing together and I climbed to the very top of the swing set and was hanging from it when Andy promptly pantsed me. Well, technically, he shortsed me. I was pissed! I dropped down, pulled my shorts up and went home. Obviously, I didn’t see it coming. Andy wasn’t even like that. He wasn’t a rascal you had to keep an eye on. He was mostly just a nice kid, a good buddy. Andy’s punishment? No me for the rest of the day. The next day it was business as usual. I don’t think I even said anything to him about it.
Me – right before I left
I came home one day to find one of my dogs, Macy, racing around the house with a mini powdered donut bag stuck on her head. She’s a Yorkie/Chihuahua mix, just under 2 years old.
Years ago, My Marine and I were getting ready to go to a wedding. A friend’s or a cousin’s, I think. I was in my usual pre-fancy-event spaz mode. The black dress or the burgundy? Hair up or down? Which earrings look best?
nailed it.
I hustled back and forth in front of the mirror checking every detail and thinking back to my own wedding, which had only been a few years earlier.
I mean, if you want to get technical, I’ve never actually been rock climbing, per se. But when I was a camp counselor, I did climb 2/3 of the way up a wood tower before having to be lowered back down in my harness. It was humiliating, but in my defense, NO ONE can support their upper body weight with only their fingertips when holding onto a tiny wood block without so much as a groove to grip. It was a design problem, I assure you.
Look how easy this guy has it – with his fancy finger-friendly grips.
Continue reading Rock Climbing and Cooking (Things I Suck At)
Okay…yes…this is about Thanksgiving. Yes, I’m a little behind. I will admit that. My site host was having some issues and was down most of Wednesday. By the time evening rolled around, I was busy toasting things (see below) and cranking out desserts. And then it was the actual holiday and then it was the holiday weekend…so, yes, this post is slightly late, but the feelings are still valid, so I’m going with it.
Deal with it.
My Marine and I took advantage of the nice weather recently and made a trip to my alma mater, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. It was the first time I’d been there in years…like years. And it was the first time I took my husband. As I showed him around the campus, he became interested to hear all my crazy college stories. Specifically, he asked for details of things that go on in all-girl dorms. It was a sad moment for him when I revealed that I was just as dorky then as I am now. Sorry, guy. No crazy, sexy stories. Fantasy status: Crushed.
For this post, let me open with my closing lines.
I am grateful for you.
I appreciate you.
I love you guys!
Tomorrow is the release of my first book – Legacy of the Dog. I may have mentioned it in passing. Once or twice, maybe. (Wink, wink. Because really I’ve mentioned it a LOT, but you knew that.) It’s a huge milestone for me. It was 39 months ago that I sat down in front of my computer to try my hand at this writing thing.
To get in the spirit for next week’s release of the e-book version of Legacy of the Dog, I decided to share an excerpt. This is the first time any portion of the book has been presented publicly. I sincerely hope you enjoy it!!
(In this excerpt, Jessie is trying to prevent her brothers from finding out her real reasons for meeting with rude, loutish Nick. She is trying to solve the financial problems that their father has gotten them into and doesn’t want them involved – for their own protection. However, when she is caught with him at a bar, she panics and claims to be dating him. This scene is when Nick meets with all of her brothers for the first time.)
Ty took the lead as the questioning began. “So, Nick, I should have asked you the other night…how old are you?”
