It's My Birthday!

This year is going to be a GREAT year for me. I was born in 1954, and I'll be 54 this year. So, I figure that double 54 MUST be significant?!

Plus, I've realized that I have ONE year to achieve a personal deadline. For 30 years, I've been saying I'm going to write. I do write, I just never finish anything. I have several novels/stories partially done. This year, I have to finish my novel. It absolutely, positively, has to be finished before I turn 55.

So, I'm incorporating the Writer's Slogan of "Never A Day Without A Line!" and I intend to live by this credo.

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking about which novel I intend to finish. After much deliberation, I've decided to go for the gusto and write my historical romance. What if I only have one book in me? It would have to be this one.

You have my permission to check up on me and ask me point blank how many pages I've written. If the answer isn't constantly changing as the year passes, you also have my permission to kick me in the butt and tell me to GET WITH IT!! I fervently hope it doesn't come to that. I really, truly plan to do the writing. I'm on a deadline! And lucky for me, I'm GREAT with deadlines!

Indian Summer?

We have had the most incredible weather! We were calling it Indian Summer until we read about what makes an Indian Summer, and this spell of good weather doesn't qualify.

To be a TRUE Indian Summer, it must be proceeded by a frost. We haven't had that. I hope the frost arrives some distant time in the future, like February!

The weather has been warm. Sometimes in the middle of the day, it's actually hot (80 degrees). The warm stays into the evening, and I've been comfortable being outdoors in a sleeveless top at midnight! It's cool enough at night to sleep well, but not cold. For me, this has been utterly perfect weather! We've taken advantage of this lovely weather by taking long walks.

Guess it is coming to an end beginning tomorrow. Next week the prediction is for much cooler temperatures , with cooler evenings. No frost, and still not cold, but more what you'd expect for Fall Weather in Wisconsin. Maybe I'll have to break out a sweater.

Funny how we are about the temperature. In the Summer, if the thermometer drops below 50, we're all cold and grab a light jacket to protect us. But in the Winter, if the thermometer gets above 40, we're all outside in our shirtsleeves!

Wisconsin Weather

One thing I can say about Wisconsin Weather is IT'S NEVER BORING! We're at that time of year when I'm not sure whether to get out the cold weather gear, or wait a bit. It's warm, then it's cool. Then it got positively hot and humid when the weather came our way from Hurricane Ike. In the morning, driving to work I sometimes turn the heater on. In the afternoon, coming home from work I roll the windows down. So far, I'm still sleeping with my summer blanket, but I know where to find the warmer bedding.
Fall is definitely in the air. A few trees have begun turning, and the trees that are green don't have any life in them anymore. You can see them gearing up for cold weather. The flowers that are alive are all cool weather specimens. The mums are lovely, the snapdragons are putting on their final show of color, and the zinnias are in their glory!

We're thinking of moving across town, closer to work. The apartment we're considering is much smaller than where we're at, but how much space do we really need? I would be able to walk to work (7 minutes, I timed it!) and we'd be close to Sundance Cinema and the Hilldale Mall. The main thing that keeps me from jumping on the opportunity is that we'd have to pack up our stuff and physically move it!!! I HATE the physical act of moving, but I adore being in a new space. Time will tell.

State of Mind

I'm trying hard to get to that place where "If I Don't Mind, It Doesn't Matter." It's elusive. Especially now. All this talk about the elections. I'm trying hard NOT to pay attention. I don't have TV, so I'm mostly spared having to see the circus. I don't take the newspaper, so I rarely have to read about the ongoing mudslinging. I try not to listen to the radio, but tuning out the ongoing debate among my coworkers is difficult. Some days I'm forced to don my headphones to save my sanity.

Then someone sent me the latest JibJab hazing, which put it into perspective. Push the arrow to watch.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

It's not that I don't want to be informed. I do. I just want to do it on MY terms. I get most of my information from the Internet. It gives me all I can handle, which usually means about 20 minutes of my time. I have to take tiny bites and digest the information before I can take any more in. It is hard work to push through the opinions, and the mudslinging, and the bullshit, not to mention the dogma from the political parties.
So, when the going gets tough...I google CAMPAIGN HUMOR. People out there are documenting it all: the good, the bad, the ugly, and the funny. It feels MUCH better to laugh about it than to let it get me down. So, I take a few minutes to look at the videos, read the cartoons, and enjoy the satire. Only 50+ more days to endure/enjoy this process!!

Pumpkin Teeth

One of the guys I work with invented Pumpkin Teeth! When I told my husband about it he laughed and said, "Dentures for Pumpkins. What will they think of next!"

Bob Connor, the inventor, bubbles over with enthusiam at what you can do with Pumpkin Teeth. "Makes your Jack 'O' Lantern look cool, scary, and sharp without having to be a professional carver," he says. " It's the New Halloween Novelty with Bite!"
Decorating your pumpkin has never been so creepy!
Pumpkin Teeth are long white plastic teeth that you can embed into your pumpkin (or gourd, melon, whatever you want!) They come in 3 sizes and can be re-used, making every Halloween just a little bit spookier! Create traditional teeth, shark rows, vampire fangs, or any arrangement you like.

This Halloween, give your Jack-O-Lantern something to smile about with PUMPKIN TEETH - there's nothing else like it!
Order them from the website www.buypumpkinteeth.com
Make Bob's Day!

Boo Hoo!

Labor Day signals the end of Summer! Boo Hoo!! While I'm counting on the weather remaining lovely for the next 6 weeks (at least!), we're now in September and for me, that is the beginning of Fall.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Fall. It's my favorite season. But I'm not ready for Summer to be over. It was too quick. I think I must have blinked and missed some of it.

I'm going to have to work hard at accepting those things I can't change, like the date! Give it a week, I'll be fine. But for now, I'm going to go cry in my beer and lament the fact that another Summer is just memories.