After doing countless loads of laundry, doing the Costo run (I hate when we run out of soda and bottled water. That shit is hea-vy!) and the regular grocery store, I took a three hour nap on the couch with the television on turned to the news. It was so hot outside, I didn’t dare go to the pool or spend any more time outdoors than possible. The situation in Iran is both tragic and inspiring. Everyone deserves freedom.
Then pop – a breakthrough. It started with this post by a wonderful author (who also has a sassy haircut that I love). There was much debate on this post on a writers forum I frequent. I’M A DISCOURAGED WRITER! Why would I call myself that? Well, let’s see.
1. I read the word of other published authors and while I love most of what I read, I can’t help but feel that their work is no better than mine.
2. Nothing happens fast enough and sometimes not at all. I play by the established rules, I query, I wait, I get requests for full and partials only to get a rejection or worse, no response after the request. The no response from agents after they request extra work really chaps my ass, by the way. It’s just rude. I actually sent a top agent a rejection email after a ‘no response’.
3. The whole business is hard and unforgiving and it’s made me hard and unforgiving.
It’s time to let go all of the aspects of writing that I can’t control and focus on what I can control. It’s really time to get my butt in the chair and write the best book I can.
B2’s cell phone was busted. I mean really busted with a cracked display and a useless charger. B1 showed her how to charge it from her computer, but even then she got no more than one bar, so it was time for a new phone.
All four Bs and I have one carrier that has been recently purchased by another carrier. So after driving to the store I usually go to and finding it closed down, I drove to the “V” store to get B2 a new phone. Her contract wasn’t up yet, but mine was and I’m famous for getting one kid a new phone on another kid’s contract. It’s usually my contract because I’m old and don’t have to have the latest and greatest gadgets.
Well, instead of just getting B2 a new phone, I had to get everyone a new phone because I actually had to switch carriers. Sure Bs were all happy. B1 even came up to the store to pick out his phone. B4, B3 and I all got the BOGO special, but since I only purchased three, I only got one free. So after buying five new cell phones, protective covers because I refuse to purchase their scam insurance, two memory cards, touch screen covers and two car chargers, I walked out with four little bags and a receipt for $600.51. OUCH! Well, I do get $240.00 back in rebates which I’ve already mailed in and my bill will be about $50.00 less per month and we have more shared minutes. I’ll save money overall, but still – OUCH!
It’s funny how the kids can pick up a new cell phone and just take off using it. It took me a little longer. But my new one has an awesome flip-up keyboard to text and a rubber cover because I tend to drop mine alot. Hopefully, it will just bounce and not break into a million little bits.
I have to take B2 back to get her ankle checked next week. Her boot is falling apart in places so she took it upon herself to get out the hot glue gun and put it back together. Gotta give her an A for ingenuity. B4’s 6th grade workbooks came from B & N on Friday so I’ve got to put his schedule together tomorrow. He has to read WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS and do a project over the summer. But since he decided to be lazy and bring home a bunch of Ds and Cs for Q4 grades, he has to do homework this summer in math and reading comprehension. I’m toying with paying B3 to help tutor him and check his work, but that could get ugly because she can be a tyrant when empowered.
B1 is on a camping trip at a local swim club. I did actually verify that he wasn’t telling me a lie just to stay out all night (hey, I was sixteen once!) and that there would be adult chaperones there. I don’t think he’s sitting around a campfire singing kumbaya, but I’m confident he’s not getting shitfaced on whiskey lifted from a parent’s liquor cabinet either. I did check my stock, just in case.
B2 and I did do a little shopping today. She finally found some shorts with legs in them. See, most stores have shorts for juniors, but they stop at the crotch and I refuse to buy them. Who is designing such clothes for teen girls and worse, what parent is allowing their girls to wear such revealing clothes? Maybe I’m getting old and prudish, but I don’t like it.
Hubby and B3 are in Greensboro at a softball tournament. She had two games on Friday (won both), two games today (lost the first one, won the second one) and her first game tomorrow is at 9 am.
Well, it’s late 12:39 am (that’s what I get for taking a three-hour nap), so I’d better get. Goodnight!




My humble thanks goes out to all of those brave individuals who fought and sometimes died so I could have the freedom to live how I chose.