My guests left last Saturday. Once they gathered up all their things, packed the vehicle and got on their way, I turned to survey the remains of a fun week with the cousins. Surprisingly, the house didn't look bad at all. It was hard to tell before, because the kids spent the week going through hundreds of water balloons and towels. When all the towels were gathered and put in the washing machine, all that was left to do was a quick tidy of each room.
Now the kids are starting swimming lessons, my oldest daughter has started her summer job, and I am trying to catch up on my word count. Next weekend will be our annual town celebration which we always look forward to. Our next set of guests is my best friend from high school and her family. They will arrive on the 24th and stay through the celebrations. I'm looking forward to having them since I haven't had a chance to have a real visit with her in years.
It occurred to me that once they leave and the town celebrations are over, summer is half done and I can start counting down the days until school. Now I'm just trying to figure out where it all went. It seems in other years, we have had much more down time. I always look forward to summer coming so my husband and I can take long evening walks. I enjoy watching a few extra movies and going swimming with the kids.
This summer seems busier than usual. Rick and I stay up till at least midnight every night, working and trying to catch up, and there has been very little time for an evening walk, let alone two hours for a movie. I always approach the summer with lists of things to do that I don't find time to do during the school year. So far I haven't tackled any of those things.
So I'm trying to figure out which of the good things I do every day that can be cut. Unfortunately, the things I would most like to get rid of are the things that have to stay. Meanwhile the summer marches on and I'm just trying to keep up. I'm looking forward to our vacation in two weeks, when I can sit in the van for hours without any phones ringing, no kids to babysit, and no house to clean. And maybe I can even stay awake long enough to write a few thousand words.
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Monday, 14 July 2008
Playing Catch Up
So I fell a little behind my goal for the BIAM last week, but I have high hopes this week of catching up. Tristi is offering a little incentive this week if we can achieve our goals plus 10%. Since I love a good contest and need to catch up anyway, I'll have to push a extra hard. My goal is 500 words a day, so Monday through Saturday is 3000 words plus 10% makes my goal for the week 3300. I'm going to push a little harder to get another 1000 words on top of that so I can catch up with my goal word count. If I can keep up with the word count I should be able to finish this WIP by the end of the month.
I have a deal with my youngest daughter. She will play with the kids I babysit in the morning keep them entertained. With her help, I should be able to get a few more words written and she will earn a little extra cash to take with us on our vacation this summer. She's excited because her older brother and sister have jobs this summer and she wanted a way to earn her own money. This arrangement will be helpful to both of us.
P.S. I'm back to report my word count for the day came in at 1163. Yay!
I have a deal with my youngest daughter. She will play with the kids I babysit in the morning keep them entertained. With her help, I should be able to get a few more words written and she will earn a little extra cash to take with us on our vacation this summer. She's excited because her older brother and sister have jobs this summer and she wanted a way to earn her own money. This arrangement will be helpful to both of us.
P.S. I'm back to report my word count for the day came in at 1163. Yay!
Friday, 11 July 2008
Summer Fun
Today we took our Utah guests to our favorite summer destination. My kids love to hang out at Writing on Stone Provincial park. We hike through the hoodoos and play in the river and come home sandy, sweaty, and sleepy.
Last night we had a major rainstorm come through the area. Several funnel clouds touched down in the area and I listened to the rain pelt the roof all night long. I didn't sleep well, worried that we wouldn't be able to go to the park in the morning. We've been looking forward to this all week as we waited for the two oldest girls to get home from camp. I got up early and drove my son on his paper route since it was raining. The whole time we drove around I tried to think of other options for the day and prayed for the sky to clear.
Another hour passed and when everyone started to stir for the day, we could actually see some blue sky. After everyone finished their breakfast the day was actually becoming quite pleasant, so we decided to go anyway. The rest of the day remained cool which was okay since the hoodoos tend to be quite hot usually.
Once we got there we started our traditional game of hide-and-seek. It was so much fun and worth the week long wait. Even the brief hailstorm early in the afternoon didn't dampen our spirits much although we were all running for cover in whatever cave or sheltered area we could find. It was especially fun to see the area through new eyes. Our Utah family was enchanted with the area and had a great time.
The book I'm working on right now has some of the final scenes taking place at Writing on Stone so it was good to see the area again and find my mind racing over what should happen and how. I noticed things about the area and made notes about how sound travels differently in the rocks and how hard it is to keep track of where people are. It should add some good detail to my next chapters. I can't wait to get to them.
Last night we had a major rainstorm come through the area. Several funnel clouds touched down in the area and I listened to the rain pelt the roof all night long. I didn't sleep well, worried that we wouldn't be able to go to the park in the morning. We've been looking forward to this all week as we waited for the two oldest girls to get home from camp. I got up early and drove my son on his paper route since it was raining. The whole time we drove around I tried to think of other options for the day and prayed for the sky to clear.
Another hour passed and when everyone started to stir for the day, we could actually see some blue sky. After everyone finished their breakfast the day was actually becoming quite pleasant, so we decided to go anyway. The rest of the day remained cool which was okay since the hoodoos tend to be quite hot usually.
Once we got there we started our traditional game of hide-and-seek. It was so much fun and worth the week long wait. Even the brief hailstorm early in the afternoon didn't dampen our spirits much although we were all running for cover in whatever cave or sheltered area we could find. It was especially fun to see the area through new eyes. Our Utah family was enchanted with the area and had a great time.
The book I'm working on right now has some of the final scenes taking place at Writing on Stone so it was good to see the area again and find my mind racing over what should happen and how. I noticed things about the area and made notes about how sound travels differently in the rocks and how hard it is to keep track of where people are. It should add some good detail to my next chapters. I can't wait to get to them.
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Still Trying to Find the Time
My word count for today is a mere 378 words. But that is 378 more than last week on this day and it was done with lots of busy company around. I'm a little behind my projected word count for this far into Tristi's challenge, but after the company leaves, I should be able to get more words per day in.
The good thing is I think I've finally got passed whatever it was holding me back. I'm back to knowing where I want the story to go and I think I've figured out how to get it there. There is going to be a ton of editing on this one, far more than I had to do on the last one, but I find that every time I sit to write or review something I've written, I'm constantly learning new things and my writing continues to improve.
Meanwhile, our company will be here until Sunday and then it is back to the babysitting. I still have to squeeze the quiet moments in and they don't come nearly as often as I'd like, but they do exist. I think if I can stick to the 500 a day word count I set for myself, this book could be finished at the end of the month. Then I'll have real reason to celebrate as I put it aside to stew for a little while. What joy, using the English language to tell stories and help people feel like they can live someone else's life for a little while. Once I get this task done, I go on to the next mental struggle. What to write next?
The good thing is I think I've finally got passed whatever it was holding me back. I'm back to knowing where I want the story to go and I think I've figured out how to get it there. There is going to be a ton of editing on this one, far more than I had to do on the last one, but I find that every time I sit to write or review something I've written, I'm constantly learning new things and my writing continues to improve.
Meanwhile, our company will be here until Sunday and then it is back to the babysitting. I still have to squeeze the quiet moments in and they don't come nearly as often as I'd like, but they do exist. I think if I can stick to the 500 a day word count I set for myself, this book could be finished at the end of the month. Then I'll have real reason to celebrate as I put it aside to stew for a little while. What joy, using the English language to tell stories and help people feel like they can live someone else's life for a little while. Once I get this task done, I go on to the next mental struggle. What to write next?
Friday, 4 July 2008
Happy Birthday
Happy July 4th to all my U.S. neighbors and friends. I am U.S. by birth and having an American mother. I am Canadian by virtue of having a Canadian father and living here for most of my life. So we celebrated on July 1st for Canada Day. Today we celebrated an even important day.
Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. My husband and I took her out for dinner tonight and then we walked around the lake for a little while. It was a pleasant evening with pleasant company.
I'm blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law who is supportive and helpful and a genuinely good person. When I became a member of the family, I brought with me three children. She without hesitation took on three new grandchildren and has always treated them as her own. She became the grandmother they were missing, and for that I'll be forever grateful. So, happy birthday Mom. Thanks for raising such a great son and being such a good mother, grandmother, and friend.
Today is my mother-in-law's birthday. My husband and I took her out for dinner tonight and then we walked around the lake for a little while. It was a pleasant evening with pleasant company.
I'm blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law who is supportive and helpful and a genuinely good person. When I became a member of the family, I brought with me three children. She without hesitation took on three new grandchildren and has always treated them as her own. She became the grandmother they were missing, and for that I'll be forever grateful. So, happy birthday Mom. Thanks for raising such a great son and being such a good mother, grandmother, and friend.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Growing Up - Optional
Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever going to grow up. Oh, people have been telling me since I was a little girl that I am mature for my age, or that I'm an old soul. I do tend to think things through and enjoy a serious conversation. I worry about people and things, sometimes too much. But I think a lot of that comes from my childhood. There were situations that forced me to grow up faster than a lot of my peers. I still have a hard time just letting my hair down and doing silly things.
But there is that side of me that remains a child. How else would you explain my love of playing with glue and scissors and paper and beads and thread? Breaking into dance with my children in the kitchen when I should be making dinner? The fact that the most consistent job I've had over the last 28 years has been that of a babysitter? Telling stories and making up tales about people I see around me? And that I still am trying to decide whether to get old or to just pretend?
I remember the night I graduated from high school. It was about six in the morning and we had been hopping from friend's house to friend's house all night long. My best friend yawned and lay down on the carpet.
"I'm so tired," she said. "I'm going to take a nap and when I wake up I'll be mature since I've finally graduated." She woke up half an hour later and her first comment was, "It didn't work."
I still wake up every morning and wait to see if I feel any different. It hasn't happened yet. There is still a teenager deep inside who looks at the kids calling her mom and wonders how on earth they are catching up in age. Underneath the thoughts of all the things that need to be done during the day, there is still that little girl who wants to run off and play with her friends and then come home and write about all her adventures. As long as the bills get paid and the kids get fed, no one will know my little secret, right? After all, isn't growing up optional?
But there is that side of me that remains a child. How else would you explain my love of playing with glue and scissors and paper and beads and thread? Breaking into dance with my children in the kitchen when I should be making dinner? The fact that the most consistent job I've had over the last 28 years has been that of a babysitter? Telling stories and making up tales about people I see around me? And that I still am trying to decide whether to get old or to just pretend?
I remember the night I graduated from high school. It was about six in the morning and we had been hopping from friend's house to friend's house all night long. My best friend yawned and lay down on the carpet.
"I'm so tired," she said. "I'm going to take a nap and when I wake up I'll be mature since I've finally graduated." She woke up half an hour later and her first comment was, "It didn't work."
I still wake up every morning and wait to see if I feel any different. It hasn't happened yet. There is still a teenager deep inside who looks at the kids calling her mom and wonders how on earth they are catching up in age. Underneath the thoughts of all the things that need to be done during the day, there is still that little girl who wants to run off and play with her friends and then come home and write about all her adventures. As long as the bills get paid and the kids get fed, no one will know my little secret, right? After all, isn't growing up optional?
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Happy Canda Day
Happy Canada Day!
Today we went to the parade and then ended up in Lethbridge helping my mother-in-law mop up her basement. It started raining about early in the afternoon and everything was flooded quite quickly. I guess the heavens opened and it just dumped. Luckily she didn't get as much water as some of her neighbors and it was a pretty quick clean up. Whether the fireworks go off tonight still remains to be seen.
I also managed to write 2633 words on the first day of Tristi's challenge. With my goal of 500 words per day, that puts me four days ahead. Now if I can only keep that up for the next few days so my guests won't throw my word count out too much.
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