Okay, so it’s been FOR-freaking-EVER since I posted here, to which all I can say is: Honestly, there’s so little going on you’re just as happy I’ve been quiet.

I have been writing, perhaps a few words a day, which is an improvement from before. Not sure what I would do if I had to write more than, say, 100 words, but at least I am opening the document and moving forward, albeit at an infintesimally slow pace.

Work is great. I love my job. It is very busy–I bring my lunch, for a host of reasons, but the upshot of that is that I am at my desk, nearly non-stop, from 8:00am to 2:30pm, eating at my desk and stepping away only to microwave food and other such business.

School is winding down, for which the Spawn is quite grateful. He seems to have finally adjusted to middle school, just in time for it to be over.

I saw Thor, which I greatly enjoyed. I want to see it again.

I rejoined Weight Watchers (see that ‘always sitting at my desk’ thing, above), so I am committed to not buying new clothes, at least not unless I can buy smaller ones.

And…that’s about it. Sad, right?

I’m looking forward to warmer weather, but not to how some NYC women decide to dress for the climate. A tip from me: We don’t want to see as much as you want to show. Just saying.

Last weekend, my uncle (and Frequent Commenter) Jon and his lovely daughter came to visit. She goes to college in the Washington area, so she missed the big snowstorm. If she were an adult with concerns about shoveling out cars, driveways, getting to work, freezing pipes, etc., she woulda been thrilled; as it was, I think she was mildly bummed to miss the mayhem.

We had a blast. We ate like fiends, laughed, talked, walked, shopped and shared. It was so nice to hang out with family.

Today I booked time to go visit the Picky Vegetarian in the lovely city of Portland, OR. I haven’t been in four years.

Still no writing. I keep posting about it, hoping to shame myself into action, but so far–nothing. Tomorrow is a VERY RARE snow day for my son, so I am working ahead right now so I’m not on the computer all day tomorrow while he’s home. HE doesn’t mind being on video games all day, but I mind him doing so, so I gotta be free for him during some of the day.

Writing. Maybe. Sometime?

When my son was small, like four years old kind of small, he would say he was allergic to “cats, dogs and dingos.” We had no idea where the dingos thing came from, it’s not like his parents are Aussiephiles (although one of us is an Anglophile, guess who that one is?).

But now it is raining cats, dogs and dingos, and I have to go out in the weather, ugh, and do two errands.

Things are better than they were, but all kinds of stuff has been kicking my ass, so it’s been hard for me to focus. BUT the Delightful Phone Friend read the first 100 pages of the revision and said they were fabulous (that’s her word of choice, but she really meant it). Makes me want to do the remainder real quick.

Anyway. Off to buy things and listen to people and stay as dry as I can.

Seriously, this whole April Showers thing has to be re-examined. Right now it is POURING and 43 degrees. Yuk, and yuk.

But, apparently, the weather has made me some sort of weird nesting type: Today I’ve made strawberry muffins, whole wheat molasses bread and butternut squash corn chowder. And, because I am self-confessedly weird this way, I was so thrilled to use up one bag of whole wheat flour, the molasses, the corn meal and the about-to-go strawberries. I despise wasting food, more than a person really should. And when the bread called for buttermilk? Swoon! I’d used some the previous night for chicken pot pie, but still had some left over.

Now I have just a little bit left, enough to make buttermilk biscuits for the son, who adores them.

Yay!

Okay, so I am so not a woo-woo (thanks, PV!) type of person, but I have taken some yoga classes at my gym lately, and find it really helps with stretching and with quieting my mind, for a little while at least. I took one today, and I can still feel its effects.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s the weekend, the weather is GORGE(ous), and the Seldom Cooks, But When He Does, Yay Spouse just made steak and roasted asparagus (sidebar: have you ever noticed in contemporary romances when the h/h have dinner at one of their houses, they always make steak, baked potatoes and salad? Why is that? Is chicken too meh? Or anything else too detailed? No matter, it’s always bothered me. You ever notice that?)

And tonight the Still Knicks-Attending Spouse is off at a game, the Son is working on his computer (writing a post-apocalyptic story!) and I am feeling–content, almost.

Weird.

I do have things pressing on me, but they’re not making my head buzz the way it normally does.

Tomorrow, I am NOT posting at the Riskies; I took an impromptu post on Monday, thanks to the inclement weather, and so tomorrow I am off. Which is good, because this has been a loooong week.

I have been editing at least every other day, which is good, although I did an {insert scene here} thingie and moved on in the story. I feel as though the writing is great, but I’m still not so sure that the plot is moving forward properly. My characters are better developed, though, so hopefully that shows.

This weekend we’ll have 60+ degree weather, crazy after the 8 or so inches we got on Monday. I mentioned to a friend that I must really be getting old because I am actually enthused about talking about weather; but so be it. I am. It will be warm this weekend, yahoo, because I am tired of hat head.

And, if the stars align, perhaps I will get to run outdoors sometime. More yay!

I am reading George R.R. Martin’s A Clash Of Kings, the second in his Fire and Ice series; OMG, is it long, but after 100 pages, OMG, I don’t care. He is such a marvelous writer. Plus I discovered the helpful character guide at the end so I can figure out everyone’s relationship–I read the first book in the series well over a year ago, so I had totally forgotten. I think this one is close to 1000 pages, but it feels like a blissful dream to read it (Picky Vegetarian, I don’t need to tell you that you would hate it. Don’t even know why I bothered to say that, but I think it’s ’cause I’m missing you extra right now.)

In other news–there is no other news. My freelance work takes more of my time, my son is fun and I adore him, my weight is up, blah, and the economy stinks. So there you go.

Yesterday was the much-vaunted Snow Day, and I took the Nine Year-Old out sledding. Now, normally I stay safely on top of the hill, happy that I am a Parent and thus do not have to sled.

But my guy is an only child who spends a lot of time with me, and likes doing stuff with me. He particularly likes it, being a kid after all, when I do non-Parent type things. Like sled.

So he and I spent almost two hours sledding in Prospect Park, and since we were on a steep hill preferred by teenagers and the feckless, we hit a lot of people with our sled. And were hit back. I tried to combat it with screaming as we went down the hill, sort of an aural warning system, but we still nailed quite a few sledders.

Honestly, once I got past the fact that I Really Don’t Like Sledding, Or Much Physical Activity in General (like, fun physical activity. I like the gym and I don’t hate running, but I don’t like playing sports), I had a blast. I decided that my guy wouldn’t have nearly as much fun if his mom was a pooky-face, so I whooped it up and was definitely, even admitting for my own bias, the most fun Parent on the hill.

The worst was walking home–we were both sodden, it was well below freezing, and we were over ten blocks from home. But it was worth it.

So I am taking that “Megan Is A Participant!” spirit into my writing, since I am trying to wrestle this novella into the ground, even though there is no deadline or anything. Because, as Steve Forbert said, “You cannot win if you do not play.”

Okay. I’m playing.

It is raining A WHOLE BUNCH here right now, so I am primarily concerned with hot beverages and staying indoors. Still not feeling great, but not nearly as black-cloudish as yesterday.

Hey, weather! Yeah, I’m talking to you. Look, it is completely cloudy out there, I need to put lights on to see, for goodness’ sake, I’ve got a pot of hot tea, white beans cooking in the slow cooker, and nowhere to be for a few hours.

So–could you stop dilly-dallying and rain already?

Thanks–

Love,

Megan

Just call me Leni Riefenstahl.

I am in a foul, foul mood. Son forgot a crucial piece of homework this morning, husband groused about some stuff I got defensive about, headache, screwed up a piece of freelance work and there are workers banging on the house next door, which is vibrating here. Oh, and it’s POURING.

BUT the Alpha Dog is coming over to write, and I don’t want to waste her time by being a pill, and I am writing a romance, so somehow I am going to have to swallow my hatred of my fellow man and write some lovey stuff. It will be difficult. But I will survive.

Thank you, Gloria Gaynor.