High on life

I had a great time at the party yesterday - I love my job! I love the products, I love people, I love shopping - really, what more could you ask for?

I'm writing again. I'm trying to do a little every day, though I didn't get to it at all yesterday. I figure if I give myself at least SOME time every day to do it, maybe it will keep flowing. Friday, I wrote like a mad woman. Saturday I polished a bit and wrote a little more. Today, I'm stuck on one place, but I'm inspired on an older piece I started ages ago, so I flipped to that one. I'm still missing the file of the novel I was working on before I had kids and I keep thinking about that one, so I may have to start again. Which will be a bummer, because I had a ton of work done on that one, even if it was a little patchy. (You know, I'd write a scene and then get inspired with another one, but couldn't figure exactly how they went together? I had pieces of that story all over the place.) But writing is good. There are times when I get completely lost in it and lose track of time, even with the kids bugging me constantly.

My Gram took us to lunch today and I convinced her to go to our favorite Thai place. She loved it. I sort of knew she would - she likes Chinese food, but I know she prefers crisp, fresh veggies to those that are fried and Thai food seems to fit the bill. So the food was excellent, the kids were well behaved, the restaurant wasn't too crowded, it was kind of perfect. And then our conversation led to her placing an order for my next party (next week), so I kind of felt like the whole afternoon was perfect!

writing again

I'm writing again - furiously, near daily. Just not here. I got inspired by a new story and had some moments of inspiration for 2 of the others I had gotten stuck on shortly after Little Man was born. Unfortunately, right now I can't seem to locate the files of those other two stories. This is very frustrating. But meanwhile, I'm flushing out this new one and I'm having fun with the process. Yesterday I got very little done around the house because the words were just pouring out of me. And then I got stuck for a bit, so I got up and did the dishes for half an hour and then I cleaned my desk. I went back to the writing later in the evening, but didn't have a lot of time. I'm trying to give myself a more dedicated schedule, but with 2 crazy kids, sometimes that's hard!

I have a 31 show this weekend that I'm excited about and I have 2 more booked. I've been doing some trainings from Shari Hudspeth - some MP3s I bought from her sight and I'm very excited to try a new way of doing my presentation. I think it will be great for bookings! I have GOT to get more bookings. I'm excited about the ones I have right now, but I really need to increase my bookings at parties. Anyhow....

My brain is on overdrive right now. I feel like I just took pep pills or something - but only for my brain. I feel like I am thinking 12 things at once at high speed! Ha! Only in the mornings!

7 Quick Takes

1. Do you know how much I hate going to the post office? Let's put it this way, I got charged an extra $25 for a damaged item to be replaced because I didn't get it returned to the company when they sent the replacement to my customer. Oops. Thankfully, the damage is minimal and I didn't have a sample of that item in my stuff, so I'm chalking it up to a learning experience and keeping it as a sample. But now I have to go to the post office to mail a package to another customer. I don't want to, but I must! But it's SUCH a pain with 2 little kids in tow!
2. My son was diagnosed with another ear infection and inflamed airways yesterday. He's on drugs (antibiotic for the infection, albuterol for the breathing) and not sleeping, not eating very well. I am tired. 
3. I'm looking forward to the MOPS Spa/Fondue night we're having tonight, but I am STRESSED about how I'm going to get there on time. And I have to be on time because I HAVE THE CHOCOLATE. But I have no child care for the first hour I'll be there. This is a problem!
4. I'm so excited about my vacation next month, I want to start packing already! Which is ridiculous because not only do I not have enough clothes to pull the ones I want to take out of rotation, but I also need the bags I'm packing IN (all Thirty-one, of course!) for my shows between now and then! 
5. I'm washing my son's blanket for the first time in a month. He's clingy and whiny without it! 
6. I scored some new, brightly colored tanks from Target this week on sale. I'm psyched about that! 
7. I haven't seen either my mom or my Gramma since Easter. This is very weird for me. We typically get together a lot more often, but we've all been either busy or under-the-weather since then. 

Fashion faux pas

So I just read 2 posts by Maggie and Elizabeth that inspired me to work on my wardrobe. And I've been catching up on Kendi today, too. I have a lot of work to do!

I never used to be a jeans-and-a-t-shirt girl. There was a time when I basically didn't own any regular t-shirts. But now, I live in  my jeans (not even really nice ones, though they fit! Most of the time) and a bulky t-shirt or tank top. I feel fat. I am fat. So I'm also trying to hide some of that. I've turned into one of  "those" women. I wear Birkenstocks all the time right now. (Well, Birkenstock. And my broken foot boot.)

Random bits of jibberish

Yesterday, I went to Target with the kids. My husband was off on a much-needed break at the firing range with a buddy. And I HAD to get to the pharmacy before they closed. I had a headache that felt like tympani drums banging behind my eyes. I love Target, I was even doing some fun shopping (bought myself a new outfit that will qualify as vacation clothes) and still, I was miserable. So sad to waste a Target trip when you don't feel well.

We're planning a vacation for May. I am very much looking forward to it. We're going to the mountains and my husband has promised to not do any work while we are away. I'm looking forward to some quiet porch-sitting and some fun away time. Also a visit with my SIL and her children, including new little baby DC.

I hate my body. Now before you get all "oh, I'm sure you look fine" on me, let me assure you that I do not. I am overweight (I haven't been this heavy since I was 8 months pregnant) and out of shape (which is a perpetual state for me, I understand) and I don't feel good in or out of my clothes. I'm a curvy woman - I've got hips and boobs and always have - but there is way more in the stomach region than there should be. And I recently had to buy pants that were way beyond my ideal size. And my ideal size is much larger than a 4. But I've started to lose a little weight in the last 2 weeks thanks to being able to get up and around a bit more now that my foot is nearly healed. I need to put more effort into activity, but I hate exercise and I have to get past that mental block.

Both kids were sick with fevers all weekend. Little Man still is, though Fuss at least seems to have recovered mostly. But the whining is driving me bonkers.

One highlight right now is that I spent Saturday morning at the summer preview for Thirty-one and I'm looking forward to the new styles and prints that are coming out. I'm also looking forward to doing a little shopping myself! :)

Random swelling

Today is the only day we don't have to be anywhere at any specific time. There was a time where I hated being home all day. Then there was a time when I couldn't get up the energy or get past the apathy to bother to get out of the house more than once or twice a week. Now, I'm grateful for the days when we can take it easy, spend the days lazing around and doing chores like laundry or whatnot and replenishing our energy stores for much more active days during the week.

I tried to put a shoe on my injured foot this morning. I can hobble around without the boot in the house and the swelling has come down so much since the injury 4 weeks ago. (Seriously, for the first week, my foot looked like a balloon shaped like a foot. It was SO swollen and bruised is was creepy.) So I thought I'd try to put on my Birkenstocks and hobble out to the front of the house to throw out a garbage bag. Yeah. That didn't work out so well. I couldn't get my toes past the straps in the shoe. At all. I knew there was still some visible swelling, but I guess I didn't realize how much! I will be wearing the boot for a good while longer apparently!

A lot of years ago, I got into reading Danielle Steel books - it started from watching a Lifetime movie based on the book Message From Nam - and I got a hold of a book that was defective. Seriously, in the middle of the book, there was a section missing and a section repeated. It went from page 141 to page 120-something and then from 141 to 160-something. It was very odd. I never finished the book, though I did try and read past that and just figure out what I missed. But it's available for my Nook via the library, so I'm re-reading it now and hopefully will finish it soon. I haven't read a Danielle Steel book in ages, so it's sort of funny that I'm through all these books I can think of to borrow from the library (digitally) and now I'm back to it. It's also funny that one of the characters in it's name was Chloe and I had no idea back then how to pronounce that name so when I read it, I pronounced it phonetically. Kloh. And now, I'm very familiar with that name - my best friend is likely going to name her baby that in a few more months!