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Life gets in the way...
How are you today? An innocent enough question to be sure. And I do want to know, how are you? Hopefully, you're doing better than me. I'm feeling incredibly stressed these days. I spent the last few days flying back to Michigan for all of 2 days for my cousin's Bar Mitzvah. A whirlwind visit with family, family and more family. A visit that left little time for writing, or grading, both of which I need to desperately get to work on.Anyone else out there feeling buried by life? I'm climbing back into things slowly. I'm having to cut back on my writing for the next month while I catch up on grading, and report cards. But while this bothers me, I also know it's all doable in the long run...as long as I don't let the panic set in. So tell me, how do you climb out of the hole? How do you stay sane when everything around you(including the weather) is going crazy?Labels: life, teaching, writers aren't crazy
Dinner with Mom
Mom's back in town after her jaunt to Mexico over Thanksgiving weekend, and H is on his way back to health and actually traveled for work again. All of this means Mom and I had the place to ourselves when we decided to have dinner last night. Family relationships have always been interesting. The play a large role in my writing, because they play a large role in my life. Of course, the moms in my books tend to be more of a caricature, than like my own Mom. With good reason, really. She's one of my best friends. If I don't talk to her in a week, it feels weird. If I don't see her at least once in two weeks? Even weirder. I bring this all up because it's that time of year again...family time. For some it's a time of terror. Trapped with their family over a holiday meal for more than 30 min.? Run for the hills! For others, it's a time they look forward to all year long. For me, it's a time of balance. We'll have our family Hanukkah party next weekend, and another one with friends later that week. There are work parties (both for me and the boy), friend parties, non-parties...and a nap.I'm exhausted just reading my list, but this may be because I'm so very ready for Winter Break already. I want to curl up on my couch with a mug of tea, a blanket, and the rest of seasons 2.5 and 3 of Battlestar Galactica (because no, I have not finished watching them). So bring on the family time. I'm ready for it! Are you?Labels: family, life
Life returns to normal...I hope.
The last month of my life has been a complete whirlwind, followed by a tornado. The first month of school is always hectic, but for some reason, this month seemed crazier. Is it because we started two weeks late, so the Jewish Holidays that would have fallen in the 5th and 6th weeks of school, actually fell in the 3rd and 4th? Or is it that the Emerald City Writers Conference also fell during that first month? Maybe it's the wedding I happily agreed to act as bridesmaid for...Either way, I took it all on this month, and came out limping. Now that it's all over, it's back to work, ladies and gents. Back to my newest book, a YA set in a small college town. Back to parent conferences (they start next week). Back to blogging. Labels: festivities, life, writers aren't crazy
It's a wild world...
This last weekend I made my annual pilgrammage back to Michigan to see my bubbe and assorted other family members. Going back is always weird for me. I grew up in Metro Detroit, and spent the better part of 22 years there. When I left, it felt similar to a mass exodus, as most of my friends moved out and moved on with their lives. Most of my immediate family is now in Washington, and so when I go back, there aren't that many to connect with. It makes it easy to keep my visits short and sweet, even if they are a blur. This time around felt like a weekend at a nature preserve...if the animals in the preserve were designed to scare the bejeezus out of me. First off on Friday I decided to take an hour and go back to high school for a bit. They've redone most of my old high school, down to the food service. They have a pop machine! The wild and wooly part came on the way to the school. FH is not a rural area by any stretch of the imagination. There aren't a lot of parks, or places for wild animals to live. They were pushed out 20 years ago (give or take), by housing developments. So believe me when I say the deer that decided to bound into the middle of the busy street was completely unexpected. Even more unexpected were the two who followed their friend. Thank goodness my rental car had good breaks, or I'd be wearing antlers. Later that day I took the family dog over to the local pet shop to be groomed. We walked, since the weather was breezy (if you count almost gale force winds a nice breeze) but sunny. Madi was thrilled to trot along and sniff the ground, and when we encountered a couple of geese? Why she scared them off, of course. Too bad the geese didn't stay scared. The crazy beasts decided that they, not the city of FH, owned the sidewalk and I had no business walking on it. They hissed and honked...and chased me. I ended up crossing well before the intersection to escape turning the potential to violence into actual violence. And of course, all this went on amidst warnings that the thunderstorms they expected to arrive later in the day might provide the perfect conditions for a tornado. It's just too bad that the t-storms never really fleshed out by me. Only a little thunder and lightening to speak of. The weekend also involved baking coffee cake and making gefilte fish. And let me tell you, if you weren't a fan of it to start with? You don't want to know how it's made. Labels: family, life
At a loss...
Sadly, I'm at a loss for what to write about today. Do I tell you about the movie marathon Serena and I had on Tuesday night (The Simpson's Movie, Martian Child, and Becoming Jane)? Do I tell you about all the lovely books I bought last night, when all I went into the store for was a magazine picture for the new haircut I want (didn't find a picture, still don't know what I want)? Do I tell you all that books are the new crack? I mean seriously, did I need to buy five books, just because if I bought four the 5th was free? Did I even need one, considering the number waiting to be read (library books, people! And books borrowed from friends)? No, I didn't. But still I stock-piled my arms up with the latest and greatest (almost all of which I've actually been waiting for...but what's so new about that?). On the upside, I was finally able to track down the latest Jill Shalvis (highly ellusive), which makes me happy. I could tell you about how I changed acupuncturists. Wanna know why? Really? You do? Okay, I'll tell you. I changed acupuncturists because it creeped me out that when I responded well to the treatments, the man told me it must be because Jesus loved me.
Yup. You read that correctly. Needless to say it was one straw too many (The Christian rock music playing in the office didn't help), so I switched to a new guy. One who offers me tea when I walk in. One who only sticks me once or twice in the wrist, instead of six or seven times.
One who doesn't cause pain.
I know!! I can tell you about how well the writing is going. I'm ever so close to page 50. I can practically taste it! But don't take my word for it. Stay tuned for the updated progress meter (currently being built, so show some patience people!), to prove just how far I've come.
Or I could just tell you that I have three wonderful, joyous (tax filled) days of break left and I plan to enjoy each and every one of them.
Yeah. I think I'll tell you about that... Labels: books, life, vacation, writing
Ah...
That would be the sound you hear as I take a big sigh of relaxation. I love sleeping in, watching movies, and in general taking the time to breath. I forget about that a lot of the time. I forget to stop for a few minutes and simply breath. I forget to simply be in the moment and enjoy it. Why is that, do you think? Why do so many of us have so much trouble taking time to relax and simply BE?
What really amazes me is how calming filing papers, or cleaning up my kitchen table can be. I won't go so far as to say it's transformed me, or that I've become one of those people who run around cleaning everything. But I definitely can find the quietness in setting aside time to file away papers and to clean out those files of old, extraneous papers.
I hope you've all had a moment to enjoy the quiet of this time of year. Or at the very least are able in the near future to find that moment of quiet for yourself. Labels: life, random musings
Flashback...
Tonight marked the first skate party of the year for the school where I work. Every year they have anywhere from 2-4 skate parties, and all last year I managed to not go. Don't get me wrong, I love rollerskating (four wheels, people, four wheels). When I was 8 it was the epitome of cool to have a rollerskating birthday party. But I'm older now. And rollerskating? Doesn't really have that cool factor any more. Still, I agreed to join the rest of my grade-level teammates. I walked through the door and was instantly transported back in time 20 years. The smell of sweaty feet assailed us, and once again I was 8 years old. Unfortunately, I don't fall like an 8 year old anymore. In a poorly executed move to help a fallen kid, and managed to go down like a chopped oak, landing smack on my tuches (and cell phone). The cell phone, thankfully, is fine. The tuches? Not so much. I'm hurting, and will most likely be stiff and limping tomorrow. On the brightside? To quote a student, "Third grade teachers rock!!"And really, that makes it all worth it. Right?Labels: geeky fun, happy times, life, teaching
Play time...
 Last night fellow Tiara, Kelli, hosted a Cookie Lee jewelry party. Along with Christina and Dona, and several of Kelli's friends, we spent a wonderful evening. Picture this:  good food, fabulous women and all the affordable jewelry you can imagine. I thought I was playing it smart by leaving behind my checkbook...until I discovered the representative took credit card. Oooh boy. Kelli, hostess extraordinaire, welcomed us into her  brand new home with a full compliment of hors d'oeurves and drinks. She followed up with an amazing pasta dish full of fettucine, mushrooms, garlic, broccolini and shrimp; as well as bread and salad. After more shopping she brought out her sweet treats: licorice, gummy bears, chocolate fondue, cookies, fresh fruit, marshmellows and fancy brownie bites. Once we were done with our shopping, we popped in a video and those of us not ready for sleep stayed to watch. Needless to say I walked out with two fabulous necklaces and an earmarked catalogue with birthday and holiday presents already in mind.  Labels: happy times, life
Random thoughts...
- I have a new cd from Megan. Yay! Can't wait to listen
- The Buffy Season 8 comic makes me happy. It's not the same as a new show, but it'll do.
- New season of Grey's, Bones, House start soon. Yippee!
- Third Grade rocks! The kids are great, and the curriculum is right up my alley.
- L'shana tova! Welcome to a new year. This is one of my favorite holidays. Is it the apples? The honey? The big group meals? Maybe all of the above?
- There might actually be something to this whole go to the gym, eat right business. The vote's still out, but something might be there.
- Proxy votes are good, especially on Jewish holidays.
- September means the return of chapter meetings. Yay! Susan Mallery's talk about increasing productivity was inspiring. Now I just have to finish printing up the last 100 pages of my manuscript so I can get started on revisions.
Labels: Jewish musings, life, random musings
Jewish Guilt
A friend recently pointed out to me that I'm suffering from a major case of unnecessary Jewish guilt. I feel guilty that others are having problems with their writing and that things (in my humble opinion) are going in the general direction I want them to. Life's not perfect. I'm still unpublished. I still have to clean my own bathroom. I'm still single. I still wake up every day and go to work.
But life's pretty good.
So how did I get to the point where I feel like something's seriously wrong because nothing is wrong? I know I'm not alone here. I know other's have felt this way before.
And to make it worse? I feel guilty for acknowledging that life is pretty good. Well, again if you ignore the whole having to clean my own bathroom bit. Or the fact that UPS is all set to deliver a package on Monday that ISN'T MY PACKAGE! I've tried contacting the shippers to tell them they are sending me the wrong order, but thanks to Shabbat they aren't answering emails. Or phones (even if I called them). *sigh* And I feel horrible because it's a not-for-profit company, so they'll have to foot the bill for shipping to the wrong location.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we must be closing in on the High Holidays. Only Yom Kippur can bring about this amount of unnecessary guilt.
So Shana Tova to all of my fellow Jews. May this be a sweet and healthy new year for all. As for the rest of you? I'm ducking from the rotten tomatoes I know you're throwing my way.Labels: holidays, Jewish musings, life, shabbat
Yahoo!
 You may all join in my happy dance now, as we celebrate the completion of my fourth manuscript! Yes, yes, yes!! Of course, next up are revisions, but who cares? The book is done! And before school starts, which is the best news out of all of it. Yes! Wahoo!!Labels: happy times, life, writing
I have a problem.
A big one...one that I know many of you share with me. Hello, my name is Erin, and I'm a book-a-holic. *sigh*I just checked my TBR pile, and not including books that I should read but will probably never get to, I have 27 books waiting to be read. Three more I've started and would like to finish. One that I'm actively reading. And this doesn't even include the books I bought for my class that I should try to read. You'd think with all these books to read, I'd be all set...but I'm not. This month alone three books come out by some of my favorites: - Force of Nature by Suzanne Brockmann
- Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon (This is one of those times I wish I still lived in Michigan. She's having a Midnight release party at the Borders Headquarters Store in Ann Arbor on Monday night.)
- Blacklisted by Gena Showalter
*sigh* I really have a problem. Labels: books, geeky fun, happy times, life, random musings
And she's down...
Or maybe we should name this my very own "I Love Lucy" moment, in honor of Jill. I should start out by making an admission. I joined a gym. I'm at the point where I have to do something to get my rear in gear in the fall, and this is it. So I went down today to meet with a trainer, and then to use the elliptical machine for a little bit. Now, graceful I am not, but I usually can make it through such a routine without any grevious bodily harm. Today was not that kind of day.Actually, I got through the taking measurements of my body without too much embarrassement. Even had fun on the elliptical. I didn't go flying off the back, or pull any muscles. When I finished, I dismounted to go get some disinfectant and paper towels to clean off the handles with. I should have stayed on the machine. Genuises that they are when it comes to design, the gym has about a half a foot high silver box that runs the length of the room, in between the ellipticals and the stairclimbers. I'm pretty sure it covers the wires so people don't trip. Maybe they figure that seeing as how it's big and silver, people will see it better, and remember to step over it. Not me. Two steps and I was down, bashing my knee on the box and my hand on the floor. And being asked if I was okay by a woman on the stairclimber who looked to be in better shape than me. *sigh*I'm not embarrassed. No, not at all...Labels: life
A break from our regularly scheduled program...
Here's the thing about writing...most writers know just how to avoid it. Yup, there's the dirty secret. We can find a million and one things to do instead of write. We can do laundry, vacuum, make dinner, run errands...blog. But the thing of it is, sometimes that procrastination time is just what we need. We can use that time doing mindless nothing to think about what really matters...the story. Of course, while some of us our proud of our procrastinatory abilities (okay, is that even a word?), others of us wish we weren't so darn good at it. We wish we had greater discipline, or at the very least the ability to glue our butts into our seats temporarily. In my efforts to procrastinate this week, I'm finally reading a much referred to craft book, Writing the Breakout Novel. I know, I know, you're shocked and appalled at me. Oh well. Still, the timing couldn't be better. Even as I'm finishing off my current WiP, I've begun thinking about my next novel, one that I'm hoping I can make bigger, better, stronger...you name it, I hope I can do it. I've started asking myself the hard questions, the ones whose answers scare the pants off me...but the ones that need to be asked. I'm hoping to find those answers over the next several months, as I begin to develop my premise, my plot and my characters. The current goal is to finish TMI by the end of August, in just enough time for the start of the new school year. While at the same time continuing to pull together my random thoughts for the next book. Oooh boy, who says I don't know how to have fun?Labels: geeky fun, life, writing
Drive by blogging...
There is nothing more amazing to me than Friday night Shabbat Services in Jerusalem, at the Western Wall. I had chills, ladies and gentelman. There is something intense about that place, something that calls to the very soul of a human, regardless of religion. The wall literally brings tears to my eyes when I see it. When I'm up close and personal, touching the stones that have sat there for thousands of years. You don't think of the bastard who built it, or the number of times the temple there was destroyed. Instead, you think of all the people who have been there before, and will come after you...slipping their prayers into the cracks in the wall, just waiting to receive them.I promise, pictures and stories later. But for now, Shalom to you all...I'm off to party :)Labels: happy times, Jewish musings, life, travel
Buffed and Polished...
I spent the better part of my afternoon at the Lotus Spa today, getting myself buffed and polished as a treat to myself. And boy, was it worth it!Between the facial (complete with scalp, hand and shoulder massage), the Shanghai Herbal Foot Massage and the pedicure, I just about napped my way through the entire thing. So relaxing and peaceful. What a better way to reward myself for finishing off the year, than to do what I enjoy best...pampering myself. If you have the opportunity, drop in to take advantage of the foot massage, if nothing else. Blissful. Absolutely blissful.Labels: life
Take that!
The last day of school is bittersweet. Okay, maybe more sweet than bitter but there were some tears. We held our graduation breakfast yesterday morning, complete with certificates and a slide show. One of my students, a very quiet boy who loves to read, came up to say goodbye, and spent most of it staring at the ceiling so he wouldn't cry. That one had me in tears. But I wasn't crying when I went back to my classroom and finished shoving things into my cupboards, recycle bin and garbage cans. I'm all packed and stacked now, and I won't be back in my class until August. Time to breath a sigh of relief...and get back to work. I've decided to take a month off my writing. Between report cards, and other life events, I need some time to get myself back in the right headspace. I've been going full-throttle since September, in both my job and my writing. So I'll be back to it in July, when I can really put the pedal to the metal and try to finish off this manuscript...Labels: life, random musings
Bad combination...
I really need to practice ordering my lattes decaf. It's the only way around it. Caffeine and I do not mix, which I was reminded of quite clearly tonight, at our monthly Tiaras meeting. I left work around 4 (well, left school. The work came with me), drove over to the nearby Seattle's Best to finish my work some place a little calmer, because let's face it...the school is filled with way too much wired energy from all the kiddies and teachers raring to leave. So I go to the shop, order my iced latte, and sit down with my work. I did not pay attention to if I ordered decaf or not, but I'd been doing so fairly regularly, so figured I was safe. Poor Shannon was then subjected to dinner with me on warp speed. If you all think I speak fast normally? Wait until you hear me talk when I've had caffeine. Not a pretty sight. I made it worse when I tried to read my back-copy blurb to the rest of the Tiaras later, and spoke so quickly all of them begged me to stop, slow down and start over. Oy. Must remember...no caffeine. Or maybe I just need to stick with my tea. Though on the other hand...I did finish putting together the graduation certificates for Friday, and graded just under half of their final assessments. Labels: coffee, life, writing
The countdown continues...
Five half days left. Half days because we have all sorts of activities going on in the afternoons this week. Oh. My. Goodness. How in the world did I get to this point? We have one project to finish, along with several odds and ends to take care of. The kids are just as ready as I am to be done.
Five days to go, and I have so much to get done, it's not even funny. Report cards to finish, books to separate out to give back to the other fifth grade classes, a class to pack up, meetings, items to gather...the list goes on.
Five days until the end of my first year of teaching. Can you hear that sigh of relief?Labels: life
Little things...
*Warning* I'm completely caffeinated right now, so if this feels rambley, you'll understand why. We're down to eight days left, and really? Most of them are half days. Of course, this means even less time to do everything, but 8 days! Which means less than two weeks until I leave for Israel. I'm frantically running around trying to take care of all the little things. It doesn't quite feel real yet, even though I know it is since they charged my credit card for the balance the other day. Still, I can't believe I'll be in another country soon. It's wild.It really is about the little things, isn't it? Like the fact that I have half a watermelon sitting on my counter waiting for me. Or the fact that I woke up to a text message this morning from someone I wasn't expecting to hear from for a few more days. Or maybe it's that I've started packing up my classroom, even though we're not done. Or seeing the fifth grade texts make their way back to one of the other fifth grade rooms. Or maybe it was checking out my possible class for next year. Or maybe it's simply knowing that I made it through the year, with my sanity relatively in tact (or at least no crazier than when I began the year), and with 3/4 of a manuscript to show for it all.Yup, it's all about the little things.Labels: geeky fun, happy times, life
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