Nothing else matters ...

I wrote today. And made massive quantities of food for Cole and his friends. I didn't burn the house down or give any of them a raging case of food poisoning (as far as I know) so I'm going to pat myself on the back.

*pat, pat*

In writing, I broke the 70K mark. Going back and looking at my word counts for the last week, I've written nearly 18K words since Monday. Whoa. Way good for me. Way.
See?

I got a lot written on my spy in the bad guys' camp. He did some breaking and entering and made a very gruesome discovery. He also found out a little about our heroine, who he hadn't really met yet. Meanwhile, the missing Beta got to ask some pointed questions and get some long winded answers.

Next up: I have to figure out how to get my kidnap victim to the bad guys' compound at roughly the same time our heroine ends up back there. The time frame is fairly crucial since I need the kidnapped girl to have most of her faculties in relatively good working order. Kidnap and torture do not put most people in the best mental place, you know. Or maybe you don't.

As a random aside, I was doing some research online and Cole came in and asked me what I'm looking at. I was very glad it wasn't the mating habits of wolves, which I have researched in depth, thankyouverymuch. No, instead it was the time frame that it took a body to decompose. He looks at me and goes, "Why are you looking at that?" Me, "Because I killed a girl and left her body in the basement and I need to know if she's all gross and oozy or if she's just smelly and cold when she's found." Cole, "Okay. I'm hoping this is for your story." Me, "Of course it is. We don't have a basement."

Ha. I love research. You can find out such terribly interesting things. For the record, she was found too quickly to be fully oozy. She's just a little smelly.

Okay. I'm going to get back to reading my book.
Later.

Here I am! Sticking to my plan on writing earlier in the day. Yay! The question I have for myself is ... What do I have to talk about this early in the morning? Huh.

Anyway. I went to Back to School night last night and met Cole's teacher. Again. I've met her already, but she seems very passionate about her job and about teaching the kids more than just what's in books. As she put it, she lets the kids guide her on what they're interested in learning about rather than what's strictly in her lesson plan. To an extent, of course. I mean, she still has standards she has to follow. The point is that I liked her a lot and am very glad Cole has her as a teacher.

I'm also pleased to announce that it appears to have cooled off a bit. It's not sweltering already, at least. I make no claims as to how it will be later in the day, but it's very pleasant right now.

I've made plans top see kimbrchick, jenahville and her son on Sunday. I'm even planning what I'm going to make them for lunch/dinner. You know, once upon a time I cooked a frozen pizza with the bottom cardboard still attached. I've come a long way from that. A long way.

I was trying to figure out how long it's been since I saw kimbrchick. I'm pretty sure the last time we all got together was before I quit the bank. Whoa. I quit at the end of January. It's been AGES.

I did not finish my book since my last journal. Woe! Don't worry, though. I'm sure I'll finish it today. :)

And now I'm done.
Later!

I went to the library today and picked up a few Agatha Christie books. I specifically tried to make sure that I hadn't read these before. Alas! They changed the name on one of them! Changed the name! I read it anyway.

Book #65 - What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! by Agatha Christie - AKA 4:50 from Paddington. First off, I hate when covers of books get changed and I think I haven't read it before but I have and I just didn't recognize it. That happens all the time with Nora Roberts books. If her plots weren't all so similar, reading the back synopsis might help. The point of this is that changing the cover is bad enough, but changing the title? Woe! I was CERTAIN I hadn't read this one before. I would have sworn it to all major and minor deities. And I would have been wrong. WRONG! However, I enjoyed my re-read so it wasn't an entire waste. Oh, the plot? Miss Marple sets out to prove that her friend did indeed see a murder on a train. Despite all evidence to the contrary. Or lack of evidence, as the case may be.

I don't think I'm going to be going on any 2 mile walks with Hailey and Bailey tomorrow. My legs are a little achy after the last two ginormous walks we've gone on. Maybe we'll do some baking. Orange bread sounds good. I don't think my bananas are properly ripened for banana bread. Hmm. Orange bread it is!

That is all.
Later.

oddmonster, you are not allowed to get mad at me for zipping through these books. I'm killing time until the kiddies go back to school.

Book #61 - Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth by Simon R. Green - This series is great as a re-read. All sorts of mad goings on and people being slaughtered left and right. They might have even deserved it. So, John's mother has returned to raze the Nightside to the ground and remake it in an image of her choosing. She kills people. She kills gods. She kills just about anyone who gets in her path. Buildings included. All in all, great apocalyptic fun. This is one of those books that could be a major turning point in a series. One major, major storyline is tied up and now a whole ocean of possibilities open up for us.

-and-

Book #62 - Hickory Dickory Death by Agatha Christie - I had no clue what this book was about when I picked it up. I mean, I expected murder and other mayhem but I honestly had no idea what the story was about. One of the greatest strengths of Christie's books are that they all have a different feel. Unlike, say, the Nightside series (which is a vastly different sort of book) that uses phrases over and over again from book to book. All Christie's books feel different to me. Maybe they're all crimes of passion or for financial gain or whatnot but they don't feel alike when you read them. They all feel fresh and new and ... they just work for me. Why did I wait so long to start reading her?

So, I picked up four books at the library today, all hardcover, none with dust jackets. Unfortunately, when I got home and went to put them into my Goodreads queue I realized that I'd read one before. Boo. So, I only have three books to read. And I've already read one of them. I guess we'll be going back to the library again soon.

I think I'm going to make banana bread tomorrow. Maybe I'll make orange bread also. I'm not sure. It all depends on how much energy I have.

Oh! I was dropping Hailey off at dance today and I ran into one of my old supervisors. Just to explain, the dance studio is next to one of the branches. Anyway, she asked me if I was missing the bank and I was like Nooooooo. Not missing it. And I'm really enjoying my life right now. Word! Okay, I didn't actually say the last part, but I thought it.

And there you have it.
Later!

You know how yesterday I had no kids and I ended up watching nothing but kid friendly movies? Yeah. Tonight, both kids are here (Hailey can't stay away from her beloved dog!) and I'm trying to watch a horror-lite movie. It's rather difficult when I have to keep pausing it whenever they wander in. I really should have planned that better.

I think it's time for another picture! Or two.


The first is our lemon tree with most of the blossoms faded. The second is my lavender plant. Cole informed me that the picture looks fake. Lol! It's not. I promise.

I'm 50 or 60 pages into one of my current books and it's kinda confusing me. That makes me determined to figure out if it's me or the book. I'm leaning toward the book at the moment. Yeah, things had best be explained. Or I'm cracking skulls!

I've felt very scattered the last week or so. I have all theses THINGS that I need to get done and somehow I just don't do them. I have been cooking a lot, though. Trying out recipes. Tossing out recipes because they're vile. Deciding to make one teeny, tiny little change that will doubtless make this the BEST RECIPE EVER! Yeah. I've had to get on the food log train because I'm worried that all this cooking is going to make me pile on the pounds. Scary! It's deceptive when most of the foods I'm dealing with are fresh and healthy and I think that I can eat as much of them as I want. So, I'm tracking it. It's going rather well so far. And it really is surprising how quickly all those little extras can add up. Anyway. I'm at Self.com under soulswallo if anyone else is hanging around there. :)

As an interesting aside, I brushed my teeth with baking soda today. It was very salty. Not at all what I thought it would be. That Baking Soda book I read the other day is already making an impact.

I'm out!