Walking Around With A Big "L" On My Forehead

My kids are famous for giving the loser signs. I'll accept them as I haven't written one word in about three days. Those three issues I had planned to complete last week - still not done. Ughh!

May GDR Wrap-up:

I wrote 11,875 measly words.

I did update my Publishers Marketplace Webpage. I updated it last week but there was a glitch in the system and it got wiped out. Oh well.

I also place a pricey bid on something I want very much, but went well beyond my planned limit. I mean well beyond my planned limit. I'll leave it to fate right now. I'm the highest bidder but there is still time for someone to place a bid. If they do, then it wasn't meant to be, but if they don't, I'll have to find a way to hide the MC bill. Geesh, can't anything ever just be easy? I'll elaborate more when the auction is over.

This week I must finish issues 88, 89, 90 and hopefully 91. I can do it if I put my mind to it.

This weekend was spent with family and friends. I also got to see Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith. Pretty darn cool!

Today, my mood is as dark and cloudy as the skies outside. I feel a deep insecurity and my indecisive nature is rearing its ugly head. This needs to pass - both the weather and my mood.

BK

Memorial Day

Please take a moment to honor our fallen men and women and to honor all of those who protect freedom. Thank you!

Happy Birthday B3!

Having Some Cake

Birthday Girl - Reflective moment

The Birthday Girl

B3 turned 8 years old today. Happy Birthday!

Sensitive Political Rant - Differing Opinion

I rarely discuss politics on this blog. But I feel strongly about this and need to vent. I don't consider myself a staunch conservative (although many would) and I do question much of what the current administration is doing (yes, I voted for Bush and my husband does accuse my at time of being a Democrat - I believe I'm somewhere in the middle).

Someone called me a "Christocrat". Let me assure you that I don't believe in original sin or many other of the Christian texts. It seems that if I have a varying opinion of this then I'm a religious fanatic. I'm not really a religious anything. But I do know that MURDER IS WRONG.

There are some who feel their lives or their quality of life is of more value than those of the unborn. SHAME ON YOU FOR PLAYING GOD!

In this BBC article, The US House of Representatives backs stem cell funding. This means our government authorizes MURDER for medical purposes. There are other alternatives to this grotesque practice of fertilizing HUMAN eggs and then killing them to graft their cells into ill people. I understand many people will be cured if the promises of this research come true, but how many innocents will have to die to cure them? What right does anyone have to take cells from someone else without their consent and kill them in the process? And just so THEY won't have to endure radiation, chemotherapy, an insulin needle or surgery or God forbid - die.

I've seen a few websites that support embryonic stem cell research and use photographs of children who would potentially benefit. I hope for a cure just as any other parent would. But there is NO photograph of the embryos who will die. Misleading and self-serving? I believe so.

Here is a website detailing the alternatives to murder: http://www.stemcellresearch.org/

I can make this statement with confidence:

I will not be a part of taking innocent life to save or improve the quality of my own or that of my family. I'd rather work with established traditional medicines or experimental medicines that don't require another to die so I can go on. I am not so afraid of death and pain that I'll cling to the misconception that it is justifiable for ME to KILL someone.

I'm not saying that in a time of crisis, I would not steal, lie, or cheat to keep my family safe. But I'd do my best to avoid it. And as a producer of four healthy umbilical cords, I'd have gladly given them to anyone who could benefit, as the umbilical cords have served their purpose of sustaining life and no longer have a BEATING HEART.

For those who believe embryonic stem cell research is the new medical panacea: See you in HELL.

BK

The Lives of the Rich and Famous

I hate to admit this, but I while I was flipping through the channels and stopped at one of those gratuitous (oh, look at me) celebrity shows on how rich, posh and pampered they are. Yeah, I watched it. However, I didn't feel envious of their beauty, jealous of their wealth, or resentful of their fame.

I felt empowered. I know it sounds odd, but there they are in all their glory, repressed by society's trappings and expectations of perfection, coveting only material wealth and fame, with no hope of privacy or normal interdepence on others. They are surrounded by people who use them for who they are, people who will most certainly abandon them when friends are most needed.

I'm blessed to have discovered my own true nature and the peace that comes from living accordingly. I don't stand in judgement of the beautiful people, for I'm sure there is good among them. I just pay them no mind. In fact, half the people profiled on the program I'd never even heard of. I felt pretty good about that.

On the writing front, even though I didn't write tonight, my head was spinning the next three issues. I can get at least two of them done tomorrow as my schedule will slow down some since baseball and softball (for the most part) has ended. I'm really excited about these next three issues.

I fiddled around with my website today. If anyone would like to sneak a peek, there is a link on the side of the blog. I messed up all the buttons and had to recreate them, but once I figured out how it didn't take much longer than a half an hour.

I haven't heard anything from any of my submissions. Sometimes I wonder if there is really anyone on the receiving end of those emails. I got a nice note from an Editor at Wildchild Publishing. I'd love to send something to them, but heck I can't remember the last short story or poem I've written. Too much energy has been poured into the serial and rightfully so.

Here's to a great writing day.

BK

Another Non-writing Day

And I call myself a writer. Today I was nothing more than a waste of time and space. I'm not sure what the root cause of all this wasted time but I need to figure it out and fast.

Tonight B3 had softball practice. B4 came along with his scooter just so he'd have something to do. There are quite a few paved sidewalks at this particular park. B2 is still on her fieldtrip at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, but tonight when she called, I could hear her stifling sobs. Oh well, Thursday will be here soon and I'll get her home. I'd hate to drive six hours to the coast to get her, but I'd leave tonight if I had to. B1 hung out at home.

Tomorrow night is B3's end of season party for rec ball. No writing there either.

Am I the only one who stringently plans each moment of her day, only to toss the pristine plan in the crapper the moment one thing goes awry? I do this on a weekly basis. Oh I've tried the spontaneous route with just about as much success. I suppose I'll search for a happy medium.

A Few Days To Catch Up

Since I spent all weekend at the ballfield, I took yesterday off to catch up. First I had to drop off the truck at the shop to have the starter checked. I and B2 got stranded at Target when the darn thing wouldn't start. They found a few blown fuses, rear brake issues, and some leak in the universal joint, but even after $760.00 later, they found nothing wrong with the starter. UHHHGG! Now I'll get stranded somewhere AGAIN just because they couldn't find anything.

I also managed five loads of laundry, went grocery shopping (Sams Club and the supermarket) and cut the grass. I'm nowhere near the realm of Domestic Goddess but it is as close as I've come in a long time.

On a good note, B3's softball team won their first tournament this weekend. They played 3 games on Saturday and three games on Sunday. Here's the pic:


Charlotte Blaze NSA Spring Xplosion 8U Champs!

B3 is in the lower right corner (the skinny mousy one to the right of the redhead). B3 had an okay game but I was tired of yelling "two hands!" or "get that glove in the dirt!", especially when she knows what to do. Oh, and the asshole coach from the previous post: his team came in third and we gave him a thorough 14-3 ass whuppin! I feel bad for his players though. They're truly a bunch of cuties and played with a lot of heart.

B1 lost his little league tournament game 7-4 last night. But he had a good game. He was supposed to have a school game today but it got cancelled. There's a parent meeting at the school at 3:15 today. I hate parent meetings.

Tonight I have to take B3 to practice. B2 is on her 4-day school field trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I'm having cell phone withdrawl because I let her take mine. It has every number she'll need in the phone book.

I had to yell at B4 about homework and ground him from going to a friend's house this weekend. I'm tired of school.

On the writing front, I'm stalled. I only completed one issue of the serial which pushed my completion date back a week to the week of 6/13.

So far for this month I've written 6 issues and 11,751 words. Not stellar but not piss-poor either. I need to update my webpage content this week. It looks a bit stagnant.

BK

A Little Less Faith in Humanity

Have you ever witnessed something that burned such a lasting uncomfortable image in your mind that you wished you'd never seen it? I did and I'm still reeling from it - an 8U softball coach taunting the parents of another team because his team won the game, as well as saying unkind words to the little girls on the losing team. To beat all, this man is a law enforecement officer when he's not coaching. What an ASSHOLE!

I stood back and just watched this disgusting display of human emotion over something that is supposed to be fun for the girls. This is not to say that the parents were completely innocent (I believe one parent in particular provoked some of the hard feelings and embarrassed her child in the process) but the coach is supposed to promote leadership and teamwork. Luckily and unbeknownst to the offending coach, the President over the AA in the county witnessed this vulgarity and told the parents that action would be taken.

Thank goodness I have no child on either team. I was just there because my daughter has friends on the losing team and she would have actually been on that team if I hadn't moved her to another AA. We drove right by the ballfields on the way home so I thought what the heck, we might as well go watch the rest of the game. I now regret my decision.

I'll have to see the irrate parent this weekend as her daughter (the embarrassed one) is also on B3's travel team and there is a tournament this weekend. I hope to be polite and friendly without any discussion of what happened last night. The less I hear, the better.

I have since learned that the offending coach had to forfeit the game and the championship trophy. The other coach, in the spirit of teamwork, said that he'd share the championship title and trophy with the other team, because the girls did nothing to deserve the forfeit. Whew, I'm glad that's over.

This morning I see Saddam everywhere in his underwear. I'm not sure who decided that pic was newsworthy, but the BBC is reporting that Saddam plans to sue. For once, I hope he wins. It was explotation beyond any I've ever seen. There was no news in this. It was for humiliation and money. I'm disgusted.

On the writing front I did manage to complete issue 87 but that gives me only one issue done this week. I'll draft issue 88 today but I'll still be two issues behind.


Blood on an Appalachian Sunset Stats:

99 issues total (167,000 words)86 issues completed (141,605 words)
12 issues to go (23,494 words)
Issues written since "getting serious" on 4/20/2005: 12
Words written since "getting serious" on 4/20/2005: 21,752
Estimated Completion Date: Week of 6/13/2005

Have a great weekend all!

BK

Inner Conflict

I'm out of balance. My mental and physical self is all out of whack and conflict to the point where I have no clarity or focus. Ahhhh! I hate it when this happens.

Instead of writing yesterday, I worked on this problem. I've devised a plan so I'll see how it goes.

Once again, I spent yesterday evening at the ballfield. B1 had batting practice so I walked across the parking lot and caught the 10U girls softball game. B2 had a few old teammates there, so she spent the evening in the dugout providing the "team spirit" for her friends.

I sat up on the hill and made fun of the parents of the opposing team who brought those annoying cow bells to the game. Awful thoughts ran through my mind:

"Instead of ringing it like a fool, tie it around your fat neck as it was intended . . ."

"Someone tie the feed bag on her. That will shut her up . . ."

"Shouldn't she be off grazing somewhere?"

"Can someone please milk her? She's getting cranky."

Am I bad?

Anyhow, our team won 7-5 in a come from behind inning where the score started out at 5-2. Both the coaches and the parents on the other team were a bit hot (and I can't say I blame them in a few cases) about really bad calls from the officials. After the game, the umpires ran up the steps to their cars like their asses were on fire with an angry mob of parents behind them. How undignified! It is behavior such as this that makes me sit up on the hill or way down the third base line as I find the closer I am to the game, the more intense it feels. And if I do happen to yell, I'm so far away no one can really hear me. It is entertaining to watch other parents and coaches have a meltdown though.

On the writing front, I must finish issue 87 of the serial and start on issue 88 today. No excuses.

In A Rut

I've fallen and I can't get up . . . or rather out . . . of this rut I fell into yesterday. I'd planned, after all the evening activities, to get issue 87 of the serial finished, but by the time we got home, showers, laundry, packed lunches, etc, it was 10 pm. Ughhh! I was so exhausted I went to be without even turning on the computer. Now I'm disgusted with myself.

Today I'm still dragging, undiciplined, and indecisive. To top it all off, hubby mentioned that I might have to go back to work full-time if the part-time work dissolves which it looks like it may. I stood my ground though and said, "there is no way in hell I'm going back to work full-time. I almost had a stroke last fall and I'm not going to put myself or the kids in that exhaustive situation again. I don't care if I have to bleed every penny from my retirement accounts, I'm not going back to work full-time! We'll have to find another way." Do you think he got the picture?

I did put my application into the public school system for a Secretary and a Teacher Assistant position. If I can have the same school days off as the kids (well, most of them anyway) and if I can have my summers free, then I might consider it. Otherwise, no way in hell.

Another teacher at my kids' school suggested that I put my application in there. It is a charter school and not part of the public school system. On the surface it sounds like the perfect idea but thankfully I did alot of thinking and decided against it. The reason being - my commutes to and from work are the only alone/down time I have in my crazy life. If I have to commute with the kids to and from work, I'd probably loose my sanity. I'm unwilling to compromise at this early stage.

I went to the post office and mailed my short story entry. I also put my bid out on one of those lovely services on yesterday's auction for the JDRF. I hope I win!

I did have tonight off from any activity, but now B1 has batting practice. Damn it all! A friend's daughter is playing at the softball fields so I suppose I'll mosey across the parking lot and watch a bit of it. How pathetic is that? I plan to watch a softball game and none of my girls are even on the team.

I plan to finish issue 87 tonight. Please send well-wishes my way.

BK

A Fresh Blogging Voice and A Silent Auction

There is a new blogging voice in the world. J.A. Konrath, author of the Lt. Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels Series, now has his own blog. I'm familiar with Joe primarily from the writers' forum Backspace and his take on the publishing industry cuts through the bullshit and adds some much needed humor to the whole process.

There is also a silent auction at the website of Brenda Novak, Romance Author, to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Her youngest son has this terrible illness and I admire her courage (as well as Martha O'Connor's) to take on this dreaded childhood disease and make a difference. Please take a moment, peruse the site and make a bid. I did and I hope 1) I win and 2) hubby doesn't find out.

As I rushed everyone out the door this morning, B3 came running out of her bedroom saying,"I forgot to do my homework!" and little tears beaded in her lashes. Of course we were at the ballfield until almost 8 pm and I had to rush home to get the older two in bed because of the dreaded NC EOG's (North Carolina End of Grade exams). She is usually a good student and I never worry about her and her homework. So I did what any loving mother would do - devise a plan where B2 would do her math homework (it was only one word problem) and B3 would write her spelling words 3 times in cursive.

The math question was - there are 20 students going on a field trip. There are 8 cars to be used and each can hold 2, 3, or 4 students. Find two ways to fill the cars. Well, it sounds easy enough but with the time crunch it becomes a bit difficult.

"I got math EOG test today, I have to save my brain," B1 said.

"Do I really have to draw a car?" B2 asked.

"Mom, quit hitting so many bumps. I can't write," B3 whined.

B4 had nothing to add, but did find the whole situation funny.

So as I drove, I calculated the answers and yes I did use my fingers. Unfortunately, B2 is a sloooow writer and had to do it at least 3 times so she could get it and draw the cars. But by the time we got to the drop off lane at school, the math was done.

I let B1, B2 and B4 off at the curb and pulled on around with B3 writing furiously in the back seat. 2 minutes later she's off to school with completed homework and a happy face.

There would have been a time where I'd have said, "go on to school and take your lumps." But, I vividly remember my own nightmares of forgetting to to homework. The terror ripped through my body to my extremites, causing my fingers and toes to curl uncontrollably. I don't want any of my kids to experience this fear if I can do something to avoid it.

I was late for my day-job though.

Last night I managed to write ~1,500 words of issue 87. I'll finish it up today. Tonight, B4 has a game, B2 has practice at another field and B3 has practice at a field even farther away. I have secured rides for B2 and B3 so I can watch B4's game. B1 is off until Saturday.

My day-job is slowing down and I don't think it will last much longer. I'm not that concered about it though as I have to cut my hours back when school lets out anyway. I'll just ride the wave until it crashes on the beach.

BK

A Little Progress

B2's softball team came in second in the tournament this weekend. B3 had to play with the team because they didn't have enough players. They could have won the darn thing but they had a "meltdown" in their third game of the day. Both B2 and B3 missed their dance recitals this weekend. Oh well, I hate it but there was nothing I could do.

So far I've managed to tweak issue 86 up to 2,144 words. I also did some research on medicinal herbs. I was careful to choose only those native to the Appalachians and finally used some of that 4-H knowledge of trees and wildflowers I've held onto for years. It helps that the primary "healer" in my story is loosely based on my own grandmother.

This information will be a big help with the remaining four issues I need to write this week although I was surprised that the author left out the eastern US as a native habitat for wild trilliums.

Other than the honeysuckle, the painted trillium is my favorite flower. They are quite elusive as I've only ever seen them bloom in the forest in early spring. I uploaded a picture of a painted trillium but I'm not sure where it went.

I entered one of my short stories in the Linda Flowers Writing Competition sponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council. I've never had much luck with contests but I couldn't find an entry fee anywhere so I thought, what the heck!

This afternoon, I have to take B1 to get a haircut. His father has cut it forever, but since he's out of town this week, B1 wants to go to a real barber. I can't blame him. Then it is home for a quick dinner and off to the ballfield for Game 1 of B1's little league tournament.

Tonight its on to issue 87.

Congratulations to all the Kuwaiti women who now have the right to vote. It is a small victory for women everywhere, despite opposition and the possibility of stringent requirements. Go get 'em girls! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4552749.stm

I think I'm over my procrastination / indecisive bout I had last week. I only hope the migraines are gone. I think fatigue is my greatest trigger. I've been told it's stress but I really don't believe in stress - at least in my case. I believe a person creates their own stress by taking on too much in their external life or being untrue to themselves. I'm certainly not one of those as I can say no very easily (just ask B4's school room mom) and I'm too bad of a liar to lie to myself.

BK

A Week to Forget

I'm looking forward to a more productive week this week. Between running the kids to all their activities, day-work and crippling migraine last lasted for three days numbed only by an ibuprophen and acetominaophen cocktail, I didn't get three issues of the serial completed. So now, I have to complete four issues to week to stay on track.

Blood on an Appalachian Sunset Stats:

99 issues total (167,000 words)
86 issues completed (141,605 words)
13 issues to go (25,395 words)
Issues written since "getting serious" on 4/20/2005: 11
Words written since "getting serious" on 4/20/2005: 19,851
Estimated Completion Date: Week of 6/06/2005

This week my goal is to complete 4 issues (87 through 90) and 7,794 words.

My core is weak and I'm not focused. I need to get focused or it will be another week of failure.

BK

Damn Dryer Part III

Yesterday was rough. I would go into detail but I'd really rather forget it. Let's just say I put at least 100 miles on my truck and saw some spectacular lightening.

I never realized how afraid some people are of thunderstorms. I, on the other hand, love them. I love how the air feels, the pounding rain, the lightening bolts lighting up a dark ominous sky and even the booming thunder.

About 9:30 pm I got a call that B1's rained out game was rescheduled for tonight. Well, his uniform was muddy, wet and lying in a crumpled heap in his bedroom floor. I was supposed to have Wednesday night off.

So I crept into his room, picked up his uniform and some other dark clothes to wash them. I put them in the dryer and hit the button. A shrill squeak erupted in the laundry room that was so loud I almost peed my pants. The damn dryer wasn't working AGAIN.

So I hung everthing up to dry and went upstairs to log onto Sears.com. I love placing a service call online. It is so much easier. I got an appointment for this morning. Long story short: there must of been ten pencils in my dryer and one on them got caught in the belt. Ugghhh! $123.00 later I have my dryer. B4 is in big trouble when he gets home.

I went over my outstanding submissions and I'm going to forget about some of them. The ones to be forgotten are:

1 short story to Mid-South Review (submitted 10/14/2004) - Buh bye!
1 poem to Maelstrom (submitted 10/28/2004) - Buh bye!
1 poem to Evergreen Review (submitted 11/15/2004) - Buh bye!

My remaining outstanding submissions:

1 short story to Collected Stories (submitted 1/27/2005)
1 poem to River Walk Journal (submitted 1/27/2005)
1 poem to Binnacle Prose Competition (submitted 1/31/2005)
4 poems to Failbetter Magazine (submitted 2/22/2005)
2 short stories to Solander Magazine (submitted 10/4/2004 and 2/28/2005)
1 essay to Charlotte Parent Magazine (submitted 2/28/2005)
5 poems to Epiphany Magazine (submitted 3/2/2005)

But the good news is - no rejections!

I managed to rough out issue 86 of the serial. I need to do one more edit before I can call it finished. That leaves only issue 87 remaining for this week.

Since I'm home, I am watching the evacuation of the Capitol and the White House. I hate that this happened but I'm so happy that nothing serious happened and no one was injured. Of course the media is all-a-flutter on commentary and speculation. I was on the computer and read it on the BBC of all places.

Tomorrow night I have to dress the white-blond, pale-faced B2 up as Maya Angelou for her school project. Should be interesting.

BK

Caught on film - The Elusive B1 (aka Joey)

Okay, I finally got some pics of Joey and I've posted them below.

Joey (B1) - giving mom a heart attack. He almost got out on this one.

Joey (B1) leading off on second base

Joey (B1) at bat. He got a single.

Joey (the elusive B1) as catcher for the school baseball team

The Diamondbacks Win!!

We've only won two games 'til tonight when WE BEAT THE #1 ASTRO'S 11 TO 12!

B4 scored the winning won and got the game ball.

Sorry, I just had to brag.

BK

Jimmy (B4) Posing before the game.

Jimmy (B4) on 2nd base - check out the coach behind him on the cell phone!

Playing third base with the big guys!

Hammin' it up in the dugout

Damn Dryer Part II

After I scheduled the repairman to come out - the DAMN thing's working now. Anyhow, I've posted some pics but I really need to get some updated photos of the elusive B1!

Hope you enjoy.

BK

Jennifer (B2) Warming up!

Jennifer (B2) covering 2nd - Got her out!

Jennifer (B2) on the ground - SAFE!

Lizzy - "She's our L-E-A-D O-F-F Batter!"

Lizzy - Dance Recital

Jennifer - Dance Recital #2

Jennifer - outdoor dance recital - May 6, 2005

Jimmy (B4) - having some nachos (he ate about 3 of them! - two bucks down the crapper!)

Jennifer (B2) - Bored with her sister's game - and it ain't even started yet!

Lizzy (B3) - Tournament Game May 8th

Lizzy (B3) - First Communion May 7, 2005

Lizzy (B3)- First Communion May 7, 2005

Damn Dryer

Before I begin my rant, I'm taking a moment to congratulate Sandra Kring, author of Carry Me Home, who got some fantastic news from her editor:

Carry Me Home has been nominated for a 2005 MBA (Midwest Booksellers Association)Midwest Book Award

It has to win. It is an extraordinary piece of work. If you have not picked up this book, it is truly worthy of such an award . Run, don't walk, to your nearest bookstore and pick up your copy now.

Also, I picked this up from Martha O'Connor's blog. Check it out her profile piece here. Her book, The Bitch Posse is the read of the summer!

Now back to my regularly scheduled drivel:

It is my luck. Nothing breaks when my husband has time to fix it. He left this morning for a week and the barrel of the dryer refuses to turn. It probably needs a new belt but I don't think I want to take off the back of the dryer and fix it myself. I could but I don't want to!

So it's off to the Wal Mart at lunch time to purchase 3 or more of those convenient wooden racks to dry the clothes all week. Of course the load that is in the dryer as I type is sheets (king size, blech)! 4 kids, tons of sports this week and no dryer. Ahhhhhhhh!

I probably spent a total of 2 waking hours at the house this weekend. Friday night was the girl's outside dance recital. Saturday was 1 softball game at 9 am, 1 coach pitch game at 10 am, 1 little league at 2 pm and 1 softball practice and parent meeting at 2 pm at another field. Throw this on top on B3's first communion at 1:30 and what a rat race it becomes. But we did it! By 7 pm we were at another family's first communion party throwing back a few. We left around 9:30 but it was a great time.

Sunday was not much better as Hubby and B1 had to get up at 6 am to get to the Wachovia Championship. I was left with getting B3 back in her white dress and off to church by 9:30. MIL chose to drive herself and that was a great help.

After church we raced back home to get B3 out of her dress and into her softball uniform for the first of two games which began at 1 pm. I also had B2 and B4 in tow. B3 won their first game and had to play again at 4 pm. Hubby and B4 arrived in time for the 4 pm game.

B4 had plenty of little boys to play with and they got up a backyard baseball game on a vacant field. B2 was another story. Even though she plays only tournament ball, she was bored watching B3 play. "Welcome to our world," was all I said to her, as we spend many weekends doing nothing else but watching her play.

B3 looked beautiful in her little white dress and I do have some lovely pics I'll post as soon as I get a free moment.

B2 finally lost that darn tooth that had been hanging out the side of her mouth forever.

This weeks goals are set. I need to write ~5,600 words and finish through issue 89.

Blood on an Appalachian Sunset Stats:

108 issues total (170,620 words)
85 issues completed (139,089 words)
23 issues to go (31,531 words)
Issues written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 10
Words written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 17,335
Days with no Writers Forums: 19
Estimated Completion Date: Week of 6/27/2005

Well, I best get crackin'!

BK

Weekly Goal Achieved

I finished issue 84 of the serial last night and thus achieved my weekly goal of three issues (5,565 words). But I've found another problem with the serial. I have to write in buckets of nine issues and 103 does not divide evenly by 9 - DUH! So I can either shorten the serial to 99 issues (around 2,000 words per issue) or extend the serial to 108 issues (around 1400 words per issue). Right now I'm averaging 1,730 words per issue so I'm right in the middle. I suppose I'll just keep writing and see how it goes. I'll track by 108 issues because that's more likely to happen.

Blood on an Appalachian Sunset Stats:

108 issues total (170,620 words)
84 issues completed (137,320 words)
24 issues to go (33,300 words)
Issues written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 9
Words written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 15,566
Total Days with no Writers Forums: 16
Estimated Completion Date: Week of 6/27/2005

I was sadden to learn of the explosion at the UK Consolate in New York, but I'm really glad there was no injuries. I quickly checked the blogs of my writing friends who I know live in New York and thank goodness they all had entries for today.

Okay, I have to admit, I slipped into Backspace to read the Guest Speaker posts. An agent is on and I really enjoy their input. But then I perused through the news and found out Becky sold her book - uh who's Becky? Congratulations anyway.

Tonight B1 has a baseball game and it will probably be rained out. I'm torn because I don't want to have to play a makeup game but I'd love to sit and write tonight BEFORE 9:30 pm.

I still haven't tried the white communion dress on B3 or search for the white veiled barrett for her hair. B2's communion shoes are a size too small for B3 so I'll have to run out and purchase white shoes that she'll only wear once. I have to sew straps on B2's dance costume for Friday evening's dance performance. B2 and B3 both need new white tights and all B's need new socks and underwear. Ughhhh!

I won't even go into the choreographed chaos that is my weekend.

BK

Found It!

Disclaimer: I can't get the @!%! spaces to work in between paragraphs.

I've been searching and searching for a new title for my 3 book YA fiction series about the Civil War. Today I found it. On Jordan's Stormy Banks (I Stand). It is from a hymn that was penned by Samuel Stennett 1727 to 1795. There is a verse that fits the story perfectly:

No chilling winds or poisonous breath
can reach that healthful shore
sickness and sorrow, pain and death
are felt and feared no more.

I come home to find strange bottles of wine on my kitchen counter. Turns out that a friend of my neighbor makes wine as a hobby and lifted some pears from my tree last summer. Bottoms up!

Congratulations to my writer pal Casey. Not only does he have a poem (John Morgan's Cavalry) and a short story (The Package) in The Copperfield Review, he also got an agent.

Another MONKEYWRENCH: What I thought was going to be a nice evening at home yesterday, turned into another evening at the ballfield. My son forgot about a scrimmage game. My hubby volunteered to work the Wachovia Open (the bank we in the south call: "Walk All Over Ya!") and didn't get home until after 7:00 pm. So there I sat with my eyes watering and my nose a snottin'. Darn-good-for-nothing-allergy-pills!

I've decided on new monikers for the kids (less keystrokes):

B1 - Oldest son

B2 - Oldest daughter

B3 - Younger daughter

B4 - Youngest son

Tonight I get to go watch my B4 play coach pitch while my hubby takes B2 to practice and runs B3 to her game a few miles down the road. I suppose B1 will tag along with me.

I hope to polish up issue 84 before the day is over.

BK

The Monkey Wrench

Have ever planned your day and then something goes awry? That in a nutshell, is my life.

The girls had ballet at 4 pm. They would be done by 6 pm, so I planned to bring the laptop to get some writing done while they were in class and then run to the ballfield to catch the boys' baseball games which began at 6:30 pm. Sounds simple enough.

Well, that was until my youngest daughter gets in the truck and announces says, "Ashley says we have communion practice tonight." WHAAAT? My oldest daughter then proceeds to add to this chaos by saying, "I need the book Because of Winn Dixie for reading class. I'm the only one who hasn't got their book yet." Well, this is the first time I've heard about her needing this book and even though her timing stunk big time I cannot refuse a book.

So I get home, make a few phone calls and sure enough - Ashley was right. Not only is there communion practice at 6:30, but I also have to bring a flowering plant to put on the altar.

I raced to ballet and dropped off the girls, then to the Harris Teeter (grocery store chain that we just call "The Teeter") because they have the only ATM belonging to my bank (I refuse to pay fees) for five miles. I have no cash because I blew it all this weekend to buy the boys candy at the concession stand at the ballpark just to shut them up (it didn't work by the way). Luckily the Harris Teeter is right next to the Home Depot so I ran inside and grab a flowering plant on sale.

Then it's off to Target to get that book for my oldest daughter. And then . . . Heaven! I hadn't been in this Target for ages and low and behold - A STARBUCKS! So I walked out with the book and a Venti Regular.

Okay, now back over to the ballet place where I acutally got a whole hour of writing done. As we speed over to the church, my youngest daughter is whining because she has to do practice in her ballet clothes. Now, I don't make my girls were fru-fru dance clothes - just a leotard in the appropriate color for their class and yoga pants. Get over it! Well she didn't, and ended up wearing my red fleece LL Bean jacket I keep in the truck just because of this unpredictable weather.

So there I sit in the pew with all the other proud moms. They reminisce about their first communion and how things were done in the church back in the day. Well, one of them asked me. I had no answer, so I just replied, "Hey, I was raised by organic communal hippies and this is all Greek to me." Well, yeah I wanted a reaction and yeah, I got it.

You know how when you were in school and the cool girls were mad at you. They had this covert way of moving in close-shouldered and squeezing you backwards to where you found yourself outside the group altogether? Well, some things never change, except this time I didn't cry.

My oldest son came home around 8:20 pm to announce, "I had the best game ever!" My hubby confirmed it. Gosh-darn-it-all! My youngest son trudged up the steps holding his stomach.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"My tummy hurts."

"Were you eating grass in the outfield again?"

"No, I played catcher and third base."

I tossed him a TUM and ran his bath. Anyhow I managed to finish issue 83.

Blood on an Appalachian Sunset Stats:

103 issues total (166,835 words)
83 issues completed (135,335 words)
20 issues to go (31,500 words)
Issues written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 8
Words written since being "taken hostage" on 4/20/2005: 13,581
Total Days with no Writers Forums: 13
Estimated Completion Date: Week of 6/20/2005

I've been exceeding my goal word count of 1,500 words per issue and so I've been able to shave two issues off the end. I'm very happy about that.

I got two emails today from dear friends at my writers forums. To MJ and Terri, thanks for thinking of me and for the well wishes. They mean alot.

Well, the Income Tax Refund and my HP rebate check came in the mail yesterday, so it's off to the bank for me!

BK

A New Week . . .

I hate it when I wake up with a "hangover" even though the last time I drank any alcohol was Christmas. I blame it on the allergy medicine but I'm a big snot bubble without it. I suppose I'll just have to "suck it up."

So here I am with my head pounding and groggy, and I feel like I've only slept for 10 minutes. I've already drank my usual quota of 2 liters of water and I'm working on my third. I had at least five cups of coffee and my daily allotment of Tylenol.

I finished issue 82 of the serial over the weekend and put the last polishing touches on it this morning. I sent the editor the next nine issues of the serial and I hope her computer doesn't crash again.

I've written at least 500 words of issue 83. It is a very sad time in the story so I'll have to provide some comic relief. I'm excited about writing it. The girls have ballet today so I'll take the laptop and get two hours in before I head to the ballfield to catch the baseball games. Both boys have them.

Tonight, perhaps I'll polish issue 83 or perhaps I'll just turn in early.

BK