JJ Ellis: ALASKAN AMBUSH - EXCERPT CHAPTER 4

JJ Ellis: ALASKAN AMBUSH - EXCERPT CHAPTER 4:                     Olivia walked around his living room looking at some of his Alaskan trinkets. They were so rustic, so charming. There...

BLOG HOP SMILES

MILESTONE - A HARD PILL TO SWALLOW (PLUS A BONUS POST!)

Today I will give you two posts for the price of one...Okay for the space of one since you aren't paying to read this. Post 1 is a normal mom's adventures with kids post and Post 2 is an article I wrote for my writer's website JJ Ellis, Romance Author that delves into the mind of a writer. I have two other articles on that site too if you want to check them out (Courage was the first and Imperfections was the second)

POST 1
Okay, so I am big about milestones right?  I talk about them a lot (remember when I was all emotional because my little man preferred more grown up kids shows to Mickey Mouse?)  Well, it seems we have hit another one.

Allergy season is upon us - hardcore and since most allergy medications are over the counter we spend a fortune on them every couple of weeks.  The little one is doing well on zyrtec so she has her own bottle of liquid children's zyrtec and the only antihistamine that doesn't turn Mr. Insane into...well, Mr. Insane times 100 is Claritin so he and Miss Crazy have a bottle of liquid children's Claritin to share.  Then The Freshman decided she was tired of refusing her medicine and wanted to feel better so she needed something to take. (Zyrtec turns her into a crazy woman too). My pocket book started to ache along with my heart in watching my kids suffer.


So, The hubs and I came up with a plan.  The Claritin pills (age 6 and up) are tiny so why not see if Miss Crazy can take them. We get those at his work in bulk for cheap!. So Miss Crazy was given a try on her very first pill.  Could she swallow it? Would our experimental work?  YES!!! My baby girl is no longer a baby girl.  She is a big girl.  She can take pill forms of medicine. She is growing up, I am feeling old, this is an exciting day, I am feeling old, what a cool milestone, I am feeling old...yeah, you get the picture.  Once again this is one of those bittersweet milestones.  (I'm not even going to think about the fact that in 22 days I will be the mother of a high school graduate, and in 26 days the mother of a high school sophomore, a second grader and a kindergartner.)

So now I am happy/sad and my pocketbook is thrilled.  We can buy 400 pills really cheap for The Freshman and Miss Crazy to share and a small bottle of medicine will last Mr. Insane a long time as does the medicine we get for Little Butt.  See, there are advantages to your kids growing up!!!  Rejoice in it :)

Until Next Time...ENJOY LIFE :) There are a lot of benefits to our kids growing up and to us getting older. Embrace it or you might just drive yourself crazy. I have had to learn that lesson the hard way but I finally did. Yes, I get a bit teary eyed at milestones, but I no longer dwell on them to distraction.  There is too much fun to be had, too much life to live to dwell on how old my kids and I are getting.

POST 2

A few weeks after I published my first book, Virgin Voyage, I came to a realization that really stung, but in a way made so much sense. The story I had practically lived, and loved like a child, would never bring me reading pleasure like it did others.

In the first few weeks after publication I truly can not tell you how many times I read the book. I had this urge to see if it was a pleasurable, enjoyable read. I wanted to enjoy it (or hate it) the same way a stranger who purchased it would.

There were short periods of time where I could blank my world out and get caught up in Mari and Graham's, but my world always came crashing back in. (And I'm not talking about  my kids bother me or the phone ringing or someone knocking on the door)  You see, I can never not be the author of Virgin Voyage. I will always read it with a critical eye. 'Should I have done this, or written that, or left that out. Or will my readers enjoy this or that better.' Truthfully I just wanted to live in Mari
and Graham's finished world for fourteen chapters. I guess you could say that I was craving the ability to just be a reader to my book.

I couldn't help how I felt. I knew I shouldn't feel that way but I did. It almost felt like a betrayal to the characters. I created them, I loved them, I nurtured them,  I put them to paper and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But I couldn't experience them as they were meant to be enjoyed.

And then my first reviews started to come in. Not only on Amazon, but through people contacting me personally to tell me how much they loved the book. All of a sudden, everything I've mentioned above didn't seem to matter anymore. Friends, family and strangers were reading my book the way I wanted to, and I realized something, the whole reason I wrote the book in the first place was so people could live it, love it and enjoy it.  Low and behold, they actually were!!!!  I never betrayed Mari and Graham, I gave them a happy life, in more ways than one.

I know I will most likely have the same feelings about future books, but now I will know how to handle it - just sit back and wait, someone will enjoy it and tell me they did, and then
the world inside that book will be complete.

JJ Ellis: ALASKAN AMBUSH - EXCERPT CHAPTER 3

JJ Ellis: ALASKAN AMBUSH - EXCERPT CHAPTER 3:       It was seven a.m. on his first day of vacation when the phone rang, waking Alex from a deep sleep. Dreams had troubled him until about...

WHAT IF I FIX WHAT'S BROKEN?

So, what happens if I am not so broken anymore?  Does my writing career go downhill? Do I become less funny (looking?)? Do I lose my ability to write? Do I lose my ability to come up with blog ideas?  Do I lose my fans?

These are all things that have crossed my mind at some time or another because I always dream of finding out exactly what is wrong with my hips and getting it fixed.  Yes, I am broken in many other ways, but if I only had good hips I could function so so so so...much better!

I do research on hip disorders, bone diseases etc. all the time.  I have even done a bit about the pelvis because mine occasionally pops and after all I did have five children bearing down in it. And then, just by chance I came across some articles about asymmetrical pelvis problems and low and behold I think I finally got it!!!  My pelvis is so far out of whack it isn't even funny and it is causing many of my other problems.  Well Hell's Bell's why didn't I think of this sooner.

Now for the bad news.  It's going to take time and money to fix it.  I have lots of time, but absolutely no extra money yet. (Now if I sold 1,000,000 books... haha yeah.) Anyway, I decided to do some exercises that I saw on a website that is supposed to help.  Problem?  Yeah, I have to be able to get down on the floor to do them.  LMFAO yeah, right. Me? On the floor?  hahahahahahahahah.  Okay, once I stopped laughing I had to do something and then I remembered what an old doctor and an old chiropractor once told me.  They advised me to let gravity do the work.  So now I lay on the edge of the couch or bed on my side and let my top leg drop off and gravity slowly works things into the right place.  I have done it three or four times today and I do not feel anywhere near normal, but I really feel much better. (And since I am writing this the night before I publish it, we will have to see how the morning goes and see if I am sore as heck or not.) I am able to bend to my right while sitting, I was able to get up quickly with no pain twice today and I actually stood for five minutes straight without feeling sore, nerve pain, or tired.

So what is next.  More gravity work of course! And then once I am able to make it on the floor without the possibility of being stuck there forever, I will start the other exercises I found on that website.  I sure hope it works.  I want to be productive again, Yes, I will probably still have my foot problems so I won't be able to work a standing job and I will still have my migraines and sinus problems so there will be days when I am down for the count, but I will love being able to get three little ones in the car without aching for days afterwards or risking throwing my back out and not being able to get back inside. Heck I will be grateful to be able to get up and get my own drinks (My kids never put the right amount of ice in, you know?)

I do not know what the future will hold. I may someday become the formerly broken housewife and mom, or I may find that it will take more than just these stretches and exercises to get better, but one thing I do know is that I will still be me, deep down inside, no matter how broken I am or am not, I am still me - a mom, a housewife, a writer, a blogger.

Until Next Time...A lot of times I have thought that if circumstances change I will change, but that isn't always the case.  Outward things and ideas may change, but deep down inside you will always be you.

GERMS AND BUGS - AND WE THOUGHT OUR KIDS DIDN'T SHARE

Well we have reached that point again.  What point you may ask?  The point where Miss Crazy is at the age when life is all about lending, borrowing and sharing stuff with friends at school.  Now, I know we all tell our kids not to share drinks, brushes and other 'personal' things because of the possibilities of bugs and germs, but there are also the harmless things like Miss Crazy letting a friend wear her precious Hello Kitty ring until the last bell, or her friend lending her a bracelet until that same last bell - harmless stuff.

Now if you have a child that is perfect and does everything mom or dad says, I commend you for being a super parent.  But in my experience, THEY DO NOT LISTEN, especially about the 'personal' stuff. The senior came home with strep in third grade.  I asked her if she shared food or drink with anyone and she said no. I asked her again and she said no. Come to find out she and her best friend had swapped gum because they each didn't like the taste of the gum they had. SMDH.

I can't remember which kid it was, but one of them came home with lice. I asked them if they had shared a brush or hat with someone and they said no.  I asked again and they said no. Turns out they had swapped jackets with a friend and wore the hood.  (Although I am pretty sure this case of the nasty bug started elsewhere - here in Wyoming in the younger grades Jackets, hats and scarves are an absolute necessity and they are all kept in close proximity so those little suckers just jump on over to everyone) My point is, the little devils don't listen (kids and lice), they are sneaky little buggers that know every which way to get around the rules. ;)

Here are some of the excuses I've heard for blatantly not following the rules. But mom my hair was a mess and tangled.  I didn't want to look like a dork so I used  'so and so's' brush.  Or how about But mom, my head was cold and she had an extra hat in her locker. And then there is But mom I was so thirsty and my drink was gone so she shared hers. And of course being the smart ass I am my responses are - haven't you ever heard of using your fingers as a brush, well maybe next time you shouldn't lose your hat and haven't you ever heard of a water fountain.

But in the end, I have just kind of learned to go with the flow.  If something serious comes out, disease or bug wise, I will strictly enforce and punish for breaking the 'rules' but until then we just have to go with the flow. I can't be with my child 24/7 and I will never know everything they do when I'm not there.  But I now expect the occasional strep throat or lice outbreak or cold or stomach bug because it really is a part of life (x7 for our family :/) Remember, severe sore throat, a sore throat that doesn't go away quickly, or sore throat with a fever should always be looked at by a doctor!

Eventually the kids will develop their own sense of what is okay to share/borrow and that will be brought on by my constant nagging when they were younger. Although I know for girls, that special group of best friends doesn't seem to apply to the no share personal stuff rule because you know, they are immune. It doesn't matter if they are hacking up a lung, they are a best friend so it doesn't count. And the same applies to boyfriends (And if you are lucky you end up with a kid who thinks everything is gross and you don't have to go through any of this. Right?) Perhaps we should rejoice in the fact that our kids are actually sharing??? Or not. ;)

Until Next Time...As long as kids are allowed to roam free in public, whether at school, the mall, sports practices, dance lessons etc. they are going to come across some unsavory things and we as parents just kind of have to deal with it as it comes and keep reinforcing what is safe/safer/safest.  Most of them will get it eventually. Aside from reinforcing, just keep a box of lice treatment in the cabinet and the doctor's phone number in your phone and you are doing what needs to be done.

This Blog Hop is all about smiles! :)

FIVE AND A HALF MONTHS OF WONDERFUL!

So, this weekend we hit a huge milestone here at Adventures of a Broken Housewife (and Mom).  We hit 10,000 page views.  When I started this blog five and a half months ago, I thought I might see ten or so a day which would put us at about 1,650 page views. Here we are with 10,000+ and I couldn't be happier.

This blog has literally been a life saver for me. If I hadn't started this I don't think I would be much more than a shell sitting on the couch hurting my life away. (Well, I still sit on the couch hurting a lot, but I am much happier and not feeling as sorry for myself most days) This blog also got me off my butt and working on my novels again.  These novels are things I loved dearly and couldn't imagine not finishing, but somehow I kept avoiding it. Fear, kids, boredom, shyness all kept me from acting on my true desires. 

So Five and a half months ago I was a wreck, not knowing what I wanted to do with my life (besides being a mom), and now I am a self confident blogger and published author.  My life has changed for the better in so many ways.  I have met a bunch of great people, I have become confident, I am finally living the life I want (except for the money which still hasn't come in, and may never come in) without having to go out into the world and worry about not being able to do a good job in my career because of my physical limitations. I feel emotionally, and intellectually fulfilled for the first time in many years.  I always felt fulfilled with love and family because, well, I have a big family, but never in those other two areas. 

So what is next for me?  Well, I'm not sure if it will ever work, but I am determined to make a living at this blogging and authoring stuff!  Most of the places that provide ad revenue for blogs have requirements that I don't meet so I hope to eventually meet them. And as for my books.  I know people love them, I just have to get the reviews coming in to Amazon! Hopefully that will all fall into place with all of the social media hell I put myself through every single day! I also want to expand the blog and my writer's site to include author and  blogger interviews!  That will hopefully not only benefit me with page views, but the writers with publicity.  After all I studied public relations in college so it's about time I used it right?!?! And after that, I just hope to have fun doing what I love to do.  I have many more novels in my future and probably a few non-fiction titles too. 

Thank you all so much for all of your support.  I am so glad you enjoy what I do and I hope that you keep coming back to see what the future holds. If there is something you want to see here on the blog, do not hesitate to let me know MY EMAIL. Also if you are interested in being interviewed please let me know and we can arrange something.  I will be thinking up questions over the next week and then will start the interviews the week after.

Until Next Time...It might take awhile, but you will eventually find something you love to do, whether it is a career, a hobby or just something to take your mind off of things.  Work hard, have fun and live your dreams.

LIFE LESSONS - FOR MY CHILDREN, FOR EVERYONE

Lately, I have been in a lot of pain and pretty much feeling more useless than normal.  I feel like I have been holed up in a little cocoon more than usual lately. So when I am pretty much home bound, what do you think my favorite part of the day is? Any guesses?  My favorite parts of the day are after everyone is safely at school and it is just Mr. Crazy, Little Butt and myself.

 If Mr. Crazy hasn't had a run in with one of his bossy older sisters yet that morning he is an absolute angel and when he isn't playing games on the computer, playing fighting games in real life or playing with one of his multitude of toys, he will sit by me and snuggle with me.  Sometimes he even begs me to let him use my computer so he can sit by me while I write.  He is such a good kid....until others come home and then he can turn into the devil (we figure, he has a new audience to get attention from so he works it, just not in a positive way.  He knows that if he tries to cuddle them like he does me they will shoo him away but if he acts up they give him exactly what he wants - attention.) 

Little Butt is a complete snuggle bug. She likes to sit with me and play games on the Kindle Fire or listen to music on YouTube. And best of all she likes to rock - a - bye in the rocking chair.  That is her favorite thing to do ever. And she will only do it with me if her oldest sister isn't home. (Hey, it's not my fault she started calling Little Butt up on her lap to avoid doing chores and now she is stuck with a mini shaddow who has turned into a typical two year old screamer if she doesn't get what she wants - I know it's mean to say, but I told her so...You can't complain about something your brought on yourself)

So what is my least favorite part of the day?  When all of the kids are here and the fighting and complaining starts.  OMG it drives me nuts.  They fight over the stupidest stuff.  God forbid one of them has slightly more chores than the other that day or gets slightly more food on their plate at dinner.  And the littler ones like to fight about personal space issues.  So I have come up with a list of stuff that my kids need to learn so we can all live in peace together and enjoy each other more when live goes to shit. (And they are good lessons for the future too.  You can't live life complaining, whining, waiting on others or being in control at all times, or your life is going to be awful.)

1. Do not complain about stuff your bring on yourself.  If something you do has consequences  live with it and learn to deal with it. If you created a monster, you need to work on taming it, not making it worse because it annoys you.

2. Life is not fair, not always even.  If you did more chores for a few years, that does not mean that for the next ten the others have to do more than you! It all evens out in the end and all you have to do is what your parents tell you to do and we will all be fine. (Kind of insulting that they would think I would favor one over the other. :/)

3. Worry about yourself! Just because you are

working on a project/homework/chore does not mean the other person has to do it too, at the same time.  They will get theirs done or the will get into trouble. Worry about getting your own stuff done whether the other person is working or not.  

4. You don't have to be in control all of the time. You are children, enjoy it.  Do not always think you have to be in charge of everything because eventually someone is going to get sick of it and call you on it. People don't like to be dominated all the time. If you try to take over someones life, they are going to fight back eventually and the relationship is going to suffer greatly.

So what brought this line of thought on?  With all of the bad stuff going on lately - Boston, West, TX, N. Korea etc., I feel the need to find a way to make our lives better so we can enjoy the good times more and deal with the bad times easier when they come.  We never know when a day will be our last or when someone we love will see their last day, and regrets are really hard to live with.

Until Next Time... Hold your loved ones tight and don't make life so difficult. Enjoy your time together because you don't have forever. <3 Our hearts go out to those affected by the tragedies in Massachusetts and Texas.

THE IN-LAWS ARE COMING, THE IN-LAWS ARE COMING (AND VARIOUS OTHER PEOPLE TOO)

Just wanted to let you all know that I am not sure if this template will stay or not but it works for now.  I have problems with some templates triggering migraines for me lately so I am trying to find one that is perfect for my blog and that doesn't cause me problems.  Thanks for your patience! 

It is that time, we will be invaded by people from out of town very soon. The Senior is graduating and family and friends will be coming to see her. I don't have a problem with this because it is nice to see family and friends that you don't see often enough. (Besides they won't be here too terribly long and only my mom will be staying with us - if she can make it, so it's not like we will be put out in any way) What is my problem with this whole situation? Well, it is my house.


In my everyday life, I don't care if the kids friends, people we know, or others come over and the house is far from perfect. They know we have 5 kids for cripes sake and they know the house is going to look lived in. But for some strange reason, when people are coming from out of town I have this almost obsessive urge to make sure everything is perfect. I mean everything, the hard water stains in the toilet must be completely gone, every last fingerprint must be off of the walls and furniture and if there is any dirty spots on the couch and I can't have them cleaned, the couch covers come out. Every crumb must be vacuumed up and every single toy must be in it's proper place. (yes, i'm a very strange person, but you already knew that right?)


I have no clue why I have this obsession. People (especially family and close(out of town) friends know that I am physically limited and I have teenagers that can't be trusted, helping me out around the house properly. I don't think anyone expects my house to be perfect because of our circumstances. WAIT, STOP, HOLD UP!!! I think that's it. They don't expect my world to be perfect because we are poor and live in the boonies and I am a decrepit old lady and my kids suck at chores and I want to prove them wrong! Holy cow why didn't I see this sooner. (I tell ya, this blog is so flippin therapeutic it's not even funny!) Anyway, yeah, I just want to prove to them that no matter what our circumstances we can be great too. And I think to do that I have to go way overboard. Yep, that's me - my middle name should be overboard (but then I would be JO Ellis and it just isn't quite as catchy as JJ Ellis)


So now that I've made this revelation, can I just sit back and relax and let my house be sanitary but lived in? OH HELL NO! Not gonna happen. We are going to bust our butts over the next month to make sure the house, cars and yard are perfect for when they visit. I know I shouldn't, but I feel like I have something to prove to people who mean the most of me. Kind of warped huh? I just can't not do it, I am a woman possessed in this case.
Until Next Time...Do not follow my lead. You have nothing to prove to anyone. Go about your normal day and most likely your family and friends will love you just the way you are. If they can't accept who you really are, then maybe they aren't as close as you thought they were.


NOTE: NOTE: NOTE: NOTE: The title in no way implies that I have a problem with my in-laws and I am not stressed mostly about them. I stress about all people equally! And admit it the title catches your interest better than any of the others I could have come up with. It just sounded better than the family is coming the family is coming or the friends are coming the friends are coming, you know, because a lot of people stress about their in-laws <3 you John and Alberta and we can't wait to see you again! Hard to believe it has been almost a year! :) (not that they will ever see this unless I put it in my next book because they don't have internet :'( ) Anyway, carry on!

LET THE FIGHTS (AND LAUGHS) BEGIN!!!

First, some business to take care of. If you want easier access to my favorite blogs you can pick up my book Until Next Time...The Blogging Adventures of  a Broken Housewife. Just follow the link 6.99 for paperback and .99 cents on kindle

Second, if you have bought one of my books whether it be the blog book or my romance novel, please, when you are done with it head on over to Amazon and leave a review!  That is how us indie authors survive in this business. Thank you so much for your support! :)
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Do you have those moments when your kids do something and you just want to laugh but it just wouldn't be appropriate. You know the times when one does something to another that is 'bad' and instead of laughing you must punish the offender. Of course with five kids we have a lot of that.

Do I always succeed at not laughing? No! But I sure do try (I really do, just ask anyone) But you know, sometimes it is hard not to laugh. Really, really, really, really hard. Okay, so sometimes it's just damn impossible.

The first time a child cusses is a prime example. But some recent episodes in our house go like this :
Un named sibling: Wah wah whine whine tantrum tantrum
Little Butt: Sut up now!Un named sibling: You shut up
Little Butt: SUT UP!!!!!!!! Screech

I didn't laugh at this one, but I sure wanted to. The rule in our house is that we don't say shut up to each other because I am sick and tired of my kids being rude to each other. (and yes, both kids were properly reprimanded)
Another instance - and of course you know this has to be a really bad one that I couldn't help but let a laugh burst out the first time so it has become a regular problem.
Mr. Insane: Go away Little Butt.
Little Butt: Pay me brubber (play with me brother)
Mr. Insane: GO AWAY I DON'T WANT TO PLAY WITH YOU (yelled and getting right up in her face)
Little Butt: {{{smack!}}} right on his cheek.
Mr. Insane: Mom Little Butt hit me!
Little Butt: {{{smack}}} on the leg and run away
Mr. Insane: Tears and screeches Aaaah aaaaah she's hurting me.
Little Butt: Runs back to brubber and {{{smack}}} on the leg.
If we don't seperate them, they could do this over and over for hours. But of course we don't want Little Butt to develop a habit of hitting even if she just thinks it is a fun game that brubber is playing with her.


Okay, so the first time this happened, before I knew what was going on I laughed (hangs head in shame) But really, when people get angry and all up in your face don't you at least have a little bit of a fantasy of smacking them? And when someone has the 'balls' to do it, it kind of hits your funny bone (besides, a little girl making a big boy cry like a baby is just well....funny (Okay, maybe i'm warped, but I know some of you out there find it funny too!). You do know that once that first laugh comes out, the two year old is going to think it is okay and that you are encouraging him/her to play the new 'game' with their sibling.


Well shit. I've done it again, I've totally warped one of my children. (Okay, I know it would have happened anyway, but still.) So we do the calm talking to her thing, the no you don't hit thing, the redirection thing. It works...eventually. In the mean time my poor baby boy is traumatized by being beat up (she doesn't hit that hard really, but he is a drama queen and I love him very much) by his baby sister. Alright, alright he probably isn't really traumatized because he just likes the attention, but still, I don't want him thinking that I enjoy watching his little sister get back at him for all of the sibling torture he puts her through. (Shut up! Don't even say it!) At least he knows that he isn't allowed to hit his baby sister right?


Okay so now that we've got a handle on that problem (I think, otherwise they are going to end up beating the shit out of each other by the time they are 7 and 10) we can move on to the next one. Hopefully it is a lighthearted as this one because I hate it when those occasional serious problems crop up.
Until Next Time...When you have one of those parent moments where you say to yourself 'shit, I shouldn't have done that because now my kid is going to be a no good delinquent', don't stress yourself over it so much. It is fixable! You just have to patient, calm and consistent. And in the meantime, enjoy the laugh at the expense of your children because goodness knows they will be getting many at your expense through the years. ;)

DEHYDRATED

I think I have made a discovery about something that has been going on for years.  I have suffered with dehydration for as long as I can remember. I have never been able to drink much (well maybe when I was really little).  If I drink too much whether in one sitting or throughout the day I feel sick. Sometimes just taking one little sip makes me feel way too full (even though I'm not) and I get nauseous. So, I solved that problem by drinking only what I could handle (day to day) and playing make up and feeling like crap (once every couple of weeks)  I guess you could say I've pretty much lived my life dehydrated.

[[[And yes I do realize that some of my other problems might not be quite as bad if I cold be hydrated.  But then I know the problems wouldn't go away completely because there are times (when giving birth) that I am super hydrated and have the same problems just a bit less]]].

So what is the problem you might be asking?  GERD - simple as that. Gastroesophageal reflux disease

When I was pregnant the last time (with Little Butt) I had acid that almost drove me to quit eating and I was getting physically sick for a lot more than just typical 'morning sickness'.  My doctor asked me my symptoms and if I had any before the pregnancy.  I told her of every digestive problem I've had since I was a child.  She told me it was GERD and gave me some super prescription strength acid reflux meds. They kind of worked, although pregnancy complicated the situation. I was able to eat and nourish my baby and not completely dehydrate.  I was good.  Well, after I had the baby the acid was barely noticeable again (heartburn isn't always the foremost symptom of GERD). So guess what I did?  Yep, I stopped taking my medication.  I could deal with the occasional tummy problem again, it was no big deal and it was nowhere near as excruciating as when I was pregnant.

And then comes the other day.  I'd been having problems with a bad flareup and I just couldn't drink.  I literally got so dehydrated that my body started to seize up and my muscles started to cramp. It was bad.  I seriously started to think I was going to have to do the one thing I've dreaded and feared my whole life - go to the hospital to be rehydrated.  The last couple of days I have been able to re hydrate myself a bit and am feeling much better.  My plan now is to (even though I will feel like crud times two) overload myself and get completely hydrated and start back on the refux meds.  Thankfully they are available over the counter (I just hope not too expensive).

So now I have a plan of action!  It will be a pain having to take the medication at certain times before I eat, especially with 6 other people in the house who like to be able to eat on a whim.  But I am so scared of ending up in the hospital with dehydration that I will live with a bit of inconvenience.

Until Next Time...If you have something that needs medication by all means take it! It was prescribed or recommended for a reason.  Don't stop just because you are feeling better!  That is a big mistake that a lot of us make. You never know when it might benefit you in more ways than one.

MOVING ON? MAYBE, SOME DAY!

First a quick update. It did snow here...a lot.  (The pictures are about eight hours before the storm ended so we had more than what is pictured) Over a foot I'm sure. And visibility was awful off and on throughout the storm.  And the local school district did...NOT call off school.  Every other district in the area did. I think I've just about had it.  I think I'm done.  Not only does the district not care about people's safety, the city of Casper doesn't either. Ya'll should come see how wonderfully and safely the roads are plowed.  Oh my! I am one seething mama right now. I kept my kids home (although the Senior decided to go ahead and get a ride with her boyfriend). I was not risking my life or that of my two youngest to get the older ones to and from school on a day where everyone else  in this part of the state didn't have to go. Today they had to go back though and The Shooter was back to work so I had to take them out and about. I thought for sure it would be easy because there had been plenty of time to plow the roads. Yeah right!  I forgot this is Casper we're talking about. :/ Make sure to read the blog before this one if you want to find out all about our wonderful school district.  Spring should be back soon right?  We are expecting snow over the next couple of days.  Sigh....Spring wherefore art thou.

So on with today's show.

Are you happy with where you live? I was happy in Nevada, except I wasn't healthy. I was happy in Evanston, but the money and providing for our larger family called us elsewhere, and unfortunately that turned out to be a bust. So now we are stuck here. I want out, off and on, depending on what is happening in my life and the world. Right now I am in one of those major I want the hell out of here stages. This time though I'm afraid it might not go away.  Now, let me make a note that when it does go away it doesn't mean I enjoy living here, it just means that I have accepted how things are and am somewhat content.

What happens if this feeling doesn't go away? I will either have to do something about it or be unhappy.  Well, ever since I started writing and publishing I have been extremely happy and I'm not giving that up! So I guess I will have to do something about it right?  It wouldn't be easy leaving here because I would be leaving the Senior behind with her friends and her college, but she's growing up and would be fine on her own if it came down to that.  Now, the question would be, where to move to and how long would it take to save the money to move.  I guess a lot depends on the amounts of our yearly tax refunds, the amount of money my books make (after repaying initial investment) and what is going on with the hubby's job. Ideally the thing to do would be for him to stay with the same company he's with (even though in my opinion they leave a lot to be desired) and transfer within the company.

As for finding a place to live, I have a few ideas but don't know if we could afford to live in any of those places.  We have it good here in Wyoming as far as cost of living goes. We are some of the luckiest in the country when it comes to that.

There is a lot to think about when it comes to moving.  Do you hire movers or move yourself (I can't drive distances so it is really hard for us to rent a truck and move ourselves without the help of another driver.) You need to find a house to either rent or buy (when our credit was messed up because our business caught fire it has taken us a long time to come out of it.  It still isn't great but it is getting better every day!) There are a lot of initial start up fees to think about too; hooking up  utilities, deposits, school fees, etc. So how much money would be needed to move? I have no flippin clue and it is hard to estimate, but i'm guessing somewhere between 7 and 10,000 for our family.

So okay, it might be a long ass time before we can move, but believe me dreaming about it helps! If it takes us 2 years or 5 years to get the hell out of here, I can always plan and dream and plan some more...and then dream even more. I've been doing it for the last 4.5 years so why not so it some more right? FYI choices of places to move right at this moment - Seattle area, Ketchikan, AK, Sequim, WA. I guess we will see what the future will bring. Someday you may be getting blogs from Alaska, Washington, or somewhere totally surprising! They say the grass isn't always greener in a new place, but it sure might be happier. I might never get to move away from here, but until I know for sure I will make the best of living here and I will try my hardest to make it a happy life for me and my family. If I do get to move, that is just icing on the cake :D

Until Next Time...IF you aren't happy then you have to be willing to at least TRY to do something about it. You might not always be able to afford or to manage making a change in your life, but as long as you acknowledge it and make the best of what you
already have, you will be happy.

APRIL (SNOW) SHOWERS

You know, sometimes I wonder why in the heck we moved to Wyoming  9 years ago.  (See my blog We Be Hicks) On April 6th is was exactly 9 years since we pulled up in front of our new home 505 miles from our old one. When it is summer and the temps are in the high seventies and low eighties I am loving my life here (i.e. I'm not getting physically sick because of the heat). When I walk outside in October and I don't sweat and I actually breathe in cool, clean, fresh air, yeah those are the times I love it.  But when I woke up this morning and checked the weather I was like "why the f#$% did I move to this godforsaken place? Why? Why? Why? :'(  You see, the weather forecast says snow today and tomorrow - winter storm warning. This in and of itself is not unusual. It happens, usually this time of year it melts quickly and the roads stay clear because we've had a few days in a row of sixty degree temps.  So what did it say today that made me react so differently?  13-16 inches of flippin' snow!!!  What the heck, we rarely get that much snow in one time during the middle of winter!!!! Why in April are we getting a foot of flippin snow when my kids have finally started to get outside and leave me the hell alone to get to go outside and play a bit?

And when I read that we were getting strong winds with it, I almost cried some more.  I hate the wind. I've always hated the wind. I will never like the wind. I was almost crushed by a shed when I was a kid because the wind picked it up and brought it towards me (then thankfully changed direction and blew it back). And what happens when you mix wind and snow - blizzard like conditions. And then I remembered that the hubs has these two days off so at least I wouldn't have to drive in that shiz alone. But still people, come on, it is April and I want spring.

The only good thing I can see coming out of this is that maybe it will tramp the allergens back down for a few days and my poor family can get a break. Maybe. Little Butt and The Senior have both been sick from all of the blasted weather changes and allergens and wind. We need a break here right?!?!

So, we went to the store and stocked up on everything we might need to last us through a possibly big storm and now we are just waiting for it to start. I'm sure the kids will have to go to school tomorrow even if there is a foot of snow on the ground and blizzard like conditions (my kids don't need visibility to cross a somewhat major street to get to the bus stop!) You see, if our district has too many inclement weather days the football players would have to miss the private football camp they are sent to every year and God forbid that would happen. Who cares if parents and students aren't safe certainly not the Natrona County School District #1!!! Sports always must come before safety and academics right?  Wow, I've been kinda sitting on that piece of info for years and it feels

good to shout it out from the roof tops!!! (or the blog tops).

So, what is my point in today's babble?  I really don't have one.  I just wanted to write about things that have bugged me recently so I thought since it was all related to the weather, I would give it a go. :)

Until Next Time...????? Enjoy the good weather when you've got it?  Yeah, that's it.  I'll have something more thought provoking next time.  <3 and love to you all!

PROUD TO BE ME

I'm not sure if I will watch TV just for me ever again. (At least not regularly) No more House Hunters marathons, No more Criminal Minds every Wednesday, No more sit in front of the TV September nights to catch all of the new shows.  I will never know what people are talking about when they rave over The Walking Dead or one of the many other shows that are plastered all over Facebook. (And I can't remember the names of at the moment)

I do watch a lot of TV though...a lot of kids TV.  I enjoy me some Mickey Mouse, Pooh Bear, Neverland Pirates and Doc McStuffins!  And I do have favorite shows.  I thoroughly enjoy Kickin' It on Disny XD and I even watched a marathon the other day. You should have seen how excited I got when I found out that one of the actors on that show is the real life brother of "Rico" from Hannah Montana  (And yes, I was also an avid Hannah Montana watcher. You couldn't have torn me away from the series finale for all the money ice cream in the world) And the other night when the new season of Kickin It started...the kids and I were front and center. Good Luck Charlie is also a favorite, how can I not love a show about a crazy family with five kids? haha.

One of my favorite older shows, that we watch a lot,
is Suite Life of Zack and Cody. And of course there is always Wizards of Waverly Place and half a dozen or more shows. I also have a soft spot for Victorious whenever I'm in the mood for musical television.

You see, we have two TV's in the house, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom.  I guess I could lock myself up in my room and watch what in the hell I wanted, but first of all I hate being confined to one closed in room. Second, The Shooter likes to stay in the bedroom during his free time and he usually goes to bed much earlier than me so that leaves out watching what I want to watch, when I want to watch it (I love watching TV most in the evenings/night). Third, I always feel a bit like I am not able to do as much for my kids as other parents so I LIKE being in the living room with them while I relax, or work on my novels. (Don't get me wrong, there are times when I would kill -not literally- to have alone time.)

So when we are out front in the living room, the kids rule the TV and not usually because I don't want to hear them bitchin and moanin about not being able to watch their shows, but because most of the shows I like (except house hunters) aren't appropriate for the younger three.  And these are all of the reasons why I have become a children's TV fan. I either like what is on or I suffer miserably with no entertainment in my life (except my wonderful blog fans and facebook ;p). I'm a Disney and a Nickelodeon fan and I don't care who knows it!!!! :D

Until Next Time...The main lesson I wanted to teach with this blog is to not be ashamed of your likes and dislikes.  You will always run into haters who make fun of or hate what you adore, but you just have to ignore them and like what you want to. We are all individuals and have our own likes and dislikes and those who can't accept that are the ones with the problem, not us 'fans' who enjoy what we do/watch/take part in.

SENIOR PROM

It is prom time here and this will be the last chance for The Senior to go to one.  But she really isn't interested in going.  A lot of people give her flack about not wanting to go, they say she will regret it when she is older.  I told her to follow her heart and do what she wants. What is true for one person isn't true for others.

I never went to prom and I don't regret it one bit. I never sat there wondering what could have been.  To me prom seemed to be somewhat of an overwhelming  prospect. Perfect dresses, dinner plans, so much money, being in a crowded gym that was beautifully decorated but still a gym. So much to do and plan, so many expectations to live up to when I just wasn't interested at the time. I did often wonder if I would someday regret it, but it is now twenty-four years later and I'm not too upset at all. 

I think the reasons for not wanting to go to prom have changed in some ways over the years, and not changed in others. I know for The Senior, a big reason for not going is how the kids dance nowadays. Let's just say, from what I've been told, these kids put dirty dancing to shame! And the school can't seem to get a handle on it. They have a plan in place where the kids get two wrist bands and if you get caught once you lose a wrist band and have a 'time out' and then if you get caught again, you lose the last wrist band and get kicked out.  Ummm when I was in school you got caught doing something like that once and you were gone and on in-school suspension for three days. Period. End of damn story.  So, not only were you out the money you spent on your date, but you also got to spend the next three school days looking at the inside of a cubicle in the suspension room. Needless to say, there wasn't much misbehavior at our school dances. 

There are also the usual social reasons for not wanting to go that haven't changed over the years. Will my dress be pretty enough? Can we afford to do all of the fun stuff that other kids are doing, do I know my date well enough to know that he/she isn't going to try to get something I'm not ready to give up? Am I a good enough dancer. Do I have the courage to ask someone to go to the dance with me?  

Well, for the Senior there would be no problem getting her a dress because we had just had our tax refund and they have a great consignment type shop here that carries all of the latest styles of dresses and is affordable and if worse comes to worst, the school nurse keeps a stash to lend out for free (and they are very nice dresses) We could also come up with some extra spending money for stuff if we had to and her boyfriend would definitely make sure she had a great time. That brings us to the other problem some kids have, asking someone to the prom.  Because she has a steady boyfriend, she would have a ready made date whom she trusts and shares moral views with (as a mom I sure hope that is true right!?!?). She might be worried about whether she is a good dancer, but I don't think that is at the top of her worry list and if she wanted to there are always dance lessons offered by the school (another effort to try to clamp down on dirty dancing).  

But once she thought about it and sat down with her boyfriend and discussed it, she decided that prom just wasn't for her. It was not one of those things she wanted to do.  Why couldn't she and her boyfriend go out to dinner, hang out with friends before they head to prom, and maybe take in a movie or some other activity like that. And they can still make it a special date to remember just as a prom is for some. (Although she didn't ask if she could do this, she just told me she was going to and that could have been bad, because I could have been mean mommy and said no. But I might just give her a break this time because after all senior prom night only comes once...even if you aren't going to prom.) 

I am so proud that The Senior didn't let her friends talk her into doing something she just really didn't want to do. Something that would have been a waste of money and resources and would have been a very uncomfortable situation for her and her date. If you want to go, then do it, and make sure you have a wonderful memory filled night to remember, but if you don't want to go, don't sweat it! Even if all you do is stay home and read a book, that is fine because it was a choice that you made.  Be proud of that!  

And to cover all bases, for those who truly can't afford it, or can't find a date, don't regret it because it isn't the end of the world.  Prom is what you make it. If you know you don't have a date or can't afford to go, turn prom into something that just isn't for you. Be positive about your feelings and never regret a thing you've done. 

Until Next Time...Don't let people pressure you into doing something you don't want to do! Do what you feel is right. And if you can't do something you wanted to, don't regret it, there are far more important things to worry about in life. 

STRUGGLES WITH IMPERFECTION

So, over the last week I've been struggling with something that i just had to share as I think a lot of people struggle with it. IMPERFECTION.  I have learned to live with it in my house, with physical limitations and five kids there is no way I am ever going to keep my house perfect. I get it. I really do.  I've accepted it (for the most part). There will always be a dish not washed, clothes not washed/folded, toys not put away and dirt tracked through the house. (Unless of course I hire a maid to live in and follow the kids around with her cleaning supplies. Hmmm, wish I could afford that!)

My most recent struggle with imperfection came last week with my book Virgin Voyage. I finally got down to doing more than just skimming and reading my favorite parts. I was absolutely mortified to see that somehow my group of five people missed 15 mistakes in the Proof (me being one of them :/).  Things like know instead of known, child instead of children, improper indents that were made while formatting the book for publication, stray punctuation, improper punctuation.  Really really mortified!!!  (Not to mention the formatting issues of my Kindle copy that DID NOT show up on the preview I did before publication)

I had people tell me that I should just forget it and move on 15 mistakes in 312 pages wasn't bad. I had them tell me to just apologize and move on.  I tried, I really did. But I just couldn't ignore it or move on.  It haunted me, awake and asleep.  I had something that I loved so much, that was flawed, out and about and people were reading it.  After a few days, I just couldn't take it anymore I had to do something about it.  So I did.

I had been told that you couldn't re submit it once published but I did some research and found out that in fact you could. So this weekend I re uploaded my work for both the paperback and kindle versions. (I had a perfect copy already so I'm thinking that I uploaded the wrong copy or they used one of the previous copies I had uploaded when trying to make formatting perfect) I learned that if you upload a version and it needs corrections, to completely close out your browser and reopen it before uploading a new copy. So, anyway, I uploaded and republished my book without mistakes.  The preview of the Kindle showed it being perfect so if I notice on the actual Kindle that it isn't i'm going to be one upset mama. I ok'd the proof of the book this morning and am very happy with how it turned out.

I can not tell you how much better I feel now that I know that the product out there is as close to perfect as I could get it. A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.  Much of the depression I had been feeling is gone. (read my blog from Friday about my Depression). It is amazing how something can bother you so much, but when you really sit down and think about it, the solution is easy.  Do whatever you have in your power to fix it. My book was off the market for awhile and that could have hurt sales (haha not really with me, because no one has reviewed my book yet so I don't have an abundance of sales although my free weekend was amazing!) and it was a lot of work to make sure everything was perfect.  But the peace of mind I now have is indescribable. I wouldn't change it for the world.  I don't feel like a pretender anymore, I feel like a real author!!!

Until Next Time...If you want something to be perfect, then do whatever you have to do to make it that way, whether it be the first time or the tenth.  If you are not satisfied, try try try again until it is. Don't settle for second best just because it is easier!