Hermit weekend

This year for the 4th, I've decided to be a recluse. Why you ask? (you were thinking it) It's not that I
have anything against our country, or our independence. I like independence. Here's the thing: 1) I'm not really into crowds. Never have been, never will be. 2) I like fireworks and all, but to watch a public display here in Tacoma is like getting through a labyrinth. 3) I've never really had that 4th of July "tradition". Meaning, most of my friends and family have had their things they do set it place for eons. I was married for 18 years and we really just kind of winged it every year, so now that I'm single, I don't have a "thing" I do every 4th.

Put all those things together and when the 4th came around, I was kind of like, "meh." My bosses gave us today, Friday, off, so I decided to have myself a little staycation to catch up on all the stuff I'd put aside while I was working on my major marketing presentation for said day job. So, this is what I have planned:

• Deep clean the house. Seriously, my house is totally disgusting
• Shop for a new washing machine. I've been going to my parents house to do laundry for like a month now and I'm over it.
• Put together furniture that has been sitting in my garage for a year. Seriously.
• Frame prints a friend gave me over a year ago and find a more prominent spot to display them. I had them sitting on a window ledge, but they need to be in a better place.
• Print out pictures to fill frames that have been sitting on my mantel for 6 months. 
• Load music on iPod. I've had a gift card in my purse for about two months. This also include getting my besties country music OFF my iPod that inadvertently got synched on. I had it playing yesterday and wanted to tear my ears off.
• Walk the bridge. I slept through kickboxing this morning.
• Weed. Yeah, I have lots of weeding to do.
• Find all the typos in Dissected. Yep.
• Work on publishing house website. I'd like to get this done before the book come out.
  
• Find a box and finally put away those Cinco de Mayo decorations that have been sitting in my living room for two months.
• Handily avoid my children. Now, don't act like that. I love my children, but it's their dad's week. However, whenever they're with their dad, they always come over and end up staying for hours eating my food and messing up my house that I'd more than likely just cleaned. I told them about my hermit weekend and that the house was off-limits. Of course Thing Two already tried to come over last night with nine of her closest friends for a sleep over. I was like, "uh uh, no way." She was not pleased.
•  Find workout shorts that don't threaten to fall down revealing me in all my glory during kickboxing. Seriously, I don't know what it is. I guess I just have a weird body shape. I fear if I go down another size they will be so form fitting I won't be leaving much to the imagination. My body is shaped weird. Or maybe it's just that I have curves and usually what fits my hips falls off my waist. Who knows? I'm an anomaly.
• Organize my cupboards. Kind of. Not spending a lot of time on this one.
• Clean my office. You would think this would go along with cleaning the house, but my office is a whole 'nother dimension. I would take a picture and post, but honestly, it's too embarrassing. Imagine stacks of paperwork, computer programs, manuscripts, newspaper articles, book swag, office supplies...and I mean stacks and stacks and stacks and stacks.
• Write. I want to work on my contemporary. Because I love it.

I think that's it for the list. Enjoy your Friday, here are my Scribbles.

Next Pandora song (Imagine Dragons station):

Book of the Week: Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler

Netflix of the Week: Jeff, Who Lives at Home. Indie Flick with Jason Segel and Ed Helms. I really liked it.

Quote of the Week: The writer is either a practicing recluse or a delinquent, guilt-ridden one; or both. Usually both. ~ Susan Sontag

Monkey Madness Monday

He's not a real monkey, but I love sock monkeys too. 

I know, I know, I didn't blog Friday and you missed me terribly.  Sorry.  After almost a week of traveling for the day job, I suddenly had to prepare a visual presentation of what I learned for our firm retreat which was Thursday and Friday.

So Tuesday and Wednesday I hurriedly prepared outlines and a Powerpoint presentation, then first thing Thursday morning we were off to Leavenworth.  The quaint German town here in Washington, not the prison.

Busy weekend and  now here I am.  Independence day has mostly been my least favorite holiday.  People eat and drink to oblivion, it's normally crappy weather here in the PNW (today is beautiful though, hell must have frozen over).  And then those drunk people light off fireworks.  Whoever thought THAT was a good idea should have been bitch slapped.

While I was married (did I mention my divorce finally went through?) we'd go to the ocean and light our fireworks on July 5th when the beach looked like a garbage dump, but was mostly empty, me not being one for crowds, or obnoxious drunk people, or getting hit in the back of the head with a bottle rocket.

My kids are at the lake with friends and when they get home, they go to their dads.  Today I'm spending it with a "friend" and his kids.  I have no idea what we're doing.  Probably just hanging in the backyard, bbqing, letting the kids swim (I got an above ground pool on the cheap) and catching some fireworks.

I'm wishing you all a happy Independence Day.  Be safe, be sane, and don't blow your arm off.

We didn't blow our arms off...

We had a safe and fairly sane holiday weekend.  It was mostly devoid of sun, but of course it usually is here in the beautiful but gray and wet Pacific Northwest.

The girls and I came to the beach Thursday afternoon.  Traffic was fine, and the drive was okay except for the fact it was raining and rain + car = tired Megan.  But we arrived without incident, got settled then I took the girls our for dinner, and luckily their tastes still border on the simple, so they did not break the bank.  That night we had a mini 80's film fest with The Outsiders and Pretty In Pink, which I thought the girls would like since they had gotten into 16 Candles, Breakfast Club, and The Heathers (girls after my own heart)  They preferred the latter to the former and I'd forgotten how cute those boys were and how I was so in love with every one of them, especially C. Thomas Howell, Rob Lowe, and Emilio Estevez.

On Friday took them to see Eclipse, and since it was my favorite book of the series it only makes sense it was my favorite movie.  Taylor Lautner's abs were the star of the show and it didn't suck (haha, get it? Suck?) to look at the new vamp, Riley.  When we came out of the movie, the sun had miraculously decided to show itself so we hung out in the back yard, played badminton, and I bbq'd us some chicken, and it was good.

Friday night my sister and her kids came and we just chilled while watching Lords of Dogtown.  Which of course is the only way to watch Lords of Dogtown, if you're not chill, forget it.  Great movie btw, and I love Emil Hirsch and of course the late Heath Ledger.

Shopped around and laid in the sun all day Saturday.  Got the kids some pizza and my sister, her mother in law and I hit the casino.  Starship was playing (suddenly belts out *Jane, Jane, Jane!*).  We lasted about five songs as the wind was kicking and a glass of wine and Lobstermania slots were calling my name.  I dropped a $20 and it was good.

Then the grand finale, July 4th, the weather was crappy, like I said.  We just chilled, I made my famous (okay it's really Rachael Ray's) pesto pasta salad, we pretty much ate all day, bbq'd (I grilled the perfect hot dogs) then hit the beach for fireworks.  It was freezing, Thing Two and my nephew pretty much blew everything up while the rest of us bundled up in blankies or sat in our cars, and as soon as they were done, we were out of there.  I could not stay up for one more minute, so hit the hay.

Today me and the girls and whoever else wants to join us will take some garbage bags to the beach and help clean up.  Because sad as it is, people leave their trash for the tide.  Dead fireworks, bottles, cans, food wrappers.  We did the same thing last year.  It's a good lesson for the kids and we're doing our part, if only a little.

Hope you all had a great holiday.  I know I did.


Ciao,

Megan

Apologies

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, but sometimes life gets in the way of your plans, and it's easier to put things on the back burner than make yourself crazy trying to do it all.



We now bring you back to your regularly scheduled blog.



No, seriously, here is the condensed version of the previous top four, which was cut short at two.



Colors that affect my moods:



#3 Blue. Blue to me brings peace and happiness. It always gives me this serene feeling as if everything is good in the world.



#4 Black. I know black has negative connotations to some, but it's quite the opposite for me. Black is my favorite color. It's my creativity, my life, my love, my clarity. Not to mention it's slimming effect ;)



So, as you can see I've been busy. My husband and I hosted a wedding for his sister. It turned out very nice. I will never host a wedding again. ;)



Then we took a much needed vacation to the ocean, but for some reason, I still feel like I need a vacation. That week we celebrated our 15th anniversary, our country's freedom, and just played and bbq'd, soaked in some rays, and had a good time.



Last weekend some friends came into town and we got together for a day in Seattle and bbq. A writer I had met through the ABNA contest and his family. I was happy to meet them, but it saddened me in a way, knowing that many of these friendships I've made will be nothing more than virtual, although I long for them to be more. More tangible, more three dimensional. For me it's a bit heartbreaking, yet it's worth it, these friendships, they hold great meaning for me.



Okay, that's it. I'll probably just rant and rave for the rest of the week, and get back to the top four next week.



Kisses



:*



Megan