merry

I have two books to return to the library today. The latest in the Outlander series and the latest in the Merry Gentry series. I'm a reading  machine right now!

While I haven't always enjoyed each and every book from Laurell K Hamilton, I did like this latest book in her Merry Gentry series. Merry is a real faerie princess, complete with magical powers and now three babies. Yes, three. Yes, by three different fathers. Faerie biology is quite different, you know.

Nothing is resolved in this novel. The political upheaval and struggles Merry faces are all still there and she is coping with some serious postpartum stuff, but the arrival of the triplets does focus things in many ways. She has a lot to protect now, as do the men in her life.

Tuesday has arrived and tonight I have a commitment to attend a Meet and Greet for the candidate I'm helping. So, I will be off to that for a few hours after I get home from work.

Enjoy the day!

book eight

Book eight of the Outlander saga is my 43rd book for the year. Yippee! I know I will reach my reading goal and with some unexpected quiet time on my hands, may exceed it.

"Written In My Own Heart's Blood" was just as good a story as any of the other stories Diana Gabaldon has shared with us. Now that Outlander has been made into a miniseries on Starz, a new generation of Jamie and Claire fans will discover the magic these books hold. Good Stuff.

Yes, I'm writing this on Sunday afternoon instead of the wee hours on a workday morning. Doubt I will log in tomorrow.

Enjoy Monday once it arrives and here's to a good week ahead.

pouring

I went on a hold request rampage over the weekend and it is now raining books. I have an ebook available plus another hardback on hold at the library. I'm halfway through "Written in My Own Heart's Blood."

Words. Lots of Words. lol

Oh, and I purchased the London bound kid's plane ticket yesterday. Ouch. I've been watching fares for months and there is no cheap way to fly to London in January. We didn't want her to fly via O'Hare due to weather issues in Chicago. She doesn't have time to get iced in, snowed in, or fogged in. So, she is going through Atlanta. That does provide some comfort as we know a Delta pilot and his wife who are stationed there and if something crazy happens, they will be swooping in to get her or help her in minutes.

This. Is. Really. Happening!!!

I think I'm as excited as she is.

Happy Thursday.

jamie and claire

Oh yes! I was finally able to borrow the latest installment in the 8 book long saga of Jamie and Claire Fraser.

I was up too late last night reading. Tired eyes this morning, but it was worth it. I love these books, the characters, the writing...all of it.

I'll be back at it after I get home from work today.

All is well. Busy at work. Kids are good. Life is chugging along.

Happy Wednesday.

gimpy

Well my foolish dog decided to scamper about like a puppy yesterday and has pulled a muscle or something in his front leg. Great. SO, my walking partner is now not as spry as he needs to be. He will get a short walk around the corner and back and then I will be off on my own. Insert frowny face here! lol

Great weekend. Super busy, but very good. Had fun at the football game on Friday night. Cleaned my dirty house and did piles of laundry on Saturday. Watched the boy head off to his first homecoming dance...with a date....very cute. Enjoyed a great carry-in potluck at our speech/debate team open house on Sunday.

Great weekend! But, now it is Monday and time to get back to reality.

sleepy

I feel like I am ready for the time change that is coming next month. I could use that extra hour of rest right now.

So sleepy!!

But, I have a lot of things to do today and even this weekend. Need to find some energy someplace. The social media things for the campaign are working as they should, but between loading content for work and loading content for this candidate, I'm pretty tired of Twitter and Facebook.

Oh well! I'm getting it all accomplished and will appreciate the opportunity to shift gears once this work is completed.

Enjoy your Thursday and your weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my Mom's birthday!

Happy Birthday to you! Enjoy the day!!

Wish I was there to celebrate with you!!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

another campaign

What was that song Britney Spears sang? Oops, I did it again? Yes, that is the one.

If fits. I spent last night at a potential alderman's house. I'm helping on another political campaign. Social media queen of Collierville....or so they all seem to think.

Well, we did manage to take his Facebook likes from 2 to 125 in a few hours. So, that is a good start. Now to get some more pics up, write content, and get it all loaded. Oh, and set up a Twitter account.

Of course the alderman who I helped last time around is heavily involved in this new campaign and is responsible for dragging me into this election cycle.

Thirty days until early voting.  I can do this.

LOL

check

Flower beds weeded, hedges trimmed, and back patio cleaned off. CHECK
Preservation Party set up, worked, attended, cleaned up. CHECK
Collapsed on Sunday. CHECK

It was a successful weekend. I need to go to work to rest. Ha!

Today I will be heading to the library for a bit in order to be on hand when the Books from Birth RV pulls into our Town. The first lady of Tennessee will be on board and we are having a small reception for her.

Should be interesting!

Enjoy your Monday.

looks like rain

It looks like rain. Bring it on! I need to tackle my flower beds this weekend, and the rain will help me pull those weeds.

Lots of September 11 posts on Facebook today. Facebook wasn't around when the planes hit the towers and the field and the Pentagon. So much has changed. So much is still the same.

I watched the President give his address to the nation last night. So much hate in the world. So much hate in the name of religion.

So much has changed, but so much is still the same.

yikes

I saw a photo/cartoon on someone's Facebook post today reminding everyone that Christmas is only 120 days away. If that is true, yikes!

Back when the kids were little and the gifts were not as expensive as they are now, I would have the majority of my shopping done before Thanksgiving. Now, as they only get a few bigger ticket items, the shopping is never done before Thanksgiving.

Thinking of gifts, what to buy, where to buy it, and all the other logistics can take the fun out of the festivities.

I am going to take time off again this year around the holidays, but not until after Christmas. I'm saving days for our trip in March. I will still have a nice stretch of time off, but I would imagine the week of the 24/25 will be pretty quiet around the office.

It is anything but quiet right now as people are starting to pack for the national meeting and the work load has increased as we try and get things ready to go to print.

It has been kind of crazy. Yikes.

Happy Wednesday.

struggles

After a fun weekend away, getting back into the groove at work has been a struggle. Yuck. I have four newsletters to create and load into Constant Contact this week. I have a bunch of social media posts to load. I have a program/pamphlet to finish. Lots of things to do and no energy to get it all done.

Fall doldrums? Fall fever? Not sure what is going on, but coming up with clever ways to promote the meeting, explain the new mobile app, and organize general information is not sounding like a whole lot of fun to me.

I'd rather be home trying to reclaim my flower beds. Oh my gosh. The weeds are out of control. But, that will wait for Saturday morning.

In the meantime, work it is. Happy Tuesday.

sleepy

Ugh. So sleepy! The fun of the weekend has caught up to me. The weekend was FUN. We learned quite a bit about the middle daughter's spring semester in London. We watched a fun football game. We dined out at some neat spots. We went to a movie (pretty funny in spots). Had a safe trip there and back.

Now it is back to reality.

Happy Monday!

heading east

We will head east tomorrow for a visit, a football game, a meeting, and I'm sure lots of fun. I have things to pack and procure. A list of things was sent to me via text last night! I have already started gathering items and will be making a trip to the craft store on my lunch break.

It seems that all of the crafting that was done before she returned to school needed to be doubled. Her sorority took enough new members that each active member will have not just one "little" but two! Yes, twins. This has my daughter in quite the panic.

So, Mom to the rescue. The least I can do is make sure she has the raw materials to paint, glue, bedazzle, and modge-podge.

Enjoy the weekend!

the spreadsheet of doom

We have a spreadsheet of doom at the office. It contains all the items we have to create, update, edit, print, publish, and promote for the National Meeting. It is color coded. It has places for notes. It runs our lives from June until October.

I will be so glad when every line is filled in with green and I can save it one last time and put it away until we begin prepping for 2015.

We have begun promoting the new meeting app. Just a few things are out there as of now, but more will be coming this week and the weeks ahead. I look at this product as a challenge. Sort of like how I viewed the promotion of the awards. We increased awards nominations by 70% this year. We need huge download numbers for this app.

So, time to get creative. Time to get persistent. Time to reach out into social media and get our members to click.

Happy Wednesday.

short week

We had a great weekend. The kitchen cabinet frames are painted as are the bathroom cabinet frames. Everything matched up well and we are happy with the results. I was able to meet my friend at B&N for a cuppa and a chat. Fun! We did a bit of shopping, a bit of cooking, and a bit of laundry. Busy weekend, but a great one.

Now, off we go into a short week. Lots to do before we leave on Friday for UT, parents weekend, and a football game! Never been in Neyland Stadium before, so that will be exciting. Procured some new orange things for the guys, and I'm all set on my orange ensemble.

Still reading the 4th of the Chicagoland Vampire series.

September is HERE! Enjoy.