NoMoNaNo

Awww, just kidding. I'm still going. Just like that silly little pink bunny. Still going. And going. And going.

NaNo is going surprisingly well. Which is good, because everything else is not going as well. Of course, that's to be expected. Why? Well, take a guess. Did you guess that Shane is out of town again? Yeah, you get the gold star.

My darling husband left on Sunday for a week in El Paso, Texas. He's out there on business. And he might try to take a large flashlight out to that river near there and see if he can catch anyone trying to swim across. He actually told me on the phone today that he wanted to head into Mexico to get some souvenirs for the kids. I practically screamed (ok, I DID scream) in his ear that he was NOT TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR THE BORDER. If you are familiar with what happens when my husband goes out of town on his own, then you know why. If you're not, then I will say only that his first business trip, to Las Vegas, ended in a car crash on a deserted road near the Grand Canyon, a broken axel on a rented SUV, a hospital quarantine, and a spinal tap. Then there was last year's hunting trip, where he almost fell off the side of a mountain pretending to be Spider-Man, and almost got eaten by a bear. This year's hunting trip left him with near pneumonia after riding down the Rockies on an ATV in a blizzard. Needless to say, the thought of him going into a foreign country without his birth certificate or a passport filled me with anxiety. Add that to the fact that my man has very little knowledge of the language (brilliant, yes, but honestly, the man spent TWO years in Spanish 1, ok?), and I was terrified that they might not let him come back. Thankfully, he agreed not to head south of the border, so we'll all get our made-in-Mexico trinkets at bought-in-America prices.

Also, I'm back at work. Yeah, I know, I said I wouldn't do it. But then again, you all know what a sucker I am. I couldn't help it. I did put my foot down and tell them that I can't close anymore, so I'll be home by 9ish from now on. AND I'm only going to work 3 days a week, instead of the 5 that I'd been working. I have to tell you, it was HARD to go back in there and do that all again. My feet ached, my legs hurt, and my wrists are still cracking from carrying those trays. However, I continue to meet very nice guests, and often I get to talk about books, or my writing. Plus, honestly, the jewels of conversation that I overhear are just wonderful. I have a huge file of "Things I heard at the restaurant", and some of them have already found their way into my NaNo story.

I missed the VRW meeting on Saturday, and I didn't make it down to Chesapeake to see Jenny and Bob for their conference. Both of those things really bummed me. On the bright side, taking time off from writing today has helped me catch up over on the book blog a bit. Big hugs to Charity for keeping that thing afloat. Please head over there and enter our Veterans and Rookies contest. Since this isn't the book blog, I'll tell you that one of the books that has recently been reviewed will be in the prize pack. And we're having a real live author judge the contest. And I'm adding at least 3 other books to the pack, inlcuding another recent review, and gods in Alabama. Joshilyn Jackson is doing a booksigning next week, and I'll have a winner by then, so I'm going to get her autograph in gIA and have it sent right to the winner.

Anyhow, it's sorta late, and I have a date with a book upstairs... in bed. Yeah, still chucklin' over that fortune cookie thing. It's funnyhow you get those warm fuzzy memories out of nowhere. I was out with the Youth Group last week, having dinner after a Baptist Youth Fellowship meeting. We were at a Chinese buffet. When the bill came with that plate of cookies (no, not those kind of cookies, geez people I was out with kids!) my sweet-as-pie Gret grabbed for them, ripped one open, read it lightning fast, then started laughing. She passed it to her friends and they all giggled. It took me about 10 seconds to remember that I'd taught her the little trick, so I hustled off to her end of the table to read... "Your life holds many fun adventures" and I just groaned. I didn't even need to ask why she laughed.

Here's to you, New Jersey friends...

...in bed!