Miscellaneous Updates :)

In late August, I completed a re-write of my novel Push to Happiness. Due to some software changes and some issues I had with my recently resuscitated computer connecting to various websites, I put my books on WattPad so that my beta-readers would have better access to my writing. You can read along with my beta-readers here. My beta readers buoyed up my confidence levels so much so that I also started writing my novel Saving Grace. SG only had 3-4 chapters completed. I got stuck for a week or so, trying to decide where I wanted a scene to go. 

During this lull in writing, many other activities happened. We got a winter's worth of firewood for my parents - cut, hauled, split & stacked in ONE day! Had a few appointments. Attended Senior Day with my son - I think I was the only parent there and as such, had the wonderful opportunity of embarrassing him! he he he!  There are also many other things that came up that were addressed. 

I've also had a very hectic schedule with my six kids... two still at home and the older four still in school for another year. My oldest is a senior this year and I'm having issues with my new reality that I have very limited time with him before his mission and college adventures start. I have college prep lists that are least 17 miles long! I got my son registered for his second go at taking the ACT test. Because of the programs he's enrolled in, he has one more "freebie" before we have to pay for the test. We've also been told of a myriad of scholarships that are available because of income, classes, grades, field of study, etc. It looks like I may have just inherited yet another full-time job ;) 

We've also almost completed a horrible chapter in our lives. It is unfortunate but in the end, we are all realizing exactly how far family will go for each other. I wouldn't trade my family for anything! They've got my back and I've got theirs. I hope someday, my kids will come to realize exactly how much we, as parents, love them and how much we're willing to sacrifice for them. I'm choosing to focus on the positives. Without this situation, I'd have had several crucial scenes in my books end up horribly wrong. I'd also not have had the opportunity to do a ride-along and a tour of the local jail scheduled. I'm excited about the opportunity. We're trying to coordinate our schedules.

Have a wonderful weekend! Keep smiling! And always remember to look for the silver lining. It's always there... sometimes, we just need to look harder than others. Sometimes, we need to think outside the box

The Epiphany - My Return to Writing

Once upon a time...
I was working at my "paying job". For those of you who know me, I have so many jobs but very few actually PAY me. It had been a trying day already. I had taken all my littles to Evanston so my oldest could get his driver's license and become an "official driver". YIPES! At any rate, he did great. Passed the test. Got his new ID ordered. And... we were heading home. My car had a lapse in good judgement and lost all it's radiator fluid. Apparently, a seal went bad. We limped to the nearest Jiffy Lube. They diagnosed to the best of their ability and there I sat... with SIX kids.... in the summer heat. My amazing mom immediately came to our rescue but she was an hour away. I called my hubby and he drove home, swapped vehicles, hitched up to the car-hauler trailer, and headed our direction. My mom arrived first and helped me get the parts we needed to fix the beastly machine. Hubby got there and was immediately thankful that it was still driveable enough to get it on the trailer with very few problems.

I had agreed to take half of one of my co-worker's shifts but with the car problems I had, I barely made it to mine in time. The whole shift went downhill. My hubby came in to tell me he had already fixed the car :) That's the bright spot of the day.

Then a customer came in. She changed her mind at the deli counter over and over so I was second-guessing the order. Then, she decided she needed a drink so she left her order sitting there and with a line behind her. Totally one of my pet peeves. I moved to the adjoining register and continued ringing customers through as she dawdled. When she came back, I was in the middle of ringing out another customer. She started making demands. I'd nod my head and kept helping the other customer.

She got mad because I didn't drop everything to help her. Then, when I clarified the order, she told me she'd NEVER received such horrible service even in "the big city".  She went on to tell me I had no business working in the service industry. I was the worst cashier in the history of all cashiers. She insisted on speaking to a manager. So, I had to call one at home. He'd just finished a 16-hour shift. I called from my cell and explained everything to him. While she was talking to him, I finished getting her items and ringing them through the register.

She hung up the phone and almost threw it back to me. "I'll have your job by the end of the week."

That was the straw. That proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I'd been holding everything together for so long, it just exploded. I went in the back and cried for over an hour. I called my manager and vented to him. He just laughed it off. "Steph, you've been doing this job for almost 10 years. You're one of the best cashiers we have. Don't worry about it."

While I was crying my eyes out, I grabbed a piece of paper and mapped out one of my stories that have been hibernating on my computer for two years. I couldn't write. Couldn't justify the time it took away from my kids. BUT... while I sat there and cried, I realized I desperately needed ME TIME. I needed that time, even just a few minutes a day to vent. I needed that time to readjust my attitude. I needed that time to reconnect and release.  I needed that time to be happy.

And I AM HAPPY! I love writing! I love the release I get watching the stories unfold on the pages. I love if I'm having a bad day, I can turn to my computer and pour my heart out onto the screen, filling page after page. Sometimes with gibberish. Sometimes, with total manure that will be deleted! Sometimes, the best thing ever written.

I am so thankful for my epiphany. For being able to realize I needed to readjust my thinking. To make time for me. I'm happier and amazingly, so is my family.

Bad Blogger...

Holy smokes! It's been forever since I've updated. I'm such a bad blogger!

A few minor updates.... We haven't been able to take the vacation we wanted for several reasons. The main one was that we used the funds we had for our Disney trip to pay off the house when Jay lost his job. He has a great job now with retirement and medical.

Jaydon is still hanging in there. He's still at a stage 4 with his kidney disease. He's been there for almost 3 years now. We're hopeful we can still make our goal of getting him through puberty before we do a transplant.

I started writing again. It was insane the circumstances that culminated to shove me back on my writing path. Everything went horribly wrong. My car broke down. I was late to work. It was horribly busy. We had impatient and rude customers. Then the cream of the crop customer. She insulted me up one side and down the other. Telling me I wasn't fit to work in the service industry. I'm good at my job. I've done it for 9+ years. I'm sure it was just everything piling up to this one tongue-lashing. I cried for a good hour. My amazing staff took care of everything. I'm so happy they are such wonderful, caring and understanding people. When I got home, I wrote. Words flowed from my fingers. If I didn't have a computer, I had a notebook. If I didn't have a notebook, I'd record notes onto my phone.

In a month, I did a major re-write on my book, A Push to Happiness. You can find it on wattpad.

Happy reading!

A mini update

Hey all! Hope your holiday season is going great! Things are in full swing here. It’s been a busy couple of months, so I’ll just hit the high points…

We signed an agreement to lease some land with an option to buy.  It’s been pretty exciting! We got a couple of calves and within a couple of weeks, they were attacked by a dog. Progress has been slow, but the worst one is slowly gaining.

Jaydon is doing fairly well. He got sick this week and has refused to eat or drink much. I finally spelled everything out for him and he seems to be doing better. The “You eat and drink or we’re checking you into a hospital” speech works wonders sometimes. His labs are holding steady but he still looks like a walking skeleton at times. It’s a bit worrisome.

We have decided that we need to take a vacation 1-before the kids get too big/old and 2-before Jaydon’s condition worsens to the point that he won’t be able to fully enjoy himself – dialysis at Disneyland won’t be any fun!  It looks like we’ll be going to Disneyland for spring break – provided our taxes come through by then. So far, I’ve priced things and kinda have an idea what to aim for.

If anyone has any hints, tips and/or suggestions we’d love to hear them!  We won’t be able to book until February (stupid funding).

Well, that’s about it for today’s mini update. I’m hoping to get things going here as well as with my writing again real soon. HUGS!

Gotta Love Flash Fiction...

Here's the contest information...

I’m hosting a Super-short story contest. Here’s how to enter: In 100 words (give or take a few), write, then private message me a story using ALL of the following words: gator, captain, watermelon, gangbangers, Camaro, rescue, ice-pick, pivotal, and gushing. You have 48 hours to submit. The 1st place author wins a $25 Amazon gift card, plus I will post the winning story and a link to the author’s newest book or favorite book on my Facebook page for all to see!

Here's my entry...

Captain Camero looked over at his companion, Ariel Gator. He grimaced. “The gangbangers are at it again.”
“Yep. This watermelon is thrashed. They must’ve wasted a ton of ammo using it for target practice.”
“Look at this. They used an ice-pick on it.”
“Yep. They’re planning a hit. A big one.”
“Do we know who the target is?” Captain asked as he toed a watermelon with his boot. The shredded insides came gushing out as the rind split.
Ariel shrugged. “I’m guessing it will be a pivotal political candidate. We need to be ready to rescue whoever it is.”

I'll let you know how it goes! Should be a fun contest!

Here’s the scoop – Kidney update

Here’s the scoop – Kidney update (I'm writing this as I sit - waiting for the scheduling desk to coordinate our next round of appointments)

We went to see our wonderful Nephrologist (kidney specialist) yesterday. According to the charts, Jaydon is growing! He has gained at least 2 pounds and just over an inch in height. This is excellent news as we’ve been discussing the possibility of using growth hormones. Apparently, the switch in medications this summer was the perfect thing. I’m so glad doctors can work together to come up with a solution.

Jaydon’s labs look okay. Everything is stabilized and is holding steady. They don’t look good, but they’re not horrific either. He looks really healthy and seems to be doing well. We are still in the watch and wait category, but we’re doing good so far.

All in all, it was a fairly good day with an incident that resulted in mom getting a new pair of pants (I'm not posting that event here, it is much too embarassing).  This isn’t much of an update, but no news is good new sometimes…

I’ve gotten asked this question several times over the past couple of days so I’ll answer it here.

Question… Why don’t you just do the transplant now if he’s gonna need it in the future?

Answer… It’s complicated. He’s technically not bad enough yet. He has enough kidney function at the moment to maintain quality of life. He sleeps a lot, but he’s doing good still. Because puberty is so hard on internal organs, we’d like to get him through that milestone before we jump into that frying pan.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

 

 

 

Mixed Nuts

Mixed Nuts. That’s what today totally was! I filled my car at the local station and went inside to pay. The cashier ran the check for the wrong amount (I had written it for over). I didn’t notice until I was at my car. I ran back inside. Since she hadn’t ever fixed one, I stepped behind the counter to help (I work there). While we were getting things squared away, a lady walked up and rather rudely asked me to move my car “People are waiting,” she said.

I took a moment to explain what we were doing so it didn’t seem like I was ignoring her. She stood there the entire time, huffing & puffing and tapping her foot. Talk about a Thumper Complex! I get done, collect my change and head out to the car. She practically herded me to my car! Then she and her husband/companion made several snarky remarks, which I promptly ignored. Let me insert here, there were a total of 4 vehicles at the 12 pumps, leaving at least 8 empty pumps, and I have to move?

Registered my oldest for school. Can you believe I have a freshman? UGH!

My hubby gets home, driving the truck he thought he had fixed so we headed over to Montpelier to haul one of the junkers to the scrapyard. Yay! It’s gone! We didn’t get what we wanted for it, but when do you ever really get what you want? I totally forgot to buy milk, too. On the way home, the truck started making funny noises so hubby pulls over and starts crawling around underneath. I hear “Oh crap.”

Oh crap as in ‘call for a tow now?’ OR oh crap as in ‘we can make it to the bottom of the hill’. We have friends at the bottom of the hill. Apparently this is the first “oh crap”. I grab my cell. “Start walking, cause we don’t have service.”

He scopes out the situation then we coast to the bottom of the hill & pull off the road where we have service. The calls ensue eventually ending with a very dear friend driving out of her way to pick up my wee ones and me. I get home, drop the kids off with my oldest, grab some water, order a sandwich & get on my way. At the store I discover that I’ve left my wallet IN THE TRUCK. So, I “stole with permission” and hurried to where my poor hubby waited in the hot, unair-conditioned truck.

We unhook one vehicle, hook up the other and then load the first. The construction guys had quite a laugh seeing our little Durango pull the big, ol’ extended cab, long-bed truck that barely fits on the trailer back into town.

The silver lining – At least the truck broke down this weekend where we’re close to home instead of in 2 weeks when we journey to the family reunion towing a camper trailer. AND, we know what's wrong with the truck-probably.

PS… I DID pay for the sandwich after we got back to town! AND, my mom was able to pick up milk, so we’re good there too.