Jul19

Yes, I am alive. And, well…

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Yes, I am alive. And, well…

Actually, I am well. I just wanted to use that title.

What’s most occupying me these days is a two-week girls’ self defense camp I’m teaching at my kids’ school. I’m halfway through and loving it. The girls are so attentive and into it. One girl showed up on day one looking the picture of, “I don’t want to be here, but my mom is making me do this.” However, she perked up quickly and was smiling throughout class. Win!

One of my daughters is helping me and is a dynamo. “I really like martial arts,” she said, and it shows.

One day we did Taekwondo kicks. Not in a position to be doing those myself, I spoke, Daughter demonstrated. Then, feeling nostalgic, she stood on one leg and threw kicks of different sorts in all directions. One student said, “Go, Elise!” And we clapped. Whichever girl she partners with I can ignore because I know Elise will help her with the moves as needed, leaving me to watch over the others.

She’s also multi-talented. For July 4th, she made mini cupcakes. Starting with white cake batter, she divided it into three bowls and put red and blue food coloring into each of the two other bowls. So, not only were the cupcakes striped red, white, and blue (and delicious), she used tweezers (washed first!) to painstakingly embellish the frosting with tiny sprinkles.

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Jul6

Writing and Martial Arts

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Writing and Martial Arts

The Writing Part

Saw these on Amazon and was tempted. The bottom of my feet is what people see when they come into my room while I’m writing on my bed. But, it’s kind of mean. Then again, I only wear footwear on the right foot, so, it could work…

Anyway, here’s something funny and ironic. How many of you caught the typo in my last post?

“Despite all the work, I know stuff it still going to get missed.”

Wow.

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Jun25

Bookblock and book cover

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Bookblock and book cover

The email from the publisher began:

“We have now begun the production cycle for your book, Wish I Was Here. Your submitted final manuscript has been professionally formatted into a custom PDF bookblock and attached here for your review.”

I had been texting with a coworker when this email popped up, prompting me to hastily exit that conversation and clock out of my day job.

The cover was also attached. Naturally, I began there. Oh, how I wish I could show you the cover, but it’s still a work in progress. When I saw it, I didn’t hate it. But I didn’t love it.

I sent it to my Faithful Few for feedback. (Isn’t it wonderful when alliteration happens naturally?) I got varied responses:

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Jun22

A principal, a vice-principal, and a dean of students get into a car

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A principal, a vice-principal, and a dean of students get into a car

Note: this is an old story, but I’m posting it now so our friends, who are all moving away, have it to remember us by.

Hubby and I met up for dinner with two other couples, one of which has a newborn. The other two couples drove together. Parking was scarce, so Hubby and I were grateful to arrive just as another car was leaving.

Dinner was great, the conversation fun and lasted hours. When it was time to leave, another car waited patiently for us to all hug goodbye in the parking lot so they could take our spot.

Hubby and I hadn’t gone far before the principal called, explaining that his car had been towed from the questionable parking spot he had found.

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Jun3

I guess it’s time I blogged something.

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I guess it’s time I blogged something.

I had a bit of a learning curve adjusting to my new normal.

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May16

You’re not going to believe this.

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You’re not going to believe this.

Part of my daily routine is heading to the garden to pick up fallen oranges and lemons and occasionally pull particularly brazen weeds within our garden beds surrounded by thigh-high plastic fencing to keep out Peter and his rabbit friends.

A week ago, when walking by one of the beds, with both feet on the ground, my legs wobbled. I stopped to marvel at how uneven the ground had become in that area thanks to gophers tunneling, desperate for access to the forbidden fruit guarded by tight metal netting beneath the dirt within the garden beds.

I happened to walk a different path through the garden two mornings ago and so didn’t remember that bad patch of earth as I hopped out over the fence, one foot after the other, as I’ve done a dozen times, though perhaps not in that particular spot, at least not since the recent rains deepened and widened those subterranean tunnels.

My first foot landed while the second was in the air; thus, all my weight went into the first as it buckled and crashed through a gopher subway. I yelped and toppled over, thinking, “Oh please don’t let that be something bad. Maybe I only sprained my ankle. That crack I heard was just the wooden stake that holds the fence breaking when I fell.

Only it wasn’t.

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May7

Things that make me happy

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Things that make me happy

It takes so little sometimes. Stuff that I’ve only seen on TV or in movies but then see in real life generally fits the bill.

For instance, chatting with friends at a restaurant while we waited for our table, I happened to look outside and see two guys greet each other with a multi-part handshake.

Who has seen this in real life???

Seriously, if you have, tell me. I’m not sure I knew fancy handshakes actually happened other than on a screen. It was not super complicated. Maybe five steps. Still. It counts. It was amazing.

Secondly, I sold books at a conference in a Marriott hotel. This dude rolled my boxes in for me. To my knowledge, thanks to TV, those carts are used for the rich and famous. I saw one–in action–for me.

Was I supposed to tip that guy? Shoot. Literally only thinking of this now. I don’t know how to behave like the rich and famous. Pretty sure none of them would snag a pic of this, for starters.

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May2

My last Jiu-Jitsu class

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My last Jiu-Jitsu class

… before my old schedule was up.

Did I freak any of you out? Talk about click bait.

But it WAS the last class for Blue Belt before he left for four years of optometry school out of state. There were lots of hugs, group or otherwise. Instructor, trying not to get teary-eyed, reminisced about Blue Belt’s first day, showing up in pajamas saying, “You teach Jiu-Jitsu?! Cool. I want to try it!”

Instructor said, “I knew he’d become a stud.”

Pirate bought him a farewell gift of one of the new green Jiu-Jitsu shirts, specific to our gym, so he won’t forget where he came from, I suppose.

Unfortunately, Blue Belt looks utterly insane in this picture. He also has his American flag mouthguard in still, which isn’t helping. On the other hand, I actually look decent for a post-class photo!

It was sad losing a “family” member who was one of the earliest students since the gym’s founding in 2020. Surfer Dude, then Balloon Man, then Blue Belt have been there the longest.

But back to ME. I was sad too, okay?! It was my last class with the old 3-per-week schedule.

It was also a great class.

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Apr24

I had a decision to make

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I had a decision to make

Should I cut back on Jiu-Jitsu or not?

Me with HRH/Mrs. Instructor, posted on the gym’s Instagram.

The biggest stressor in my life right now is an impossible deadline to finish book two of my YA trilogy. The editor said I should submit the sequel when book one is in presale. That’s possibly in September. Zero chance I’ll be done by then–with draft 1 and 2, maaayyybe, but the final, at least 20th, draft? Not a chance.

I need more time. There’s the job, the kids, the house, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, checking 2nd grade math homework, etc. Something has to give. You may have already noticed blogging has mostly “given,” as in, I’ve not been around much.

There’s also the book reading. I have three for which I need to write reviews. And my boss wants me to clean up transcripts of interviews she’s done and compile them into a book.

She and I were at a conference recently where, at the “VIP poolside dinner,” I met a woman with the most intriguing story that includes seven years of homelessness before a radical transformation. When dinner was over and everyone stood, I ran to her side of the table and said, “You are so amazing. Will you please be my friend?”

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Apr12

Getting razzed in class

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Getting razzed in class

My Jiu-Jitsu instructor came over to help when I was attempting to do a move with Hip Rad Heroine (Mark’s HRH guess). Instructor said something then, “Did you just roll your eyes at me?”

“What? No!” I said, horrified. “I just looked at her and then back at you.”

“Sheesh. The attitude on this one,” he said with an expression of wild disbelief.

At first I was mortified. Then I realized he was messing with me.

Another time, Instructor was heel hooking my good ankle–the one not wearing a protective sleeve.

Wrapped ankle on left in a blue shoe. On the right, pink shoe. I took this when I stepped out of the car in the Walmart parking lot. Leave it to me to wear mismatched shoes. I laughed then thought, “Well, this is Walmart. I’ll fit right in.”

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