Wednesday Randomness: 10 Random Things About Moi

Happy Wednesday! This week the girls and are posting 10 random facts about ourselves. Should prove interesting. :) Although I warn you, I wasn't told to come up with 10 interesting things about myself, just 10 random things. LOL

1. My birthday is July 3. As a kid, I was convinced the fireworks for the Fourth were to celebrate MY birthday. And that seemed right and good to my mind. 

2. That makes me a Cancer. 

And I am very much a Cancer. I'm often ruled by emotions and would be a lying liar who lies if I claimed otherwise. I see this as positive most of the time, but I know I have a tendency to be oversensitve and am easily hurt when it comes to people I really care about. 

(And yes, there is endless amusement for those who know what I do and point out that my zodiac symbol is basically a "69" *sigh* )

3. A couple years ago, I would have sworn up and down that I would never write menages or MM. Not because I had an issue with them - I read and enjoyed them - but I didn't feel like I could do it well. And with my fear of failure, I'd rather not try than end up doing something poorly. 

Well, clearly I got past that to a degree. I've written menages and MM scenes, and think they've turned out well. Mostly, it's because the story and characters called for it, and I've been learning to trust that.

4. I have ADD. I was diagnosed as an adult. Though when I look back, I see how it played a part in my early life. Though, I had ways of coping. And all those ways didn't work worth a damn when I had kids. I had to learn new ways. And if things were stressful (and they often were), my ability to focus was gone. I prefer not to take medication for it - totally a personal thing, and I know people whose lives have changed for the better once they started medication for their ADD/ADHD. Me? I just don't like having to take yet another pill, if I can manage without it. 

So I make lists. Lots of lists. The Errands app on my phone is a life saver. And I must admit that my phone will chime at me with a reminder to eat, to get up and stretch, and so on. I also have friends who will ride my ass when I need it. So as of right now, I'm coping fairly well with this. 

5. My favorite place in the world is the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I grew up there, had the requisite teenaged hate of living in a small town and wanting to get out. Now, that I'm out, I do everything I can to get back for a visit. 

6. This year, my husband and I have been together for 20 years. It seems unreal. We've had ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. More in love with the man than ever. He gets me. One hundred percent. He puts up with my insanity and does it with love. And well, he's hot. :-) So, there's that. 

7. I have awesome kids. Seriously. I'm keeping them. Even when the house seems like a sea of hormones - as it often does with 4 teenagers - I KNOW how lucky I am. And the complete awesomeness of them far outweighs the frustrations. 

8. One of the worst decisions I've ever made? Started smoking. It was when the kids were little, I was stressed out, and it happened. I'm still struggling with quitting. It's a disgusting habit, and I don't want to do it. But it is something I turn to when stressed. BUT I'll never quit quitting, and one day, it'll stick. Right? 

9. I don't really care for chocolate. Weird, yeah? I don't know...I don't HATE it. But I could take it or leave it. 

10. I have a habit of randomly singing things. I sing out instructions to the kids, sing to the dog, sing on the phone, sing to myself as I'm writing. This habit isn't appreciated as fully as it could be by those around me. I don't get it. 

Head over and see what the girls have shared about themselves. :) 

Bronwyn Green
Jenny Trout
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris
Leigh Jones

Until next week...
Hugs, 
~J

Wednesday Randomness: A Day in My Life

Happy Wednesday! Today you are going to get a glimpse into all of our lives. Lucky you. :-/ I'm sure the other girls will amuse and entertain you but I've been pondering this topic all week. And seriously I don't think my life is that exciting. LOL Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with my life, more than happy actually, but...

Well, I'll let you decide for yourself... Come and follow me through my day.

6:45am - Wake up (on weekdays. Not a chance on weekend!) Morning routine of washing up and brushing teeth and all that jazz. And suck down my first coffee like a zombie slurping brains....  The caffeine consumption continues throughout the morning.

I have confession. I don't do ANYTHING for my kids (I have four kids - ages 17, 15, 13, & 11) in the morning. My amazing husband makes sure they are awake (though they mostly take care of that on their own), they deal with their own breakfasts and getting on the bus. The only exception is the 15 year old, who attends a performing arts school and her bus stop is over a mile away. Hubby drops her off there on his way to work right about the time I'm waking up. So you can feel my pain when he is out of town on work, yes? I have to be up and in the car around the time I'm usually rolling out of bed.

7:15am-ish - Girls get dropped off. Monday through Friday I watch my two neices (5 years old & 18 months old) during the day. For the next little bit, we do breakfast - if they haven't had it at home - and hanging with the girls. We read and play. I usually try to throw a load of laundry in.

8:30am - noonish - This si the time I typical check and answer emails, check Twitter/FB/Tumblr, comment on blogs... Stuff that isn't a big deal if interrupted by kids, ya know?

Noon - Lunch time.

12:30pm - This is when my neice dropped off at preschool on some days. And the younger one takes a nap. If not a preschool, older girl will watch a movie or something at this time. Or play on my ipad. Something quiet. I switch loads of laundry, then I settle down to write.

To give you an idea of how this goes...I'm usually on IM with Bron. I whine about whatever it is I'm writing (or not writing!) She lets me do this for a little bit, then will encourage me to get my ass in gear. Like today. I was freaking about the book I'm starting. It's something very new for me and while I'm excited, I'm terrified. Because I want it to be as good as I know it can be, and I don't want to screw it up (remember that fear of failure from last week? In full swing right now). So Bron tells me, just write 100 words. That's it. 100 words. So I did. When I told her I'd gotten that, she says, okay, another. And on and on it went. Long story short, I managed about 1500 words today and I'm still going (taking a break to write this post to go up in the morning!)

So I write as long as I can.

2:30-4:00pm - Kids arrive home. Between picking the neice up, and the kids coming in at their staggered times, this time of the day is pretty chaotic. AND I'm trying to get something started for supper too.

5:30-6:30pm - Neices have gone home, and dinner is finished and eaten.

7:00pmish - Settle down for some more writing.

9:00pm - I'll either still be writing or queuing up Game of Thrones to watch with Bron, Jen and our friend Des via IM (because they're in Michigan and I'm not! *sob*)

11:00pm - Bedtime routine. It's ridiculously long...taking meds, showering, brushing teeth, checking what is on the schedule for the following day...

I'm TRYING so hard to go to bed by midnight. I suffer insomnia and have been trying lately to get a good routine of going to bed at the same time every day, limiting caffeine after a certain time of day, and all that stuff. I've also been doing self-hypnosis...and that has actually been helping!

So that's pretty much it. Well, that's the basic "template" of my typical day, I suppose.

If it's a Tuesday or Thursday, add picking up daughter from running club after school. And the 11 year old....he has to go to the Y for a run on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturdays. There is no exception to this. Bless his little heart. Routine is huge for him. This is what happens on these days and don't suggest otherwise, unless you want to break his heart. And I do not. Also, it really gets me there to fit in a workout. And I always feel better after, even if I moan about it beforehand.

Wednesday from 4:30-8, the kids have activities at church, so that time...Definitely not writing then. I will try to fit in a bit when I get back, but Wednesday are tough for getting words in.

Sometimes the days are even crazier - depending on if the kids have rehearsals or concerts or things like that, but my husband is pretty good about helping with that stuff so I can get some work done.

And I'm pretty damned lucky. My whole family is pretty understand and VERY supportive. The kids have fended for themselves for dinner while I was on deadline and dad was out of the country for work, and don't complain about it. They're pretty cool, and I think I'll keep them.

So that's it, friends. A day in my life. Wooo ;-)
Go spend a day with the rest of the girls. :)

Bronwyn Green
Jenny Trout - Welcome to the Wednesday Randomness blogging, Trout!
Kellie St. James
Kris Norris
Leigh Jones

Until next week!
Hugs
~J