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Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the shuffle around here ... |
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Best quote to describe me (Anonymous): "Do not think you are on the right road, simply because it is a well-beaten path." I am what I am. Learn to live with it. And realize that comment is as much directed to myself as any reader who ventures here. Tempest arrived 31 March 2009 - changing everything, but she's pretty awesome. Dogbert arrived 13 January 2012 and is working on making the rules change again. I have two writing personas, Ransom Noble and Sheta Storm. Each has goals, and I work on them slowly. Both are published, and will continue to strive toward bigger and better things. I finally figured out how to describe myself in three words: Creative, Determined, Ambitious. It doesn't have anything to do with how I relate to others, but I do use all of those in my many relationships as well as my career goals. I know others use words sometimes like "kind" or "caring" but I think that list is the most accurate if only using three words. Cast... Sesheta: Me Dilbert: My Husband Tempest: My Darling Daughter Dogbert: My Hungry Son Sheer, Nemo, EyeKandy(K), Diego: Friends/Brothers Sugar, Wolvenwings, Mrs. Light, Jori, Trillium (others will be added): Friends It's a start, anyway. Off-Site Blogs: http://ransomnoble.wordpress.com/ http://sheta-storm.blogspot.com/ Upcoming Events: Beaverdale Books signing for Art of Science - TBD Other Items about Me: "Invalid Item"  "Invalid Item" "Failing is a part of success. To make goals effective, you have to fail at them 50 percent of the time, or they didn't stretch you far enough." Chip Wilson, courtesy of an article by Ella Lawrence called Set Your Course from Yoga Journal |
| In it, I was supposed to go teach yoga at the place that is allowing me to teach. Except when I got there, I didn't have enough time to get to the alternate venue where I was supposed to teach. Then I went anyway, and there were 18 people there [somehow that was the number, and I counted them on purpose in the dream?] who were all there to be with some other teacher who was TEACHING at the time. I peeked in halfway through class. No one had ever heard of me. Funny, huh? Actual class was much less interesting with one person showing up this afternoon, but we did fine. Dilbert's been trying to help potty train Tempest. Sigh. She needs something, but not sure what it is. He's been home for the past week, but sometimes it is hard to understand what he hopes to accomplish when our agendas seem completely at odds. Like on Monday when he brought a flower in to show me while I showered. He didn't know i was showering. [Said flower was as tall as Tempest.] I had to "do something" with them that day. But he never helped me with our two children. I'll go outside with one and try to do a task, but not two. Tempest has a nasty habit of running out into traffic. Our road may be a cul-de-sac, but it is not completely untraveled. Dogbert luckily cannot get away from me that quickly... nor does he wish to. Last night also marked Mr. Dogbert sleeping over 9 hours. One one hand, great! On the other hand, OUCH. So sleep training is working remarkably well for him. Hope my breasts get the message soon. This week is promising to be a tough one already. Take a deep breath, grab a notebook, and hope that I don't forget anything. I wanted to replace my tealight lamp the movers took, so I emailed the woman on ebay to relist her items. She had two and they were really nicely priced. Unfortunately, 4 other bidders found them while they didn't the previous three times she listed them. GAH! And Dilbert decided I needed to "learn the sprinklers" at the exact time the auction ended. It went too high, but I didn't need to trudge out there and get all sweaty with Dogbert in my arms (have I mentioned lately that my wrists are aching from lugging the kid around? They're a weak spot for me and they don't get rest.) just to watch him SHUT THEM OFF for the day. I'd been moving them the previous two times while he was waiting to figure out what happened to our last box of flooring at Lowe's. New flooring installed Wednesday. Dilbert ripped out the carpet on Friday in the living room, creating a lovely distraction for Tempest and requiring much more attention to keep her from jumping on nails. Because I needed more to do. Sheer and the Doc were over last night around bedtime for the kids and we made malts. They saw Dogbert just as I put him to bed, and with tonight's minimal protest cry and the night before's minimal protest cry, but 45 minutes last night - I think he just wanted to socialize with them. Poor guy. But we'll manage. Was going to write comments on the one critique partner's story that I haven't done yet. YIKES! Except it's been too much already. Up since 4:45 only because I hurt and wanted Dogbert to wake, yet I waited for him. It's so complicated to need to feed a baby and yet want to promote his good sleeping habits. |
| http://www.amazon.com/Million-Random-Digits-Normal-Deviates/dp/0833030477/ref=sr... This just seems to need a read. Recommended to me for light summer reading. |
| Which makes it pretty quiet. Except for poor Dogbert - he's been needy and we don't really get it, but we are both doing what we can. More me than Dilbert. But that's how it goes. Making a plan from Testing for Kindergarten. So that's going to be part of my 12 for 12 when I figure out what happened to it. I did yoga this morning before breakfast. It was really nice. Also played Rock Band with Dilb. We stink, because we pretty much haven't played since November, but we finished most of the songs we attempted. Dilb's been bringing home Whitey's ice cream (Nice brand in this area. Yum!) and I've been enjoying it. Got the games organized (almost complete) and working on the nonfiction books (oy). The master bedroom still has a few things to manage and I'd like the toys in the living room to be done differently. But exciting to be almost done. Gotta pick up Tempest tomorrow, but pretty happy with how things are coming. And she's doing better in gymnastics! I swear it. [I might be biased...] |
| Blech. But it's here, and I'm trying to deal with it. Dogbert is upstairs, crying it out. It makes me feel bad, but my shoulders don't ache as much when he does it this way. And this week we can consistently give him the bedtime routine and then let him go to bed. Tonight and tomorrow should be the worst of it. Sigh. He's pretty upset. His 23 week accomplishment is sitting up, and he's getting better by the day. 24 weeks now, and growing out of the 12 month clothes (right on schedule - every 6 weeks he outgrows a size). Found him more clothes at the garage sale. Not the one in my neighborhood yesterday - we ended up in DBQ instead. Tempest is sleeping, or she's worried because Dogbert is screaming. Not sure, because I can't hear her even though I'm sitting directly underneath her bedroom. She helped cook dinner tonight, smelling the spices, stirring the rice, watching daddy with the olive oil. And she ate chicken and rice.  So we'll be involving her more. I'm managing to do some Brain Quest stuff. I'm talking to her, singing with her, actively working to keep her out of range of TV and iPad. It doesn't always work, and sometimes I'm exhausted to the point I let her have the iPad for a time. But I am trying. Time to dig up all the stuff I've been letting slide lately. Back to the 12 for 12. Back to editing. Back to finding a schedule for the kids. Back to not being exhausted. Yeah, right. Last night I went to bed before 9pm with a headache. Everyone slept in until 630 (except Dilbert, who slept past 9) and I felt better until the exhaustion caught up with me. My keyboard keeps going wacky and letting one letter fill rows and rows of text and deleting part of this entry. Talk about annoying. I kinda hate this thing. Dogbert did give it up and sleep about 30 minutes in. Dilbert is home all week. He's getting the house in shape, but I'm not sure what else he'll be doing besides driving me nuts. I joined the YMCA. Can't take advantage of it this week, but starting next week it will be nice to have somewhere to go. Signed Tempest up for swimming lessons as well. Will have a new yoga teaching gig starting next Sunday, but not at the Y. Will be applying to another local place to teach, though I have to figure out someone to watch the kids in the very early hours. Have an appointment this week to get our wills set up. [Ugh, finally.] Most of the way through Testing for Kindergarten. I'm learning a few things and I helped Mrs Light think of a couple new ways to engage ToddlerLight (not really a baby, and there will soon be a new baby light) in reading. So that's cool, too. Also have an appointment with a new therapist. At a new clinic. And they were asking me about my old therapists. And I couldn't name them all off the top of my head. So I said I'd bring a list when I went in. But, dang, it is difficult to keep up with someone who moves a lot. I can't even keep up with me, and I've been everywhere I've been! Sheesh!! |
| Dilbert was supposed to be helping me out. He was going to take stuff to charity. Three contractor's bags full or so. Which he has been throwing around rather than asking me to stage it in another place. So even though at one time there had been a semi- neat stack of hangers, they'd become skewed. And he looked at me and pointed and said "get them gathered up." And he freaking wondered why I tore his head off because I got mad. |
| Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. If they try to get that past me, they'll probably get a *kick* somewhere it'll hurt. Finished Dead Beat. I  Sue! [Yes, I am talking about the Tyrannosaur.] And I just started Testing for Kindergarten. Because I found a bunch of things to help Tempest, and I have been itching to start that one for a while. First two chapters are intriguing. Probably what I need most is in chapters 4, 11, and 12, but all of it will help. Dogbert's probably going to be a heavyweight. Whee. I have a bunch of stuff in a pile and Dilbert's going to try to haul it to charity tomorrow and completely undermine my plan to participate in our neighborhood garage sale a week from tomorrow. But there is more to do, more to go, and I still have to log it so we get credit. Why can't this stuff be simple? |
Had appointment to check Dogbert's ears. Had the Dr and Sheer over for Sheer to cook us all dinner. Yum! Cucumber avocado soup and chicken with some kind of pepper sauce. [Now that Brandiwynš¶  is drooling...] I made banana bread, some with peanut butter chips and some without. Tempest actually tried the banana bread. Dogbert had bananas with rice cereal and everything was good. Dilbert will be home tomorrow from [w]Hor[e]icon. Yeah, sure, some people think it is a town in Wisconsin, but they don't have a hotel and he stays in Beaver Dam. No, you can't make this stuff up. Just printed out my work history to match up with the lovely Y application so I can take that in tomorrow. Which ought to be the day Dogbert turns 23 weeks. And I need to go to more garage sales so I can keep the kid in clothes. From his ear infection recheck: 27.5 inches and 20.4 lbs. Healthy boy! Tempest keeps wanting to wear a garage sale purchase - beautiful long blue dress with sheer layer and flower layer underneath. But it's a size 6 and it would trip her on the floor. So I hid it for a bit. Yesterday went to DBQ to celebrate my SIL having twins. Great shower. Realized that her mother and I threw her a shower almost exactly 10 years ago for her firstborn, which is amazing. I'm giving myself until the end of the month to get things put together for writing, unpacking, kids, and whatever else gets thrown my way. Will have a list together maybe tomorrow. And then back to resolutions and all that other fun stuff. It will be nice to be settled. |
| He doesn't like cold. So anything I need him that isn't cold, he seems to love. Keeps reaching for my dishes whether they are for him or not. Maybe he will be a foodie. In other news, Tempest wars for Dilbert's attention at dinner. But he eventually figured it out and said they could watch a movie together. Upside, he put his arm around her and made comments to her and everything. It's something. I may have an untapped funding resource. Will follow up this week. I think I am making progress, but he complained about everything on the floor. Dude, we are unpacking. It is a process. And the toys are going to happen. |
| Probably because it centers around Tempest. The good part - she's in gymnastics and she loves it. The hard part - I want her in the 3 year old class that doesn't have a parent involved, and the management seems not to want to promote her. Her friend (who had a birthday party a couple weeks ago and just turned 3) got promoted and in July will start with the older kids. I knew she'd get promoted pretty soon. But I look at Tempest, who is a full two months older, and I wonder what they see in the other girl they don't see in my kid. Maybe there are some consistency issues I ought to try to cover. I have Dogbert with us a lot of the time. At first I swore she acted out more when he was with us, but now it seems to be the opposite. But it's so dang hard for me to run around in there with Dogbert in the sling, I'd love to have a break and just watch. Yet my girl isn't getting promoted. I don't think it's about proficiency. She listens about as well as most three-year-olds. She can walk forward, sideways, backward, and sometimes crawl on the balance beam. She pulls her own feet up to the bar to hang and counts to five. She can nearly walk with her hands across the bar without help. She jumps and does a seat drop, though she won't straddle jump yet. But she is inconsistent like I see most of the other kids. Some days are just not easy. We're struggling with naps and unpacking and good table manners and eating and whatever else comes up on a daily basis. It's probably best to sit it out one more 8 week session, then move her elsewhere if we don't get promoted. We did just move into this new house and she should have some continuity. Maybe if I talk about her potty training (or not training in Tempest's case) with everyone like the other girl's SAHM, then we'd get somewhere. Ew. But should I move her even if they're ready to promote her? I don't like not knowing what it takes to go to the next level. I think they have that different on other classes where parents are not involved, but I'm struggling with this. I'm also struggling with a lot of other things in my head. Like whether to find a new therapist. Like how to get Dilbert to notice me, to hear my voice, to talk to me or let me completely disappear. Like how to win the fights with my kids about how they ought to behave. Like how to throw/give away/sell all the stuff that I need to get rid of while I'm going through and unpacking it. Like how to proofread my whole damn manuscript for AofS since of course NOW they want me to do something on it, and not the last year and a half when I wasn't as busy as this week. [Okay, a lot of the time I have been less busy than this week, but not all of it.] Back to the laundry. I think I'm getting it down to piles instead of a mountain. But that doesn't get me farther ahead on anything like sorting and throwing away. What I'd really like to do is nap. |
| I proposed to my husband that we ought to keep boxes of things to take to our next apartment instead of just getting rid of all the extra stuff. I'm not sure he knew what to think of that. Nearly done unpacking the kitchen, but a few things need to be tweaked. Behind on the wash but still a bunch of boxes unpacked. Angry about finding a cigarette butt in one wardrobe box, but I kept it as evidence and took a photo where I found it. They haven't found our 20 foot extension ladder, or we haven't heard about it. We shall see. And I'm going to call Monday to get the pool table assembled. Dilbert created room for expansion for my games, but he's still worried I don't have enough space for my books. Silly Dilbert - I could just fill that extra space with BOOKS! Sheer came over and helped and lots of things are going well. I haven't broken my 750 streak yet, either, though tonight I started it after 10 pm. 336 days. |
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