magick musings…

…that two weeks ago, we were under winter storm warnings, iced and snowed in, and wearing tons of layers to keep warm.

Today, I have on a t-shirt and shorts and itching to go outside to start the spring gardening!

This last week, got critiques completed that were due and…um… I know tons of other things done because I was extremely exhausted Friday night. Unfortunately, it just all runs together and I can’t remember what so it couldn’t have been much fun. I totally hate those kind of weeks.

We were invited by M and L to Billy Bob’s Friday night to see Miranda Lambert, but by the time I could order tickets, the show was sold out! Never crossed my mind that could happen. Very disappointing. I wished we could’ve gone. Next time, I’ll get right on it and not wait.

My artwork that I’d ordered weeks ago came in! GW hung it for me over our bed and the colors and the patterns match our comforter and I love it! Now I have to work on the accessories. Isn’t it all about accessorizing, LOL? Before I do, I’ll ask M to come over and get her opinion. She is so awesome at that kind of thing and finds the neatest places and items that always work so well.

Last night at the last minute (which is so totally not like us. we like our routines), we went to the movies and saw ‘Unknown’ with Liam Neesom. I thought it was very, very good and kept me at the edge of my seat. A couple of times, GW had to shush me because I’d start talking. He said it was probably because I was so used to our chair and movies at home that I forgot where I was.

I talk that much at home during the movies? Babe, why haven’t you told me? Maybe I need to get out more, LOL!

Well, still have lots on my to do list for today and then we’re fixing homemade pizza for dinner. YUM!

~Sandy

Not that I’m into that sort of thing, but love any kind of special day. Love the way so many are preparing for it. And with it being hosted here in Dallas, bad weather or no, the hoopla has been phenomenal! No way I’d be anywhere near the stadium today. I do hope for the sake of the tailgaters and fans, the weather stays warm enough for them to have a great time since it is so important to them.

The snow has melted some, yet it is still cold outside. Yesterday, GW worked hard at clearing off the driveway and sidewalk and now just patches that the sun doesn’t reach remain. The weather predictions still show some rain, sleet, and snow flakes, but the sun is shining right now.

Since being stuck in the house was starting to get to me, we went ahead and did the grocery shopping yesterday. Stopped at a local Mexican restaurant for late lunch/early dinner and then came home and didn’t venture out again. Did some writing, some reading and watched a couple of movies. I had seen The Saint with Val Kilmer years ago – so many I’d forgotten most of the plot – and GW hadn’t seen it all so we piled up on our chair and watched it and Jurassic Park.

Today, we are cooking a roast with veggies and I hope to get some more writing done. I’ve been able this last week, get over 6,000 words written on my Angels, Demons, and a Teenage Drama Queen and have written EVERY day!

I win, Denise!

Have a wonderful Super Bowl Sunday and I will be pulling for the Packers for some obvious reasons at our household.

~Sandy

For the third day, Old Man Winter has blown its icy breath on North Texas.

Slick roads, power outages, school closings (much to kids delight and parents dismay), bone numbing take your breath away cold, and record temperatures.

Yesterday I slipped and slid all the way to the mailbox, today almost got my car totaled. But, thank the good Lord, the green minivan that lost control on a patch of ice, missed me and hit a parked car. I was okay except for the falling on my butt in the ice when I got out to check on them. Once I saw they were all okay in the vehicle and I jump started my heart again, I came back home and called and cried like a girl to GW.

But the pity party for one soon passed and I got busy with writing (finished my chapter I was *this* close to completing), did some spreadsheets for record keeping, did a little face book time, made a few calls, and then started a new chapter.

Now the weatherman is predicting snow tonight!

Stay warm and BE CAREFUL out there!

~Sandy

“Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.”

~Russell Baker

… to Hell?

Today, here in North Texas, the temperature with the heat index was a roasting 108 degrees.

I walked outside to help GW fix the micro-sprinkler system on our lemon trees and the heat was almost suffocating. Needless (and embarrasing) to say as soon as we were finished, I ran, not walked, back inside.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with household details and getting some writing done.

Friday night we went out to eat with some friends and tried a new Italian restaurant. Their pasta pomodoro was awesome, but the cannoli for dessert was to die for. Even though GW and I shared it, it was still way to much for us and we were so stuffed, we had to roll ourselves out of there.

But great wine, great food, great dessert! And the best of all, great company!

Have a busy, busy week so gotta run.

~Sandy

“It isn’t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about”

~Albert Einstein

..it’s been awhile since I posted. I fully intend on posting several times a week, but somehow life just gets in the way.

Things like…

…getting my iPhone (still happy dancing!) and having to spend HOURS getting it set up just the way I want. (so many apps, so little time!)

…planning a couple of trips we’re taking this summer. (the scoop when we get back)

…catching up with some old and dear friends. Meeting and getting to know some new friends. (A funny thing happened on the way to the Rangers/White Sox game…nah! Better not tell that one!)

…decorating the house. Still have tons to do. I’m very picky (maybe indecisive is a better word but I’ll deny it till I die) so it is slow going. But now I am SO addicted to HGTV! Cannot get enough of it. It gives me lots of ideas and many late nights watching it. I think GW is glad I haven’t figured out how to record on the DVR yet.

…watching the entire second season of True Blood. Oh. My. Gaw! Another thing that has kept us up late past our bedtime.

…not getting much writing done. Not sure why. Somehow, I have closed a vein and having trouble re-opening it. Hoping with all my heart the trip to Nationals will inspire, motivate, and just plain kick me in the butt. If not, I will find a scalpel and slice at it until it bleeds the words.

…and just generally staying so busy I have a heck of a time finding the time to get everything done. The older I get the faster my life whirls by.

~Sandy

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.”

~–Western Union internal memo, 1876.

GW and I went to Best Buy and I preordered my iPhone!!!

Time to retire my flip phone to the old phones home.

~Sandy

“Food is an important part of a balanced diet .”

~Fran Lebowitz

I have discovered a new way to cook food.

The gas grill.

Not that I’ve never eaten food off the gas grill, I’ve just never cooked on a gas grill before.

And it totally rocks.

With spring hiding behind the corner, the weather has had some very pleasant days. So, tired of eating burgers and steaks and such from the kitchen, we pulled out our new gas grill and cooked some burgers.

Out of curiosity, I asked GW to show me how it works. Being the patient man that he is, (and being married to me makes it a pretty tough job staying that way, LOL), he went through all the steps from preparing the grill, lighting it, watching for the correct temp, cooking, and then shutting it down. I dilegently took notes because I am such a visual person. Not to mention forgetful, but… I won’t mention that.

The burgers were great! Mouth watering great!

So a few nights later, following my written down instructions, I fired up that puppy, seasoned up some chicken breasts, threw on some hand picked rosemary from our herb garden, and I have to brag on myself…

They were the best chicken breasts I’ve ever eaten!! Even GW said they were awesome. And that is high praise coming from someone who is a much better cook than I am.

So, today we were at Lowe’s and we picked up a humongous book on how to grill which has about a million recipes included which all contain a picture of the finished product.

I am pretty fascinated with some of the grilled vegetable recipes I can’t wait to try it this week. Bought some corn on the cob, some peppers, and some squash to try, but forgot the eggplant. Not sure we even like egglplant, but the recipe looks delish. Told you I was a visual person, LOL!

Today, we’re making stuffed peppers. Yum! And he and I are such a good team in the kitchen. When he cooks, I clean. When I cook, I clean.

Wait a minute….

~Sandy

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”

~E. E. Cummings

..several weeks ago we had some very special company visit for a couple of days. So we came up with some ideas to entertain them and ended up having a wonderful time. And we got to experience some things that we’ve (or at least for me) have never done before.

First thing, we went to visit the CSI exhibit and the Museum of Science and History. We were given three crimes to solve and, be assured that you can sleep soundly now, we solved all three. The streets of North Texas are safe again.

It was strange because on the first crime scene, you miss a lot of clues because you aren’t trained what to look for.

As you move along to each station – blood spatters, fingerprints, guns and trajectories, and even how figure out how long a body has been dead according to the life cycle of a blow fly (that was the only ick factor for me), then at the next crime scene, you get better at what to look for. Then you take your findings to ‘Grissom’ and solve the crime and he gives you the thumbs up if you are correct.

Here are just a few of the pics we took.

CSI exhibit

The spring weather was absolutely beautiful so we decided to something that I had tried to do once, but was not so successful.

Yep, that’s me. On a horse. On a BIG horse.

Even though I live in Texas, the only time I’d ever tried to ride, the horse 1) kept trying to bite me and 2) kept trying to run into a fence and knock me off – which he/she/it nearly succeeded. So, I got off and never tried again.

But not to be a partypooper, I became determined to try again. This time I would show the horse who was the boss.

Princess was wonderful and a perfect lady on the hour and half trail ride and she let me think I was in control the whole time, but only she and I knew the real story.

Next on the agenda was a comedy club that featured a hypnotist. I had never been to a comedy club before and have never seen a hypnotist perform so I was anxious to see how it all worked. He was very good and very funny and very entertaining. I had always swore I would NEVER let anyone hypnotize me because of a deep rooted fear of being made to cluck like a chicken or share any secrets I didn’t want well…shared.

But when he asked for volunteers to come on the stage, my butt left the chair and my feet climbed the stairs. To this day, I don’t know how that happened. (I’d only had ONE glass of white zin. I promise.) Next thing I knew we (all the volunteers) was being told to physically relax, stare at a clear crystal ball he held in his hands, and to empty our minds the best we could.

Now, if you knew me as my loved ones know me, relaxing my body and my mind is next to impossible. Both are constantly on the move. So, to make a long story short – I was kicked off the stage because I was one of the few who could not be hypnotized.

Probably better that way. He didn’t promise not to make us bark like a dog.

For the rest of the weekend, we ate out, cooked out, and generally just enjoyed everyone’s company.

It was a wonderful few days and so sorry to see everyone leave. But now I know: 1) I can look at a crime scene with a whole different perspective, 2) I CAN ride a horse, and 3) I CANNOT be hypnotized.

~Sandy

“A sense of humor is just common sense dancing .”~William James
… do it!

I broke the 10,000 word mark on my new WIP today!

I decided that the weekend was not going to end until I did exactly that. And since Monday is going to be busy, (and technically not part of the weekend) I got butt in chair and hands on that keyboard and got’er done.

I can still finish it by June 1 if I stay on course.

Our new guest bedroom furniture was delivered this weekend. It rocks and I am very happy with it. We bought new lamps for the nightstands and now the only thing left to complete that room is window treatments and artwork. Now we’re ready for that special company!!!

We had a very busy and productive weekend. I hate the way Sundays go so fast. Grocery shopping, laundry, gardening, writing, cleaning house. Before we knew it, it was 8:00 pm and hadn’t had dinner yet. GW had bought some talapia so we fried some up and made some veggies go with it and it was an easy meal. I know, I know, we should have grilled the fish, but we were both in the mood for fried.

As soon as the weather gets better, I am going to learn out to cook on our gas grill. Don’t know the first thing about it, but I bet I can learn.

~Sandy

“Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great.”

~Cher

…we ran errands. And ran errands. And ran errands.

But we finally found the rugs we wanted for both the foyer and the family room. And they rock! They are the perfect colors and size and it is amazing how they bring warmth to the rooms. Still have so many other things we want to do but it takes time and lots of work. And we want to make sure we get it how we want it.

Then we shopped around and found the bedroom furniture for the guest bedroom. They now make ‘media chests’ which matches the furniture so you can put a television and DVD players and such on which makes it better than the equipment taking up room on a dresser. I loved that idea! I like a place for everything and everything in its place.

The furniture had to be ordered, of course, so it is the same ole hurry up and wait. But I have patience.

Most of the time 🙂

We trucked to Home Depot and then to Sam’s Club to stock up on some items we were out of and by then we had worked up an appetite (shopping makes you hungry) so went to eat a late lunch. We had a gift card to On The Border so we pigged out on fajitas and veggies and rice and beans. Yum! We were good, though, and didn’t do dessert.

I did get some writing in. That’s important. I was having some trouble getting started on the chapter I am working on. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin it. Until that little birdie reminded me to just START! It can always be revised. But like everything else, I want it to be picture perfect the first time.

Today it is grocery shopping and then writing. I didn’t quite make my word goal this week, but still have to today to make up for it.

Have a great Sunday!

~Sandy