Living in the Desert

Those who follow my blog have heard me whining over the last few months about cleaning and packing and unpacking and all of that. Moving is always stressful, and moving in seems to take forever, but we are finally getting settled into the new house and exploring the area. We’re still in the same town, but we’re in a more rural area now. The quiet and space is something we’re loving and we’ve been enjoying the wildlife even if our dog Finn still isn’t so sure about some of them running around the yard.

Living in the desert my not be super green, but the views are still gorgeous, especially the sunsets.

There are lots of interesting places to explore, although I’m slightly concerned about what might be living in some of those burrow/holes in the rocky areas…

One of the downsides of being out in a more rural is that the bugs are a little more prevalent, and apparently bigger! So gross. This spider, all curled up, was about a big as a penny, which means it was even bigger alive. I tried to push it off the porch with a stick, but I’m a chicken and had this irrational fear that it would “wake up” and come bite me, so I’m going to see if my hubby will get rid of it tonight.

Seeing more wildlife than bugs has been fun as well. We’re not totally sure where the little cottontails live, but they seem to have a warren somewhere on the property and leave lots of little droppings everywhere!

Things That Don’t Fit in Boxes

This being the last weekend before our big move means we’re just about to the “Just throw it in a box, I don’t care which one!” stage. The problem is, there are some things you just can’t box up, such as…

Giant swing set play-fort things and trampolines…

Seriously, these are going to be a beat to move!

Everything in the fridge…

I hate waiting until the last minute, but what else can you really do?

The dog…

He’s a little freaked out by the boxes and hullabaloo going on and is driving me a little crazy this week.

The garage…

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just fold all the big tools and shelves and camping gear all up into one neat package? How do I pack most of this stuff?

The dirt and dust…

Not only do you have to pack everything up, but you still have to go back and clean everything once that’s done. Can’t it just jump in a box and spare me the effort?

Only a few more days until moving day! This is the moment you wish you were a Disney princess with woodland animals to lend a helping hand!

Random Things Because my Brain is Fried

Ever had one of those weeks where your brain feels like this by Friday?

It’s been a busy week and I think my husband, kids, and me are all ready for a nice long weekend. With soccer, packing, hauling things to the dump, dinner, puppies causing trouble, work, cleaning, planning, and all the other fun stuff that goes along with everyday life, there are always those few random things that you think about in the in moments where you’re too tired to really think of anything important. Like…

Why do I like to put my socks on before anything else?

Why does the puppy like to sleep with his legs straight out from his body, crossed at the middle like he’s been frozen mid crazy run?

How many nicks in the paint on your house can you possibly cause in six and a half years? (You’ll find out the answer when you have to go around retouching paint!)

Is there a reason we still have the cords and plugs to eighty three pieces of electronics we don’t even own anymore?

We don’t even own a VHS player. What do I do with the box of old tapes in the stairs closet?

Is there actually a point to Minecraft?

Is Netflix ever going to add another season of Warehouse 13?

Just how many services am I going to have to call and have moved to the new house? (Answer: too many!)

Why is the antiseptic spray at work so freaking sticky when it gets on the floor?

What was I about to do?

What random thoughts go through your head during the week?

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The Plus Side of Insomnia

I had some book goals for the beginning of 2015…and then my husband and I decided to sell our house, so everything book related happily got put on hold in the face of the excitement of moving.

We’re all pretty pumped about moving next month. Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly!

So, back to insomnia.

Moving is stressful. Well, trying to sell your house and keep it clean with two kids and a dog who is constantly eating crap he should and having…shall we call it intestinal troubles?…that’s stressful. My hubby and I had a tough time keeping up with that in addition to all the other craziness of inspections, offers, surveying, and on and on.

You’d think all that would make you fall asleep as soon as you hit the pillow, but not so much. When I get stressed, I don’t sleep well.

What do I do while I’m lying there staring into the darkness?

PLOT

Sounds ominous, right? I’m not talking revenge or mayhem. I’m talking BOOKS.

With all the hoopla of the last few months…

I haven’t done much writing, or marketing, or anything actually book related. The last week or so, with all the insomnia I’ve been having, I have at least had the chance to work out the kinks I had been stumped with on The Ghost Host.

What’s been bugging me about The Ghost Host?

Trying to capture the decision making skills of a troubled 18-year-old girl on her own for the first time.

She thinks she has things under control. Her friends are with her. A guy she really likes has promised to protect her. She and the ghost who’s stalking her seem to be on decent terms for the moment, and the FBI is actually looking like a good move.

Echo doesn’t actually have anything under control, and I was too the point in the story where things needed to start unraveling but I wasn’t sure how to do that. How exactly does a girl in that situation react when her first boyfriend, first time on her own, first kind of job, and first time trying to handle the ghosts on her own?

I finally figured it out.

She makes a lot of mistakes.

So, now that I’m finally making progress on The Ghost Host again, I can hopefully finish the last quarter of the book a start making plans for a summer release.

So, keep checking back to see what trouble Echo and the ghosts manage to get themselves into.