The Day I Thought Would Never Come

It has arrived.  The day I thought would never come is finally here.  The first day of school.  But this is a special first day of school, because it is the first time in fourteen years that I have not had any kids at home.  I better not have any surprise pregnancies!!!

And now that it's here, I'm not quite sure what to do with myself.

I have plenty of things to do.  I have a book revision that needs revising.  I could actually cook a real dinner (that hasn't happened in a long time either.  I wouldn't go so far as saying fourteen years, but close . . .).  I could blog (already doing that.  Check.).  I have paperwork that needs to be filled out by doctors about medicine for allergic reactions and a sprained ankle dating back to last week.  I could venture in my son's room to deep clean it, but I'm afraid of how much dust and dirty socks I might find.  I could worry.  My oldest daughter took the bus for the first time today to go to a Magnet middle school to be in an accelerated program = not knowing anyone since it is not the school we are zoned for.  But I really think she will do great.  Although the sprained ankle might not do so great.  My youngest went to school with a medium/bad cold.  She didn't want to miss her first day and I didn't want to discourage that kind of enthusiasm.  I just hope she doesn't sneeze, because watch out there may be flying boogers.  Lots of them.  And she gets to eat lunch in the cafeteria.  And she'll have to write, which she hates to do.  I don't know how that happened, because as we all know, I LOVE to write. . .

So I think I'll go make an official list of things to do today, and maybe another one for things to do this year and get busy catching up on all the things I have let slide since my kids came along. 

Wish me luck!

About me. Takers? Anyone?

I have been busy doing homework.  But, that's okay because it is good homework.  It's paperwork for getting the book published.  Crazy enough, the thing that has been the hardest is writing my bio.  I am supposed to come up with something other than where I was born, where I live now and that I have four kids.  I am supposed to write something that would catch the readers attention and make them want to read my book.  It was easier for me to write a 300 page book than it has been for me to come up with a one paragraph bio for the back of the book.  Seriously! 

My attempts have been fraught, yes fraught, with self-doubt.  I find myself funny, but am I really?  Will I just sound like a weirdo if I say I have an over-active imagination that sometimes gets me in trouble?  I'm not imagining naughty things, or people talking to me that aren't really there.  It is purely an innocent, active imagination.  Like the kind that makes it possible to write a book.  Will readers understand the joke when I say I live in Las Vegas but not in a hotel?  Am I not the only one who had a hard time believing people actually live in Las Vegas, and not just vacation there?  It would be nice to live in a hotel since room service and maids would make my life much easier.

So I keep writing and rewriting drafts about me.  I haven't gotten any more interesting.  So I came up with a plan.  Like maybe one of you would like to write my bio.  Anyone?  Anyone?

Cast of characters

So I have had this cast of characters up since February, with not so much as an explanation.  I was amusing myself by choosing out actors and models that looked like how I imagined my characters in my book to look like.  Or, of course, when a movie is made of it.  :)  It was a fun way to pass the time while waiting to hear about my manuscript. 

 Well, I heard.

And it's a . . .

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone has been so nice with the congratulations and some wanted to know what it's about.  So here's a short (illustrated) synopsis.

Sophia Davis is a beautiful, 19 year old freshman at BYU. 

She also has a secret.  The year before she got married, and then 4 months later her husband walked away from the marriage.  She doesn't want to tell anyone she is divorced because she feels it's a stigma.  And what if Travis changes his mind and wants her back?  She struggles to adjust to her new single life, making it to class and dealing with her roommates.  Her secret eventually unravels in a big way, much to everyone's surprise. 

Travis, the ex husband

Bradley Benson, the interested guy

Luke James, the sensitive guy



Rhonda, the Molly Mormon roommate

Claire, the uptight, serious student roommate

   




Sarah, the sweet Returned Missionary

Justin, Luke's roommate



Okay, so my picture placement needs some help. 
But, at least you have a little visual about my book.  Yay!



Oh where, oh where have I been?

I know, it's been months since my last posting.
But's it's my book's fault.
I heard from the publisher I sent my manuscript to, and they requested a revision.  So off to revising I went.  I mistakenly thought I could get it finished and returned to them in six weeks.  But obviously I didn't.  After eight weeks I thought I was still making good time.  Thanksgiving was my goal.
I felt lucky in that I had a rough draft of the sequel already written (I'm a little bit excited about my book), so I was able to cut and paste in a couple of chapters to accomplish the changes the publisher requested.  But then I had the great idea to change the sequence of events a little bit, which in turn changed the story line a bit, so I had to make sure any changes I made were consistent throughout.  So that took a little more time than planned.
Then I was lucky enough to have two friends/published authors, who nicely agreed to read my book and let me know what they thought.  I took their pointers and read and reread my book a billion times and happily sent it in on Christmas Eve.
Then.
I went to visit my parents the week after Christmas and my mom wanted to read my book.  As she read it outloud, I found error after error.  I was embarrassed that I had been so sloppy in my editing, but also realized how easily my mind auto-corrected my story because I knew it so well.
So I made the corrections, resubmitted it and blamed the mistakes on too much non-alcoholic egg nog over Christmas. 
And now I'm back to waiting.  I think the time frame is two months, give or take.  So I'm hoping I'll hear by March, and I'll be sure to announce any good news.  Any bad news, I might just keep quiet :), but I have a good feeling about it . . .

Deceptively Delicious

In the on-going war with trying to get my kids to eat healthier, I finally resorted to Jessica's Seinfeld's book Deceptively Delicious.  I have yet to use it, but I have perused it.  I can report that my kids have yet to eat vegetables by just perusing it.  Dang!  :(

Seriously, though. It sounds like a great concept.  Puree veges and sneak them into food.  So what if your mac n cheese is green, the kids will never taste that you put spinach in it!  Skimming over the part about she and Jerry making purees together in their kitchen on Sundays . . .with their money, wouldn't they have a cook?  Or a butler?  But back to the purees, I wondered if I could just go buy a jar of baby food and dump it in my recipe.  I mean, it's already pureed, and I didn't even have to do it.  Come to find out, there is no pureed cauliflower for babies, and I couldn't seem to find spinach, either.  I swear there was spinach when I was spoon feeding my kids.

Needless to say, I have not pureed.  Not yet.  But my intention is still there.

But here's the funny part. 

My kids found the cookbook and looked through it.  It also happened to be the same day I made brownies for when they came home from school.  Next thing I know, Esther says, "Mom!  Did you put carrots in these?"

I seriously had no idea what she was getting at.  I wouldn't ruin perfectly good brownies by putting carrots in them.  What was she talking about?  "What?  Why would I do that?"

"Because of that cookbook.  Did you put carrots in these?  I saw the cookbook, you know."

Then I laughed, because I hadn't done anything with that cookbook other than look at it and see if the store carried pureed cauliflower.

"Nope.  No carrots."

Esther eyed me suspiciously, "Are you sure?"

"Very sure," I reassured her.  And we all ate brownies happily ever after.

I still have yet to use the cookbook.  But I laugh at how my kids were deceptively deluded.  Hopefully when I DO use the cookbook, they won't have any clue.

Brace Yourself Honey, It's Gonna Be Expensive!

My oldest child needs braces.  Poor guy, he inherited not only my good looks, but my crooked, crooked teeth.  Granted, now my teeth are not crooked.  But it took four longs years of braces to fix that.  And now, he's facing life with braces and he is none too happy about it.

Knowing how long I had mine, and the palate expander, and other various contaptions (luckily, I never had head gear), I knew his braces prognosis was not going to be particularly pretty.  And, it wasn't.  To the tune of over $5,000.00 not pretty.

As luck would have it, our dental plan has no orthodontic insurance.  Great.

Oh, and have I mentioned the oral surgery he needs?

Yes, he needs to have several teeth extracted, one tooth chained to gently yet forcefully "guide" it to it's rightful, natural position in his mouth.  Sounds lovely, doesn't it.  And last but not least, he may or may not have a bone cyst in the back part of his lower jaw.  Could it get any better?

Supposedly insurance covers the oral surgery.  We'll see.  Dubious would be a good adjective for my thoughts about that. 

The only upside to oral surgery is he would be under for the procedure.  I wonder if they'd be willing to put me under too, just a little?  It might dull the physical and financial pain I am going to have to endure.

My son does not understand that by getting braces put on, I am really doing him a favor.  Even if it costs me a small fortune.  He keeps trying to do ME a favor and tell me he doesn't need braces.  But that really wouldn't be doing him a favor.

Someday he will thank me.  Someday he will understand that I am willingly inflicting pain on him for the next (possibly) four years because I love him and want the best for him.  Someday he will appreciate how his dad and I willingly inflicted (serious) pain on our finances to give him a beautiful smile.

And now I am going to start saving for when my last child, who also is a carbon copy of me, needs braces.  Cause I know she will. 

Lucky me.

It's Like Waiting For That Boy To Call

You know, back in the dating days, when you went out with a boy that you really like, that you think is perfect, that you think you could easily fall in love with?  Yeah, that boy that ends the date with "I had a really good time.  I'll call you,"  and you wait and wait and wait for him to call?

You don't expect, but secretly hope, that he will call the next day.  Isn't that, like, dating protocol?  To wait at least one day before calling, so as to not look too anxious.  So if date night was Friday night, you think maybe Sunday he will call.  But then Sunday comes and the hours tortuously tick away without the phone ringing.  Okay, maybe he is really busy with church, or something.

Monday will definitely be the day he calls.  Because then he won't seem too anxious and he can make plans for the next weekend.  Plans with you, that is. Instead of going to the library to study, like you need to, you go home and wait by the phone (this is back in my college days, when we didn't have cell phones.)  Or, you keep checking your messages, emails and facebook page to see if there is any sort of anything you can remotely consider him contacting you.  Nope. Nothing.

Tuesday is going to be the day.  You just know it.  And it's the perfect day to call for a date on Friday.  You spend another day staring at your phone, checking any sort of messaging, waiting for his.  The refresh button on your computer is started to wear out. 

Wednesday you are just mad.  What is his problem?  If he said he was going to call, why hasn't he called?  How dare he promise to do that and then not.  Or, if he really didn't like you, and had a really bad time, and really didn't want to call you, then why did he say he had a good time and would call?  Maybe he should have ended it with a handshake and a thanks!

Thursday, well, maybe, just maybe, he left your phone number in his jeans pocket and washed them?  Maybe his phone got stolen?  Maybe his computer crashed?  Maybe his car crashed with him in it and he's too injured to get to a phone to call you and ask you out?  There has to be a darn good excuse why he hasn't called you.  And yet, with all the excuses, still no call.

By Friday, you just hate him.  You are spitting nails and saying his name laced with venom.  Fine!  If that's how it's going to be then you can move on.  You didn't like him that much anyway.  Besides, he chewed his pasta weird.  You'll show him  that you don't care.  (But still, secretly you wonder, why hasn't he called?)

Saturday is the day that your phone battery dies because you checked it so many times yesterday and you fell asleep staring at it, willing for it to ring, wishing for telepathy.  Since the weekend is practically over, you plug in the phone, trudge to the grocery store, eat a bag of oreo's and watch some really crappy made-for-tv movie about some heartbroken girl trying to move on some personal tragedy.  You could relate, since you were currently living in the middle of your own personal dating tragedy.  You check your phone one last time before going to bed at 11:30 pm, and there it is, one missed called.

And of course, it's him.  And of course, he called when you were home, watching the pathetic movie stuffing your face with shortening laced cookies.  And of course, it's too late to call him now.  Bummer.

Sometimes there's a perfectly good reason for his silence, like his mom was in the hospital and he was out of town, or his grandma died, or his phone really was stolen, or he really washed your number in his laundry.  Whatever the reason, you are so excited to hear from him.  And so what if he eats his pasta a little weird?

Or you never hear from him and need to get over it or get another man, whichever one comes easily or quickest.

My whole point to this (yes, there is a point to this) is waiting for that guy to call is like waiting for my book to be accepted for publication.  When you send in a manuscript, the general rule is that you will hear in 8-12 weeks.  I heard at 12 weeks that they had received my manuscript.  So that was good news.  Next it was going to be evaluated.  That's another 4-6 months.  After that you will either hear a "no thank you" or you won't hear anything until after it goes to the deciding committee (the final YES or NO).  All in all, it takes a little more time than I realized.  But if the outcome is a YES then theoretically I should be happy to wait for however long it takes.  But instant gratification is apparantly not in the business of book publishing. 

So I wait. 

I'm sure I'll hear any day now.  Maybe they're all on vacation?  Maybe they all got food poisoning after a catered company meeting?   Maybe the flu hit Utah early this year?  Maybe all their computers crashed, wiping out everything . . .