Random things that are overwhelming me right now

The ever-growing pile of donations in the guest room. Clothes and stuff are piling high and starting to expand into the room more and more with every day that goes by. I think the best way to begin is with the clothes, because they just go into bags, but the enormity of the pile in its entirety is insane for my brain right now.

All the events and activities over the next few months. I've got spring break, a girls' weekend in Palm Springs, a girls' weekend at Disneyland, the kid's graduation from middle school, and another long weekend in California. All good stuff, but a lot to plan for, you know?

Work is abnormally busy this week. I'm feeling like I can't catch up, and that my list there is growing and growing. And tomorrow won't be of any help since we're teambuilding off site and I probably won't even get my computer turned on for the day. Also, the teambuilding activity is a surprise so I have no idea when I'll be done for the day to get Sydney after school.

Car, the car, the car. I'm tired of thinking about it. But I've got a couple offers that I may just accept over the next day or two. I'd actually rather have the car for another week so I can transfer the license plates to the new car and be sure I've got all those ducks in a row before I sell mine. I'm super nervous about screwing something up. I've been told there is a lot the DMV allows us to do online, but it almost might be better for my peace of mind if I visit the DMV in person.

There is no book to read. I returned the last of my library books the other day. Another one unread. It's weird how preoccupied I am with the fact that there's nothing on my To-Be-Read shelf, and when I'll be able to get something. I think I might just grab a couple books from the bookcase in the other room and maybe re-read them until I get the books that are languishing in my library queue. I just need something to carry up and down the stairs with my glasses, I guess.

I cut my finger on something in the refrigerator. It's small cut, but like a paper cut, but it was a stealthy ninja cut, and I have no idea what cut me. It bled a whole lot more than I had thought it would. I actually had to grab a tissue to staunch the drops of bleeding. There is perhaps an alligator hiding in my fridge.

I will miss you, chocolate croissants

So today is Ash Wednesday. I am not Catholic; I am not religious. We celebrate Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny just as much as we celebrate witches, ghosts and vampires, and leprechauns ... and Mardi Gras and Cinco de Mayo.
The topic of Lent is brought up because my friend Kerry is honoring Lent by cutting out her salty snacks. JJ is cutting out sodas. I have decided that in an act of solidarity, I too will cut something from my life. I even told my two friends so that I can be held accountable. I am cutting out pastries of all kinds, and side dishes. Side dishes meaning French fries, garlic bread, chips, stuff like that. If I can manage to pull that from my daily food intake, I'll be in good shape. Caveats and exceptions: Chipotle chips with my salad nachos, and waffles fries at Oregano's.
Because I opted in to Lent, in my own peripheral and non-Jesus way, JJ has upped her sacrifice by also cutting fried foods. I will not be doing that, because if I cut all fried foods I'd like die from starvation. I'm trying to figure out what I can add to my Lent to even the stakes, but I feel like ditching the pastries is a pretty big thing.
So quick question: Is Lent all about food products? Wine? Sugar? Or is it behavioral, too? So like no gum chewing or nail biting, or farting in a kitchen? What does Lent entail entirely? Time to Google God stuff, I guess.

A stressful day, a more better evening

My day was stupid and stressful, and I'm so over dealing with all this car garbage. It's like the thing knew I was struggling with saying goodbye, and decided to crap on me this morning to make the eventual goodbye an easier one.
So, my transmission slips. More so when it's cold, so it being parked outside the last couple cool nights has been an issue when I'm taking Sydney to school. It slipped yesterday, and twice this morning. Making it more exciting, the check engine light went on after this morning's slippage.
We took the car to the shop, and since they would have to take the transmission apart to see exactly what the problem was, and since the car is still drivable with this problem, I decided to just edit the car's sales posting with the information about the transmission. I feel much better about being upfront about the transmission, and knowing that I can tell them how to "quick fix" the issue.
I've already got one email for the car's new listing. I contacted all the people who had already emailed me with the new status of the car and a discounted price, essentially splitting the cost of the potential repair. Only one person has replied and asked additional questions. Everyone new (I've already got one email) just gets to know about it and pay the requested price.
What relaxes me somewhat is that I'm in no hurry to sell it. I'll have the new(er) car this weekend, and I won't have to drive my car after that. My heart hurts still, but now, not as much.

Again, as I said yesterday, overwhelming

I had to make the mental decision to realize that even though these people who want to buy my car may have a sense of urgency, I do not have to have one. I have started a list of first-come, first-serve for looking at it and having the option to buy it. Our first appointment is tomorrow afternoon, and she has the first right of refusal. If she refuses, I'll move on to the next person and so on.
I won't lie; this is totally stressing me out. I've never done this before. I don't want to do it now. I'm doing it because I need a not-11-years-old car, and because this will work out better for all of us in the long run. I know for sure that this is the smart play, but I feel like having to sell it myself is a special form of torture. It's bad enough to just have to drive away from a car in a dealer's lot, but finding someone to take it from me? Ugh.
It's time to take control of my email inbox though, for sure. Tomorrow morning, I'm deleting all the emails that came from the people who wanted to know if the car was still available, but haven't gotten back to me in the last 24 hours after I replied to them. So that'll clear out like 40 percent of the car emails, and that'll make me feel better. The next day, I'll do the same thing to today's unanswered email replies. Eventually, this will be controlled, and finished.

Make that hot tea for three, please

ITEM!: I let Sydney taste my hot tea the other day, and she has decided that she enjoys the drinking of hot tea. I showed her how to make it, and she has since had a cup almost every day. I made it for her this morning, and she made her own tonight, and she's officially a Tea Time person now. I had a fun visual moment yesterday morning when I imagined her sitting in the living room, enjoying her tea, listening to the rain, while B and I were running errands. And come to find out, that's exactly what she was doing. Love it. I told her tonight that Grandma and I will be so happy to share Tea Time with her and she was all, "Grandma likes hot tea, too?" And it occurred to me that Mom and I always have our tea after she goes to sleep, so she'd never know.
ITEM!: I put my car up for sale on craigslist later this afternoon, and I've already got 10 emails about it, and I'm feeling very overwhelmed. Honestly, I'm not ready to give up my Jetta, though its issues are driving me crazy, and I need something younger and with fewer miles. I do just love the car so much. Anyway, Kelley Blue Book is estimating more than I thought it was worth, and I'm asking for more than I want, but with this response, I might just get the higher amount. And that would be straight awesome. But still, I love that car and my heart is hurting.
ITEM!: The newest book about Mystic and Boysen is officially out of my hands and in the email inbox of my new editor. She tells me that she'll have it back to me by Friday, and I'm very excited to read/see what she has to say about it. I've read it to Brian, Sydney and Mom today, and I got some positive feedback from the kids at the reading last week, so I'm eager to get this one done and marketed.
ITEM!: Today is Brian's birthday, and I think he had a great day! We had delicious breakfast; visited Best Buy but didn't buy any video games; hung out at home; watched bits of several movies; ate some pasta for dinner; and he's been eating his German chocolate cake all weekend. Good stuff for Brian!

Not at all my garage in this pic

Let's take a quick moment and discuss the awesomeness of working garage door openers. In that, it's awesome when they work.
My garage door opener is not working right now. It's making a terrible, loud clunking noise, and won't stay closed nor open all the way. I've already called the landlord, and they've already been out to see what's going on, so I think the fix will happen tomorrow or Monday, so that's quick and good. But as of now, both cars are parked outside, and the garage itself is an empty, vast space (well, except for all the other stuff).
So, let it be said, it's way more awesome when the garage door opener is working.

Thursday night movie was a winner

ITEM!: We watched "Jojo Rabbit" tonight, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love Taika Waititi anyway, and this film was super smart, and funny, and heartbreaking, and beautiful in every awesome way. I'll not give anything away, but I'll tell you that I totally understand why it was praised so far and wide. The kid in it was wonderful, and Scarlett Johansson was wonderful, and Taika himself was inspired. We all really enjoyed it.
ITEM!: I've found an editor for my newest book, and I'm excited to get it to her soon and see what she has to say about it. I'm always eager to learn what someone else thinks of my work, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what she finds wrong that I didn't notice. Last time, I was really pleased with the editor's comments and suggestions, and I expect I will be again this time with someone new.
ITEM!: I returned another unread book to the library yesterday. I've realized that I haven't read a single book since before the Christmas holiday, and while I'm feeling the lack of mental exercise, I'm not really missing the reading. No doubt I will be reading again soon, but as of now, I'm fine without a tome in hand and carrying it up and down the stairs two to three times a day. In fact though, I've got two brand-new books in my queue that I'm really excited to read, so as soon as I get those, I'll dig in to them, for sure.
ITEM!: Brian's birthday is Sunday, and in celebration, Sydney and I will make him a German chocolate cake to enjoy. We need to stop and pick up the proper frosting for the cake, but other than that, we're ready to go. I swear he prefers this cake because he knows I won't eat any of it because the frosting is super, super gross, but I also know that this has always been his favorite cake. I made him a good one last year, so my hope is to recreate that masterpiece.

I read my book to kids today and they liked it

It's later than I want it to be right now, but I have to tell you, I had a great day today. I was guest reader at a local elementary school, where I read them "Mystic and Boysen Go to the Dentist." I read twice, to kindergartners and first graders, and left each grade with a copy of the book. They all were super into the story, had a ton of questions, and best of all, were incredibly complimentary! Also best of all, I used them as beta testing for the Christmas book, and both grades totally liked the story!
This was my first reading to a group, as well as the first time I'd read the book to a child not Sydney. I mean, I die, because these little muffins of brutal honesty told me several times that they liked my story, and that it was good. And now, I'm super excited to get the next book done, and get into more readings.
They don't know it, but they've given me an incredible boost of confidence in my creation. It's nice to have adults tell me the book is great, but to hear it from the target audience is pretty heady stuff. I absolutely can not get over how great my day was.

One of the most wonderful times of the year

Do-Si-Dos and hot tea are the best snack combination. I was very pleased to see that the Girl Scouts had set up a table at AJs on Sunday while I was there visiting with Leslie. I had only $15 cash on me, so could only buy three boxes of cookies, but you can bet that the Do-Si-Dos were one of them. (Also purchased: Somoas for Brian and Trefoils for Sydney.)
I just opened up my third box of cookies this afternoon, but lest you think I'm just demolishing them, I have been putting three in my bag for work snack everyday, and that's the only time I eat them, so I'm not pigging out, by any means. Also, I don't have to justify my cookie eating to you! Yes! I just opened my third box of Do-Si-Dos! SO WHAT?
I typically get an extra box to put in the back of the freezer so I have one in case of emergency, so I definitely need to pick up more cash and go hunting for more cookies. Oh; I just checked my Cookie Finder app, and it looks like there will be cookies for sale through March 1. Most excellent! I will find them and I will acquire them! COOKIES!!

Television is treating me right tonight

I'm watching some extraordinary television tonight, you guys. Currently, at this moment, I'm watching episode three of "McMillions." Earlier tonight, we watched "LEGO Masters" and "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." And I have to say, this is some good stuff.

McMillions -- I had no idea that this whole thing happened around the McDonald's Monopoly game, and the process of the fraud is beyond fascinating. The FBI agents, and the people who helped perpetrate the fraud, and the McDonald's people are all talking, and they are unraveling a story that is totally amazing. I have no idea how many episodes there are, or how much information is still left to be told, but I am in for the long haul.

LEGO Masters -- "I don't think that you understand LEGO" is a real thing that a real person said to another real person. The dynamics behind the LEGO builds and the teams is captivating, and I can't not watch this. We already have our favorite teams, as well as the teams that we wouldn't mind seeing go away. Will Arnett is always a delight, and I'm super intrigued to see how this goes. I also like very much that Sydney is enjoying watching it with me! We're having so much fun rooting for the people we like!

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist -- I love musicals. I love musicals on television. And "Zoey's" is delivering some awesome musical ambrosia for me. It's got sweet family stories, a love story or two, a character to cheer for, a good role model, and some really kicky song choices. Also, it's another show that Sydney is excited to watch with me every week! It's so good, and I hope a lot of people are watching it because I don't want this show to stop.

The praise from the Watch is important

Sydney and I went to the zoo this afternoon, and it was a pretty awesome activity. We didn't get there until a bit after 1 p.m., and the parking lots and lines were full up. We were able to get a decent spot though, inexplicably, and then managed a quick line through the entrance gates.
One of my goals was to see the Mexican gray wolf pups. There are five of them, if memory serves, and while they're almost grown at this point, they're still puppies. I really wanted to see them before they if/when get separated. What's cool is that the zoo maintenance crew has cleared away a lot of the brush and cover the wolves had previously, so we were able to see them very well. They wandered around and were laying down, and they were acting like little wolves thank you very much.
We also saw javelinas, mountain lions, golden eagles, burrowing owls, lion, tigers and elephants. Also one of my favorites, the large tortoise, was relatively active, but incredibly photogenic today. Check out that pic: the tortoise is yawning, and I got a picture of it. I love pictures of animals yawning, and I am beyond ecstatic to have gotten this particular image.
As for everyone else at the zoo, no one was moving around much at all, since it was mid-afternoon, and wouldn't we all rather be napping anyway. It was really nice though, for Sydney and I to walk around and get some exercise.
But here's the irritation: I forgot to put on my Apple Watch, so I didn't get a single step of credit for walking as much as I did today. For someone who doesn't move much anyway, I always look forward to the opportunities I get in gaining points/credit/praise for moving and closing the rings on my Watch. Today, no dice. I'll have to plan better next time.

I have no Doughnut-est Batman

I hadn't planned on blogging about doughnuts tonight, but then Krispy Kreme went and posted this to its Instagram today, and my plans changed. Also changed are the plans that I had to drive to Sprinkles tomorrow and pick up a couple of their chocolate, chocolate chip with raspberry frosting cupcakes. Now, it seems very much like I may be driving to Krispy Kreme.
It's not just that the doughnut picture looks amazing, because that's actually enough, but the picture is of my favorite doughnut at Krispy Kreme, the chocolate iced. I know that I'm an impulse buyer who is very easily influenced to get something that I've seen on television. But I mean, really, Krispy Kreme. Why you gotta tempt me like that?

So Sydney messed up in her behavior a couple days ago, and she's got no electronics to keep her company for a couple days, so she's been spending a lot of time with us, and we've been watching movies. For some reason related to Heath Ledger's Joker, she was interested in watching the Christian Bale "Batman" movies, so this afternoon, we finished the last of those three films. She did enjoy them quite a bit, so I think she's going to end up a Christian Bale-Batman kid, even though the first Batman she saw on screen was Ben Affleck.
I don't really have a favorite Batman. I have a Real-est Batman (Bale); Hottest Batman (Ben Affleck); Best Batman (Val Kilmer); Boring-est Batman (Michael Keaton); Funnest Batman (George Clooney); Not-Seeing-the-Movie-est Batman (Robert Pattinson). Regarding the Bale Batmans, I don't think I've sat and watched the second and third movies since I'd seen them in the theater. I don't like what happened with the Rachel character in the second movie, I have to say, and how Alfred behaved in the third movie. So that's why. I like the Bale-Batman; I just am not a fan of a couple subplots there.

Best souvenir candy jar in all of Hogsmeade

I bought this candy jar at Harry Potter's Wizarding World at Universal Studios in Hollywood. It was full of lemon drops, which are, of course, Dumbledore's favorite candy. I'm not a huge fan of lemon drops, but I was a huge, huge fan of this candy jar. I bought the drops for the jar, and I have not regretted that decision since.
Today, the jar is full of cinnamon jelly hearts, which might possibly be the best candy in the world. This actually is the last bit of the second bag I've opened since mid-January, Don't they look wonderful and pretty in my Honeydukes candy jar?
Not sure what I'm going to put in this jar once Valentine's Day is over tomorrow, but I suspect something green and delightful for St. Patrick's Day.

Keep your fake baby powder, sickos

As Brian and I sat in the audience of Sydney's choir concert the other night, we were assaulted by the odor emanating from the three-person family sitting in front of us. You'd probably assume I mean body odor or garlic or something gross like that, but you'd be wrong. Instead, it was the overpowering scent of fake baby powder smell. You know, like the baby powder scent they spray into cars at car washes? Yes, it was exactly that smell.
The odor was so strong that it was inescapable, and the seats were so close that we really couldn't tell which of the group it was. I suspect the mom, but I'm really not sure. The dad or grandfather looked old enough to be bathing in the stuff.
Whenever the air circulated in the auditorium, the odor would invade my senses intensely, and a couple times I even coughed. It was that strong. Also, I hate the smell of fake baby powder. There wasn't anyplace for us to move, and the show was going to be relatively short, so it didn't make sense to move at that point. But really, it was terrible.

Was already a fan, now a bigger one

I'm annoyed that I let it get this late before I started writing my blog post for the day. Brian and I watched the second episode of "McMillions" tonight, and then, for whatever reason, I thought that maybe the update being installed on the laptop wouldn't take very long. In fact, it took about 40 minutes for the update to upload and install. Then I typed out the next adventure of Mystic and Boysen on the computer; it's been written out for a week and edited a couple times already. And then, well, then it was time to blog.

I watched "Miss Americana," the documentary movie about Taylor Swift this evening, and it was really good! I wasn't much of a fan, or a fan at all, when she was singing the country music, but her first pop album was super great, and Sydney and I listened to it all the time for a while there, so I consider myself a fan at this point. The new album, "Lover," is really good, too.

The documentary is a deep dive into her life, and especially, her growth over the last several years, as she's chosen to become more visual in her attitudes, beliefs and opinions. But my favorite parts are where a viewer can see how songs are written and how albums are created. I love to see the creative process unfold. How she can be messing with a piano, and she'll play a chord or some notes together, and you can hear a song that you know in that. It's so cool.

It's also really easy to forget how vulnerable artists are in regards to the public perception and their value in society. It was intriguing to see that play out on a young girl who was told that being the good girl was the only way to succeed. There's a scene where the entire team is discussing Taylor finally speaking out publicly about politics, and how it could be damaging to her brand and alienate fans. I think it's telling that, in the scene, it was the men trying to stop her from speaking out, while the women not only encouraged her, but celebrated it when she did it. For me, that was the moment I was the most proud of her. She said, No, I'm going to do this; and then she did it. It's a good documentary, and it's a healthy, strong and empowering story for girls to see. Recommended.