Spring Fever (It might just be wool fibers lodged in my lungs)

Where have I been? Oh, where have I been...

I am neck deep in the retail world and about a season ahead of everyone else. Last night I was dismantling and revamping an entire store. What this meant for me specifically is, among other things, sorting and hanging rugs. Some of them weighed more than I do, no joke. And I had to haul them up a ladder (with one other petite girl) and then clip them to hanging racks. We were both covered in a fine dust, actual dirt, and wool fibers that stuck to our sweaty skin. It's a glamorous job, don't be fooled.

Once finished we hied ourselves over to the candle shop where we moved an entire wall of candles, floor to ceiling to a different part of the wall. Candles aren't lightweight either.

All this to say that, while I actually enjoy the organizing part, I didn't expect quite so much heavy lifting.

Spring is right around the corner people. You might not see it yet but it's in creation at a retail store near you as we speak!

Nuance

As a stay at home mom it's sometimes hard to live with the day in, day out monotony of the never-ending chores, nose wiping, question answering, meal making and laundry. Sometimes you get bogged down in the, what feels like, drudgery.

But, I've been out of the monotony for 2 months now. And, when you're not in the monotony you also miss the little nuances, the tiny changes in speech, the quirk of the brow when a little one suddenly understands that they can make a joke, the new facts they know, the change in the color of their hair.

I miss knowing the nuances.

Wild Eyed

So right now I'm living on lattes and adrenaline. Which means that I'll probably look like this when you see me.

It's rather exhilarating.

When I'm not working, this is what I look like.

Emotions into Words

I don't talk much about my writing. It seems presumptuous that anyone would have any real interest or connection with the stories floating around in my head. But I keep writing them because the characters keep talking to me, they keep working through life questions, and they're living out lives that don't look like anything close to mine, so that's fun.

Lines to pitch to an agent. 90 minutes of adrenaline.

I attended the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Conference this weekend (which explains the #pnwa label I used on twitter all weekend in case you were wondering). It was super fun and ridiculously exhausting. Which, I think, is what happens to 95% of writers when they attend a writing conference. (That other 5% is the anomaly of the extroverted writer... I watch them from my semi-sheltered seat against the window.)

Yes, there's sun in Seattle. It's a secret, don't tell!

It's a relief to be with other people who have this innate drive to tell stories. I heard it said this way "We translate feelings." That's it. We're all gathered and talking about the feelings we immerse ourselves in and try to create each time we work on putting words to paper (screen).

Practice words, trying to figure out how to encapsulate a story.

Everything I write is an exercise in capturing a feeling. Those feelings are universal, regardless of age, sex, and life experiences. So, even if my particular packaging isn't up everyone's alley I keep reminding myself that the feeling is true, the emotion is relatable and important, the identification of those highs and lows is a good thing.

Caffeine or Chocolate...got to keep the energy up.

I was a finalist in the Romance category of PNWA Literary Contest this year. A complete shock. I didn't win but the weekend of positive encouragement from people doing the same thing as me day to day, year to year was another form of winning.

How fun to be in the company of the finalists and winners!

Mothers and Daughters

Two things I really love to do:

Draw Blood.

Phlebotomy at Nairobi Hospital

Sew.

Sewing classes in Eastleigh 

I take after my mom in both. People say I look like her too.

This is a typical family photo:
Dad getting the family AND the entire tree... (those foresters!)

Love you Mom!

Airline Fun in 140 Characters

Last week I took a quick, work related trip to Chicago. Flew in one day, had hours of meetings, flew out the following evening. Well, it was supposed to be late evening but, as my live tweeting captured, it turned out to be a rather long and involved night... I don't tweet much or very often, but that night I broke all my records. I thought I'd just let the tweets tell the progression of the night.

As part of [airport] security there is a t-rex skelton gazing down on us  4:53 PM 

This lady is watching me eat. Which makes me even more awkward than normal 5:32 PM

Just had to tear into a piece of broccoli with my hands. Because I have no knife and lady still stares  5:34 PM

Shes probably tweeting about me. 5:35 PM

This is the 3rd time they've changed my gate since I got here. I'm putting in extra miles  5:56 PM

And we have a 4th gate change. I'm getting a little nervous, do they know what they're doing? 6:09 PM

Even the flight attendants were running around trying to figure out where they were supposed to be. 

Almost time to board, feeling sick. Lets all pray that I'm not  6:28 PM 

It's cause I had to shovel my food to get away from the lady! 6:28 PM 

New plane. Screen in the seat back. Perhaps i'll survive  7:00 PM

They are holding us hostage on board until 5 people volunteer to get off. She [flight attendant] used threat and guilt 7:06 PM

Seems that no one is tempted by a night at a hotel and meal vouchers. 7:07 PM

We need a better offer before we will negotiate! 7:08 PM

They have threatened "off-loading" 7:09 PM 

FYI, it's not like any of us snuck on the plane, though they sure made it sound that way. We all had over-priced tickets that gave each of us 16 inches of seat to huddle in for 4 hours...

$600 card on the table. 4 volunteers to go 7:10 PM

1 more, people! Can we hold out for a trip around the world? 7:12 PM 

Someone backed away. Back to 2 volunteers needed 7:13 PM

Limbo... They got their 5 but the seats are still empty. What kind of racket is this? 7:17 PM

At this point my seatmate and I realize that the middle seat in front of us has been open THE ENTIRE TIME.

I haven't named the airline yet but I'm getting super close... 7:19 PM

Oh no! Its like the Hunger Games, they're calling us by name! 7:20 PM

They're bringing bags up from underneath. What are they making room for?? 7:21 PM

Bodies? Stowaways? Those 5 volunteers? 7:22 PM 

Must go NOW!! 7:22 PM

They SAID we were leaving...

4 empty seats on this flight... You do the math. (still at the gate.I'm not endangering the flight!) 7:28 PM 

They've now counted us 4 times. Next up, roll call. 7:31 PM

They may need more volunteers, 4 empty seats are not enough...I'm baffled. 7:33 PM

 

A volunteer reappears...and has re-seated himself. I hope he got the voucher! 7:34 PM

Door closed. We might actually be going somewhere! 7:35 PM

Cue 4 hours of quiet. They did give us all free TV but only AFTER the guy across the aisle "suggested" it to one of the attendants.

Here. 1 1/2 hrs late. 12:23 AM

Taking off I counted 13 planes waiting in line behind us. 12:24 AM

Watching to see what they unload from underneath. Still suspicious 12:25 AM


So, to sum up:

• "Volunteers" were all but forcibly removed from the plane in order to make room for the crowd of people still waiting to get on the plane (like it was our fault for buying a ticket and taking up their room on the plane!). 
• We sat for an hour while they shuffled around some luggage. 
• NO ONE NEW EVER GOT ON THE PLANE AFTER THE VOLUNTEERS LEFT!!!

I have concluded that we know even less than we thought we knew when it comes to air travel. Is ignorance bliss? Perhaps, if it keeps us from sitting at the gate for an hour while fellow passengers randomly disappear...

Phoenix

Friday morning I flew to Phoenix for work. I don't often travel for work so it's always a disruption, a shock to everyone's system. As I sat on the plane, reading a book and sipping coffee, I, as usual, thought about the family I'd left behind. There were two little girls sitting dazed in the back seat from the early morning wake-up call to get me to the plane on time. And there was the man driving me to the airport without complaint; he took the day off of work, woke up the girls, changed diapers, dressed them and then, after dropping me off, took them out to breakfast - what The Princess deemed "the best place ever!"

They made us eat lunch OUTSIDE!
That's 100 degrees Fahrenheit people.

I have to balance a lot, like every other woman out there. Work, children, housework, cooking, being a wife and mother. And then there's just being me, sometimes as an after thought, sometimes as an appropriate priority, sometimes as a completely selfish act. But I have a partner who helps me balance, who's willingness to take over and step in wordlessly keeps this teeter-totter calm and steady, even when I'm flailing around on my end.

So, I sat there wondering what they were eating for breakfast, how they were going to fill the day, hoping he'd get a nap in the afternoon...but I didn't worry. He's got it under control, whether it's different from how I do it or not. He's my counterpart, my right hand and left hand, and the one that let's me pursue my life outside of the walls of our home with words of love and encouragement.

The only realistic place to be is in water...computers aren't waterproof...
therefore, this is not a realistic place to be.