Winter is coming (nerd)

This bush was once green.... 

Fall approaches. The leaves are changing, the heavy, sweet scent of smoke and dead leaves hangs in the air.  Today was warm, but there's still that underlying knowledge that the colder days get closer.  It's nice to be in a place where the walls aren't likely to radiate cold.  (Big Guy complains that is an inaccurate term, but I disagree.  It's a perfect description for the trailer walls.  You could feel the cold winter air pour off of them, even when there were no windows.)

Hey, orang-ish ones!

In an effort to drum up more money for the home, I've thrown my hat into the tutoring ring.  Using Google, since they seem to have all the cool stuff, I designed a website and advertised on Craigslist.  We'll see what I can bring in. 

Other than the usual difficulties, we're settling in rather well.  Our oven went out, but our Landlord has already ordered a new one and it should be installed next week.  The cats seem to be handling this well too.  I was afraid Caitlin wasn't going to handle the stress of moving well, but she's handled it better than Tiger!  Caitlin got here, poked around the place, and then has settled in nicely.  Tiger, on the other hand, yowled non-stop in the car, hyperventilated when we got here, hid in our closet and has spent the days since then trying to get out of the house.

Caitlin wasn't aware Tiger was under her

Little Guy loves the house too...  But he's driving me nuts with the stairs.  He loves them.  He slides down them on his belly or he hops down them, one step at a time.  I am terrified he's going to break his neck.  Big Guy and I are still bumbling our way through boxes, one at a time.  At the rate we're going we may be unpacked by.... 2015. 

Even with the tightness of life, Big Guy and I are thrilled and happy to be moved out of Elkhart and into a house that doesn't threaten to re-enact the house scene from The Wizard of Oz.  Our library is close, we will have heat, and we always make it work.  We always do.

Wordless Wednesday - Homeschool Dinosaurs

Because we must

Nicole over at The World of My Imagination wrote about writers and blogging... Her conclusion is sound... Writers need to blog. Why?

Writing - copyright J. Paxon Reyes

Well, I firmly believe that writers blog for the same reason they write. They must. It's similar to mountains and mountain climbers. It's there, so it must be climbed. The words exist, so they must be put down. Hell, I've been writing stories since elementary school. In my case, I always felt the stories churning around in my head and had to get them out on paper. It's like a sore in your mouth. You know it hurts to touch it, but you still poke at it with your tongue.

I can't help but write. I get antsy if I don't write, but I also have a love-hate relationship with writing. I'll go through spurts where I write nonstop. I throw every word in my head onto the page and then some.... And then I look at what I've written and trash it because I am convinced it sucks. I feel like it is the worst writing that has ever been since the first caveman (or woman) spit paint around their hand. I understand this is a common problem with writers. We are our own worst critics.

I haven't figured out how to get past that yet. I'm open to suggestions, because I have several half-started books kicking around and random story bits that never seem to get finished. Part of it may be my ADD/perfectionism, though. I have so many partial projects and so few completed ones. It's scary. I think that's where my difficulty in applying to grad school is stemming from as well. What if I get in, and I'm told my writing sucks. I can take constructive criticism, but to be told that I CANNOT write would be horrible.

It doesn't even matter that I know I am at least a passable writer. It doesn't matter that I have had people nag me to finish stories so they could read them... I still am convinced all my writing is horrible... So I hide it away and only let it out occasionally. I want to finish my book(s). I know where I want the stories to go. Unfortunately, I sit down to work on them and end up getting distracted by revising... Which leads me to reading them... Which causes me to think: "This is horrible! No one wants to read this!" And then I abandon writing it for another few months, only to start the process again.

I think, this November, I am actually going to buckle down and do NaNoWriMo... Anyone want to do it with me?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Krafty Kitten is taking a huge leap forward, as you can see.  I've changed the formatting (a bit) and I am hopefully improving the content.  The change reflects (in a way) the changes we've been going through around here.  Aside from the move, Little Guy has started being homeschooled, Big Guy is still the house-husband, and I, the intrepid instructor, am trying to talk myself into going back and getting my Master's degree. 

Right now, my vacation week is winding to a close.  I had a great time at home with my guys.  We were productive indoors since it rained most of the week.  Hopefully, we'll be able to enjoy the outdoors in the next week.  I'd like to have Little Guy look at trees as the seasons change from summer to fall.  I have grand plans that will probably never quite work the way I want them to.  Such is the price of having a Little Guy like mine. 

Tonight, my last night, I am cooking dinner and then showering since I spent the whole day putting together next month's plan for my class.  I have a few new tricks up my sleeve and I really needed this break to recharge those creative juices.  The dinner I put together was quick and relatively easy.  Big Guy had cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast and we had a pan with bacon grease on the bottom of it.  I took chicken breast tenderloins and fried them, onions, garlic, green beans, and spices in the pan.  Then I boiled some angel hair pasta, drained it, and tossed it with the chicken mixture and fresh basil.  It turned out really well though I may have over done the red pepper a smidge. 

The shower will be appreciated since I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.  Perfect timing.  I'll pop some cold meds before bed and hopefully kick this before it starts.  I hate being sick, and being sick while teaching is a full measure of suck.  We do what we must though and I am determined to make this an excellent month. 

One final note, I did get my interview published on Mommy Page.  It even has a picture of me!  SO EXCITED!