November!

I wasn't even thinking about it, and then I got an email from the coordinator of Cleveland NaNoWriMo. Ack! Do I really want to do that this year? Do I have time? Shouldn't I try and finish the edit job on FI before tackling FUD, or anything else?

UTI

A bad one... the worst I've had in years. I don't want to go to the doctor, though, because if I do, I'll probably end up sitting in a waiting room full of people with H1N1, and I REALLY don't want that.

Blog musings

I've used this space for all kinds of things... I really don't know what to do with it. I've noticed that it is migrating as different parts of my personality become more dominant. Initially, there was a tendency to comment more on politics or social concerns. Then it was abandoned for a while. I thought of having a more homeschool bent to the topics, but I'm really in the final throes of homeschooling. That will become less and less of my life for the next few years and then disappear entirely.

Now I'm just using it for my own record, but I'm wondering if I should give it a more literary bent, since that's hopefully the direction my life is headed.

Should it bother me that I don't have anything about specifically Christian content? That's the one part of my life that is most important and will never change.

Teacher's Conference

Doug and I are going to CVCC for a teacher's conference tonight. I've never had one of these before, so I don't know what to expect.

I think Tim probably has one of the best grades in the class, and I know he's probably the most well behaved kid in there, so I'm not sure what we'll talk about.

I know Tim is more the slow and steady type, so he takes longer than many of the students to finish some of the assignments, and he's lost some points for things being late. Some of the work, like today's assignment, can't be finished at home, so if you work slowly, you just get behind during the hours you're there. I just don't want him to get discouraged.

Tired

I am extraordinarily tired today, and I've got a bit of a sore throat, and generally feel yucky. I sure hope I'm not coming down with something.

PSAT

Tim and Becky both took the PSATs this morning. Tim's a junior, so it 'counts' this year, not that I honestly expect him to make the NSMQT cutoff. He may have had a decent chance at doing so had we done a boatload of test prep, but it wasn't that high a priority. If he ends up missing by only a few points, I'll probably be kicking myself!

Becky's taking it for the same reasons Tim did last year: to get a sense of how close she'd be to NM scholar, and to have a practice run at it before the real thing.

I don't remember how long it took to get their scores. I want to check the WTM forums but they've been down all day.

WTW '81

So this was homecoming weekend at my old high school. Of course, eighteen homecomings have come and gone since I graduated, and I've never known (or really cared much) about it. But things are different now that I'm on Facebook. Not only do I know about it, I get pictures.

I enjoy seeing the pictures, but the whole keg bus and pub crawl thing seems too reminiscent of high school for a bunch of 46 year olds to get that excited about. I guess I've become an old fogy, but by now, shouldn't we all? Isn't there a time for exchanging the ways of a child for the ways of a man, as Paul puts it?

Gray hair is a crown of splendor, according to Proverbs, and is a sign of the wisdom that comes with age. I guess I'm glad to be an old fogy rather than still wanting to get down and party.

I'm probably misjudging... hopefully it was a lot more about reconnecting with old friends than just about drinking!

Empty Calendar

I have nothing written on my calendar today. That doesn't exactly mean I have nothing to do. HA! In fact, as always on Monday, I have a very long 'to do' list. And, unfortunately, it also doesn't mean I don't have anywhere to go. I probably should run three errands today: bank, BMV, and UPS store. Maybe I can save the UPS store for tomorrow when I have to go grocery shopping, since it's next to Marcs.

Ah, well. Life is busy enough, it seems.

The last shall be first...

I had a novel thought this morning during my devotions... Will those of us who are following the Lord in the peace, affluence, and safety of 20th/21st century America be the 11th hour workers receiving the same reward as those who have followed the Lord through hunger, persecution, and suffering?

Lord,

Apart from your grace, I have nothing of value to give these girls tonight. Grant that the words I speak may be imbued with your power to touch hearts and change lives.

Nice Date

Had a nice time out with Doug tonight. It seems we're always so busy that we rarely have time to talk. We talked about kids, church, various friends, theology, etc. Just a chance to reconnect and remember why we enjoy each others' company.

I can't imagine what it will be like in a few years when we don't have kids around and have as many evenings together as we wish. I expect that we'll try to invest that time in the Kingdom somehow, instead of being self-indulgent.

My very unrealized goal for both then and now: a life of service, sacrifice, and self-denial instead of a life of self-indulgence.

Grace, Lord, grace...

I'm an idiot

I feel so bad. Since Jeff is out of town for a few days, I invited Missy and the kids over for dinner, but completely spaced that tonight's my writers' group.

I had to call and uninvite them. UGH!

Big day today

Tim takes his driving test today... I think he should pass but the Ohio test is definitely tougher than what I had to take in VA 30 years ago!

First try

Okay... a first guess at an elevator pitch...

Free Indeed tells the story of Onesimus, the runaway slave referred to in the Biblical book of Philemon. Though he hates being a slave, Onesimus is too fearful to risk escape until his master, and everyone else in the family except him, becomes Christians. To get away from the faith he despises and can't share, he runs away. The story tracks his adventures traveling through the Empire to Rome, where he finds success using his artistic talent in decorating pottery. Recognizing Paul as the man who converted his master, loneliness and emptiness cause him to follow when he witnesses Paul's arrival under arrest in Rome. After his own conversion, he continues under an assumed name and false identity for several years before he confesses his deception, repents, and agrees to return and make restitution to Philemon.

Editing

I'm realizing that I need to self-edit a bit more before I post on blogs or facebook. I've been having to go back and fix things two or three times as often as not. My biggest problem is reusing the same words again and again in one entry.

Now I'm going to read what I just wrote before I publish it...

I was more careful this time, so it looks okay.

Ooops

I put a FB comment under the wrong person's status, and it made me sound like a druggie or something.

I intended to mention that a blistering hot shower just as the pills start taking effect works wonders after Susan's status about waking up with a sinus headache... instead it went after Ginny's post about loving Saturday mornings.

erk!

Not home much...

It seems like Thursdays and Fridays are going to be 'out and about' days. On Thursday, I'm gone from about 10:20 until almost 11:30, and then once I get home, Becky and I leave almost immediately for lunch and several hours of library visiting and shopping.

On Fridays, I take Becky to HOPE in the morning, then pick Tim up from CVCC and take him out to lunch, and then I have to pick Becky back up at 3ish.

I just have to make sure that the important stuff each week gets done by Wednesday, I guess.

Elevator Pitch

Last month at our writers' group, Matt & Stef were telling us about a conference they went to, and something they said caused me to suggest that our group take a session to work on our pitches -- what we'd say if we had one minute or so to impress a potential agent or publisher.

It's something I've known I need to do for years, because at this point, I have nothing.

But now I have to have one for critiquing by Tuesday... HELP!