"No, I Did Not Drop Off The Planet!"

Happy Valentine's Day!!! Kenzie's having a conversation with herself over at Kenzie's Place, as well as being interviewed over at 9 Clouds Book Marketing. Scroll down; interview is at the end:)

I'm back:)

Didja miss me?

(Tackle hug) "Where the HELL have you been?"

(Molly picks herself up) "Watch the new laptop!! Let me catch my breath and I'll TELL you!"

It's very simple: No money + bills = priorities.

We had zero income the second week of December, and it wasn't until Dec 20th that it slowly began to trickle in again. First it was $200 on the 20th, then $50 on the 22nd, and finally, $500 on the 24th. We could now get to my parents house for Christmas...or so we thought.

The van refused to start. I went to calmly make the phone call when my pent up emotions blew. Alarmed at the sight of Mom in tears, the kids scrambled and agreed to give up some comfort, and we squeezed into our small car and my son's truck.

But while we were in the process of packing, the phone company decided they'd waited long enough for their money and pulled the plug. We no longer had TV access, either.

So New Year's Eve found me watching Prancer instead of the ball dropping. Phase #1 of my daughter's rebellion occurred, so there was also tension in the house.

January brought snow, ice, and frigid temps. The bookstore wasn't open, because no one in their RIGHT MIND would be out in that weather, unless it was to buy food, take kids to school, or struggle out for food cooked by someone else for a change, and to stave off cabin fever. We scraped the money together to get Dish Network hooked up, so we could find out what was going on outside our town. The few times I did make it to an internet hookup was spent wading through 200 + emails, setting up my scheduled interviews on here, and keeping up with my Facebook page.

Finally, February came. We filed our taxes and thankfully the money deposited in our account in time to ensure our Super Bowl party was more than simply chili and chips. Unfortunately, Phase #2 of daughter's rebellion hit, and we're still dealing with the drama of teenage angst/first love/tough love/death threats by an unmedicated individual. Believe me, you DON'T want to be in my shoes at the moment.

The good note? The groundhog did NOT see his shadow; this week the temps have steadily gotten warmer (15 on Tues; 20 on Wed; 29 on Thurs; 32 yesterday; 40's today through next Tues; we're supposed to hit 50 by next Wed!!!!!); and hubby bought me a new laptop. I'll hopefully get a picture of it up next week. And yesterday, we had our DSL reinstalled, so the home internet is back on, and I'll be posting more than once a week again:)

The bad news: Refund was NOT large, but I can at least pay off the dentist. Daughter is currently cooperating, but isn't happy about what's about to happen next week. So I'm bracing for what may end up being Phase #3. Just keep us in your prayers, please??? I never dreamed my sweet baby girl, who was my 'stepford child' until age 12, would ever rebel in this manner.

Also, sadly, I'm losing my job. After six months, the book store is closing, due to decreased sales and personal issues all around. How I wish I could be independently wealthy so I could foot the rent!!! I've jokingly called this place my 'Sanity Zone/Haven'. Maybe in a year or two, the opportunity will come around again??

So right now, I'm playing catch-up. I did learn a valuable lesson through all this: I do NOT need to be online 24/7, or at least 18 hours per day. My readers are patient, and will wait for returned email. And yes, this may come as a shock, but housework didn't kill me pre-internet, and it won't kill me now! And I've made close to 50 dozen chocolate chip cookies since Christmas, twelve dozen yesterday to coincide with my son's return home. He had wanted me to send him some cookies, so I made more last night so he could gorge himself and still have a bucket of them to take back to Purdue on Sunday. See? Even during this hell-week, I still have time for my other kids:)

Anyway, that's where I was; this is where I am; and hopefully next week I'll have some good news about where I'll be headed in the future!