My digital journal and I had a pretty good run last month. Granted I was a slacker for the last three days, but a quick scroll through my past updates shows that this is probably my record for days that I made posted in one month. Granted, most of those days were spiced up with poetry and some would consider that a drawback.

I have spent part of the day reflecting on the wonderful women in my life. Our lesson in Relief Society got me started on that track. I think I spend a lot of time talking about the women that I love on her without the encouragement. In case any of my gorgeous ladies from coast to coast are checking in, remember that as long as you are being a good example to the people you love, you are doing them a great service.

All of this reminding did put me in the right frame of mind to support the postal service. As many of my readers may have gathered, I do love to send some old-fashioned love through snail mail. I have three packages that must go out tomorrow to guarantee delivery. How many do you have? (If you are wondering why I would ask such a question, remember that Mothers' Day is next Sunday.)

Last night found me struggling to fall asleep as lights blinked outside my window. I am not sure if this was caused by a car accident or some pre-arranged utility work. Either way, a huge blinking arrow was directing traffic out of my neighborhood. Even when I turned my back to the window, it still managed to gain my attention by reflecting off of the walls.

Despite this, I managed to get up at a reasonable hour. I even made myself bond with the elliptical albeit briefly. I think I need to find a better way to motivate myself to do the things that most need done. I must confess that other people, who aren't that close to me, giving me input I didn't ask for doesn't help me feel motivated. I try to be polite about it, but I don't feel I have the patience to listen to people tell me what I should be doing. It probably has something to do with the fact that these conversations usually cause me not to accomplish much.

Tomorrow hopes to be a little more exciting...

I finally watched the classic some would call "Scarface" this morning. I think I could have lived with a little less movie being that it is a little violent. I did know that going into the movie, so I have no right to complain. However, I was sad to find that the quote that I am familiar with from the movie, you know, the one that is an introduction, was placed right in the middle of scenes that were sad and a little disturbing. I won't spoil it for the other three people in the universe who have yet to see the movie. I'll just sum up by saying that you have to appreciate that Mr. Montana did have a smidgen of a moral compass even if he did find it a little late in the game.

I would not compare myself to a drug lord, but I do wonder if I dream about violence sometimes. I seem to have aggravated my wrist again. I am sure it was doing something meaningful like punching down bread dough, but it could just as easily have been caused by me taking on a supervillian in my sleep. Luckily, my husband weighs enough that I can't throw him out of bed. Yes, a story lurks behind that teaser, but I won't tell.

Once a year, I get to celebrate one of my favorite holidays. Others may call it Cinco de Mayo, but as it is the birthday of my favorite chocophile, Choco de Mayo sounds better. Besides, how could I go wrong with a holiday that lets me eat tacos and chocolate (even if they are not in the choco taco format)?

So how did I celebrate this innovative holiday? I made some sweetie friendly (less spicy) tacos and taco salad (clearly for me) for lunch. Then I had a scrumptious slice of chocolate cake for dessert with dinner. I can only hope that wife number one got to eat an equally tasty chocolate celebration cake for her special day.

Of course, the distance between us makes me wish to offer some counsel to those of you with friends who are both near and dear. Remember to tell people how much you love them as often as possible. Time and distance can make it a little harder than you think even in this era of instant messages. Make sure you say the nice comments that enter your head. You never know when that person you love needs you to tell them how wonderful they are. Hold onto those friends who remind you to be nice, keep trying, and that you are loved. That's just a little bit of advice from one person who is blessed with a dear and wonderful friend.

So I actually jotted down quite a bit of material yesterday in the minutes between television shows. I think I may have discovered why my muse flutters in and out of my life like my cookies are not consistently tasty. I turn on the television and watch the images flashing by with my eyes glazing over and my brain slowly frying just like everyone else. Considering the volume of television that I partake of, it is amazing that I accomplish much of anything. So the point is how does one do their own intervention?

I have noted a rise in productivity when we are between seasons, so that should help. If I can just convince myself that I don't need my daily does of DVR, I might actually figure out what sunshine is really like. I don't think I should learn too much about sunshine though because I tend to get sunburned and it is the season for it.

I did finish a story today which bodes well for next Thursday's fiction blog. As always, it needs revision and more revision, but I hope it entertains one of my readers. Do I have readers? Did you take a look yesterday? The statistics feature on that particular blog says that I do.

I also got to talk to wife number one and wife number 6 today. I have to love my wives. They just get me. They also make me smile from miles away. Since I have been missing them lately, I am glad we got to touch base. I also feel compelled to remind you to show some love to the other important women in your life. You still have a little more time to pick up a card and flowers for mom...

I begin to think I may actually have ADHD. My mind constantly wanders and takes my attention and motivation with it. This isn't meant as an excuse for my lax posting of late. I know that my readers expect such flights of fancy from me. I also fear they expect me to consistently vent about rudeness, stupidity, and cookie shortages.

I am not experiencing the latter. The ladies of my ward are having our own county fair of sorts this Thursday. I decided this was a perfect opportunity to try out some new and all recipes. Today, I made cookies for out Tuesday evening missionary visit and the cookie part of whoopie pies. Tomorrow will see me elbow deep in cream puffs and banana bread. I may have to start a bakery if we don't have a good showing at the county fair. The other alternative would probably result in me dying from my tummy happily exploding as I lay the last cream puff to rest. Actually, that sounds like a good way to spend a Friday...

Contrary to my lack of posts, my life has been fairly full of late. My muse was kind enough to force her attentions on me after my last meeting with my writers' group. The piece I have been focusing on still needs some work, but it is coming along. I even stamped out some of the passive voice. I really need to make time to proofread my submissions, which means I need to spend more time writing instead of trying to cobble all the good bits together at the last minute. My last attempt left me with two stories that need work instead of one. Apparently, two different ideas should be part of too different stories. Who knew?

I also have a couple of ideas for some children's books. The issue is that children's books are more about the pictures than the words sometimes. I need to get up the nerve to ask some of my talented artist friends if they would be willing to illustrate for me. I could probably get answers quickly if either of them read my blog, but I don't think they are blog readers.

The past week has found my desire to be more upbeat, healthy, and devoted to writing on the upswing. I have been reading some articles on how to be a better writer and how to eat and live healthier. Why didn't I think of this earlier?

By the same theory, can I bolster the hits to my three blogs by reminding people that they are out there? That seems a little more pushy and aggressive than I am on my average day, so I will have to consider it for a while before making my final decision.

My husband and I share this particular affliction. We've been looking at upright freezers for about six months no, trying to decide if we really need one. We finally made a decision this weekend, which means I'll need to find another excuse to visit the store with the huge Serta sheep. Don't worry, dear reader, I will find a reason to visit my woolly friend. Yes, I will.

See, I'm more positive already. I'll let you know how being healthier goes...

Despite my late rise, progress was made in my tiny little world today. I cleared the space that has been requisitioned for our new freezer. I had completed this before my darling husband confirmed that tomorrow will be the arrival date. I don't mind. That means I can spend time tomorrow obsessing about something else. I have a feeling I might be the walls in the room we are remodeling at a pace slower than a snail caught in molasses.

I did pull down some metal girders that once held the dropped ceiling today. I have checked to be sure, and I did not puncture myself. I also didn't whack myself in the head with the girders though that may have been more luck than skill. I lack patience when dealing with recalcitrant building materials.

I also posted on my photo blog for those keeping tabs. I do plan to have a post for my faithful reader(s)(?) of the fiction blog on Thursday, so keep that in mind when the wait for Friday makes you feel bored.

In other news, I finally watched Avatar today. I know. I know. Where have I been? Did I not realize it had blue creatures?

To be honest, the commentary I had heard about this particular film actually gave me a false idea about what its plot. I was expecting class wars between two subsets of the same species on a foreign world. If you have seen the movie, you are laughing because that isn't really what it is about. I also was disturbed by the fact that the main character's avatar looked more like Brendan Frasier than Sam Worthington. After I got past my surprise at these contradictions, the movie did reaffirm my lifelong belief that one should never mess with a Marine. Marines can be scary if you cross them. Consider that today's moral of the story.

Any mog can tell you that I don't keep up on current events. From time to time, I do skim through the news for amusement. Today's headlines provided some giggles and an idea for how I could amuse myself.

First, it seems that Justin Bieber has been doing commercials. I don't normally watch commercials, but this one sounds very amusing. Okay, so I watched without the sound on so that I could watch two things at once. I think someone watched Superman and Twilight too close to each other before developing this ad campaign.

Second, Kirstie Alley is pretty amazing. Though her character never matched up to Shelley Long's in that show where everybody knows your name (if it is Norm), she was still awesome. (I may be biased by my own book-nerdishness here.) Apparently, she has lost thirty-eight inches since she has been on Dancing With the Stars. That's pretty incredible. It almost makes me think I should dance more. Dance cooking may not be enough. (Go ahead. Ask questions. I might explain.)

Third, the end of the world remains in the news. I stand with the people who keep reminding us that no man knows when the end will come. I have to wonder if the people who are giving this so much attention have lives. Having a life would negate desperately wanting to know the exactly how much time is left to live it.

Fourth, I would love to test products. I vaguely remember having the same thought years ago when Rose Nylund had such a job. What brought this back into my mind today? Well, I can't justify paying a hundred dollars for a pair of shoes, even if they look awesome. If you want to buy me a pair (size 8 or 9, I think I have to have my foot measured by a pro to get it right), I promise I will wear them for a week (or month) and write intriguing commentary and post pictures. I can't promise that some of the pictures won't be taken of the trees over my head because I fell over laughing or through lack of grace.

This weekend brought confirmation that I may be the only person keeping up with these entries. It's okay. When I am old and senile, I may need reminded of what it means to be young, carefree, and busy.

The weekend started with packing the car and settling for a long drive. Despite a blue Chevy Avalanche that tried to enter our lane without making sure it was safe to do so, we made it safely to our first destination. My husband managed to fix our broken faucet which should relieve some stress on our neighbors who take an avid interest in everything we do for some reason.

Then we went to visit my mother. I called to let her know we were en route and got the impression that she had decided to be in a foul mood. Luckily, she cheered up before we arrived. Moms: what can we do?

I also got to visit my niece and nephews. They entertained us by sliding down a slide, with and without a ball to hamper their progress. Then we received commentary on their new pygmy goats. My brother spoils those adorable little buggers and we wouldn't have it any other way.

You can't slip one past little Miss M. She waited patiently for an hour before informing me, "I saw those books you brought us."

I can only hope that she will become a contented bookworm, so we will have something in common. Otherwise, we might have to talk about how silly brothers are. Jojo took great joy in pinning down his siblings and hugging them into submission. Sadly, his method of hugging looked awkward at best since he tends to bounce his legs up and down while he has his arms wrapped around his intended victim. We finally dragged ourselves away from the entertainment so the kids could go see their mom and headed north again.

Two of my friends met up with us for dinner. They gave me the skinny on changes in the world of fiche, books, and film. I think they may have alluded to missing me a little. We'll have to work to make more visits happen this year.

We also dropped in on my old ward. It was a little barren since most of the singles apparently headed east while I was headed west. We did get to see one set of my loving parents and a friend I haven't seen in three years. She got back from her mission after I moved, so it was awesome to see her.

The rest of the weekend was spent with my in-laws. We brought the grand total of people roaming around to sixteen. Two dogs were also in attendance. One of them looks like a baby deer. I believe he is some sort of greyhound. The other is the chubbiest Pomeranian that I have ever seen. It was funny watching the chubby one try to catch his new friend--mainly because he had no chance. The day also saw a water fight, lots of eating, and the chubby dog taking a nap in the shallow end of the pool.

Today found us on the road again after something happened to amuse me.