By Leslie Lindsay

I’m so glad tomorrow’s Friday. Well, kind of. Saturday is my daughter’s BD and then Sunday is recovery day and I won’t have Caribou to do it at. : (  Because, if you are a coffee store nut like me, you’ll know that the Caribou Corporation was bought out by another company who decided to throw the baby out with the bath water.  80 stores closed their doors, leaving 800 employees job-less.  This place was my life.  I know, it sounds really cheesy, but it was a big source of community for me.  (See bullet point about a 1/3 of the way down).

And speaking of bullets, (kind of), what about the Boston bombing.  Tragic.  My heart really goes out to these folks. 

So, here’s what’s going on in this corner of the world: 

• Huge build-up, let-down, whatever you want to call it with finishing the mss and then going right to conference.
• Of course, I learned a ton and had fun…but
• My head is about to explode with new information and
• I still haven’t had a chance to go through my conference materials.
• And then the agent I pitched to said ‘no.’
• Not a big deal really. I will revise and pitch/query some more.
• Upon return, the house was a mess. Well, not really. Just not up to “Leslie Standards”
• The weather was nice, so I got inspired to do some spring cleaning. I probably took it too far : )
• And then Caribou closed. We said 12 years worth of good-byes Sunday and brought home a chair which I plan to get a little plaque engraved “Leslie’s butt sat here for many, many, many hours toiling away on her books.”
• Oh, and my foot hurts due to plantar fasciatas. Really, really badly. I need a podiatrist but don’t know of anyone.  But I did place a random call to someone today.  Maybe they are good, maybe not. 
• So I suffer and whine and can’t get to the gym. And then I get fat.
• My hound dog has emergent eye issues. She spent a very spendy night at a pet hospital. They can’t help her.
• We go to 1 of 300 Veterinary opthamologists in the entire US and learn she is blind in the right eye.
• I pay more money to allievate her pain and pick up about 4 different medications I am to administer to her eyeballs 4 times a day. For always.  (Till the hound kicks the bucket, which I am really hoping doesn’t happen anytime soon.  She’s my partner in crime). 
• Sally (the hound) doesn’t mind, as long as we remember to give her table scraps.
• But her *vet* minds, “Wow–she’s a hefty little thing!” (my eyeroll).
• And then today, the roads are significantly flooded, obstructing nearly all routes into and out of our neighborhood.
• Water flows like grand rapids in our back yard. We now have lakefront property. It’s muddy and brown and full of bacteria, but who cares? The kids sure as heck don’t as they pull out air mattresses and hockey sticks to go “boating.” Mine just stand around and watch–and wish–they were part of the spectacle. I cancel all evening activities so I can stay home with
• A screaming banshee of an almost 8yo who was 100% completely disrespectful to her dad when he suggests she choose a game for family game night. “NO! I don’t *want* to.”
• She threatens to run away from home, getting into the minivan and telling me it would now be her home.
• Until I have to drive it.
• When I ask if I can have her BD gifts, she comes inside.

No writing. I’ve barely touched my FB, blog, Twitter, or email. I wonder if it even matters? I think I am making all the difference in the world by sending my thoughts into the world wide web, but in reality, I wonder if it does matter?

Blah.

My  home office is a mess and I don’t want to clean it. I can’t tell you how many papers are piled around me. (school registration, summer camp, special needs at school), I just want to crawl under a rock and stay there for a really long time.

Okay, I ready for Calgon to take me away. 

My hubby says it’s normal to feel like this after a big project is done. I screw my lips and stare at him like he has a third eyeball. “No, really honey…I feel like that at work. It’s hard to dive back into things. You need a break. That’s normal.”

Not me. I’m practically perfect in every way…or says Mary Poppins. I’d like to *think* I am perfect, but alas I am not. (image source: www.starpulse.com)
So, I am going to pull myself together after I’ve had a tub of cookie dough and finish reading something for pleasure. Yay—an accomplishment!!

Tomorrow will be better.

And that is what is in my mind today, Thurday April 18th 2013.