Happy Halloween

This is it, I did it! I posted everyday for the month of October, I am ready for NaBloPoMo in November. I feel great, I know its not that big of a deal, but I actually reached a goal that I had set. That's almost a first and I am proud of myself. Woo Hoo!

Now, I'm gonna change the look. I changed it last night but lost the Blogger header bar at the top and I don't know why. Have to work on that.

Need a quirkiness: say your hero/detective, Martha Mavin, is a lady librarian--quiet, shy, bookish--yet she owns a Harley, say, and is the mascot for a motorcycle gang on weekends. Etc., etc.

So how did she ever get involved with a motorcycle gang? It started with her brother, who used to take her riding, and when he went off to Vietnam, he left his bike behind. When he never came back, she started riding to bring back the memory of her brother. She rides with his old gang, who are hard guys, outlaws, but not criminals, who think of her as a kindred spirit despite her bookishness.

Last day of work for the week (and a 1/2 day at that)!

drumroll please.......today's word of the day is Hubris and means overbearing pride or presumption.

okay, so a co-worker (a federal worker), someone who is a complete idiot (for real, total complete idiot) that always gets my ire up just asked me a question regarding a function I had turned over to her (since I'm leaving). That would be fine if I didn't already sit down with her 2 times (with the bosses as witnesses) and explain the whole process and where everything was AND wrote her a step-by-step cheat sheet! My kids could do this piece of crap function. And in our meetings, we even went over the cheat sheet, line by line, and when she asked me that question today, I said "have you read my cheat sheet?" and she had the nerve to say "no". She is a very good reason why I am thrilled to be getting out of here. I have absolutely no use for idiots.

Here's the process: start with an idea, then create biographies for the major characters, including the murderer. The murderer has a plan for murder, "the plot behind the plot".

Once you have the plot behind the plot and know what the murderer is up to, the next step is to make a stepsheet for the plot, which is a detailed, comprehensive plan for a damn good mystery. After the stepsheet is finished, the next step is doing a rough draft, then a working draft, then perhaps a second working draft, then a final draft, and then a polish or two to make the prose gleam. By going about it in such an organized way, it should take, for an 80,000-word novel, about 3 to 5 months, full time; 6 to 8 months, part time.

~ James N. Frey (How to Write a Damn Good Mystery)

Well, I've blogged everyday in October (2 to go) so I am ready for NaBloPoMo in November!

And today's Word of the Day is Bivouac. It means 1. an encampment for the night, usually under little or no shelter, 2. to encamp for the night, usually under little or no shelter.

1/2 a day of work today, leaving about 11:45am, I am definitely on the short-timers list. I think I have about 28.5 hours left to work at HUD then I MOVE ON!

jinxygrrl

Pittsburgh Sunrise!

National Peanut Butter Month

I just found out that November is National Peanut Butter Month!

Aren't these the cutest cookies? A co-worker sent this picture to me when I announced PB month (credit to whomever).

Formula: 2nd draft = 1st draft - 10%. ~ Stephen King rejection note

So this is the book I am currently reading. This is a fantastic book, I can't say enough about it. Interesting as hell, truthful, insightful, funny, sarcastic, etc., etc., I could go on forever. I highly recommend this book!

Today's Word of the Day is Execrable: 1. deserving to be execrated; detestable; abominable, 2. extremely bad; of very poor quality, very inferior.

Crap its cold outside. I just want to curl up in my recliner in my slippers with my blanket and book and watch the Titans lose.

I had this nightmare last night, not just a bad dream, a full-fledged nightmare. My husband even had to wake me up and ask me if I was okay. I was shaking like crazy after that. And yes, I wanted to, I should have, but I didn't get my butt out of bed and write it down. I wanted it for writing fodder and I screwed up. I just wanted to sleep, this must have been about 2:30am and I do get up for work at 4:30, that's my excuse, lame as it is.

I tried to remember the nightmare this morning and all I can remember is something about riding on a bus, I think a school bus. I'm still trying to remember pieces.

That will teach me, next time get out of bed and write it down!

How weird is this, just now, I received Sunday's Word of the Day in my inbox. I received today's at 7:44am and yesterday's today at 8:37am. Wow, strange. Anyhow, Sunday's Word of the Day is Genuflect, 1. to bend the knee or touch one knee to the ground, as in worship; 2. to be servilely respectful or obedient, to grovel.

100 Posts

Orange for Halloween - Yes, my last post made it 100! I think that's amazing. and....only 4 more days and I will have posted every day of October. That's a major accomplishment for me.

Have a good morning all.

jinxygrrl

Couple of things...

First, let's get to the missed "words of the day". Friday's word of the day was Limn, meaning 1. to depict by drawing or painting, 2. to portray in words, to describe.

Saturday's word was Quandary - a state of difficulty, perplexity, doubt or uncertainty.

I'm starting to think they don't do the Word of the Day on Sundays. But today's word is Corroborate, which means to strengthen or make more certain with other evidence.

As for the world of sports, yesterday was a sad, sad day. My beloved Steelers made mistakes and lost to the Giants, we definitely should have won that game, just screwed it up.

Again its that rever'd day, Football Sunday! (and 1 more day I have blogged consecutively in the month of October.)

What the heck is wrong with Pitt! How can you lose to Rutgers, that's dreadful. And with Southern Florida losing, we could have moved up and been the best in the Big East. Well, we still are the best in the Big East, but geez!

The rain has stopped, it's still a tad warm outside. Hubby and friend haven't gotten home yet from hunting. They went down to Orange County to a friend's property and I haven't gotten any pictures or messages so I guess it's safe to say they are still deerless. He leaves again on Wednesday to hunt and will come home on Sunday.

Observations

So it's Saturday and it's actually raining. We haven't had rain in a long ass time. My kids thought (and we told them) that they had weed-whacked and cut the grass for the last time last week. If we get the rain they say we may get, over an inch, I think we lied to the kids. Boy do we need the rain though. And its warm, well relatively so, it seems like its in the 60's, it feels like 50 in the house.

Based on my last few posts, you may be able to tell that I am reading "On Writing" by Stephen King. It is a great book. It is a memoir with a "how to write" them to it. Extremely great book and I highly recommend it.

Reminder to self - look into the Sudoku National Championship (happening in Philly).

"While to write adverbs is human, to write 'he said' or 'she said' is divine." -- Stephen King

The adverb is not your friend. (words ending in -ly). Use them sparingly.

Food for thought: with an active verb, the subject is doing something. With a passive verb, something is being done to the subject. Avoid passive tense.

What kind of Doll are you?

My Result is: I am a Rag Doll.


Just like a rag doll, you are plain and simple. You don’t go for fashion and accessories. You really hate crowds but you're very friendly. You are bestfriend material.

Take What kind of Doll are you? Quiz

Just playing....I made this really, really, crude drawing at Chogger.com. Chogger is a web comic strip creator. I just suck at drawing with a mouse.

Today is my Friday! Yes, I am trying to use all of the sick leave and comp time before I quit and get paid for my vacation that I have accrued. So TGIF!

The word of the day for today (Thursday) is Plenary: 1. full in all respects; complete; absolute; as, plenary authority. 2. fully attended by all qualified members.

Getting ready for Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money! Gosh that writer's strike pissed me off. Good shows.

So I found this little quiz today:

Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz



My results for the : "Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz" ...

I Am a Marilyn!

I am a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."


Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me
* Be direct and clear
* Listen to me carefully
* Don't judge me for my anxiety
* Work things through with me
* Reassure me that everything is OK between us
* Laugh and make jokes with me
* Gently push me toward new experiences
* Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn
* being committed and faithful to family and friends
* being responsible and hardworking
* being compassionate toward others
* having intellect and wit
* being a nonconformist
* confronting danger bravely
* being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn
* the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
* procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
* fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
* exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
* wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
* being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often
* are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
* are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
* form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
* look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
* are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents
* are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
* are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
* worry more than most that their children will get hurt
* sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Couple of ideas: have re-occurring items - same color, make, model of car, decision-making toy (dice, magic 8 ball, rock-paper-scissors), type of drink (rum and diet, Sparks, Yoohoo). Can't think of anything else at the moment.

Let's clarify my previous post: I'm not that big of a person, rather tiny actually and I do not take up much room, which I understand makes for better pickings when you are looking for a seat on a crowded bus or metro. But come on, I have a half a seat and this person has his and half of mine. Maybe he should just stand, after all, standing expends more calories than sitting does so it can only help him.

Sorry, just not feeling well again. I really should have just stayed in bed.

Any how, how about today's word of the day? It is the same as yesterday? How rude is that! Not me that screwed up this time. Sorry, I guess we have to wait until tomorrow.

Have a great Wednesday!

You know its really annoying when a big fat guy sits next to you on the metro and takes up all your space. sorry i know i'm asking for criticism.

Good Morning! It's time to catch up on our Words of the Day, I am backlogged at 4. Let's get started:

Saturday: Alfresco - 1. in the open air; outdoors, 2. taking place or located in the open air; outdoors.

Sunday: Malfeasance - wrongdoing, misconduct, or misbehavior, especially by a public official.

Monday: Bailiwick - 1. a person's specific area of knowledge, authority, interest, skill, or work. 2. the office or district of a bailiff.

Today (Tuesday): Synecdoche - a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole or whole for a part or general for the special or vice versa. (HUH?) Example: when we refer to a smart person as a "brain", or when we say "emaciated mother" and can picture the horrors of the whole.

Wow, too much learning this early in the morning.

jinxygrrl

Well, today was a long day, didn't feel good for most of it, actually all of it now that I think about it. It has alot to do with allergies and the football sunday partying didn't help.

So, I have done pretty good with blogging every day, I'm actually proud of myself. Of course, being able to blog with my voyager is probably the only reason I made it every day so far. NaBloPoMo Rocks!

Have a nice evening everybody,

jinxygrrl

Cutting the grass; pretty much therapuetic work. I just hate the bagging part of it.

Welcome to Monday. Nice weather, on the cool side. Today is just going to be a rather boring day, not much going on and that's fine with me.

Man weekends are tough; almost forgot to speak. But my beloved steelers won! We are awesome.

Yes! the Penguins won! Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin rule!

so this is the message I got from a friend last night:

This Christmas I'm putting mistletoe in my back pocket so every one who hates me can kiss my ass.

Oh my goodness, I almost forgot today's Word of the Day. It is Expeditious. It means "characterized by or acting with speed and efficiency".

Also, I received my official "firm offer of employment" from the Department of the Interior. Yes, I will be a Grade 14, Step 5! Woo hoo, that is awesome!

TGIF! I am supposed to get my "in writing (via email)" offer letter this morning. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Misprize - Today's Word of the Day. It means: 1. to hold in contempt, 2. to undervalue.

jinxygrrl

Murder on the ____________ Line

In the midst of an evacuation of a Federal building, a person(s) comes up missing.....

Wow am I grumpy today! Can't pinpoint exactly why. I guess it's alot of everything. Guess I have to work on this.

Yeah, I got the official call. I will be starting at the Dept. of the Interior on November 10! And because I was a GS-14 long ago, I am able to start at the same step I left (which is not a 1). Cool!

Today is Wednesday and I can't wait until it is over. Reality is I can't wait until the election is over, I am tired of the debates, I am tired of the commercials, I am tired of the mudslinging, I am tired of the surveys, and I am tired of the political crap taking over my shows' timeslots. Once again, another week missing some shows: no Private Practice and no Dirty Sexy Money. How many days until election day? 20 days and maybe then we can get back (or get started) on some semblance of normalcy. Though, that thought in and of itself is way up in the air and has to depend on the outcome of election day. There has to be a better way.

Today's Word of the Day is Waylay. It means: 1. to lie in wait for and attack from ambush, 2. to approach or stop (someone) unexpectedly. As a teacher would say, "how would you use this word in a sentence?".

Uh oh, my cell phone is ringing (I'm at work), okay my cell phone is vibrating, it is the call I have been waiting for. Wait, it is vibrating again. Please just leave me a good message and I will go outside and call you back. Please, Please, Please, be good.

So I was over cruising on NaNoWriMo and came across a post that talked about the 24 words that are possibly heading for extinction from the "dictionary". I just thought I would repeat the words here, with their definitions, for anyone who is interested (and so I can have a remembrance of them).

Abstergent - cleansing or scouring

Agrestic - rural; rustic; unpolished; uncouth

Apodeictic - unquestionably true by virtue of demonstration

Caducity - perishableness; senility

Caliginosity - dimness; darkness

Compossible - possible in coexistence with something else

Embrangle - to confuse or entangle

Exuviate - to shed (a skin or similar outer covering)

Fatidical - prophetic

Fubsy - short and stout; squat

Griseous - streaked or mixed with grey; somewhat grey

Malison - a curse

Mansuetude - gentleness or mildness

Muliebrity - the condition of being a woman

Niddering - cowardly

Nitid - bright; glistening

Olid - foul-smelling

Oppugnant - combative, antagonistic, or contrary

Periapt - a charm or amulet

Recrement - waste matter; refuse; dross

Roborant - tending to fortify or increase strength

Skirr - a whirring or grating sound, as of the wings of birds in flight

Vaticinate - to foretell; prophesy

Vilipend - to treat or regard with contempt

So exactly what did these words do to deserve banishment?


jinxygrrl

Good morning, I removed the annoying signature I had attaching to all of my posts (it was just too big and distracting). I like it better this way.

The weather here is absolutely gorgeous today, definitely a little warmer than normal Fall, though I did hear that by the weekend we should get back to average October weather.

Have a great day!

jinxygrrl

Okay this should be the week of the offer. I was betting on Wednesday or Thursday but I am hoping for today...

Writing the great american novel; just what does that mean? Do we all really have one in us? Only time will tell I suppose.

Wow, when I am not at work I really neglect my blog. Sorry!

Holiday weekend. no work tomorrow!

Blog blog blog

uh oh

Well, here's the update: I talked with the HR lady bright and early this morning. Apparently the clearance I had years ago is enough to start the job! Providing I passed the drug test that I took yesterday, and there really is no reason to think I didn't, I am in! The drug lady said the results should be back tomorrow, of course, the HR lady said they sometimes have difficulty getting the results to the correct office and it could take a week or so. Typical actually.

And, as I was standing at the main desk getting admitted to the building for my drug test, who do I see? Bob, the security guy that I will be working with. One of the gentlemen that interviewed me. That was great. He asked me if I was happy and I said "very" and told him that I didn't feel too good about how the interview went and he said that I actually blew everyone else away, that's why they didn't narrow it down to a final 3. That made me feel awesome!

So, just a few more weeks and I am back in the government, not a contractor anymore. Can you say stability and pension (I know, I know how things are going right now) and annual raises again? Woo hoo!

Oh yeah, and I don't think I like the signature, it takes up too much space and makes the posts look messy. I think it has to go.

On the metro; off to my drug test :-)

Trying to add a signature, just something simple.

hmmm, why is it not transparent? Gotta fix that.

Good morning, good morning. Today is drug test day, step one will be over.

My hubby leaves today for hunting camp and it can't be soon enough. He gets so intense and testy and just yelling about everything about 2 days before he leaves. I don't know why, maybe he's worried he'll forget something or just so excited that the tiniest of things set him off. It really makes for a tense household. GO! He definitely will be gone when I get home from work and the boys and I can have a couple of quiet days and evenings. He is even taking the dog. Good luck hunting, hope you get one.

So I have to take my drug test tomorrow for my tentative new job. One down, one to go (TS SCI).

Finished my book. So I am reading some printouts about writing ;-)

Thanks Meera, I also think ToonDoo is rather cool. And I can play with it at work. For reasons of security I cannot update my Flash on my work computer so BitStrips can only be played with at home.

Our realtor called when I got home from work yesterday. The gentleman who looked at our house on Friday afternoon went and put a contract down on it that night. D was trying to stall getting the contract to us to sign at least until the weekend was over. We did have 3 others visit the house on Saturday. I think he was trying to push competition. Any how, we signed the contract last night and now it is in the bank's hands. I'm not holding my breath, this is the second contract that has been put down on our house since it has been listed.

Wow, got home, opened the mail, and there were J's interims. I already had B's. So, J has 1 solid A, 2 B's that are 1 point away from an A, and 1 C that is 2 points away from a B in his core classes. He has never done this well, I am thrilled and you can tell he was pretty proud of himself too when I was gushing over him. B had 3 A's and 2 B's in his core classes, again, has never done that well. And these are 2 boys who just moved up into High School and Middle School. Yeah! Go kids!

Hubby leaves for the woods tomorrow, probably pretty early, way before I get home from work. That's cool, this is what he loves to do and if doing this makes him not so grumpy, go for it.

Have a nice Tuesday morning.

Have you ever tried Bitstrips? Very cool!

Meet Jinxygrrl!

I'm tired, I think I stayed up too late last night watching the Steeler game. Well, I guess it didn't help that I went out drinking at halftime for about an hour. Oh well, you only live once (so they say).

My hubby is hunting today, he just called and hasn't got one yet. They will be back after dark he said. And, they are leaving Wednesday to go down to camp and won't come home until Sunday, woohoo! Peace and quiet for a little bit. My kids leave Friday for Disney World, so I will have Friday, Friday night, and Saturday morning all to myself. Then at some point Saturday afternoon, I will drive down to camp and stay the final night. The guys he hunts with are all awesome guys and getting up there in age.

I just took a picture of what I am typing. Wanna see?

I am weird.

Good Monday morning. And a Steeler victory last night!

4 hours until game time. Pittsburgh plays Jacksonville tonight and we are all banged up, but we did get Najeh Davenport back on the team.

so once again it is football sunday. (funny how that happens weekly during football season.) and again my steelers don't play a 1:00 game.

So what I was trying to say yesterday when my phone post ended up being gibberish was:

Okay, so I ended up being kicked out of my house by realtors since 1:00. Can't go home until 4:30pm. I am bored. Ran all of my errands and am sitting at the bar drinking ice water! How pathetic is that?

So what is all this gibberish? Why does this happen periodically, randomly, when I post from my cell phone? Blogger? Any ideas?

Y ?u8 ??AiP?M.?Au8H\N???uz?.?A?: ?6??y ?]??A?<H^ ??o? 4O??ePL ??@?$(? ???2? I?nP?? ???v T???n? v?A?6h?????3(L ??e?8, ??i?:?>???2? ???

So I have to be out of my house between 1:30 and 4:30 today for 2 realtors who want to show our house. Our house is such a disaster, it is cluttered to the max. My husband is a huge slob who just leaves everything laying around. I think in the 4 years that we've lived here, I've been able to use my kitchen table maybe 3 times. It is constantly covered with his work stuff, his hunting stuff, his fishing stuff, everything. The next house, there will definitely be ground rules established in the beginning.

Sitting here at the computer (in my husband's messy cluttered office), looking out the windows, what a gorgeous day. Not too cool, I have on shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt (Steelers of course), the sun is shining, it is absolutely fabulous out. This is a perfect Fall day. Oh yeah, and my husband is hunting; it is opening bow day, and my boys are at the their dad's this weekend. So, yes, an absolutely perfect Fall day!

Today is October 4th and I've managed to write in my blog everyday this month for NaBloPoMo, I am very proud of myself. I know, only 4 days in, but still, I think its great. I'm pretty sure that I can make it the whole month, I know I will definitely try, and that would be an accomplishment.

Vote: still the theme of the month. I can't wait until the election is over, I am so tired of the blaming back and forth, JUST DO YOUR JOB.

so my friend "K" says i should have no problem with the TS SCI and he knows my life. and from what little research i did, i should be somewhat optimistic.

Well, I talked with the HR lady and I have been tentatively offered the position, it will be based on my passing a drug test (no problem) and getting my TS SCI (hmm). It is position I interviewed for last week and really want! (keeping fingers crossed)

In other news, the bailout bill just passed the House by about 92 votes, wonder what will happen now?

Good morning, good morning, good morning! I am flying this morning, can't wait until I can call about the job. Left her a message earlier today, just in case.

I got a message, I am offered a new job! Have to call them tomorrow and ACCEPT! Dept of the Interior, back in the government. I've been trying for a while.

How do you come a successful writer? not just a writer but a successful one. Good question.

Crap! No Grey's tonight. Seriously, they need to make these debates optional.

Tonight is the VP Presidential debate and they (the media) are just making way too much of a big deal about it. How about this? Let it happen and then throw your 2 cents worth in. Wouldn't that be a great idea, instead of planting seeds in people's minds about how it is going to end before it actually airs. Give them a break and let's see how it pans out.

Oh yeah, and I have to check, but it better not pre-empt Grey's Anatomy!

Good morning. Just nearing the end of my metro ride to work. Its early morning.

why isn't there a "white history month"? we have everything else; black history month, hispanic heritage month; what about the caucasian's?

This is cute

Vote

Vote is the theme for October on NaBloPoMo. I probably won't have much to say about it. I am a registered voter and have never missed an election since I turned 18. Having said that, I am not thrilled with this year's presidential campaign and am at odds with myself as to whether or not I actually vote. Now, I will visit the polls because I will vote in my local elections, but I am torn between not voting, settling on a candidate, or writing in a name for president and vice president. This is a tough one because I actually do believe everyone should vote. I just think this campaign has many, many issues and after what Bush did, I know anyone will be better, but I think we have the bottom of the barrel. Just my personal 2 cents and I'm not interested in anyone slamming me for my 2 cents that I have not foisted on anyone.

NaBloPoMo! Good morning, yeah to me for the first posting of my month in nablopomo. Getting started is half the battle. Good luck all.