Happy Halloween!!

It has been one heck of a month.  Fall break was taken up by another surgery/hospital stay for my dad, plus packing and painting my bedroom (something I've been meaning to do for 16 years now), and then we had the craziness of jumping into second quarter of school, which always seems to be super busy.  From about mid-October until Christmas my life feels non-stop.  It's a little easier now with M off at college and J working, but still plenty to keep me on my toes and/or confused.  

It got extra fun because I either pulled a muscle in my back or messed up my shoulder, which made it agony to paint, pack, move, drive, sit in a chair, play the piano, type, sleep...in other words, do anything that I normally do. It took about three weeks to get to the bearable stage.  Currently I have minor pain but not enough to stop me from doing anything except sleep on my side.  I don't know why I can't sleep on my side like I normally do, but sheesh.  It makes getting to sleep harder at night.

The update on the rest of the family:

M is trucking along with her classes-- she said this week her senior programming project is going ok-- the parts she expected to give her headaches are going smoothly and what she thought would be straightforward is anything but.  Sounds normal, right?

J got moved to the sales floor at work-- just for stocking and straightening and handling ticket items-- and so far seems to be doing fine with it.  I asked him what he liked better-- sorting in the back or working the sales floor and he just shrugged at me.  So I guess it's fine either way? But what he really likes is earning money, and that is such a relief!  By all means, keeping earning the money!

B went to her first anime con last week and she loved it.  It's been awesome to watch her blossom this year and take some more leaps forward out of her comfort zone.  She's also doing well with driving, and it's so nice to have her pick up the younger two from school three times a week and not even worry about it.

K can now brag that he has a "fan club" just like J did in junior high.  S was approached in the bathroom by some junior high girls that wanted to know if she was K's younger sister and then raved about how funny he is.  (Same thing happened with B when J was an eighth grader, only they giggled to B about how cute J was.) K's goal is to make people laugh so it sounds like he is succeeding!

S has been giddy with excitement.  She has been eagerly awaiting all the fun activities-- the ward trunk-or-treat, pumpkin carving, cousin birthdays...now she is counting down to her own birthday.  She asked to go ice skating instead of receiving presents, and what a relief!  No presents means less to clutter up her room.

Terence is working, working, working...like me he is having not-so-fun pain issues, in his case, his legs.  Tough when he's climbing in and out of his car all shift. Or worse, climbing up and down a rocky hill to investigate a fatal crash scene.  Seriously, people, don't speed on highway 88.  Perhaps don't ride a motorcycle out there at all, unless you're OK with a dramatic flying meeting with a boulder... I was so in love with motorcycles when I was younger but they are completely ruined for me now.  Too many gruesome descriptions of the accidents will do that to you.

As for me, tomorrow I tackle my ninth Nanowrimo. That means, barring catastrophe, I should have a good chunk of the sixth Sheralie novel (and hopefully the last) by the end of the month. Maybe I'll even publish the whole series next year? One can hope, anyway.  Anyway, I kind of disappear during November, so if you don't hear from me here-- or anywhere else-- that's why...I'm writing!