October 26, 2008 Weekly Forecast

There's no forecasting or guessing on my part today about what my week ahead is going to be. For right now, I'm in vacationing in a geographic area -- The Smoky Mountains -- where there are actual seasons to focus on instead of the daily weather. It's Autumn and I can see, smell, touch, hear and feel. Ooh, and I hope taste too!

I can't believe it's Sunday already. My time here with Kathryn has flown by on hawk's wings, and I'm sad it's my last full day. I keep thinking, do I really have to go home tomorrow? But I know I do, and it will be good to get back to family and routine...but I'm ahead-of-time wistful to be leaving this magical place of a real friend, real seasons, real conversations, all carved out of a surreal schedule.

To combat the approaching gray clouds of already missing her/here, I'll just have to plan another trip, or one for her to come to Baton Rouge ASAP. In the meantime, I'm forecasting good getaways for my friends too. There's nothing nothing nothing no.thing like getting away from your "real" life and taking time to breath, relax, gain perspective, be.

Have you planned/scheduled your great escape? If so, tell me about it, or your most recent one. Happy trails!

October 19, 2008 Weekly Forecast

It's been a good week, with everyone in the family doing well, or at least holding their own. On the good news side of things, one of my sons has (he thinks) straight A's on his forthcoming report card, and the other just completed his Eagle Scout project yesterday! He also was awarded Student of the Month honors at their high school. Daughter is doing great at LSU and took the weekend to study for tests and proof an English paper. *Proud Mom here!*

I'm forecasting an even better week ahead with a big treat in the works for myself. (More about that later.) My writing group will convene at my house Wednesday night, and that's always something to look forward to. I need to do some catch-up house cleaning, but nothing horrific.

And you? What's the best and worst you see in your week ahead? May your "baddies" be small and your "goodies" large. And if not-so-good news comes your way, may you slide through it quickly!

October 12, 2008 Weekly Forecast

Aren't these gorgeous? I can't decide if the roses have been tinkered with using bright pigment-filled water to grow them, or if they've been doctored in photo shop, or some other mad scientist procedure. Whatever caused them to appear in the jpeg as they do, I like the final product.

As far as I can tell, I've got a good week ahead and everyone I care about is doing well, or at least holding their own. There are no odious chores hanging over my head, nothing to dread, and the sky's the limit on what I want to accomplish. Now, we all know Life has a way of throwing big fat monkey wrenches into the cogs of our plans, but for right now, it's clear skies ahead.

Looking at these beyond-bright flowers and trying to figure out if they are some sort of rare but real hybrid, or if they've been manipulated in some way, made me think on this:

How much of what I see and hear (especially from "reliable" sources such as the mainstream media), do I take at face value?

I'm a pretty skeptical person who loves to research and haunt snopes.com, so I don't think I'm too gullible, but I'd love to see your answers to the question. So feel free to express those opinions. And if you have examples or links to articles on the topic; all the better.

Hope your Sunday and week ahead are everything you hope for. I'll be dropping by your blog homes, so have the coffee pot and chat ready!

Week Ahead: Mostly Sunny with a Chance of Thunderstorms

Another week officially begins today. Last week was a busy one with kids' stuff like homecoming, booster band club meetings, editing work, and doing fun stuff with friends. The "chance of thunderstorms" forecast for this week pertains to some grunt work I need to do around the house, as well as the actual weather conditions hovering over Baton Rouge.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the annual Louisiana Book Festival, so I'll post pics & notes from some awesome poets and authors Wednesday. Which reminds me, if any of you writerly type folks have short stories, poetry, etc. to submit to a fine literary e-zine, why not consider The Rose & Thorn? We're open to reading again. http://www.theroseandthornezine.com/

I'll be sharing a delicious recipe from friend Oren this week too. *Warning: get your drool bib ready now!*

Until then, I'll leave you with a post I made to our Year of Gratitude blog (YOG blog) yesterday on finding balance in your life: http://barbaraquinnyearofgratitude.blogspot.com/2008/10/searching-for-balance-by-angie.html Hope you enjoy.

Week Ahead: Sunshine with a Slight Chance of Rain

What's your week ahead looking like? If you were a meteorologist, what kind of weather would you forecast for yourself? (You can see my prediction in the title heading.)

We're creeping toward the end of September, and in Louisiana that means we're still in the Hot Zone. But instead of enjoying summer at the beach, lake, park, or even in some swank vacation spot (Ha), now we're sweating in the sauna-like conditions while watching and/or tailgating for school, college and professional football on weekends. [Please excuse the PSA, but...GEAUXXXX TIGERS! -- That's for LSU fans the world over.]

So, here's the coming week's breakdown, in case you want to feel better about your own life and schedule *grin*. Note: Calendar items are not all-inclusive, and are subject to multiple changes, rerouting, and crises:

• Monday: Write Year of Gratitude blog entry; clean up the pigsty from daughter's LSU football party; grocery shop; do editing work; make a dentist appointment (chipped a piece off a molar *shiver*); grocery shop; cook ahead for the week; spend the night at parents (Mondays and Thursdays are my nights to help out, and I enjoy it.)
• Tuesday: Possible lunch with a school mom friend; my new semester of poetry class may resume tonight if the professor is able to reoccupy her house since Gustav wrecked her neighborhood, if not, a cousin may be having a family prayer group meeting launch; pay bill for youngest son's trombone lessons; edit; work on weekly writing goals; housework junk.
• Wednesday: Errand day; wash clothes (not that I don't do that pretty much every day...but midweek, I have to make sure kids have enough school uniforms to get through Friday); attend middle child's Senior Parent Picnic; edit, watch Project Runway with Mom.
• Thursday: What? Nothing on my calendar? Now, that's spooky. Spend the night at parents.
• Friday: YOG blog entry post; send out submissions; edit. It's TGIF...whoopie. LOL. Oh, check and see if there's a school football game tonight. If so, sell raffle tickets.
• Saturday: Run away and get in some R&R. Remember, Moms -- the last one out of the house on the weekend loses!

I'll leave you with this thought: If you don't write your own forecast, you might be depending on someone like this to do it for you -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHq03UqJhNE