Pardon the interruption

Where do I find an hour shop?

You know, a place that will give me an extra hour a day to do the things I WANT to do (like write, paint my toenails lime green, take a long bath) and not spend every waking moment doing things I HAVE to do. Like feeding the hungry children, walking the dog and trying to make someone feel better for some unknown wrong that was done so long ago that I don't think it's in the deepest recesses of my memory banks.

Speaking of memory banks, I just received my first Christmas thank you note. Ever. Seriously, I send them off the day after I get gifts and never look back. But I have yet to have received one ever from a nephew or a niece for a gift. Did I say EVER?

Because of this, I gave the kids permission to send them only if they wanted to - or to sign mine, as well. Of course, they signed the family thank you and were pleased as punch to not be locked in a room and "...don't come out until you're done!" Yes, I'm that mom.

So, can you imagine my surprise when a thank you note was received from my least favorite brother and his wife and kids? I was so surprised, I had to look at the envelope to make sure my mom hadn't sent it.... after locking them in a room at her house and telling them they couldn't leave until they had written all their note. Or else. nNow, if my favorite brother had sent one off, I would have had a heart attack and a serious need for some Strawberry Haagen Dazs ice cream. And that's saying something.

But there's a punch line, and a funny one at that. Out of the note fell a small piece of paper from my sister in law. It said, "We missed getting personal notes from each of you this year."

Well, considering that I can jump to conclusions and assume the worst, I decided to set it aside and think about it and read it later, when I wasn't so conclusion-jumping. Nope, it still feels like a slight bash. So, I started to pen a nice little note to them, to thank them for their thank you.

"Dear (insert name here),
Thank you so much for acknowledging the gifts we spent a bit of time selecting at the dollar store. We are pleased as punch that you liked the fuzzy purse/football/cheap statue of jesus. However, in the future, if you would please put your note in an envelope any color other than yellow, we would be very appreciative."

Sigh.

Sorry, sarcasm just shows up, no matter what I do.

Anyway, I've been busy writing elsewhere and have spent a bit of time on this new story idea. The one about the census takers being an alien species that are here to take over, they act disturbingly like bees from a hive (they all know everything that they each learn) and our heroine is the only one who can see the oddities occuring. Everyone else is oblivious. She's highly sarcastic. Has great boots. Who is it that she reminds me of so strongly...?

Anyway, I hope to show up more frequently here but can't make any promises. The story just can't wait, you know, and we wouldn't want it taking over, or anything.

So, what's up with you?