Writer's Block and Summer Vacation

So summer's vacation for my kids is slowly coming to an end, which means I might actually get some writing done. One thing I have found with the kids home is, even if its quiet it does not last long enough to get an entire thought down. Don't get me wrong, I love having my kids home but as a writer, it makes it very difficult to do my job. I've had people say, just take an hour or two and close yourself away. These people are usually ones without kids and to those people, I give you a slice of writing with kids.

Writing Day
House is quiet, kids are in their rooms playing on their computers or doing homework, perhaps even playing outside. I grab a mug of Green Tea with lime and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and sit down at the keyboard. The first few words spill from my fingers onto the computer screen.

Mommmmmmm
Set writing aside to find out what the problem is. Go back downstairs to continue writing. Forgot what I was in the middle of putting down. Spend ten minutes trying to remember, finally do.

Repeat this routine three or four more times until I finally give up.

Non-writing Day
{{crickets}}

So there you go. I know, it's not much of an excuse, as I promised some more writing but I am still waiting to hear back from my editor on the stuff I sent so be patient and soon there will be more.

Returned from Pennsic

So I am sure for many of my readers, your first question is "what is Pennsic?"

According to the Wiki:

The Pennsic War is an annual American medieval camping event held by the Society for Creative Anachronism—a "war" between two large regional SCA groups: the Kingdom of the East and the Middle Kingdom.

According to the Pennsic War Website:

Pennsic is an annual event, in the guise of a "War", between the Kingdoms of the East and the Middle of the Society for Creative Anachronism Pennsic is also the largest Society event, with attendance in recent years exceeding 10,000. The scheduled activities include large melee battles, tournaments, archery, stage performances, dancing, and hundreds of classes on medieval topics. The marketplace has over 200 merchants selling a variety of wares.

To me Pennsic is two weeks of camping with some very awesome people. It is catching up with old friends, meeting new ones, new experiences and wonderful times.... Usually. This Pennsic I almost died. No, I am not joking or exaggerating. One of the groups across from us thought it would be okay to use Backyard Fogger with everyone in camp. This is after they were told not to because there were children and people with severe allergies to it within range. I am one of the severely allergic and went into anaphylactic shock. I got to ride in an ambulance and my blood pressure rose so high they were afraid I was going to have a stroke. I was given wonderful care by the on site EMS crew and with lots of IV Benadryl they were able to get the anaphylaxis under control and slowly bring my blood pressure down. On a side note, if you are looking at someone's EKG readings, turn your back if you are going to make the "oh this is not good" face. So, after recovering I had several more instances where my BP started to hit the higher side, and eventually I ended up going home a day early with my mom. 

Now I am back in the air conditioning with my kitties and although my BP has not returned to "normal" levels at least I am comfortable. My two girls are with me and they are keeping an eye on me until the rest of the family returns.

Moral of this story, if someone asks you not to use chemicals around them... Don't.