Defenders of the Flag

If you pay attention to politics, it's a depressing time.  I entered the military during the Cold War Era -- an era I never thought to see the end of in my lifetime.  We defeated Communism.  Or, rather, I thought we did. Instead, we seem to have defeated it in the former Soviet Union and associated Block countries only to welcome it in our own.  I swore to uphold the Constitution, and our President, half the Congress, and some of the Supreme Court seem determined to do everything in their power to disregard or undermine the Constitution.  Twenty-eight years of my life given freely in defense of this nation only to be considered an extremist and a threat in my own country for being a Christian and a veteran.

The Good Stuff:

• We got two trailer loads of trash loaded and taken to the city dump for our annual clean up day (a $160 value).  Mattresses, box springs, rusted cabinetry, an upholstered chair, headboards, water damaged end tables and other assorted furniture items all dumped.  
• We loaded two washers and a dryer onto the trailer for the second load, and when we got in the dump line for our turn in front of a house, a guy flagged us down and asked if he could have the appliances.  We told them to go ahead.  That was my preferred disposition for those items all along, so that made my day. (Made me wish we'd decided to load the still working dryer on the trailer as well, but we decided not to.  We can always stop by that house and see if they want the dryer when we're done with it in a month or so.)
• I'm feeling fairly good this week, although my lower back started locking up on Thursday night.  I'm not sure if it's related to the procedure or if it's coincidental and more related to me not doing my stretching exercises.
• Got the lawn mowed today
• Tracked on Lose It! (actually showed a loss for part of the week), read, rode the bike a couple of times, and did my morning pages
• Sneaky and I sat together for a little while on the porch last night.  It's a start.  She was a lonesome kitty last night.  Still no sign of Peaches or Little Orange.
• A-Z entries are scheduled through M and O and a draft is in the works on the next letters.
• I got a haircut.
• Taxes are filed.
• Mr. L is continuing decluttering.  He's doing well.

The Not So Good Stuff:

• I spent no time on Cat Eyes this week
• My mom's in the hospital with breathing troubles
• I'm supposed to take my concealed carry renewal class on Saturday (at least, I paid for it), but I haven't gotten the email from the place with details yet.  They said it would arrive a few days before the class, so, in theory, I shouldn't be worried yet, but I am mildly annoyed to only have a PayPal receipt so far.
• I'm doing a lousy job of decluttering

Neither Good nor Bad:

• I think the A-Z Blogging Challenge will be my last blog challenge.  It's fun to do, but I don't have time to frantically run by and check other blogs.  Some people have been kind enough to stop by mine, but you can tell they are rushed, too.  
• This year will be my tenth NaNoWriMo.  I regretfully believe it will be my last.  It's been a great source of first draft material, but I think it has reached the point where it's counter productive for me.  I dash off a first draft during NaNo, then it sits and waits for me to get around to revising it.  Revision is where I need to work.  I've proven I can do a first draft. Nice.  So many people can't.  Now, I need to move forward from that and produce something readable.  That's where my focus needs to be. Theoretically, I shouldn't do NaNo this year, but I do want to be able to say I did it for ten years straight.  Silly as that may be.  
• Be it morning pages, NaNo, or other sundry things, I have the tenacity to stick with it, but these things, ultimately, are not productive to achieving the goal of publication.  I have other things I should be doing.

The Week Ahead:

• Continue morning pages, tracking, getting exercise (we'll be transitioning to SA for a week, so no riding), and reading.
• Plug away at the yard work.  I feel as if I'm behind the power curve on it.
• Complete CHL refresher class.
• Get back to writing/revising.  Do SOMETHING.