Rita Arens's Blog, page 44

The World Looking In

The kitchen is the last room not in the basement that needs to be remodeled in Chateau Travolta. The country rose wallpaper has been scraped off, the dark wood wainscoting pried from the walls, one arch put in, the walls painted, new windows installed. We still need to replace the half-hanging-off cabinets and the counter top and the back splash that is half-missing and covered in clear packing tape above the stove. Oh, and the tile. The linoleum is still missing a chunk from when we installe...

Parenting Win: I'll Take It

Last night I found out about an unexpectedly large bill. I'd just returned from CVS, where I spent twenty-five minutes combining coupons with weekly deals to save $23. The pointlessness of blowing all that time to save a few bucks only to find out a mistake had cost us hundreds totally deflated me. And it was 107 degrees at 7 pm.

I sank to the kitchen chair. Tears sprang to my eyes. "I think I'm going to throw up," I said.

I sat there, breathing deeply, trying to calm my anxiety, when my daug...

I'm Back on Pinterest

I deleted all my boards off Pinterest a few months ago, because I was pinning mostly public art and got freaked out about copyright. You really aren't supposed to pin anything you don't have permission to pin unless you took the picture yourself, and everything I was pinning was art, so I got nervous.

I recently read a great article somewhere (I've forgotten where) about starting a pinboard for your books, if you're an author. I think that's a fascinating idea. Probably even more fascinating...

Find Your Thing

This past week has been extremely draining for me. Yesterday morning I was in such a dark mood I actually cancelled meetings so people wouldn't have to talk to me.

Last night, I went to an Indigo Girls concert in Kansas City. I named my first horrible and forever unpublished novel after a line in an Indigo Girls song, and I moved to Kansas City after really listening to "Least Complicated." I like a lot of music, but there are certain singer/songwriters who capture the human condition so eloq...

The 911 Call

I was talking on the phone to my best friend when it happened. We were chatting about swimming pools and barbecues as my family hurtled along I-35 toward Des Moines.

The little SUV two cars ahead of us swerved and rolled, ending up in the ditch, two of its wheels straight, two bent, the back windows blown out.

Three cars stopped, including us. I hadn't been paying attention when it happened, just heard Beloved mumbling and noticed our rapid slowing. "I've got to go," I told Steph. "I think I...

Intrusive Thoughts

My brain is easily led to intrusive thinking. In the past, this has led me to restrict my eating, to exercise obsessively, to spend hours Googling sleep solutions for my toddler, to become obsessed with sunscreen for my daughter, to worry about the health and well being of my family. When I was a kid, I would become obsessed with the idea of my house burning down during fire safety week and couldn't go to sleep until I had mapped out exactly how I would escape my burning home with all my stuf...

First, Let Me Watch You Humiliate Yourself

The neighbors are out of town. They've asked us to water their flowers since it will not rain in Kansas City again before the Mayan calendar runs out. We said, "Sure!"

The first night I went over to water, I found the hose in back to be already on with a device attached to the top. It looked like a quick adaptor, but when I tried to put the nozzle in, it just shot water all over me. So then I decided to take the quick adaptor off, because WTF?

BAD IDEA.

As I watched water come shooting out th...

That Was NOT a Cicada

In every marriage, there's a moment in which you get to be the one who is right. My moment came on Saturday night.

On Saturday, a series of events led to my victory.

A two-week heatwave was flaming out in a 105-degree burst of glory.
My brother- and sister-in-law and their two daughters were staying the weekend.
A door between the garage and the house was left open.

When I realized the door had been open, I went to look for Petunia. She's never left the garage before, but she has visited it...

Just Floating in a River of Hot Air

The two-week Kansas City triple-digit heatwave is preparing to break! Phew! I was pretty sure I was going to have to go to a desert soon to cool off.

WE ARE GOING TO FREEZE!

Despite the ridiculous heat, we've been spending almost all our nonworking hours outside. We eat outside, we play outside, we sit on the deck and read or play on the Internet outside. From time to time, I become aware of the heat wrapping around my body like a hot washcloth and the sweat seeping into my clothes. It's not...

Many, Many Thoughts About Writing After Kids

Today a post that I spent hours writing went up on BlogHer about writing and especially writing after kids. Here's a link if you are interested!