women need a code

Yea, Yea, I know. A good man is hard to find, and a hard man is good to find, and all that, but seriously, ladies, we need a commandment.

And the commandment should be, "Thou shalt not mess (physically or mentally) with another girl's husband".

It's bad enough men have been known to independently, of their own free will, cheat on their wife or fall out of love with their wife. But worse when they are seduced away by some siren who deliberately sets their sights on a married man.

(Clarification: This is absolutely NOT happening to me and FM right now, but rather we are watching someone try to split up a guy and his wife, who were already on some fairly rocky ground.)

It's bad enough to "worry" about your husband straying, but knowing there are women out there who are more than ready to sacrifice your marriage for their pleasure is B-A-D.

And, another thing gals. A guy who is willing to leave his wife for you is probably more likely to be willing to leave YOU for another sometime later down the line.

There are probably better ways to get a man than to steal one away. But, regardless, we need to quit doing this to one another.

And start worrying if our toenail polish matches our lipstick and our sandals. And where to find AVAILABLE men. Unmarried men. Men who are NOT already married. Get it?!?!?

Good.

Even when I was single, I didn't mess with married men.

Very often. :-)

Update on NaNoWriMo

I didn't write anything yesterday. Not one word. Spent three hours in the morning "researching" (read: reading forums on NaNoWriMo looking for inspiration and finding none). Then, going out and buying the paper, coffee, beer, soap. . .

Returning and reading paper, doing crossword, reading a book. No ideas.

Well, a couple. A southern guy with race issues falling in love with Israel, looking for Jewish roots in his past so he can make Aliyah, and finding he has black Jewish roots. Scrapped. A collection of travel stories in a humorous bent (think tampon stories). Scrapped. Reviving one of my older attempts at a novel. Also scrapped.

Decided to just jump in and start typing. See what happens. Have about 1200 words in the last hour. Not bad, as I'm already 1500 words behind after not writing yesterday.

The goal is not really to write a saleable novel, or even a readable novel. It's to write every day and finally get 50,000 words down in a somewhat related manner.

Title is "All That Is Left Behind".

You can check my progress at http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/237909

NaNoWriMo

Because I hate myself and am a glutton for punishment, I have signed on officially today for National Novel Writing Month at NaNoWriMo.org . As you can see, I write RELIGIOUSLY here, and sometimes over here.

But I've really never tried anything quite this formatted, rigid, and time constrained. Yes, I've started many a book while out here in the world, but I've never been able to get very far. In order to "win", I have to write 50,000 words this month. In one story. About one plot. In 30 days. While in Israel and at home. 30 days, my friends. Did I mention the 30 days part?

So, I will either have given up by Friday or come December 1 I will have the beginnings of a novel that will require extensive revisions, editing, and all those other fun things.

Wish me luck. I'm going to need it.

The Most Guilt-Inducing Appliance Ever!

When I married FM, I not only got a kind and loving husband, but included in the entire package was . . . THE AMAZING RAINBOW VACUUM CLEANER, amongst other twaddle (that IS a word, I'll have you know).

Now, FM has had a longtime love with this machine, and who am I to separate a man from his obsession.

I, on the other hand, have hated this machine for the past 9 years I've had to live with it.

Why, you ask?

Not because it cleans my house, upholstery, car, and curtains to the upmost degree.

And, not because I have jealous insecurities that FM loves it more than me.

Also, not because it is a TOTAL PAIN IN THE ASS to use. If you've ever had one, you know what I'm talking about. Have a minor spill? You need to fill the freaking canister with water, drag the entire contraption out of the basement storage room (the only place BIG enough to store this monstrosity), then vacuum up said mess, THEN empty water and dirt and debris SOMEWHERE, and re-store.

Not even because the whole unit is ungainly and tends to (a) get wrapped around it's own power cord constantly, (b) get wrapped around it's own suction tube thing (whatever that is called) occassionally, or (c) tips over and sometimes leaks dirty, nasty water onto my white carpet, ensuring I must get out the Resolve Carpet Cleaner next. . .

And, not even because the damn thing is 20 years old.

No, I can overlook these minor issues. The thing I hate the most about this thing is when I get it out it takes me 4 STINKING HOURS to vacuum my house.

So what is the rational for vacuuming for four hours (and trust me folks, our house isn't big enough to justify this), you ask? Because it HAS all these options and attachments for cleaning everything damn thing in your house, including your screens, the top of your refrigerator, the sofa cushions, the air vents, windowsills, blinds, etc. And since you've dragged the whole cumbersome thing out, filled it up with water, and towed all the accessories around the house, you ACTUALLY FEEL GUILTY if you don't use them. Not that all those things in my house couldn't use a once over, but I guarantee if I had just a "normal" upright vacuum like I grew up with, it would take about an hour to vacuum.

But, then my house wouldn't have that "Rainbow Glow".

And FM would sob uncontrollably if I was to ever rid ourselves of it and replace it with a Dyson, as I keep threatening to do.

(Note: Although I am back in Israel, I just spent two weeks at home due to the unexpected death of my brother, Brian. And rather than talk about the pain and grief my family and I are going through, I thought I'd rant about my vacuum cleaner).