Jennifer Lyon


Friday, April 20th, 2018
Friday Five

Hey here we are again at another weekend–can  you believe it? It’s time to list five random things about our weekend. Here’s mine:

  1. Yesterday was CPA Boy’s birthday. It’s so weird that my first-born son has his own son now.
  2. Even weirder–CPA Boy wants a confetti cake for his birthday celebration this Sunday. People, that’s a WHITE CAKE! As in…not chocolate. I am confused. My oven is confused. I’ve been spending days mentally preparing to face this strange and confusing task of baking a white cake. Hopefully, by Sunday, I’ll have attained the mental fitness and discipline to bake a white cake. I can make a pretty good lemon cake…but white????? Well he’s my first-born son and he said he wants to try something different, so I’ll do it even if this request is emotionally disturbing to my chocolate-loving heart :-)
  3. I spent yesterday with Baby Slayer! He was awake almost all the time I was there. and so much fun! But by the time I got home yesterday afternoon (TRAFFIC SUCKS!), I said hello to Wizard, Maggie and a glass of wine in that order. Whew, taking care of a baby is a lot of work! Special K makes it look easy :-)
  4. Wizard and I were super stressed one day this week trying to schedule and coordinate various medical stuff on our calendars, so we took an afternoon off and went to see the movie “Blockers.” It’s a dumb comedy, and I was skeptical, but it turned out to be the perfect way to laugh off some stress.  I imagine that fact that I had no expectations helped, but still, good choice Wizard!
  5. I know I talk about writing and wishing I could do more than I am, but I also miss reading. This is the only time in my life I can recall where I’m not reading at least one book a week, and usually much more than that. I am listening to audiobooks, though, and that helps fill the voice a little. But I miss voracious reading! It’s so weird because I can concentrate on a physical chore like cooking a complex dish from a new recipe. But straight reading for more than a few minutes is tougher to concentrate on past the ringing in my ears. Some days I swear to Wizard the ringing is a secret code I’m hearing that I just need to crack!! He tells me to let him know if those mysterious voices give me the winning numbers to lotto :-) FYI, I’m getting all the tests I need to make sure this isn’t something more serious than we originally thought.

So that’s some of my week. Now I’d life to hear five random things about your week!

8 comments to “Friday Five”

  1. B.E. Sanderson
    April 20th, 2018 at 6:51 am · Link

    White cake? What is this strange thing you speak of? I’ve never made one. It’s just a yellow cake without the yolks, right? And the confetti is colored sprinkles mixed into the batter? I’m lost. Happy Birthday to CPA Boy! Yay for Baby Slayer! Yay for silly movies that de-stress! And yeah, wouldn’t it be awesome if the ringing had a purpose?

    1) Early Grave is out. It went out a day early, which kind of made me laugh a little.
    2) I learned this morning that my cover artist is booked solid through July. I hadn’t even been thinking covers for my next book, the one I was planning on releasing in August. Now I might have to adjust the schedule. This is one cover I cannot do myself and she did such a good job on the genie book covers, I want her for Sleeping Ugly. Gah.
    3) I’m trying to find a way to reduce the sugar in my diet. The hardest part, so far, is determining which sugar substitute is best in coffee. I did pink packet. Meh. Today, I’m trying yellow packet. Meh. Next up, green packet. Then blue. If none of those work, it’s back to sugar in the coffee. I am totally not in a place where I can drink black coffee yet.
    4) My mom started drinking black coffee because she was tired of being the only one in the office to buy cream and sugar when everyone else was using it. That was about 30 years ago.
    5) Hubs and I were marveling over how much things have changed in his lifetime and mine. Is this a sign that we’re getting old? ;o)



  2. Silver James
    April 20th, 2018 at 9:42 am · Link

    Sounds like you had an awesome week! I make an awesolme white cake that isn’t quite angel food that Only had for years for her b-day cake. Yay for Baby Slayer! And yeah, we forget how hard babies are…until they become toddlers. :lol:

    Okay, my five:

    1) Plotted out the next 5 RDR books with an overall soap opera plot, plus the synopsis for Cooper’s book. One final look-through today and then off to NY.

    2) I’m struggling through contest reads not because they aren’t good but because I have so much trouble reading now. :-? My eyes burn and water after a chapter or two. Thank goodness for audio books for my pleasure reading!

    3) The weather is still schizophrenic. At least we have a chance for rain this weekend, along with another posssible freeze. My spring flowers are toast. :-|

    4) I had a crow in the oak trees outside my office this week. He didn’t caw. He said “Uh-oh.” Over and over. Seriously.

    5) And speaking of birds, there was a white-winged dove at the feeder, along with the usual mourning and ringnecked doves. The white-winged was new and evidently somewhat rare in this area. It was cool.

    Have a great weekend!



  3. Jenn
    April 20th, 2018 at 12:37 pm · Link

    B.E., pretty much on the white cake. I may use a mix though because CPA Boy doesn’t care if it’s homemade or not, and I’m making manicotti too. It’d be cool of the ringing had a purpose :-) Now for your five:

    1) Congrats!! I’ll grab my copy today!
    2) I hate when that happens! If you send her your stuff, maybe she can do it soon if something frees up? I’ve had that work out for me. Sorry for the schedule bumps, they’re tend to cause real disruptions.
    3) Oh yeah, artificial sweeteners are something of an acquired taste. I drink my coffee black, but I use them in my oatmeal. Hope you find one that you can live with.
    4) That seems like a great reason to go to black coffee :-) I can’t remember why I started drinking mine black–that was before i was married. Knowing me, it was probably laziness, LOL!
    5) Not old, wise! We recognize the difference between real change and recycled ideas :-)

    Have a great weekend!



  4. Jenn
    April 20th, 2018 at 12:45 pm · Link

    Silver, that cake sounds good–but I’d cut it into chunks and dips it in chocolate, LOL! I’m a tried and true chocolate fan! Good thing Maggie has me doing so much cardio so I can keep up with Baby Slayer when he morphs into Toddler Slayer :-) I love that little guy with a crazy grandma passion!

    1) Dang Silver you are awesome!!! Plotting 5 books with that overall plot arc is a feat! Congrats!
    2) I feel for you! Is that from allergies or something else? I have one eye that does that occasionally from allergies and just for a short time it drives me crazy. Plus it sucks that we can’t lose ourselves in reading, but I’m very thankful for audiobooks too!!!
    3) The weather definitely needs a mega dose of xanax! So sorry for your flowers :-(
    4) LOLOL!! Did you capture that on video?
    5) I hope the white winged dove brings you good luck for spotting him!

    Hope you have a terrific weekend!



  5. Viki S.
    April 20th, 2018 at 2:43 pm · Link

    1. Happy Birthday to Baby Slayer’s Daddy :).
    2. What’s a white cake ;)? Never had one in my oven either.
    3. Glad you’re able to spend time with Baby Slayer. Yes, they are a ton of work and worth every moment :). Sorry about the traffic.
    4. That was a great idea, going to a movie. Good way to unwind.
    5. Praying they come up with a fix for the tinnitus. Not being able to read must be frustrating.

    1a. After yesterday it looks like we may be done with snow ;).
    2a. Hubs got a cold and didn’t go watch Harrison Wednesday. It nearly killed him ;).
    3a. Harrison had his 6 month check up yesterday. The kid is HUGE. I mean, he is 2 to 3 1/2 pounds heavier than my boys at the same age. He is 25 % developmentally behind but should catch up by his 1st birthday.
    4a. Tonight is duck eggs and pea meal bacon for dinner. I love breakfast for dinner. When it’s made with “real” Canadian (most of my family is Canadian) bacon it’s even yummier.
    5a. I’m behind on reading too. The only real time I have to read is at bedtime and I’ve been falling asleep a couple pages in. Not going well :(.

    I hope you have a great weekend :)!



  6. Jenn
    April 20th, 2018 at 6:15 pm · Link

    Viki, thanks on CPA Boy’s birthday; even Special K was surprised that CPA Boy asked for white cake: our grandbabies are soooo worth it!; the movie was perfect for destressing; and I’m looking to rule out the most serious possible cause of my specific tinnitus and hearing loss symptom! But yes, you’re right, finding the cause, even if it’s not the best news, is better than not knowing. Now for your five:

    1) Crossing my fingers you guys get some nice weather!
    2) Poor hubs. I can really understand his disappointment now.
    3) Harrison is amazing! 25% “behind” at six months is pretty good news! He’s clearly thriving and, by one he’ll be right now track. Isn’t it amazing how well premies do? My nephew is thriving as well an he was just over 2 lbs.
    4) Duck eggs and pea meal bacon is new to me.
    5) Hope both our reading volume improves!

    Wishing you a fabulous weekend with lovely weather!



  7. Viki S.
    April 22nd, 2018 at 2:05 pm · Link

    Hi Jenn – Was just talking with my mom who also has tinnitus. She has been doing some research and found this info that may help – An article said that taking 3 mg. of melatonin an hour before bed can help fade the noise within 30 days. It adds that patients who do yoga once a week experience a big drop in symptoms within 3 weeks according to the International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology. Yoga’s slow breathing and relaxing movements slash stress, taming overexcited areas of the brain linked to tinnitus. Might be worth a try. Have a great Sunday!



  8. Jenn
    April 23rd, 2018 at 8:11 am · Link

    Hi Viki, thanks for the tip. I really hope it helps your mom! Once we finish some testing, I can try melatonin again. I took it once for three months and it did nothing to help me sleep, nor does yoga (I love yoga, I use the stretches almost dally). I’m sorry your mom is going through it. Tinnitus is very common, unfortunately.



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