My life is feeling very overwhelming today.

In addition to taking Scout to the vet to get another round of shots, meeting with my accountant, and taking Scout to puppy class (the latter two I'm completely unprepared for), I need to be finishing a first draft of a book, prepping for a dozen public speaking engagements taking place over the next two months, and now, fixing several things that have decided to betray me in my own home.

First up: the toilet. The previous owner had the handle-flap chain jerry-rigged (sp?) on both ends - at the top with a paper clip and at the bottom with a twist-tie. It broke on Saturday night, but I re-jerry-rigged it and it was okay - for a day. Now the only way to flush it it is to reach into the tank and lift the flap by hand. Gross, right? Fortunately, I own a couple of DIY fix it books and it shouldn't take more than an hour to replace the mechanism. But hey - I still have to actually replace the mechanism. And buy said mechanism. And pray I don't cause major leakage in my postage-stamp-sized bathroom.

Second up: I just took Scout out to the back yard to do his bidness and discovered that this enormous coil of electrical wire had detached itself from my house. This is the bundle that comes directly from the wood pole that the electric company planted in my backyard (yeah, I live directly under a cancer grid. It's totally awesome). So, I called in the "emergency" and now I have to wait for the Delmarva people to come fix this wire. I have no idea how long it's been down - that's how oblivious I am.

Third up: yardwork. I'm not into it, and it shows. I never finished picking up the leaves from the fall, and my front yard is a graveyard of dog poop. Not just Scout's either - every dog in the neighborhood likes to defecate on my yard. The beds are a mess, there are broken branches all through the back, and there's like eight or ten hours' worth of work waiting for me. You know, when I finish everything else.

Fourth up: the doors on my shed are broken. They won't stay shut. So every time it's windy, they flap loudly and slam shut/open/shut. Plus, as my mother has pointed out several times, the whole structure needs a good sanding/painting.

Fifth up: my bed needs to be moved and I need to swap out one feather bed topper for another, because the one I have bunches up at my feet and I sleep in a divot and my back is killing me.

Sixth up: I'm going to stop making this list because I have exactly one hour to pull together everything I need for the accountant and get my ass to the vet for my dog's sake.

I know I owe a conference recap, plus a full in-box of e-mail replies, but I'm coming down with something (yes, on top of all of this) and I feel like C-R-A-P.

All in good time, my dears. All in good time.

Big, exciting news of the day: garbage service has finally kicked in, and I now have an almond colored waste wheeler in which to place my backlog of trash!

You know you're getting old when you get this jazzed about trash.

Since I got home from teaching I have been a slug. I never get to be a slug. I'm enjoying my slugdom, but slugdom must end tomorrow, as tomorrow night I get to meet Andrew's new(ish) girlfriend for dinner and a show (ENDGAME at the Chapel Street Theatre - so psyched am I!).

ALSO: I need to be writing more. Period.

Tomorrow is Lara Makes Her Mortgage Payment Day - my second in a series that will span more than thirty years. I can't complain, as it's far more rewarding than Lara Pays Some Interest on Her Student Loans Day, as I often feel that money goes into some cosmic black hole.

I'm feeling punchy. It comes from being slug-like for several hours in a row.

HAND PAIN: Decreasing with every slugged up hour. Even typing this entry has made my pointer finger on my left hand sore and crampy. What up with that, yo?

I think tomorrow will also be Lara Paints the Luon She Purchased to Replace the Cheap Cardboard Backing on Her Target Bookshelves Day. Once I do that I can unpack my library, and there's like 30 boxes right there. Then I can take all of the boxes to the recycling center and have a functional office (maybe).

Grocery shopping may also be on the docket for tomorrow. We'll have to see how domestic I'm feeling.

FINALLY: I'm having a love affair with my bed. A nice, firm Sealy Posturpedic queen-sized mattress, topped with a 2-inch thick gussetted feather bed. OH MY GAWD. I seriously have to talk myself into getting up in the morning. Tonight: curling up to read more of Will Leitch's CATCH, which I'm enjoying muchly thus far.

FiVo'd DESIGN REMIX awaits!