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Old expressions usually have a kernel of truth to them. "Fish and company stink after 3 days" is one that is oft repeated. My brother arrived last Monday with his two girls ages 14 and 11. I haven't seen so much drama since I was involved in the theater department in high school! If the older one is listed as being in a relationship on Facebook, life is good. If she states that she is single, the whole household suffers. Her relationship status changed so many times in the past 7 days that I lost track of the count. Right now she is single, so it kinda sucks to be around her. I am so glad my kids didn't get into this kind of stuff in junior or senior high. I never realized how nice we had it in our house.

I tried to keep them busy during the week, and I had my niece's 14 year old over several days and a couple of nights as well. I am exhausted! Between trying to figure out what to feed everyone and coping with a family that doesn't ever go to bed before 1:00 a.m., it was quite the challenge for me. My niece came over this afternoon with her two girls, and she took everyone to the airport at 4:00. I found myself repeating the words of Martin Luther King, "Free at last, free at last...!" Now to clean and do all the sheets and towels - yippee...

I was already a week behind on my ORMI work due to being in New York, and with the guests here I am up to two weeks. I was trying to do a little each morning before the kids got up, but Thursday my computer decided it was not going to connect with the network at ORMI. I called the computer guy on Friday and he was booked until Monday. That meant no catching up over the weekend. Then this morning the internet was down. I spent an hour on the phone with AT&T tech support before fixing that issue. Part of that time was on hold waiting for my Indian techie. I love how they tell you that they are experiencing unusually high call volume today, so if I don't want to wait I can access help at att.com. Helloooooooo....if I had access to the internet I wouldn't need to be calling you, would I???

Two weeks of backed up work and four days until we are on the house/garden tour. Anyone have some Prozac they'd like to share?

My brother and his two daughters are visiting from Boulder for a week. His 18 year old son stayed home to take care of the 2 dogs, 2 cats and rat - purportedly. They flew in Monday afternoon and will leave next Monday night, taking my great-niece Molly back home with them for a couple of weeks. This afternoon Joe, Stephie and I went to the zoo. I had not been there for quite a while. In fact, the last time may have been the re-dedication of the Flight Cage, which Jim's company had worked on. I parked in the parking lot as I could not find any spots along the street. $11.00 to park!!! Unreal! I guess that's what you get when admission to the zoo is "free". Inside the zoo it really was not as crowded as I expected. Though it was warm out today, it was not overly oppressive like it can be in St. Louis. I don't know about the rest of them, but I had a great time snapping pictures with my new lens. Man, does it capture the moment!

Tomorrow the girls and I will go to Cahokia and pick up Molly and her sister Cordy from their last day of school. They get done at 11:00, and after that I'll take them to lunch and then swimming at the Lodge at Des Peres. My back-up plan is to take them to either the City Museum or the Magic House if it rains. My brother will go with us if we decide on either of the museums, but he is not interested in the pool scene. I think he is considering that a house with no kids in it sounds pretty good to him. Molly will spend the night here with us, but Julie (my niece) will come and take Cordy back home with her. My limit is three teenage girls at once. I'm hoping for no rain as laying at the pool with a book sounds less stressful than a trip to the museum with 4 girls.

Good news first: my trip to New York was fantastic! Publishing University was even better than I had anticipated, and Book Expo America? One word - WOW! As I have described those meetings in detail in my Write Formation blog, I won't rehash them here. I had to leave Book Expo early in the afternoon on Thursday as I had a 4:30 flight back to St. Louis. I had checked my bag at Javits Center that morning so that I could take a cab directly to the airport and not have to go back to the hotel. But I now had an additional 50 pounds (or so it felt) of autographed and other free books to get back home. A heads up from a Book Expo veteran advised me to ship them back via the Fed Ex booth at the convention center. After standing in an inefficient, long line, I spent $40 to ship my "free" books back home.

In the cab on the way to the airport, the cabbie asked me if I had called the airline as some flights had been canceled due to storms. I called Katie and had her look up my flight on her computer, and American Airlines showed it to be on schedule. The weather in New York was fine, but apparently storms in the Midwest were causing problems. At the gate it was apparent the flight would be late as there was no plane there. At 5:20 we finally boarded, and the plane left the gate around 5:45. Then we sat out on the tarmac for 2 hours. I counted 17 planes on the runway ahead of us. In the meantime I chatted with the gal in the center seat next to me, and the guy in the end seat. The gal had grown up in Ferguson and was on her way home for a baby shower. Her own, as it ends up. She is 7 months pregnant with her first baby, and since she now lives in New York the family was hosting a virtual shower so that everything would be shipped to her home in New York. Smart! The guy was on his way back home to Chicago via St. Louis, which I thought was odd since there are lots of flights direct to Chicago out of LaGuardia.

After 2 hours the pilot took us back to the gate because nothing was flying out and with the new FAA guidelines he cannot keep us on the plane longer than 3 hours. He knew there was no way we would get out before the 3 hour timetable was up. If the plane returns to the gate, then the 3 hours can start over again. Back at the airport we were asked to wait 10 minutes until a decision would be made on whether we would fly out that night or not. Then we de-planed and they said it would be 8:45 before a decision would be made. Around 8:30 the flight was canceled. No flights heading west were allowed to leave that night.

The people on the plane who had smart phones were able to schedule their flights for the next day. Those of us stuck in yesterday's technology had to do it the old fashioned way - we stood in line. One sole AA rep was trying to handle the entire flight. My pregnant seat mate and I decided to go upstairs to the AA counter where there would be more agents available. Big mistake! Since all flights were canceled, the line was atrocious. We headed back downstairs to collect out luggage, and seat mate got both of her phones (yep, she carries two of them!) going on the AA 800 number. She finally got through, and after she booked her flight she took my information and changed my flight as well. She was able to get a direct flight at 9:00 p.m. Friday night. For me? A 5:30 p.m. flight to Dallas, with a flight from Dallas arriving in St. Louis at 11:30 p.m. Friday night. Are you kidding me? According to the agent, that was the best thing they could do.

The luggage finally arrived and I bid farewell to my pregnant friend and went to tackle the next issue. Where was I going to sleep that night? I waited for my turn at the Airport Hotels phone bank, asking each person I saw if they could recommend a decent place in the area. We were all in the same boat, with no idea of which way to sail. I struck up a conversation with a nice younger woman who also needed a place to stay. She had one hotel phone going and I had the other. We agreed that if either of us found a hotel with rooms, we would grab 2 of them. It was soon apparent that all the canceled flights had resulted in a run on neighboring hotels. A number of people headed back to NYC for the night. But new friend and I persisted. I was on hold with Holiday Inn Express when she struck gold with the Comfort Inn. YES! They had openings. Could we have 2 rooms? No, only 1 was available. I looked at my new BFF and said, "I'm not an axe murderess." She replied that she was not an axe murderess either, and with that we agreed to share a room. She told the man she would take a room with 2 beds. Uhhhhh.....the only room available was a king bed. Alrighty, then....We had agreed to share a room but did we want to share a bed? It was that or the airport floor. We booked the room ($180 per night for a Comfort Inn!) and headed out in the now rainy New York night to catch the shuttle.

At the Comfort Inn I called AA and again asked about a different flight. The frazzled agent said there were no direct flights available, but if I would hold she would check on some alternatives. She came back with a 10:00 a.m. US Airways flight to DC followed by an AA flight to St. Louis, arriving at 1:55. Much better than 11:30 p.m. My new BFF Michele and I settled in for the night, but I have to say I did not sleep well. I never did get any supper with all the delays at the airport, so my stomach was a little upset. I didn't want to pass gas and embarrass myself with my new BFF. Plus I was afraid that since I had slept so poorly on my trip I might snore. Also not a cool way to impress a new friend. Michele got up at 6:00 a.m. to make her flight, so we bid each other a safe trip. Slept with Michele on a first date and never even got her last name. I am such a slut!

I got to the airport at 8:00 only to discover that AA had neglected to tell US Airways that they were to be blessed by my presence. My blood pressure started to rise as the USA agent tried unsuccessfully to get through to an AA agent. He finally got the information he needed, and fortunately there was a seat for me on the 10:00 flight. As I headed to my gate I could hear a woman behind me sobbing. I was wondering if she missed her flight and was that upset? Then I realized if I missed my flight after all the delays I had already experienced and how tired I was, I probably would cry as well. A USA agent took the woman by the arm and led her to the agents at my gate. They apparently were able to calm her down and work things out for her. Then she came and sat down right next to me. I could not help but overhear her conversation as she made a phone call. Apparently her son is at Clemson and he and some other boys had been jumped around 2:00 that morning. He was severely beaten and had been transferred to a trauma center, and all she was able to get out of the nurse is that she would not be able to recognize him due to all the broken bones in his face. He was in a coma and they did not know if he had brain injuries. They had also called in a cardio-thoracic surgeon, which made me wonder if he had broken ribs and/or lung damage. It sounded like the son of Clemson's President might be involved, so it was being kept out of the press. As I listened to her heart-breaking story, I realized that it was no big deal that my flight had been canceled and I had been delayed by a day. Everyone in my family was safe and that was way more important. And I called my son in D.C. when I landed just to hear his voice and tell him that I love him.

I've been awake since 4:00 a.m., so I figured I might as well blog. I'm in New York for Publishing University, and I have been tossing and turning trying to figure out how to obtain my Book Expo America badge for tomorrow. BEA begins tomorrow and I have a ticket to the children authors roundtable breakfast which is being moderated by Sarah Ferguson. If she is not arrested for trying to sell out Prince Andrew. The problem is that I have PU sessions all day today with a closing reception at 5:00, and the BEA registration area is only open 8-5. How am I supposed to get my badge and breakfast ticket before 8 tomorrow? The exhibit hall is 17 blocks from my hotel. I don't even know yet how I am supposed to get there from here. Apparently it is located in an industrial area, so the trains don't go directly there. I've heard taking a cab during rush hour is iffy, too. I guess I will have to miss a couple sessions today and go to the Javits Center. Anyway, that is why I can't sleep.

The sessions for PU were really informative yesterday. My head is spinning with all the new information that was flying around. I've met some interesting people, and heard some truly inspiring success stories. If you are interested in more details, check out my Write Formation blog http://tinyurl.com/39vjao8 where I summarized yesterday's events.

On Sunday I leave for New York to attend Publishing University, which is sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers of America (IBPA). PU takes place Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday. Following the two day PU is Book Expo America, the largest gathering of book stores in North America. Basically the authors and publishers are trying to entice the book stores to carry their books. The kick-off speaker Tuesday night is Barbra Streisand, of whom I have been a fan since 8th grade. Babs has a book coming out this fall, thus her willingness to make a public appearance despite her extreme shyness.

So here is how it works: anyone with a badge to book expo can get in to see Babs, though it is first come, first served and seating is limited. No problem with that as I have an author's badge (God that sounds good to say!) Yesterday I found out that you have to pick up your free ticket to get in, and here is how you do that. You go to the Javits Center (17 blocks away from the hotel where PU is being held) between 1-5 on Monday or 8-5 on Tuesday, and when the tickets are gone, they're gone. Okay, so basically anyone attending PU will not be able to get a ticket. But the absurdness gets worse. The line to see Babs can begin cuing at noon on Tuesday, and the doors won't open until 4. Any people not in their seats by 5:45 will lose their seats, and the talk begins at 6:00. So basically even if I managed to get a ticket to see her, I would have to miss all of PU's Tuesday afternoon sessions to stand in line. Not! Sounds like a lot of B.S. to me!

I needed to pick up some rolls of stamps today, and thinking the lines would be short (or non-existent) I headed to the Post Office at Crestwood Mall. Surprised to see three people in line at a place that rarely sees three cars in the parking lot anymore, I took my place at the end of the line. The man at the counter was apparently sending something overseas that required custom forms to be completed, so it was going to be awhile. I was checking out the hair of the person (male? female?) in front of me as it looked like it had been colored. Having changed my own hair color this week, I was thinking the color was not quite right. All of a sudden some yellow appeared from under the man's hair. What the heck??? It was a parakeet! What I at first thought was bird crap on the guys shoulder was in fact shells from the seeds the man was feeding the bird over his shoulder. The bird's name was Sunshine. Remember that John Denver song? "Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy..." Could so easily be "Sunshine on my should makes me crappy..."

By now a second employee came out of the back room and took the second person in line over to her counter. She quickly bought a book of stamps, had her letter weighed and stamped, and was on her way. That brought up birdman. He proceeded to tell the clerk how he and Sunshine are inseparable, (in fact Sunshine had showered with him that morning), and he set the bird on the counter for her to admire. Which she did, as the line grew longer behind me.

Package man was still at the counter in front of me, and birdman was chirping on and on about his bird, shutting up only long enough to give the bird kisses. The ladies behind me commented on how pretty the bird was, so birdman then scooped Sunshine up and brought him/her over to be admired and to say hello. HEL-LOOOOO... we're waiting here. Places to go, people to see, and all that. Mail your packages and get the flock out of here.

Luckily package man finished up his business so I could buy my stamps and exit before I showed birdman my bird!

I'm writing this as I wait for the timer to go off, telling me it is time to rinse the dye out of my hair. I'm going back to an old color I had used for years, Light Ash Brown, after a couple years of combining two colors together. The combination had worked well for a long time, but now I think the color ends up being too light. I don't know if Clairol changed the formulas or if my hair has just decided to do its own thing with the color. Hopefully I will like the end result. I leave next Sunday for my trip to Publishing University in New York, and I want to look good when I meet Barbra Streisand. Ha!

I've been working on the wall quilt for the remodeled bathroom this weekend. Today I will do the actual quilting, then all that will be left is attaching the binding. I was really hoping to do some planting yesterday or today, but this weather does not put me in the mood for either buying plants or getting them in the ground. We are now just four weeks from the house/garden tour, and I am beginning to fret about whether the yard will be ready in time. It looks good, but I have seen a couple of the other gardens on the tour and they are GREAT. We need to step it up around here, and it doesn't help that Jim went up to Iowa this weekend. Even if we didn't get any planting done we still could be planning. Or fretting together.

Katie spent yesterday organizing the stuff she brought home from school. She is setting up her containers by room, which will definitely help when she moves into her apartment in the fall. She is also purging clothes and other items she didn't use for the last nine months, and that is awesome. The Clean House folks would be proud.

There's the buzzer, so I'm off!