Some nights are just rough, man

And tonight is one of those nights.

What is this personal space you speak of?
Why don't you want me to bark? Bark bark bark
I don't want to be renamed Barky McBarky Puppy Pants

I've been listening to this chill Pandora station all day and all night and it's been enough to barely keep the edge off. I'm all raw and grumpy. Cranky grumpy me. It's not a good look on me. Well, it might be, but most likely not.

 It all started last night, of course, when I had a perfectly great night and went to sleep early, only to be woken up at midnight by a combination of rain pounding outside, a dripping on metal that wouldn't stop, and the thunking of something in the dryer  because my 13 year old Bear needed clean underwear and decided it was reasonable to do laundry after 11 p.m.

From there, it was listening to the rain, the snoring husband, huffing puppy, and the never-ending thoughts that assault you when you're awake past midnight. Then the coughing kid. So I got up and demanded Bear take allergy medicine in case I dunno... (I might have pointed out how when he was four he had an asthmatic attack that put him in the hospital and it started JUST LIKE THIS, so stop arguing and take the medicine, kid,  because hey, why not freak out the prone-to-hypochondria kid? Bear could stay up fretting the night away, too!)

I never went back to sleep really, but made it to work thinking I'd get through the day and it'd be good. Nap at home. Nap nap nap nap....

Even managed to walk the dog this morning in the same pouring rain that helped keep me up, scoffed down waaaay too much coffee. Felt like a proper writer then - surrounded by rain and powered by caffeine - but it was a looong day, and home... ahhh home.... I mean, I had my nap planned before I walked out the door today...

Made it home and couldn't catch a break. Not. A. Break. No nap, FYI.

More Pandora. It's still on. I'm listening to Florence and the Machine and the Pierces, and Halsey of all things.

But this is my night tonight, in convenient bullet format:

• The dog is an untrained barking lunatic when people knock at the door and someone knocked at the door - looking for their kid. We never met this dad before - his first impression is a monster puppy and a yelling grumpy lady going on about knocking it off puppy monster of death aaahhhh QUIEEETTT.... probably never see his kid again....
• The teen boys are untrained, fighting and bickering brothers who, now that they have their own rooms, barge into each other's rooms to start and finish fights.... yup, think they're still fighting....
• The youngest cat won't stop meowing because he hates the dog....
• The old cat doesn't have the energy but I feel I should mention him anyhow...
• There's nothing on television interesting enough to bother with so I can't drain my brain... 
• No one (meaning me) can nap in these conditions so it's about 9 p.m. and I'm like all over-caffeinated and hyper-sensitive exposed-nerves chick and I should go to bed but I'm trapped...

But, I did write. I worked on my new draft. I'm becoming the draft queen.  I have two novels in various draft stages - one first draft, one third draft, and now, this. It's a difficult decision to not send a novel out to try and be sold. Most people would think it's crazy. I'll probably send the YA Sci Fi out, but my heart is really in this one work I'm on and I think this could get published since YA Sci Fi Dystopia is kinda overdone.

Of course, of course, I think it's utter drivel. And I hope I can fit the phrase 'utter drivel' in my novel because I think ti's underutilized.

But hey, I wrote, even though I'm tired, sooo tired, and cranky, and on edge, and tired, and it's nowhere NEAR the weekend.

So many words.
So many days until the weekend.
So little sleep.