We're about to start the last two months of the year. I feel an urgency to do something productive -- anything productive. It's been a year -- thus far -- of unproductivity. Well, it feels that way. The big goals -- finding a new job, finishing Murder by the Mile, publishing MBTM, finishing Circles, losing 100 points -- haven't been accomplished. And it's unlikely they will before the year ends. Still, there has been progress.
Health
I continue to walk at the gym almost daily. Had a problem with my feet, but purchased new walking shoes and they have really helped. Almost no blisters now. Less foot pain. My old shoes were just worn out and didn't have the cushioning I needed. I'm hoping to increase my speed walking. Taking my diabetes meds and my vitamins and doing my best to stay away from the lovely lovely lovely Dr Pepper. Still having sleep problems, but I'm working on that as best I can and use sleeping pills when I have to.
Writing
Not very dang much. I fiddled with MBTM and Circles and worked on my outline for National Novel Writing Month, which starts, of course, this Tuesday. Woohoo!
Clutter
Not much. I'm still working on the back bedroom, but have a long way to go. I intend to have it ready for guests before the holidays. Wish me luck!
Job search
Wish I had better news here, but I have to believe that with every resume mailed and every interview, I move closer to a job.
Finances
Tight, but I have sold more greeting cards and a few books. I'm clipping coupons and eating at home and generally doing my best to make a dollar out of 99 cents. (Old poem: Little Liza May sat on a fence, trying to make a dollar out of 99 cents. She tried and she tried and she tried some more, but she couldn't make her pennies into more.) Still have a bit of savings, so I'm not close to starving.
Life
For the most part, the Black Dog stays away. I had a bad Wednesday, but that happens sometimes. Into every life and all that. Overall, things could be better, but they sure could be worse.
Anyway, that's all. Hope life treats you well this week. I'm rootin' for ya!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
And that's October done.
Mostly, anyway.
Writing: I've made progress on the Hope plot, but there is plenty of work to do on it before NaNo kicks off on Monday. I've been on call for work Thursdays the last 2 weeks, so rather than sitting at home, waiting for the phone to ring, I've been taking my notebook to the shop and hanging around in case they need me. It's been productive, and I'm thinking that plotting with a notebook in a coffee shop might be the way to go as a rule. Apparently the things that distract me when I try to write in public are less of an issue when there's a pen in my hand.
Clutter: I thought about taking stuff already bagged to Good Will, but never made it that far. Need to get off my butt and do some actual work on the house. I have two more weeks before we make a run to MI to see the parents for Vet's weekend, and the following weekend we'll have some of the Boys arrive for Thanksgiving. I'd really like for there to be a noticeable difference from their visit last July. Not that it will last long; we'll have gaming books and dice all over the living floor by the second day. ;-)
I did get the gardening done. Getting the five pots of mums off the front porch and two pots of lilies off the back porch counts as decluttering, right?
Health: My latest blood work shows my Vitamin D is still low at 29. (Healthy is above 50, in case you were wondering.) In addition to a daily dose of Vitamin D, I've started taking extra Vitamin C. I learned recently that it's anti-histamine, and it really seems to be helping. I sprung for the Ester C, which is supposed to be higher quality than regular C supplements, and I'm taking 2-3 a day, which is a little more than the label recommends. (Vitamin C is water soluble, not fat soluble, so I'm not worried about overdosing.) My energy is coming up and sinuses are clearing. Plus it's a lot cheaper than my prescription allergy meds. The only downside of all of this is the handful of pills I have to take twice a day.
Misc: Not much else, aside from being thankful that the World Series is finally over. It's almost blasphemy to pull for someone besides the Cards around here, and people don't get that some of us don't give a rip about baseball. The economic boost was nice, but that's about the only upside as far as I'm concerned.
Writing: I've made progress on the Hope plot, but there is plenty of work to do on it before NaNo kicks off on Monday. I've been on call for work Thursdays the last 2 weeks, so rather than sitting at home, waiting for the phone to ring, I've been taking my notebook to the shop and hanging around in case they need me. It's been productive, and I'm thinking that plotting with a notebook in a coffee shop might be the way to go as a rule. Apparently the things that distract me when I try to write in public are less of an issue when there's a pen in my hand.
Clutter: I thought about taking stuff already bagged to Good Will, but never made it that far. Need to get off my butt and do some actual work on the house. I have two more weeks before we make a run to MI to see the parents for Vet's weekend, and the following weekend we'll have some of the Boys arrive for Thanksgiving. I'd really like for there to be a noticeable difference from their visit last July. Not that it will last long; we'll have gaming books and dice all over the living floor by the second day. ;-)
I did get the gardening done. Getting the five pots of mums off the front porch and two pots of lilies off the back porch counts as decluttering, right?
Health: My latest blood work shows my Vitamin D is still low at 29. (Healthy is above 50, in case you were wondering.) In addition to a daily dose of Vitamin D, I've started taking extra Vitamin C. I learned recently that it's anti-histamine, and it really seems to be helping. I sprung for the Ester C, which is supposed to be higher quality than regular C supplements, and I'm taking 2-3 a day, which is a little more than the label recommends. (Vitamin C is water soluble, not fat soluble, so I'm not worried about overdosing.) My energy is coming up and sinuses are clearing. Plus it's a lot cheaper than my prescription allergy meds. The only downside of all of this is the handful of pills I have to take twice a day.
Misc: Not much else, aside from being thankful that the World Series is finally over. It's almost blasphemy to pull for someone besides the Cards around here, and people don't get that some of us don't give a rip about baseball. The economic boost was nice, but that's about the only upside as far as I'm concerned.
Week 43
Forty-three weeks into 2011. Grinding that routine rut just a little deeper. ;)
Granite Hill - I worked on it most days this week. For the past two days, I've been writing the back story, and some interesting things emerged.
- I'd like to have the corrupt town banker crushed like a bug, but I don't understand enough about how people like that stay in power without getting knocked out to be able to write it
- Some interesting opportunities for POV emerged from the back story.
-- One of the original MCs has an opportunity to turn his life around (redemption) -- he's tired of being used.
-- The character with the right voice for that just might be that character's 35-year old son -- he's watched his father through thick and thin, and he has the maturity and perspective to narrate the story
-- I may make this kind of a memoir format with alternating POVs; the son as primary narrator, the dad as kind of moderator and balancing view. It's an experiment. It may not work. It's NaNo. I experiment with new things in NaNo.
- I had a great first line yesterday, didn't think I'd use it, so I didn't write it down. Now, I'm regretting that. Why, oh why, when I have a great line, don't I write it down?
750words.com - I wrote every day. Logged lots of words while I was working on the back story!
Internet Responsibilities - I blogged a couple of days. I'm still sorting through circles in G+ (I'll probably focus solely on the NaNo and Inner Circle circles for November and ignore most other things (at least, that's my going in theory). While we're on the subject of NaNo, I saw this remarkable post about "Backwards NaNo -- The Reward System" The idea is to write MORE words the first day and fewer each day afterward, winding up with just a single word as your goal for the 30th.
Pets - I signed up for the LifeHacker One Month Workout Challenge on Fleetly.com. Two days a week, I'm supposed to go for a twenty minute walk or run. I take Millie with me, and she enjoys that.
The only thing worse than two growing kittens is two young adult cats. I tell myself to cherish and enjoy their enthusiasm now, because soon they will be boring, stodgy, cats, but, my goodness!
Tarzan weighs 10 pounds, Lady weighs 11 pounds, and Ajax weigh 12.5 pounds. Natasha was under the bed, so I didn't drag her out to weigh her this week, but she has kept herself at a trim 9-10 pounds since 2005, so I don't think anything has changed there.
Property -
- I bagged four bags of trash at the shop and put it out for Friday. I neatly folded an ugly, nasty, green shag carpet and put it out as my bulk item for the week. It's gone!
- I shredded the collected branches in the back yard pile and bagged them in preparation to using the mulch as road base at the ranch. I still need to cut the larger limbs to length.
- The outdoor faucets all have their protective winter covers installed
Health -
- Down .8 pounds from last week (which, was way up from where it has been). Not much, but at least it moved in a more preferable direction.
- More recumbent bike riding, more Wii, and some other exercises for the LifeHacker challenge.
Other -
- Hubby will be back here tomorrow for the week. It's always interesting getting NaNo words in when he's around, but it seems to go okay.
- My parents bought a house and take possession on Jan 12. My sister quipped, "I think you ought to come up here for a visit around, oh, January 11th." I told hubby, and he said, "I could hitch up the big yellow trailer." I may ask if they need help, because a 14' enclosed trailer with a drop down ramp could be a big help anytime when moving, but especially in Wisconsin in January.
Granite Hill - I worked on it most days this week. For the past two days, I've been writing the back story, and some interesting things emerged.
- I'd like to have the corrupt town banker crushed like a bug, but I don't understand enough about how people like that stay in power without getting knocked out to be able to write it
- Some interesting opportunities for POV emerged from the back story.
-- One of the original MCs has an opportunity to turn his life around (redemption) -- he's tired of being used.
-- The character with the right voice for that just might be that character's 35-year old son -- he's watched his father through thick and thin, and he has the maturity and perspective to narrate the story
-- I may make this kind of a memoir format with alternating POVs; the son as primary narrator, the dad as kind of moderator and balancing view. It's an experiment. It may not work. It's NaNo. I experiment with new things in NaNo.
- I had a great first line yesterday, didn't think I'd use it, so I didn't write it down. Now, I'm regretting that. Why, oh why, when I have a great line, don't I write it down?
750words.com - I wrote every day. Logged lots of words while I was working on the back story!
Internet Responsibilities - I blogged a couple of days. I'm still sorting through circles in G+ (I'll probably focus solely on the NaNo and Inner Circle circles for November and ignore most other things (at least, that's my going in theory). While we're on the subject of NaNo, I saw this remarkable post about "Backwards NaNo -- The Reward System" The idea is to write MORE words the first day and fewer each day afterward, winding up with just a single word as your goal for the 30th.
Pets - I signed up for the LifeHacker One Month Workout Challenge on Fleetly.com. Two days a week, I'm supposed to go for a twenty minute walk or run. I take Millie with me, and she enjoys that.
The only thing worse than two growing kittens is two young adult cats. I tell myself to cherish and enjoy their enthusiasm now, because soon they will be boring, stodgy, cats, but, my goodness!
Tarzan weighs 10 pounds, Lady weighs 11 pounds, and Ajax weigh 12.5 pounds. Natasha was under the bed, so I didn't drag her out to weigh her this week, but she has kept herself at a trim 9-10 pounds since 2005, so I don't think anything has changed there.
Property -
- I bagged four bags of trash at the shop and put it out for Friday. I neatly folded an ugly, nasty, green shag carpet and put it out as my bulk item for the week. It's gone!
- I shredded the collected branches in the back yard pile and bagged them in preparation to using the mulch as road base at the ranch. I still need to cut the larger limbs to length.
- The outdoor faucets all have their protective winter covers installed
Health -
- Down .8 pounds from last week (which, was way up from where it has been). Not much, but at least it moved in a more preferable direction.
- More recumbent bike riding, more Wii, and some other exercises for the LifeHacker challenge.
Other -
- Hubby will be back here tomorrow for the week. It's always interesting getting NaNo words in when he's around, but it seems to go okay.
- My parents bought a house and take possession on Jan 12. My sister quipped, "I think you ought to come up here for a visit around, oh, January 11th." I told hubby, and he said, "I could hitch up the big yellow trailer." I may ask if they need help, because a 14' enclosed trailer with a drop down ramp could be a big help anytime when moving, but especially in Wisconsin in January.
Friday, October 28, 2011
October 28 tambometrics
Trying to take care of things early so, in theory, I'll have a free weekend. Never worked out that way before, but there's always a first time, right?
Writing
I read Steve King's On Writing (always a boost for me) this week and I've read what I'd already written for Stain of Corruption, which was amazingly not-awful. I've also signed up to do NaNo, more to get back into the daily habit and to make some progress on Stain than any actual likelihood of 'winning'.
This would be my third (I think) 'attempt' at NaNo and each and every time I've written a whole whopping zero words.
As my husband says when he's channeling his inner Bullwinkle, This time for sure! ;)
No word on M from the two publishers that have had it since mid September. No news is good news. :)
Sewing
I repaired the 'sleeve' part of a baby seat cushion we bought at a yard sale. At least that meant I turned the sewing machine on and sewed for about 2 minutes. I really need to get the sewing room set up. I MUST. Time's running out and I've sewn nothing for the baby.
Life
Drama continues but it's Bill's problem now. Otherwise, we're all good. :)
House
Actually in pretty decent shape, other than the kitchen and my sewing room. And, of course, the garage. It's a disaster. Bill wanted to get a good mow/mulch in before it snows, but something in the mower is messed up. He's ordered a part, and hopefully it'll get here in time - and he can get it fixed in time - to get the pre-winter lawn work handled.
Health
Been working out all week with Richard Simmons for 15-20 min (until I'm coughing so hard it makes me dizzy) and I've been holding steady at 13lbs down. Happy to have that as the new plateau. Next week is my annual checkup, and I think my doc will be pleased with that. I think, too, I'm going to have her check for hypothyroid because I'm COLD all of the time (even in sweltering August heat), despite taking iron pills every day. It's still warm out and I'm all bundled up like it's January. Very aggravating.
Everything Else
Um. Not sure what else there is. ;)
Sunday, October 23, 2011
A new week and a bit about last week
A new week before us.
What can I tell you of last week?
I cleaned house, ran errands, exercised, watched TV, read books, slept, fretted about the plight of the nation, fed my fish and cleaned the aquarium, did my laundry, etc. Not much to write about.
I did sell a couple of books and a few more greeting cards this week. I published and mailed the September family newsletter and have to get to work on the October so that it won't be hanging over my head in November since I have plans for that month.
What plans? you ask. National Novel Writing Month, of course. A month of frenzied writing in which I will write 1,667 words a day for 30 days. Yes, it's as crazy as it sounds. Particularly when you consider -- and you should -- that I'm not even coming anywhere close to that right now.
Madness, I tell you, madness.
And what am I going to write? I don't know. Maybe Murder at Forty Fathoms. Or Circles. OrGhosts. Or something else. We'll see.
But I intend to participate, and I intend to win.
Anyway, that's last week.
This week I'm going to do more of the same and work on an outline for my NaNo project. That's the plan. Let's see of the zombies of procrastination get me first.
What can I tell you of last week?
I cleaned house, ran errands, exercised, watched TV, read books, slept, fretted about the plight of the nation, fed my fish and cleaned the aquarium, did my laundry, etc. Not much to write about.
I did sell a couple of books and a few more greeting cards this week. I published and mailed the September family newsletter and have to get to work on the October so that it won't be hanging over my head in November since I have plans for that month.
What plans? you ask. National Novel Writing Month, of course. A month of frenzied writing in which I will write 1,667 words a day for 30 days. Yes, it's as crazy as it sounds. Particularly when you consider -- and you should -- that I'm not even coming anywhere close to that right now.
Madness, I tell you, madness.
And what am I going to write? I don't know. Maybe Murder at Forty Fathoms. Or Circles. OrGhosts. Or something else. We'll see.
But I intend to participate, and I intend to win.
Anyway, that's last week.
This week I'm going to do more of the same and work on an outline for my NaNo project. That's the plan. Let's see of the zombies of procrastination get me first.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Oct 22 Tambometrics
Lovely day today outside. Wish my sinuses were in agreement. ;)
Writing
Nothing. Not one dang thing. I have barely emailed, tweeted, or commented on anything. It's bad.
Sewing
Got my serger threaded and have taken the 'how to' class. Haven't used it yet. Haven't sewn. Haven't done much of anything but be sick and mentally clogged.
Life
Drama continues. As does life.
House
Bill's getting the last of the furniture today, then it'll be done. Other than all these boxes everywhere.
Health
Due to being sick, I haven't really exercised in a week. Yesterday I 'walked in place' during all commericals while watching a show, so that's *something* if not much. Weight's down about 12lbs. Was 13, but bounced up a bit. I'm okay with that.
Everything Else
I just want to crawl into bed and sleep, but I can't.
Week 42
Forty-two weeks into 2011. I think I have a creativity problem. For instance, each week this year, I've titled my post with the number of the week. No creativity. No imagination. Just the dry, clinical week number. I haven't heard Stephen complaining about sleeplessness, though, so I must be helping somewhere.
Granite Hill - I worked on it most days this week. Valerie did her Scrivener chat workshop with me this week, and as a result, I've discovered the art of searching stock photo sites for representative character photos. I now have photos for all my major and minor characters. I've never been one for description, but now I can visualize my characters, and that, believe it or not, helps them become more real for me. I'm trying to get some basics filled out in the character worksheets, too -- role in the story, background, internal and external conflicts. I'm going to try the George R. R. Martin approach this year, I think (what good is NaNo if I can't experiment with techniques, genres, voices, etc?) -- each main character gets his own story line (plays to the idea that every character thinks he's critical to the story), and they'll rotate through, Game of Thrones style. I'm not sure if that's completely nuts or not, but I'm going to give it a try.
Just in the time it's taken me to write this post, though, I'm rethinking that. In Game of Thrones, the characters are dispersed across the entire world. That's really the only way to tell that story. In Granite Hill, everyone is one small town. Maybe that's not the best way to go with this one. Hmm.
750words.com - I wrote every day. Still looking for an app (Mac OS instead of iOS) that will mostly duplicate the site. There are a few text editors that come close. Actually, if I could run WordPress as a stand alone app, that would probably do the trick. And, technically, I can, but I don't want to install my own little version of SQL on my machine to handle the database.
In addition to a word count feature, I want to be able to tell mostly at a glance that I've been writing consistently each day. Journal apps will sort of do the later but not the former. iA Writer seems to be the app that comes closest to what I want, but I'm not ready to spring for the $10 it takes to find out.
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties. Really pondering if there's any value to having marathons at the site at all. They just seem to duplicate stuff we already have, and I'm not sure that's productive.
Pets - I have Millie set up so she doesn't need to use the garage during the day anymore. Her doghouse is on the side porch, oriented so the north wind shouldn't bother her. He water tower is on the side porch just outside the side door, and I have her food bowl outside as well. With this change, I can keep the garage door closed during the day, and the birds are kept out. You may or may not believe the mess birds make when they use your garage as their local hang out, drinking from the water bowl and snacking on dog food. When we had the two dogs, there wasn't much we could do about that (short of getting the yard fenced, but that's not high enough on hubby's to do list, and I don't want to press him to do it, because, frankly, there are other more important things for him to do.
Property -
Busy week. Last week, we bought fall fertilizer. This week, I:
- Mowed what little growth we had with the electric mower
- Aerated in two directions
- Fertilized
- Watered twice to ensure the fertilizer gets into the soil. I'm finishing the back yard (yes, the part that has been left to fend for itself all year, because we didn't want to expend the resources to do anything with it -- I aerated and fertilized, and the fertilizer is getting watered in as I type).
- There is a tree down at the storage building on the west side of town. Actually, a tree top, but I couldn't find any trees missing their tops. Finally, I saw where one split from the base. It was hollow, so it has been dead for a while and just figured it out. I'll have to wander over there some time and begin cutting it up, but since I didn't notice it from the road, I'm not going to worry too much.
- Hubby is cutting up a neighbor's tree that finally fell into our back yard down in SA.
Today, I initiated cleaning cycles for the oven and the coffee pot. I got a rechargeable hand vac to make vacuuming the stairs easier, and it was so easy to take care of that task this week. (If you need this, look into Black and Decker's Flex, available at fine Walmarts everywhere -- and even the not so fine ones.)
Health -
- Ahem. Let's just say I think Natalie has been allowed to run amok for far too long while Jean was on vacation. Weight was up 4.4 pounds this week. Yes. We see where that got us.
- On a bright side, I resumed riding the recumbent bike this week. I also set up the Wii at the shop and began doing some basic balance and yoga workouts, adding a few minutes each day. I hadn't used the Wii in almost two years.
Other -
I was going to go to the Rockdale County Fair today, but I decided I'd eaten my fill of fair food without ever going this week, so I stayed home and have been puttering around the house. I decided yesterday to over eat the points I would ordinarily have overeaten on today in an effort to not begin the week with my weekly points depleted. It's just too depressing. So, I binged yesterday (country pork ribs, sweet potato, and a big bowl of zucchini, summer squash, carrots, mushrooms, and onions -- that got my veggie intake back on track for the day). That sounds pretty good, but I ate way too many of the ribs. Those critters pack a lot of points.
I took a couple Aleve the night before last in an effort to head off severe pain. Stairs were starting to give me problems, so I'm going to track when that happens, take a couple of Aleve, and see how often I need to do that. So far, it's looking like once a month. I may begin looking at the feasibility of reducing the Extra Strength Tylenol and finding the minimal dosage that allows me to live reasonably comfortably.
Granite Hill - I worked on it most days this week. Valerie did her Scrivener chat workshop with me this week, and as a result, I've discovered the art of searching stock photo sites for representative character photos. I now have photos for all my major and minor characters. I've never been one for description, but now I can visualize my characters, and that, believe it or not, helps them become more real for me. I'm trying to get some basics filled out in the character worksheets, too -- role in the story, background, internal and external conflicts. I'm going to try the George R. R. Martin approach this year, I think (what good is NaNo if I can't experiment with techniques, genres, voices, etc?) -- each main character gets his own story line (plays to the idea that every character thinks he's critical to the story), and they'll rotate through, Game of Thrones style. I'm not sure if that's completely nuts or not, but I'm going to give it a try.
Just in the time it's taken me to write this post, though, I'm rethinking that. In Game of Thrones, the characters are dispersed across the entire world. That's really the only way to tell that story. In Granite Hill, everyone is one small town. Maybe that's not the best way to go with this one. Hmm.
750words.com - I wrote every day. Still looking for an app (Mac OS instead of iOS) that will mostly duplicate the site. There are a few text editors that come close. Actually, if I could run WordPress as a stand alone app, that would probably do the trick. And, technically, I can, but I don't want to install my own little version of SQL on my machine to handle the database.
In addition to a word count feature, I want to be able to tell mostly at a glance that I've been writing consistently each day. Journal apps will sort of do the later but not the former. iA Writer seems to be the app that comes closest to what I want, but I'm not ready to spring for the $10 it takes to find out.
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties. Really pondering if there's any value to having marathons at the site at all. They just seem to duplicate stuff we already have, and I'm not sure that's productive.
Pets - I have Millie set up so she doesn't need to use the garage during the day anymore. Her doghouse is on the side porch, oriented so the north wind shouldn't bother her. He water tower is on the side porch just outside the side door, and I have her food bowl outside as well. With this change, I can keep the garage door closed during the day, and the birds are kept out. You may or may not believe the mess birds make when they use your garage as their local hang out, drinking from the water bowl and snacking on dog food. When we had the two dogs, there wasn't much we could do about that (short of getting the yard fenced, but that's not high enough on hubby's to do list, and I don't want to press him to do it, because, frankly, there are other more important things for him to do.
Property -
Busy week. Last week, we bought fall fertilizer. This week, I:
- Mowed what little growth we had with the electric mower
- Aerated in two directions
- Fertilized
- Watered twice to ensure the fertilizer gets into the soil. I'm finishing the back yard (yes, the part that has been left to fend for itself all year, because we didn't want to expend the resources to do anything with it -- I aerated and fertilized, and the fertilizer is getting watered in as I type).
- There is a tree down at the storage building on the west side of town. Actually, a tree top, but I couldn't find any trees missing their tops. Finally, I saw where one split from the base. It was hollow, so it has been dead for a while and just figured it out. I'll have to wander over there some time and begin cutting it up, but since I didn't notice it from the road, I'm not going to worry too much.
- Hubby is cutting up a neighbor's tree that finally fell into our back yard down in SA.
Today, I initiated cleaning cycles for the oven and the coffee pot. I got a rechargeable hand vac to make vacuuming the stairs easier, and it was so easy to take care of that task this week. (If you need this, look into Black and Decker's Flex, available at fine Walmarts everywhere -- and even the not so fine ones.)
Health -
- Ahem. Let's just say I think Natalie has been allowed to run amok for far too long while Jean was on vacation. Weight was up 4.4 pounds this week. Yes. We see where that got us.
- On a bright side, I resumed riding the recumbent bike this week. I also set up the Wii at the shop and began doing some basic balance and yoga workouts, adding a few minutes each day. I hadn't used the Wii in almost two years.
Other -
I was going to go to the Rockdale County Fair today, but I decided I'd eaten my fill of fair food without ever going this week, so I stayed home and have been puttering around the house. I decided yesterday to over eat the points I would ordinarily have overeaten on today in an effort to not begin the week with my weekly points depleted. It's just too depressing. So, I binged yesterday (country pork ribs, sweet potato, and a big bowl of zucchini, summer squash, carrots, mushrooms, and onions -- that got my veggie intake back on track for the day). That sounds pretty good, but I ate way too many of the ribs. Those critters pack a lot of points.
I took a couple Aleve the night before last in an effort to head off severe pain. Stairs were starting to give me problems, so I'm going to track when that happens, take a couple of Aleve, and see how often I need to do that. So far, it's looking like once a month. I may begin looking at the feasibility of reducing the Extra Strength Tylenol and finding the minimal dosage that allows me to live reasonably comfortably.
Beautiful day in the neighborhood...
It's sunny, warm, and not too windy, and so far *knocks on wood* I'm headache-free for the first time in a week.
Writing: I'm wrestling my NaNo plot. It's about half done, disaster #3 (the biggie) is set up with notes on written to move things along, so I'm pretty pleased. It needs to be cohesive in 9 more days so maybe I can avoid the muddle in the middle this year and actually finish the first draft.
Clutter: I moved some things around, but that's about it.
Health: The headache was the main thing this week. It started as a migraine at work last Saturday. By Tuesday it was beaten back but lurking, waiting for moments of weakness. Yesterday it was mainly sinus pressure. There's a little pressure today but so far, so go. I have a lot of yard work to do this weekend, so I don't expect that to last. We supposedly had a freeze the other night, but I don't think it was hard enough to kill the ragweed. It won't stop me from trying to get the mums and lilies planted and the rain barrels drained. I'll brave the pollen to get the exercise and sunshine. I have Excedrin and Feverfew stock-piled for a reason!
Misc: About the only other excitement is I bought a 2 quart crock pot. I had a 4 quart already, but every time I made dinner in it, I made way too much, and we only need so many leftovers around here! The two quart is just about the right size for the three of us, and it should be fine when Alex is home. We usually feed the 3 of us with enough left over for lunch the next day, so it won't take much to bulk it up a little to feed the 4 of us well. I'll reserve the 4 quart for when company comes or for making spaghetti sauce.
Writing: I'm wrestling my NaNo plot. It's about half done, disaster #3 (the biggie) is set up with notes on written to move things along, so I'm pretty pleased. It needs to be cohesive in 9 more days so maybe I can avoid the muddle in the middle this year and actually finish the first draft.
Clutter: I moved some things around, but that's about it.
Health: The headache was the main thing this week. It started as a migraine at work last Saturday. By Tuesday it was beaten back but lurking, waiting for moments of weakness. Yesterday it was mainly sinus pressure. There's a little pressure today but so far, so go. I have a lot of yard work to do this weekend, so I don't expect that to last. We supposedly had a freeze the other night, but I don't think it was hard enough to kill the ragweed. It won't stop me from trying to get the mums and lilies planted and the rain barrels drained. I'll brave the pollen to get the exercise and sunshine. I have Excedrin and Feverfew stock-piled for a reason!
Misc: About the only other excitement is I bought a 2 quart crock pot. I had a 4 quart already, but every time I made dinner in it, I made way too much, and we only need so many leftovers around here! The two quart is just about the right size for the three of us, and it should be fine when Alex is home. We usually feed the 3 of us with enough left over for lunch the next day, so it won't take much to bulk it up a little to feed the 4 of us well. I'll reserve the 4 quart for when company comes or for making spaghetti sauce.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Oct 16 tambometrics
Fall is here! Now if harvest would just finish up already so my allergies would die down, it'd be great!
Writing
I actually got kinda pumped about writing and was making some story plans and woohoo!! Writing!! But drama returned and my writing brain shriveled up and died again. Yay.
Sewing
Have sorted and stacked fabric, but my sewing room is still in shambles. And, oh, I bought a serger to make some projects go quicker. Never used a serger before, so it should be interesting.
Life
There's been unnecessary drama. Otherwise everything is fine.
House
Mostly have our stuff moved and unpacked, just where to put it all??
Health
The kickstart easy level on EA Sports fitness is too easy. Like 'why even bother' easy. My knees still can't take the harder level so I'm back on Richard!
Lost an even 10lbs as of this morning. The weather got cooler, finally, so it's mostly water weight, but I'll take it.
Bill gave me his cold. I'm miserable and hoarse, but it'll be over in a couple of days.
Everything Else
mostly things are pretty good. Other than being sick, of course. ;)
Another weekend??????
Wasn't it just Wednesday? I know time goes faster as we get older, but this is getting ridiculous.
Writing: More Snowflaking. I've started doing more on paper so I can get my scenes in. Time's a-wasting, and it's going to be November 1, like, tomorrow.
Clutter: How the heck do I have time to declutter when someone keeps stealing whole days?
Health: Weight is still steady despite multiple trips to Orange Leaf. Eric is hooked, and he's a bad influence. I had a migraine last night and still let him drag me out there.
Misc: Working a lot still. It's parties and catering this time, not covering for the boss. Next week should be back to normal, or whatever passes for normal these days.
Writing: More Snowflaking. I've started doing more on paper so I can get my scenes in. Time's a-wasting, and it's going to be November 1, like, tomorrow.
Clutter: How the heck do I have time to declutter when someone keeps stealing whole days?
Health: Weight is still steady despite multiple trips to Orange Leaf. Eric is hooked, and he's a bad influence. I had a migraine last night and still let him drag me out there.
Misc: Working a lot still. It's parties and catering this time, not covering for the boss. Next week should be back to normal, or whatever passes for normal these days.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Week 41
Forty-one weeks into 2011. Ten more weeks until we reach my age.
Granite Hill - I worked on it a few days this week. Lots more to go before the first of November, but I'm enjoying these characters. Still trying to figure out what the story is.
750words.com - I wrote every day. Unfortunately, the day before yesterday, I was writing late at night, reached 701 words, wandered to another tab or two to read or research, and by the time I got back, it was after midnight. I forgot about the trick of resetting my timezone, and gave the day up as lost. That, of course, broke my streak, so I'm back to being an egg. On the bright side, I went ahead and did yesterday's writing really early and got it done.
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties.
Pets - Everyone did well while we were gone, but they missed us. Everyone is happy to be home.
Property -
We did get a little rain while we were gone. The grass is doing okay, and some of the trees look less dead than they did before we left.
Health -
- Weight was down a little this morning, and the measurements were steady (but I may have had to suck it in a little...). For being on the road, I'll deal with that. Since the beginning of September, I've been mostly within a pound of my next goal weight. I'd like to get below this next goal by the end of November. In theory, I can get there much sooner, but I want to do it right.
Other -
- As always, hubby found a way to get all his stuff into the truck for the trip home. I had no visibility out the back or side windows. I have good side mirrors, and the back up camera is a godsend!
- I bought two more 7 gallon water storage containers today. I think that gives me six 7 gallon containers and two 2.5 gallon containers. In theory, that gives me three weeks of emergency water. If we need anywhere near that much, something horrible has happened, and any more storage capacity would probably be pointless. Once we get downspouts on the garage and get rain barrels installed, that will be a source of additional non-drinking water (ideally used for lawn or garden irrigation).
- I bought a cinnamon supplement today. I've heard it is good for lowering blood sugar levels. My doctor has not expressed any concerns about mine, but my fasting glucose rates have crept up a couple of points over the last year from what had been a steady 95 (not great but not a cause for great concern). I'm not sure exactly what's wrong in my normal diet to cause that, but if the supplement helps, I figure it's worth a try. I go back for blood work in early December. Plenty of time for it to have an effect if it's going to.
Granite Hill - I worked on it a few days this week. Lots more to go before the first of November, but I'm enjoying these characters. Still trying to figure out what the story is.
750words.com - I wrote every day. Unfortunately, the day before yesterday, I was writing late at night, reached 701 words, wandered to another tab or two to read or research, and by the time I got back, it was after midnight. I forgot about the trick of resetting my timezone, and gave the day up as lost. That, of course, broke my streak, so I'm back to being an egg. On the bright side, I went ahead and did yesterday's writing really early and got it done.
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties.
Pets - Everyone did well while we were gone, but they missed us. Everyone is happy to be home.
Property -
We did get a little rain while we were gone. The grass is doing okay, and some of the trees look less dead than they did before we left.
Health -
- Weight was down a little this morning, and the measurements were steady (but I may have had to suck it in a little...). For being on the road, I'll deal with that. Since the beginning of September, I've been mostly within a pound of my next goal weight. I'd like to get below this next goal by the end of November. In theory, I can get there much sooner, but I want to do it right.
Other -
- As always, hubby found a way to get all his stuff into the truck for the trip home. I had no visibility out the back or side windows. I have good side mirrors, and the back up camera is a godsend!
- I bought two more 7 gallon water storage containers today. I think that gives me six 7 gallon containers and two 2.5 gallon containers. In theory, that gives me three weeks of emergency water. If we need anywhere near that much, something horrible has happened, and any more storage capacity would probably be pointless. Once we get downspouts on the garage and get rain barrels installed, that will be a source of additional non-drinking water (ideally used for lawn or garden irrigation).
- I bought a cinnamon supplement today. I've heard it is good for lowering blood sugar levels. My doctor has not expressed any concerns about mine, but my fasting glucose rates have crept up a couple of points over the last year from what had been a steady 95 (not great but not a cause for great concern). I'm not sure exactly what's wrong in my normal diet to cause that, but if the supplement helps, I figure it's worth a try. I go back for blood work in early December. Plenty of time for it to have an effect if it's going to.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
On my mind
I've not forgotten to post on this blog -- I just haven't done so. Not because it hasn't been on my mind. It seems when I think of things to post, I'm not at my computer -- or my computer is broken -- and when I'm at my computer -- and it's working -- I'm blank.
Anyway, here are a few things.
Health:
I continue to walk at the gym, either alone or with friends. I like talking to my friends, but I think I have a better workout when I'm alone. Still, I need some sort of social life. I think I could withdraw completely from the world if I had the chance and could feed myself.
Computer:
Had to reload the system and all my programs. It's been a long, hard haul. Friday last week was the first day that I could actually do some work on it. Still have a couple more programs to load. It's been buggy, but the last rounds of updates seem to have settled the system. My fingers are crossed, which does make it hard to type.
Clutter:
Had a garage sale Saturday. Did okay. Refused to let any of the leftover garage sale items back into the house. I actually have a bit of space in my bedroom closet and the front closet. I was able to hang some coats in the front closet for the first time in years. And I have reduced the clutter in the back bedroom considerably. In fact, the bed is almost cleared off back there. I could do more, but much of the stuff back there is my roomie's, and he is ... ah ... resistant to giving up things. He had strong hoarder tendencies. I have to gently coax him almost an item at a time. I'm not good at patience or gentle coaxing, so this probably good for me, but it's sure slow. Still, we're making good progress, and I appreciate his efforts. In a month or two, we might even be able to let a guest sleep there!
Not going to have any more garage sales this year. Have had three, but plan to have more in the spring. Depends on the weather, I guess, and how poor I get!
Took several coats down to the local charity thrift store. They were thrilled to have them. They're going to get more of my leftover garage sale items.
Writing:
Must we? Sigh. Okay, not much. Been trying to work out my plot for NaNo, but not having much luck. Got to have an outline. I've tried writing without one, and it's too hard for me. Need to know where I'm going and a few places to visit along the way. Intend to spend more time on it this week.
Behind on my posting on my blog. Behind on my offline journal. Don't ask about Murder by the Mile or I might start raving.
I remain stalled on MBTM. I've written and rewritten and changed murderers and changed plots to the point that it's a swamp of a story. Every time I think I've found the narrative thread, it gets lost in the tangle of dangling plots and unmotivated characters. I know there's a story in there, maybe the best story I've written so far, but getting it out into the open is proving to be a challenge. Oh well, keeps me off the streets and out of the explosives lab.
TV:
NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles is back on. Like both shows a lot. Also, watch the Big Bang Theory. And -- don't tell anyone -- Glee, although I can't stand most of the plots and characters, I do like the singing. Another guilty pleasure is Ancient Aliens; I get such a kick out of those guys.
Anyway, that's catching you up a bit. I'll do better in the future. Really I will.
Anyway, here are a few things.
Health:
I continue to walk at the gym, either alone or with friends. I like talking to my friends, but I think I have a better workout when I'm alone. Still, I need some sort of social life. I think I could withdraw completely from the world if I had the chance and could feed myself.
Computer:
Had to reload the system and all my programs. It's been a long, hard haul. Friday last week was the first day that I could actually do some work on it. Still have a couple more programs to load. It's been buggy, but the last rounds of updates seem to have settled the system. My fingers are crossed, which does make it hard to type.
Clutter:
Had a garage sale Saturday. Did okay. Refused to let any of the leftover garage sale items back into the house. I actually have a bit of space in my bedroom closet and the front closet. I was able to hang some coats in the front closet for the first time in years. And I have reduced the clutter in the back bedroom considerably. In fact, the bed is almost cleared off back there. I could do more, but much of the stuff back there is my roomie's, and he is ... ah ... resistant to giving up things. He had strong hoarder tendencies. I have to gently coax him almost an item at a time. I'm not good at patience or gentle coaxing, so this probably good for me, but it's sure slow. Still, we're making good progress, and I appreciate his efforts. In a month or two, we might even be able to let a guest sleep there!
Not going to have any more garage sales this year. Have had three, but plan to have more in the spring. Depends on the weather, I guess, and how poor I get!
Took several coats down to the local charity thrift store. They were thrilled to have them. They're going to get more of my leftover garage sale items.
Writing:
Must we? Sigh. Okay, not much. Been trying to work out my plot for NaNo, but not having much luck. Got to have an outline. I've tried writing without one, and it's too hard for me. Need to know where I'm going and a few places to visit along the way. Intend to spend more time on it this week.
Behind on my posting on my blog. Behind on my offline journal. Don't ask about Murder by the Mile or I might start raving.
I remain stalled on MBTM. I've written and rewritten and changed murderers and changed plots to the point that it's a swamp of a story. Every time I think I've found the narrative thread, it gets lost in the tangle of dangling plots and unmotivated characters. I know there's a story in there, maybe the best story I've written so far, but getting it out into the open is proving to be a challenge. Oh well, keeps me off the streets and out of the explosives lab.
TV:
NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles is back on. Like both shows a lot. Also, watch the Big Bang Theory. And -- don't tell anyone -- Glee, although I can't stand most of the plots and characters, I do like the singing. Another guilty pleasure is Ancient Aliens; I get such a kick out of those guys.
Anyway, that's catching you up a bit. I'll do better in the future. Really I will.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Another fast week
My boss is out of town again (yes, she's been doing that a lot this year) so I've been working more. Consequently, there hasn't been much done around here.
Writing: A little snowflaking (that's only a verb to writers), and I went to an ACFW chapter meeting in St Louis yesterday. It wasn't very productive, but I'm making contacts and getting out with people.
Clutter: Um, yeah, cuing crickets.
Health: Weight is holding steady despite Vicky's cookies and our dinner date in St Charles that included Peanut Butter Thunder. (Triple layer chocolate cake with PB frosting, so named, at least in my opinion, because of what it does to one's thighs.)
Misc: I can't really think of anything productive I did this week, aside from going to work. Everything else was routine stuff. I have noticed I'm getting irritated with people a lot easier lately--yelling at people who drive slow, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the lady fidgeting in front of me in line, etc. It's irrational, and I'm not sure about the source. It's not the weather. Might be the constant sinus pressure wearing me down. All I know is I'm better off in isolation most days! That's not all bad, really, since I have a little over two weeks to get ready for NaNo.
Writing: A little snowflaking (that's only a verb to writers), and I went to an ACFW chapter meeting in St Louis yesterday. It wasn't very productive, but I'm making contacts and getting out with people.
Clutter: Um, yeah, cuing crickets.
Health: Weight is holding steady despite Vicky's cookies and our dinner date in St Charles that included Peanut Butter Thunder. (Triple layer chocolate cake with PB frosting, so named, at least in my opinion, because of what it does to one's thighs.)
Misc: I can't really think of anything productive I did this week, aside from going to work. Everything else was routine stuff. I have noticed I'm getting irritated with people a lot easier lately--yelling at people who drive slow, trying unsuccessfully to ignore the lady fidgeting in front of me in line, etc. It's irrational, and I'm not sure about the source. It's not the weather. Might be the constant sinus pressure wearing me down. All I know is I'm better off in isolation most days! That's not all bad, really, since I have a little over two weeks to get ready for NaNo.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Week 40
Forty weeks into 2011! That means only 12 (!) weeks to go in this year.
Granite Hill - I worked on it a few days this week. Lots more to go before the first of November, but I'm enjoying these characters. They have an interesting background and some interesting motivations. Sooner or later, the story will come together.
750words.com - I got the writing done each day
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties.
Pets - No news here. Looking forward to picking them up on Thursday. Hubby and I both miss the critters.
Property -
We've been out of town, so we hope everything is just as we left it. It appears Texas will be getting some rain, so we're pretty excited about that.
Health -
- Weight was up a little over a pound this morning, and the measurements were more or less steady. For being on the road, I'll deal with that.
Other -
- Hubby found a lot of things at Hershey. I realized we are now building a gas station. Sigh.
- I actually found myself enjoying my "mule" role on Wednesday (shuttling stuff back to the truck so hubby could keep looking). Weather was gorgeous all week. Just the right temperature to be comfortable.
- We walked a little over six miles the first day, six and a half miles the second day, and seven and a half miles the third day. We were back at the hotel by four each day and in the hot tub and pool before five. I took some Tylenol around 11 am on Friday, and that helped stave off some of the pain. I definitely had more pep in my step at the end of the day on Friday than either of the first two days. Thursday was my worst day there. I was kind of grumpy on Thursday.
- Hubby's lantern gathering went well tonight. We only had about a dozen folks this year -- a few less than in previous years, but they all brought great displays, and it's fun to talk to them. I get to photograph everything so hubby can concentrate on having fun and swapping stories with his fellow collectors (I prefer this -- I don't have to figure out how to make small talk, even though I know most of the people and like chatting with them).
- Hubby will figure out how to get ALL THIS STUFF into the truck in the morning, then we'll be on our way, heading for home.
Granite Hill - I worked on it a few days this week. Lots more to go before the first of November, but I'm enjoying these characters. They have an interesting background and some interesting motivations. Sooner or later, the story will come together.
750words.com - I got the writing done each day
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties.
Pets - No news here. Looking forward to picking them up on Thursday. Hubby and I both miss the critters.
Property -
We've been out of town, so we hope everything is just as we left it. It appears Texas will be getting some rain, so we're pretty excited about that.
Health -
- Weight was up a little over a pound this morning, and the measurements were more or less steady. For being on the road, I'll deal with that.
Other -
- Hubby found a lot of things at Hershey. I realized we are now building a gas station. Sigh.
- I actually found myself enjoying my "mule" role on Wednesday (shuttling stuff back to the truck so hubby could keep looking). Weather was gorgeous all week. Just the right temperature to be comfortable.
- We walked a little over six miles the first day, six and a half miles the second day, and seven and a half miles the third day. We were back at the hotel by four each day and in the hot tub and pool before five. I took some Tylenol around 11 am on Friday, and that helped stave off some of the pain. I definitely had more pep in my step at the end of the day on Friday than either of the first two days. Thursday was my worst day there. I was kind of grumpy on Thursday.
- Hubby's lantern gathering went well tonight. We only had about a dozen folks this year -- a few less than in previous years, but they all brought great displays, and it's fun to talk to them. I get to photograph everything so hubby can concentrate on having fun and swapping stories with his fellow collectors (I prefer this -- I don't have to figure out how to make small talk, even though I know most of the people and like chatting with them).
- Hubby will figure out how to get ALL THIS STUFF into the truck in the morning, then we'll be on our way, heading for home.
October 8 tambometrics
Despite approaching mid October, I'm currently wearing short-pants and a tank top. Crazy weather!
Writing
Um. Uh.
(crickets chirp)
I updated some things on the blog. And I've blogged three times, I think. Been posting regularly on Google and Twitter. Left Facebook other than my author page and that's going pretty well other than as of the end of this month they'll no longer automatically upload my blog posts. I'm wondering what's the point of even keeping a Facebook page anymore.
Sewing
Nuthin. It's all still in boxes.
Life
The kittens - especially Peanut - are ornery, ornery, ORNERY. She broke the coffee maker today, rotten kitty.
Bill's not liking standby at all, but sometimes they're having him carry mail, which is better. Laura's good. Mostly things are just fine, other than boredom and general worries.
House
Still no looks at the house. We haven't had a real tour since July. I really need to unpack my fabric and stuff, but I can't seem to gather the gumption.
Health
The heat has made me bloat and I've put on a pound or so, but it'll go away once it gets cool again. Since moving the whole exercise area downstairs, I've switched for this week at least to Richard Simmons. I do about 25 min, until I'm kinda quaky and sweaty, then I quit. I've kept up the 4 days a week schedule, though, and I'm making a point to not push myself too hard so I can heal. My joints are feeling better and I'll get back on the beginner level of EA Sports Fitness next week. At least that's the plan. If my knees and feet protest too much, I'll just go back to Richard and add 10 minutes or something.
Sinuses are a mess, but harvest out here is going really fast - since it's so warm and dry - so, in theory, this sinus cloggage will pass soon.
Everything Else
Kinda bored, kinda blue, kinda tired of feeling stuck in a holding pattern, but mostly things are all right. :)
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Week 39
Thirty-nine weeks into 2011, and we're in Lancaster, PA.
Granite Hill - I've been working on fleshing out the characters and looking for how the story will develop. So far, pretty fun.
750words.com - I got the writing done each day
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties. I checked email before logging on here, and I see there are a few bouncing emails to deal with.
Pets - Cats are at the resort, and Millie is at camp. We haven't heard from the counselors, so all must be well. Tarzan was so pitiful when I left them at the vet. One of the vet techs took all the cats out of their crates and put them in the kennels. Tarzan was as flat as possible against one wall surveying the situation. I'm sure he relaxed after about 20 minutes, but he looked so funny.
Property -
We've been traveling, but I got the lawn mowed before we left.
Health -
- I have done terribly with points this week. I think I'm in the hole 100 points for the week, and it's only Tuesday. Weight was up a little over a pound on Saturday, but there were some measurements that went down, so I'm pleased about that.
Other -
- The trip is going well. Hubby planned a nice route. When we got to Ohio, we were planning to spend the night with one of his subscribers that we've become friendly with, and they kept us for two nights (and hubby was perfectly fine with that -- I can't imagine him being comfortable with that change if we were stopping to see one of my friends, but we both enjoyed the visit).
- I'm doing laundry. Tomorrow we hit the field at Hershey for the swap meet. I guess we're ready to go. My foot has been feeling fine and is enjoying being out of the boot. I brought the boot, so I can threaten it with that if it misbehaves.
- I've been committed to not buying anything on this trip, but I still purchased a few books when he visited another newsletter subscriber's shop, and today I found a whiskey decanter from the mid-1800s in my glass pattern and four plates in a more modern pattern. Plates are tough to find, so I got them. I'm really looking for a butter dish -- I don't have any of those.
Granite Hill - I've been working on fleshing out the characters and looking for how the story will develop. So far, pretty fun.
750words.com - I got the writing done each day
Internet Responsibilities - Just a few FM duties. I checked email before logging on here, and I see there are a few bouncing emails to deal with.
Pets - Cats are at the resort, and Millie is at camp. We haven't heard from the counselors, so all must be well. Tarzan was so pitiful when I left them at the vet. One of the vet techs took all the cats out of their crates and put them in the kennels. Tarzan was as flat as possible against one wall surveying the situation. I'm sure he relaxed after about 20 minutes, but he looked so funny.
Property -
We've been traveling, but I got the lawn mowed before we left.
Health -
- I have done terribly with points this week. I think I'm in the hole 100 points for the week, and it's only Tuesday. Weight was up a little over a pound on Saturday, but there were some measurements that went down, so I'm pleased about that.
Other -
- The trip is going well. Hubby planned a nice route. When we got to Ohio, we were planning to spend the night with one of his subscribers that we've become friendly with, and they kept us for two nights (and hubby was perfectly fine with that -- I can't imagine him being comfortable with that change if we were stopping to see one of my friends, but we both enjoyed the visit).
- I'm doing laundry. Tomorrow we hit the field at Hershey for the swap meet. I guess we're ready to go. My foot has been feeling fine and is enjoying being out of the boot. I brought the boot, so I can threaten it with that if it misbehaves.
- I've been committed to not buying anything on this trip, but I still purchased a few books when he visited another newsletter subscriber's shop, and today I found a whiskey decanter from the mid-1800s in my glass pattern and four plates in a more modern pattern. Plates are tough to find, so I got them. I'm really looking for a butter dish -- I don't have any of those.
Monday, October 3, 2011
New month
Wow, the weekend slipped right past me. It was so busy I'm having a hard time getting going today.
Writing: I put some time into reworking the plot for Hope. As usual, a random comment at the conference stuck with me. Randy Ingermanson said that every character thinks he's the hero of the book, even the antagonist. It made me realize how underutilized Charlotte is, so she won't be getting married as soon as she thought. I also found a solution for a difficulty I'd been having with meshing character arcs to create conflict. It dawned on me one night when I couldn't sleep (that makes no sense) that I could use document protectors and dry-erase markers to do individual character arcs, and then stack them together to see where in the story each thing has to fall. It seems to be working, although of course it's not quite as simple as it sounds.
Clutter: Going backwards on this one. I brought home a bag of books from the conference, of course, plus notes and other assorted crap. Then we went to the Highland Games and shopped. Now I have lots of fun stuff I have to find homes for. However, my trip to Michigan motivated me to get serious about cutting clutter in my house. I went to my dad's. I love him like crazy, but he's an unsupervised pack rat. His dining room looked like a flea market, and that was the organized part. It's not quite as bad as an episode of Hoarders, but left to his own devices, it could be. Our friend, Linda, is staying with him this month while he recovers from surgery, so she's working on cutting down his clutter. Maybe it will be manageable by the time she goes home.
Health: I've lost the weight I gained in my travels, and I think I'm going to work off a couple more pounds before I go on maintenance. I'm on a roll so I figure I might as well. Have I mentioned The Gracious Pantry here yet? It's a clean eating website and all the recipes I've tried from it are great. When I first found it I spend hours printing recipes, so what to make for dinner is less of an issue than it used to be.
Misc: Becoming a bard's apprentice has at least doubled my research, so organization is becoming more important. The "To Do, Doing, Done" cork board has been dusted off and new items added, and I'm back to pen and paper for the daily To Do list. My office needs a good clean, too. Why is it, when I have my list done and ready to go, all I want to do it curl up in bed and read all day?
Writing: I put some time into reworking the plot for Hope. As usual, a random comment at the conference stuck with me. Randy Ingermanson said that every character thinks he's the hero of the book, even the antagonist. It made me realize how underutilized Charlotte is, so she won't be getting married as soon as she thought. I also found a solution for a difficulty I'd been having with meshing character arcs to create conflict. It dawned on me one night when I couldn't sleep (that makes no sense) that I could use document protectors and dry-erase markers to do individual character arcs, and then stack them together to see where in the story each thing has to fall. It seems to be working, although of course it's not quite as simple as it sounds.
Clutter: Going backwards on this one. I brought home a bag of books from the conference, of course, plus notes and other assorted crap. Then we went to the Highland Games and shopped. Now I have lots of fun stuff I have to find homes for. However, my trip to Michigan motivated me to get serious about cutting clutter in my house. I went to my dad's. I love him like crazy, but he's an unsupervised pack rat. His dining room looked like a flea market, and that was the organized part. It's not quite as bad as an episode of Hoarders, but left to his own devices, it could be. Our friend, Linda, is staying with him this month while he recovers from surgery, so she's working on cutting down his clutter. Maybe it will be manageable by the time she goes home.
Health: I've lost the weight I gained in my travels, and I think I'm going to work off a couple more pounds before I go on maintenance. I'm on a roll so I figure I might as well. Have I mentioned The Gracious Pantry here yet? It's a clean eating website and all the recipes I've tried from it are great. When I first found it I spend hours printing recipes, so what to make for dinner is less of an issue than it used to be.
Misc: Becoming a bard's apprentice has at least doubled my research, so organization is becoming more important. The "To Do, Doing, Done" cork board has been dusted off and new items added, and I'm back to pen and paper for the daily To Do list. My office needs a good clean, too. Why is it, when I have my list done and ready to go, all I want to do it curl up in bed and read all day?
Saturday, October 1, 2011
October 1 tambometrics
It's October! Whoa.
Writing
Still no new words of fiction. I've blogged, though. I guess that's something. M is still at two publishers and there are no notes for changes from my agent yet. Been trying to ease out of facebook - I'm starting to think I might just abandon the main feed page, but maintain my author page - and I'm on Google+ and Twitter a lot more than FB now.
Bill and I talked at length about my writing, and, well, I'm still deciding how to proceed.
My desktop puter is back and operational, so I need to get back to work. Somehow.
Sewing
Just got most of my stuff back today (I think everything but my quilty books/mags and my cutting table). I have so much sewing to do, it's insane. Baby on the way!!! And Laura wants a black quilt, but can I find black batting... Nope.
Life
Bill and I have decided to 'move on with life' instead of sitting around waiting for the posty office to make a decision, or for the house to sell. Today we started moving some things back into the house (including my desk, the baby's crib, and most of my sewing stuff) so I got to set some things up today. Was kinda nice.
Pets are all good, but I think Goz might have an ear infection. Maybe. He shakes his head sometimes, but, then again, it might just be all the harvest pollen/dust itching in his nose or something. We're going to the vet on Wed (vet's out of town until then).
House
Still no looks at the house. We haven't had a real tour since July.
Health
Down 6 lbs. Haven't missed any more days with EA Sports Active 2, but it's really kicking my butt. Bad. It leaves me exhausted for hours and it's just gonna get harder. Knees HURT and all the squats are awful (especially since I physically can't get as low as the thing wants me to, and it won't 'register' them so they take even LONGER) and all the jumping is killing my poor messed up right foot. I might 'go back' to restarting it and work back up again. I dunno. I'll keep doing something for 30 min 4 days a week, tho. I must. I'll be taking care of an infant soon and I need to have some energy, not this constant exhaustion.
Everything Else
All in all, it's going pretty well, just kinda overwhelmed. Soon, tho, I can sew and it'll get all kinds of better. :)