Yes, National Novel Writing Month is nearly over, and I've already crossed 50,000 words. My steaming and steamy book will be placed in (digital) drawer and allowed to cool off before I look at it and discover how truly wretched it is. Then rewriting, rewriting, rewriting will start. Or not.
I'm not sure I will finish Twice Around the Crazy Tree. I delved into things that disturbed me, and I didn't really come out of it with any conclusions other than bad people do bad things and good people have scars. And maybe the truth doesn't really set people free.
So ... what now?
Writing
Picking up Murder by the Mile. Time to finish it. I've meandered around enough. It requires fixing, and I didn't want to fix it. Well, need to fix it now. Put it back on my front project list. Also attempting to create five more cards for my card shop on Cafepress. I have one designed and will upload tomorrow. Three others are in the rough. Looking for an idea for the fifth.
Health
Continuing to walk and take my vitamins and drink my green tea. Trying to eat at least one dark green veggie and green leafy salad a day. Got my flu shot. Been taking more Vitamin C, too, to fight off a cold I'm trying to get.
Clutter
Don't ask.
Clutter
I said, don't ask.
Life
Well, I feel that weird emptiness that the end of a project (NaNo in this case) always leaves me with. Or maybe it's the holidays. Not having my parents anymore and my siblings' families are always busy ... I always feel a bit disconnected. Lost maybe.
Okay, yeah, the black dog has been nipping at me. Well, that happens, as y'all know because he nips at you, too. Comes with life, I guess.
Clutter
Sure. Okay. Remember when I told you that I was cleaning the back bedroom and had made a lot of progress? Well, I had to put things back in there so that I had space to put out the Christmas decorations. So I've lost ground. And got behind on magazines, newspapers, mail, etc. Well, I'll dig myself out, and that will probably help my feelings, too.
Anyway, that's what's going on for me this week. Hope y'all are all doing good.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Really need a tagline
What a busy week. Good week, but busy.
Writing: Not horrible, but not great. I added 4,115 words to Honor, and only wrote three days. At this point I still need more than 15k words to finish NaNo, which shakes out to nearly 4,000 words a day. It's possible, but not probable. If I make it, great, but if not, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Clutter: With the Boys here? I kept up with the dishes.
Health: Gained the expected couple of pounds. Tomorrow it's back to the pool so it shouldn't be a problem.
Misc: Did a lot of visiting and eating this week. The Science Center had a Star Trek exhibit, and we went Tuesday afternoon, sans Eric 'cause he had to work. Half way through the Boys looked at me and said, "Eric needs to see this." So we went back Friday. They had 3 picture stations set up: Kirk's chair, the Next Gen bridge, and the transporter. We bought pictures both days. The Boys and the kids did a little gaming while I wrote and Eric did homework, so we all had ample time to visit. We also went to Matt's memorial service, which was short and sweet. I heard that Matt's parents are holding up surprisingly well. His funeral in SC was also last week.
So I think that's about it from here. Oh, I told Boddicea's story to the Boys. It was harder with people watching me, but I got the hard names right. This is definitely going to stretch my comfort zone.
Writing: Not horrible, but not great. I added 4,115 words to Honor, and only wrote three days. At this point I still need more than 15k words to finish NaNo, which shakes out to nearly 4,000 words a day. It's possible, but not probable. If I make it, great, but if not, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.
Clutter: With the Boys here? I kept up with the dishes.
Health: Gained the expected couple of pounds. Tomorrow it's back to the pool so it shouldn't be a problem.
Misc: Did a lot of visiting and eating this week. The Science Center had a Star Trek exhibit, and we went Tuesday afternoon, sans Eric 'cause he had to work. Half way through the Boys looked at me and said, "Eric needs to see this." So we went back Friday. They had 3 picture stations set up: Kirk's chair, the Next Gen bridge, and the transporter. We bought pictures both days. The Boys and the kids did a little gaming while I wrote and Eric did homework, so we all had ample time to visit. We also went to Matt's memorial service, which was short and sweet. I heard that Matt's parents are holding up surprisingly well. His funeral in SC was also last week.
So I think that's about it from here. Oh, I told Boddicea's story to the Boys. It was harder with people watching me, but I got the hard names right. This is definitely going to stretch my comfort zone.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
November 26 tambometrics
Still no lull. ;)
Writing
Nothing really to report. I have only opened the laptop twice all week.
Sewing
Um, yeah, about that... Nothing done. Again. It's just been too crazy busy.
Life
The week started with Sarah's emergency birth late Sat night and with repeated trips to the hospital and doctors and everything - plus Thanksgiving and a houseful of people - PLUS the appraiser finally showing up, plus plus plus, well... I've been busy. ;)
House
It's looking pretty darn good despite the craziness. :) I'm even caught up on laundry. lol
We had eleven guests for Thanksgiving and it all went great. Bill is totally digging the leftovers. ;)
Health
Health is good, other than allergies. Something in my kitchen makes me sneeze repeatedly almost every time I walk in there, but I have no idea what it is. AaaaaaaaaChooooo!! Have not had time to exercise, but I should make myself do that tomorrow. Was going to today, but was too busy. Must make time, I must.
Wrenched up my neck last night picking up an empty box. Yep, an Empty. Box. And it wasn't even a big box. I was rear-ended about the time Bill and I started dating more than 23 years ago and it really screwed up my neck on the left side from the spine all the way around to my throat and down my chest. The ER docs told me I'd have problems with it the rest of my life and they weren't kidding! At least this time it's just the trapezius (the big, triangular muscle running down from the back of the neck that makes the slope of the shoulder) which is nowhere near as awful as when the side (chiro visit because it almost always pulls a vertebrae out of alignment, whee) or - God forbid - the front (usually narcotics, another x ray and bed rest) kink up. A trap cramp I can work out over a few days of stretching, the others I can't fix myself at all. But, about twice a year since the accident, my neck locks up. I'm used to it, but it still sucks.
But, again, it's just the back of my neck and shoulder this time. Not so bad, all things considered.
Weight is holding steady, within 1lb of the new low, so that's good. :) Also the eye seems better. I'm not seeing as much snow, but I still have the big, dark floaters.
Everything Else
Good golly, I think that's enough! ;)
Have a great week, everyone!!
Week 46
This year is screaming fast coming to an end. I think I say that every year though -- since I turned 18 or 20 at least. Before then, years crawled by slower than tree sap running down a tree on a cold day. I could not wait for time to pass until I could move on to the next thing. I'm not looking to turn time back, but I'm still trying to savor the moments. I'm better at it than I used to be, but I have a lot of room for improvement.
For what it's worth, OPTION - B opens a duplicate Firefox window. I meant to turn on bold via keystroke, but I'm still getting my dvorak and qwerty keys mixed up -- even though I'm typing in qwerty mode at the moment (The "B" keys are right next to each other).
Granite Hill is complete in first draft at 52,700+ words. Which, of course, means NaNo is won. I need to find Polar Bear on the Loose and my "How to Revise Your Novel" texts and get back to work on that now. I feel good about the memoir and response format of Granite Hill (the name will probably have to change, since I could get a Granite Hill series out of this). I have no idea if there's a market for this sort of thing. The memoir is two-fold. Danny's son (Dickie) relates the story of his father's transformation and how his father became his hero. I wrote Dickie's version first. Then I wrote Danny's chapters (alternating chapters from Dickie to Danny) as if he were reading Dickie's version and commenting on it.
Web Stuff I haven't done more than the bare minimum of web work this week.
- I paid for the Artisteer update to get the latest version (my version wouldn't validate anymore, since I was on the demo Mac version licensed off my Windows version, and that demo period expired). I did that in preparation for modifying my blog template.
- I set up a Scrivener project called 750words to begin in January. I'm not sure I'm going to like it, but I'll give it a try and see what I can do with it. I haven't found any other software that will do any better yet.
- I'm going to need to figure out how to transfer one of my domains to someone else sometime next year. That should be educational.
Pets
- Lady is still enamored with all things writing instrument, and really, anything she can carry in her mouth. Which is a surprising array of items. I joked with hubby that he better keep an eye on his anvil (we were watching "The Music Man" at the time). I know I don't want her jumping onto the bed with it in the middle of the night.
- Tarzan might be starting to grow into his ears. At least, he seems to be bulking up a little.
- Natasha is entering winter mode -- just get me to a place where I'm warm (currently, my shred box beside the desk or next to me, holding down the covers and locking me into bed at night).
- Millie is not happy that I'm mostly closing her garage door and forcing her to take shelter on the porch (she has a dog house there). She does like that I bring her in for a couple hours in the evening a couple of days a week. So far, she's behaving really well.
Property
- I cut up the tree limb (really half a tree) that fell down a month or so ago over at the store building yesterday
- I trimmed the "island" in front of the house today
- I've been doing odd things here and there around the house. I've finally decided that hubby complains if I move something, and he complains if I don't move something. This means he's going to be looking for a lot more items and using me for his excuse for not being able to find things (since it's my fault no matter what -- he'll deny that, but when he gripes that he can never find anything because it gets moved, I can only presume he doesn't necessarily mean he's moved it and can't find it -- but it could, so maybe that's that problem). He also complains that I am not putting stuff away (and I'm not, because he complains that things disappear). Yes, we're in one of those unpleasant loops. Is it this impossible to live with other people, or is it just me who finds it that way? (For what it's worth, I have always had trouble residing in the same dwelling with other people -- that's not hubby's fault. It's entirely my freaky quirk. He deals with it remarkably well.)
Health
- I showed a half pound loss this morning. Success for maintenance. I'd really like to lose the ten pounds I gained over the last month and a half, but the plan is to get back on that wagon in January. I'm just sayin'; it wouldn't break my heart to get a head start of the process.
- I rode the recumbent bike three days this week, and that felt good. One way I keep boredom at bay is to put Endless Ocean into the Wii and wander through. It's so hard to line the cursor up to manage controls for any other program, but for Endless Ocean, you spend a lot of time meandering through the ocean as a scuba diver. It's a pain when the motion of riding makes it difficult to hone in on the item I need to click (I should see if there are any adaptive measures I can set up to make that easier...hmmm), but the time flies by on the bike.
Other
On a side note, I'll be taking a look at the 25 thought-provoking questions on this site (http://www.myrandomstuff.se/?p=1565) over the next month or so as I try to gather my thoughts for the new year.
For what it's worth, OPTION - B opens a duplicate Firefox window. I meant to turn on bold via keystroke, but I'm still getting my dvorak and qwerty keys mixed up -- even though I'm typing in qwerty mode at the moment (The "B" keys are right next to each other).
Granite Hill is complete in first draft at 52,700+ words. Which, of course, means NaNo is won. I need to find Polar Bear on the Loose and my "How to Revise Your Novel" texts and get back to work on that now. I feel good about the memoir and response format of Granite Hill (the name will probably have to change, since I could get a Granite Hill series out of this). I have no idea if there's a market for this sort of thing. The memoir is two-fold. Danny's son (Dickie) relates the story of his father's transformation and how his father became his hero. I wrote Dickie's version first. Then I wrote Danny's chapters (alternating chapters from Dickie to Danny) as if he were reading Dickie's version and commenting on it.
Web Stuff I haven't done more than the bare minimum of web work this week.
- I paid for the Artisteer update to get the latest version (my version wouldn't validate anymore, since I was on the demo Mac version licensed off my Windows version, and that demo period expired). I did that in preparation for modifying my blog template.
- I set up a Scrivener project called 750words to begin in January. I'm not sure I'm going to like it, but I'll give it a try and see what I can do with it. I haven't found any other software that will do any better yet.
- I'm going to need to figure out how to transfer one of my domains to someone else sometime next year. That should be educational.
Pets
- Lady is still enamored with all things writing instrument, and really, anything she can carry in her mouth. Which is a surprising array of items. I joked with hubby that he better keep an eye on his anvil (we were watching "The Music Man" at the time). I know I don't want her jumping onto the bed with it in the middle of the night.
- Tarzan might be starting to grow into his ears. At least, he seems to be bulking up a little.
- Natasha is entering winter mode -- just get me to a place where I'm warm (currently, my shred box beside the desk or next to me, holding down the covers and locking me into bed at night).
- Millie is not happy that I'm mostly closing her garage door and forcing her to take shelter on the porch (she has a dog house there). She does like that I bring her in for a couple hours in the evening a couple of days a week. So far, she's behaving really well.
Property
- I cut up the tree limb (really half a tree) that fell down a month or so ago over at the store building yesterday
- I trimmed the "island" in front of the house today
- I've been doing odd things here and there around the house. I've finally decided that hubby complains if I move something, and he complains if I don't move something. This means he's going to be looking for a lot more items and using me for his excuse for not being able to find things (since it's my fault no matter what -- he'll deny that, but when he gripes that he can never find anything because it gets moved, I can only presume he doesn't necessarily mean he's moved it and can't find it -- but it could, so maybe that's that problem). He also complains that I am not putting stuff away (and I'm not, because he complains that things disappear). Yes, we're in one of those unpleasant loops. Is it this impossible to live with other people, or is it just me who finds it that way? (For what it's worth, I have always had trouble residing in the same dwelling with other people -- that's not hubby's fault. It's entirely my freaky quirk. He deals with it remarkably well.)
Health
- I showed a half pound loss this morning. Success for maintenance. I'd really like to lose the ten pounds I gained over the last month and a half, but the plan is to get back on that wagon in January. I'm just sayin'; it wouldn't break my heart to get a head start of the process.
- I rode the recumbent bike three days this week, and that felt good. One way I keep boredom at bay is to put Endless Ocean into the Wii and wander through. It's so hard to line the cursor up to manage controls for any other program, but for Endless Ocean, you spend a lot of time meandering through the ocean as a scuba diver. It's a pain when the motion of riding makes it difficult to hone in on the item I need to click (I should see if there are any adaptive measures I can set up to make that easier...hmmm), but the time flies by on the bike.
Other
On a side note, I'll be taking a look at the 25 thought-provoking questions on this site (http://www.myrandomstuff.se/?p=1565) over the next month or so as I try to gather my thoughts for the new year.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
November 20 tambometrics
Last week I was hoping for a lull. There has been no lull. ;)
Writing
Still no word on M from any of the three publishers, but I'm okay with that. I sent a signed copy of Ghosts out to a fan and, despite this crazy week, managed to get a bit over 1,000 words on Stain. That's it, though. Just the one night of writing.
Got my agent's Christmas gift ordered and set to ship. I send essentially the same thing every year the past 3 or 4 years, but I almost always get super sweet thank you emails from other people and agents in his office, since he shares, and I think that's pretty dang awesome. :) Also, the receptionist knowing who I am when I call is pretty cool too. ;)
Sewing
Finished the quilt for Katie's baby shower - it turned out super cute - and have been working on a round-robin project from my quilt guild. It, too, is super cute, but finding black batting in the rural nowhere was HARD. Took me waaaaay too long, but it's finally here, and the quilt's stretched and basted. Should get it finished by next weekend. :)
Life
Crazy busy insane, but what else is new? ;) Between Thanksgiving coming up, being a one car household with three drivers (Bill's truck blew the transmission last Sunday. Let's all wave a sad buh-bye to our Christmas Budget and part of the Emergency Fund), and all the other no big deal yet 'must do it right NOW!!' life-stuff that keeps popping up, it's a wonder I haven't lost my mind. At least I don't think I have. I could have sworn I'd put it in the kitchen junk drawer, but know I've lost my summer issue of Quilts and More, so maybe my brain wandered off to find it. Or my quilt tool caddy that's also missing. Likely still in a box I haven't unpacked yet.
Let's just hope the brain's in the junk drawer with the plant spikes and twisty ties. ;)
Bill's been carrying mail. A LOT. He's been carrying in several small towns in the NW Iowa region and, after Thanksgiving, is supposed to be 'detailed' to a particular little town for 6 weeks. At least it'll be something definite. For a while. He's taking the Area Maintenance Exam soon, and if he passes that (which he will), it'll be one more job he can do, maybe even up here since there's an opening in Alton. Least I *think* he said Alton. Maybe it was Alta or Albert City or Algona. Heck, something with an A. Maybe. Or an E. I think.
Emmetsburg? Estherville? Shit. I don't remember for sure. Somewhere up here.
I better go rifle through that junk drawer. ;)
House
Have sorted through and disbursed about half of the pile-o'-crap in my sewing room. Which leaves about half to go. I usually listen to the iPod while working in there, regardless of the project (sewing, writing, whatever), but my iPod is a first generation Nano and it's been recalled by Apple. Apparently some of the batteries catch fire, so I'm not supposed to use it anymore, but once I send it in to Apple, they're going to replace it with a refurbished or new Nano. For FREE. Which is freaking awesome. :)
The house is looking pretty good, overall, but Goz is shedding like mad again - dang seasonal changes!!! - so it seems like I spend half of my time sweeping up dog hair. Yay. Thank goodness for my dustmop. It's really been getting a workout.
Health
Exercised a few times, not as much as I should, because of life business and the super-joyful-fun-time of breaking a blood vessel in my right eye. Everything on that side is kinda cloudy/murky (like looking through a dirty drinking glass) and speckled with teeeeeeeensy, swirling gray and black snow (the blood cells floating around inside of my eye). Eye doc promises it's not a big deal (but it must be watched, so more appointments to add to the already wacky schedule) and it'll clear up in about 6 weeks, ish, but until then everything is super blurry and it's been giving me a headache. Also driving at night SUCKS. Headlights hit my right eye and WHOOSH!!! Every thing in that eye is a Big. White. Speckled. Smear.
Totally sucky.
I'm down another pound or so. At least I was yesterday, didn't weigh in today, but it was about 1/2 lb below my previous low, so that's good. :) I just kinda eat what I want, when I feel like it, but quit when I feel full and don't eat bread or artificial stuff, especially diet pop. So far, pretty dang easy. :) And I'm taking a fist full of vitamins every day via doctor's orders. Bleh. I hate pills.
Everything Else
Been enjoying my 'fluffy sock' collection for padding around the house when I'm at home. Bill and the kid laugh at me because I do enjoy, well, big fluffy socks when the weather's chilly. Especially my navy blue ones with white and gray snowflakes. I think they're cool. As in neato. Because actually they're WARM. ;)
Peanut got spayed on Tuesday and she barely even noticed. Go Nutty!!
Since I don't have enough plates and things for the crowd we're expecting this week, I went out and bought some new dishes. Just a 4 person set of Corelle that coordinates with my existing stuff, but still. How cool is that? I haven't got new dishes in at least a decade.
Weird the things that make me smile. ;)
Have a happy week, everyone! And a grand Turkey Day!! {{huggs}}
Good intentions, best laid plans, and so on
Howdy! Let's catch up a bit. Slide your chair over here and sip your pumpkin spice hot chocolate while we chat. Comfy? Now, let's see.
About my writing:
I intended to be finished with National Novel Writing Month by now. Or actually by tomorrow. Then I'd have the rest of the month to write more or edit or have a nervous breakdown. However, it's not going to happen. I have 14,000 more words to write. I should have them all by the end of the month. I would have finished except my plans changed mid-month.
First, a wise person pointed out that if I wanted people to buy my Christmas cards from Cafepress and actually get them in time to send them out, I needed to have my cards already up on my Cafepress store. Yikes. So I took time off to do that. And what frustrating ordeal it was. Formatting, re-formatting, uploading, editing, re-editing, etc., took two and half days away from NaNoWriMo. And even then, I didn't get all the cards up there I had hoped. Well, I'll keep adding to it them, and next year, there will be a much larger selection.
Second, a woman contacted me about making four mini-photo books for her. For money! So I said yes, of course, thinking it would only take a couple of hours. Naturally it took all day and most of an evening to get them to her satisfaction. But I got paid. Woohoo! I also lost another NaNoWriMo day.
And it's okay. I intend to reach 50,000 words by the end of the month, and I can still do that. I was stressing about it and then I remembered this: NaNoWriMo is for me and not the other way around. It's for me to write fast and explore new things and meet new writers and enjoy the whole maddening process.
About health:
Haven't walked every day like I did in October. Part of the problem is, of course, trying to get everything done and do NaNoWriMo, too. The rest has to do with lack of willpower. Got to power through this and keep exercising. Even though I'd rather be at my computer or reading a book or -- and I only say this because it's the truth -- eating, eating, eating. It's weird how our bodies fight getting healthy. I've really been experiencing urges to eat like a person returning from being stranded on a desert island. For the most part, I've resisted them. But not always.
About clutter:
The back bedroom is just about ready to receive visitors. Five or six more hours, and it will be ready to be dusted and vacuumed. Finally that room can be used for something besides storage. When it's finished, the next thing I'm going to do is donate 50 books to my local library. Surely in all these books, I can find 50 that I no longer want. I'm going to, even if I do have to give up some. Let's be honest: in a 1,100 square foot house, 1,000 books (approximately) is too many. I'll keep the ones I reread or use for reference or simply love, but the rest got to go. Eventually. Right now, I'm aiming for 50.
About life:
Mostly the black dog has stayed away. I find if I stay busy with creative things -- photo books, NaNoWriMo, scrapbooking, writing, creating cards, etc. -- I'm mostly not depressed with large periods of what I would call contentment. Admittedly, the financial part of my life is terrible, but I'm still paying my bills and buying food and obviously Internet access, so all-in-all, I won't complain. Still looking for a full-time job, but have started telling people I'm open to a part-time job. My little town is just not doing well. I keep wondering if I'm supposed to move. Well, we'll see what happens.
That's about it for now. Oh, here's the link to the Christmas Cards. I think you all already have it, but just in case. Have a great week!
About my writing:
I intended to be finished with National Novel Writing Month by now. Or actually by tomorrow. Then I'd have the rest of the month to write more or edit or have a nervous breakdown. However, it's not going to happen. I have 14,000 more words to write. I should have them all by the end of the month. I would have finished except my plans changed mid-month.
First, a wise person pointed out that if I wanted people to buy my Christmas cards from Cafepress and actually get them in time to send them out, I needed to have my cards already up on my Cafepress store. Yikes. So I took time off to do that. And what frustrating ordeal it was. Formatting, re-formatting, uploading, editing, re-editing, etc., took two and half days away from NaNoWriMo. And even then, I didn't get all the cards up there I had hoped. Well, I'll keep adding to it them, and next year, there will be a much larger selection.
Second, a woman contacted me about making four mini-photo books for her. For money! So I said yes, of course, thinking it would only take a couple of hours. Naturally it took all day and most of an evening to get them to her satisfaction. But I got paid. Woohoo! I also lost another NaNoWriMo day.
And it's okay. I intend to reach 50,000 words by the end of the month, and I can still do that. I was stressing about it and then I remembered this: NaNoWriMo is for me and not the other way around. It's for me to write fast and explore new things and meet new writers and enjoy the whole maddening process.
About health:
Haven't walked every day like I did in October. Part of the problem is, of course, trying to get everything done and do NaNoWriMo, too. The rest has to do with lack of willpower. Got to power through this and keep exercising. Even though I'd rather be at my computer or reading a book or -- and I only say this because it's the truth -- eating, eating, eating. It's weird how our bodies fight getting healthy. I've really been experiencing urges to eat like a person returning from being stranded on a desert island. For the most part, I've resisted them. But not always.
About clutter:
The back bedroom is just about ready to receive visitors. Five or six more hours, and it will be ready to be dusted and vacuumed. Finally that room can be used for something besides storage. When it's finished, the next thing I'm going to do is donate 50 books to my local library. Surely in all these books, I can find 50 that I no longer want. I'm going to, even if I do have to give up some. Let's be honest: in a 1,100 square foot house, 1,000 books (approximately) is too many. I'll keep the ones I reread or use for reference or simply love, but the rest got to go. Eventually. Right now, I'm aiming for 50.
About life:
Mostly the black dog has stayed away. I find if I stay busy with creative things -- photo books, NaNoWriMo, scrapbooking, writing, creating cards, etc. -- I'm mostly not depressed with large periods of what I would call contentment. Admittedly, the financial part of my life is terrible, but I'm still paying my bills and buying food and obviously Internet access, so all-in-all, I won't complain. Still looking for a full-time job, but have started telling people I'm open to a part-time job. My little town is just not doing well. I keep wondering if I'm supposed to move. Well, we'll see what happens.
That's about it for now. Oh, here's the link to the Christmas Cards. I think you all already have it, but just in case. Have a great week!
Sneaking off for a moment of solitude
Two of the Boys are here and we've been busy getting caught up again. As usual, it has been like we just had dinner together last week.
Writing: The good news is I added nearly 8,000 words to Honor. The bad news is I haven't written at all this weekend. I have 19,308 words left to do, and nine writing days left. That's all of what's left of the month minus Thanksgiving. I can do it if I hit 2,145 words a day. It's doable, but is it really that important? Honestly, I'm contemplating something I've never done: blowing off the rest of NaNo. If I get to 50k, great, but I'm going to keep writing until it's done, which should be close to Christmas regardless of what I do this week. I don't know if it's the Boys being here or the cold, dreary weather, but as of right now I don't really care of Nov. 30 rolls around and I'm only at 40k. Finishing is more important than busting my tail and burning out.
Clutter: Managed to get two overstuffed bags of clothes out of my house. I have donation boxes in various stages, none of them ready, and none of which I will be doing anything with this week. Might be putting this mostly on the back burner until after the holidays.
Health: Gained a couple of pounds, and expect to gain a couple more this week. Don't really care. I'll deal with it after the Boys and Alex leave.
Misc: We got good news and bad news this week. The good news is the boyfriend has decided to go to trade school to get his CDL. He leaves Dec. 16 for 9 weeks (good news) and Jeli will be staying with us while he's away (not so good news). The bad news was that a friend of my kids' was found dead in his dorm room a couple of days ago. He was 18, diabetic and insulin dependent for years, and his diet was atrocious. It wasn't unexpected, but none of us expected it would be now. We gave him to 40. He had moved with his family to South Carolina a year and a half ago, so it's even further removed from us. We're all in disbelief at this point. Friends of his mom's have organized a vigil for him this week so those of us who knew him here can celebrate his life. All of us, the Boys included, will be going.
Writing: The good news is I added nearly 8,000 words to Honor. The bad news is I haven't written at all this weekend. I have 19,308 words left to do, and nine writing days left. That's all of what's left of the month minus Thanksgiving. I can do it if I hit 2,145 words a day. It's doable, but is it really that important? Honestly, I'm contemplating something I've never done: blowing off the rest of NaNo. If I get to 50k, great, but I'm going to keep writing until it's done, which should be close to Christmas regardless of what I do this week. I don't know if it's the Boys being here or the cold, dreary weather, but as of right now I don't really care of Nov. 30 rolls around and I'm only at 40k. Finishing is more important than busting my tail and burning out.
Clutter: Managed to get two overstuffed bags of clothes out of my house. I have donation boxes in various stages, none of them ready, and none of which I will be doing anything with this week. Might be putting this mostly on the back burner until after the holidays.
Health: Gained a couple of pounds, and expect to gain a couple more this week. Don't really care. I'll deal with it after the Boys and Alex leave.
Misc: We got good news and bad news this week. The good news is the boyfriend has decided to go to trade school to get his CDL. He leaves Dec. 16 for 9 weeks (good news) and Jeli will be staying with us while he's away (not so good news). The bad news was that a friend of my kids' was found dead in his dorm room a couple of days ago. He was 18, diabetic and insulin dependent for years, and his diet was atrocious. It wasn't unexpected, but none of us expected it would be now. We gave him to 40. He had moved with his family to South Carolina a year and a half ago, so it's even further removed from us. We're all in disbelief at this point. Friends of his mom's have organized a vigil for him this week so those of us who knew him here can celebrate his life. All of us, the Boys included, will be going.
Week 45
Granite Hill has made it to 40,458 words. We're getting Danny's take on what Dickie has written. (Think one of your kids has written a memoir about your life, and you are reading and reacting to each chapter.)
750words.com I managed to miss copying words to it two days this week. Obviously I wrote. Losing streaks like this dampens my enthusiasm for playing the game. I'm till planning to find an alternative that works for me after NaNo.
Internet Responsibilities Usual stuff.
Pets Everyone is doing well.
Property Hubby is leveling and getting sand underneath the first five feet of driveway bricks before he joins me here in Central Texas for Thanksgiving.
Health Per Wendy's suggestion, I've switched to maintenance until after the holidays.
Other I bought a dvorak keyboard to help me learn this supposedly more intuitive layout. I started working with it on Wednesday. I still feel as if I'm typing in a foreign language. This keyboard has keys marked for qwerty in blue and a push button switch to toggle. I can swap fine to the Air keyboard, but when I try to switch on this keyboard, I get an atrocious mixture and twisted fingers. Right now, I'm at the point where common key combinations are beginning to come together.
750words.com I managed to miss copying words to it two days this week. Obviously I wrote. Losing streaks like this dampens my enthusiasm for playing the game. I'm till planning to find an alternative that works for me after NaNo.
Internet Responsibilities Usual stuff.
Pets Everyone is doing well.
Property Hubby is leveling and getting sand underneath the first five feet of driveway bricks before he joins me here in Central Texas for Thanksgiving.
Health Per Wendy's suggestion, I've switched to maintenance until after the holidays.
Other I bought a dvorak keyboard to help me learn this supposedly more intuitive layout. I started working with it on Wednesday. I still feel as if I'm typing in a foreign language. This keyboard has keys marked for qwerty in blue and a push button switch to toggle. I can swap fine to the Air keyboard, but when I try to switch on this keyboard, I get an atrocious mixture and twisted fingers. Right now, I'm at the point where common key combinations are beginning to come together.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Pausing to catch my breath
It's been a busy couple of days. Eric and I made a quick run to MI to check on my parents. Everyone seemed to be behaving, but DANG that's a long trip to make over a long weekend. 580 miles in one day isn't as much fun as you might think.
Writing: I left town a couple hundred words in the black and had already figured in the weekend off, so I'm in good shape. The story is coming along nicely despite my research goof up. Note to me: Journalists and historians go by the 3-source rule for a reason.
Clutter: Same. I WILL be working on that this week. We've decided we need to start taking steps now to downsize, so I'll be going through things and donating what I don't want to pay to move. Wherever and whenever that happens. Not anytime soon. We'd like to wait until the housing market rebounds. And no, Tammy, I'm sorry, but Iowa is not on the short list.
Health: I didn't count points while we were away, so I gained a couple of pounds. Not a big deal. The daily vitamin C and D seem to be helping my overall attitude and productivity.
Misc: Trying not to be overwhelmed by the fact that I have company coming on Saturday for Thanksgiving. I really am looking forward to seeing them, and my stress level is lower for having gotten away from the book for a couple of days. My mental list is as much about pride as anything, truth be told. I want things to be a certain way, even when I know our friends won't give a hoot and may not even notice. They've known us for years and have seen our house at its worst, sometimes for weeks at a time. I still want things to be nice when they come.
Writing: I left town a couple hundred words in the black and had already figured in the weekend off, so I'm in good shape. The story is coming along nicely despite my research goof up. Note to me: Journalists and historians go by the 3-source rule for a reason.
Clutter: Same. I WILL be working on that this week. We've decided we need to start taking steps now to downsize, so I'll be going through things and donating what I don't want to pay to move. Wherever and whenever that happens. Not anytime soon. We'd like to wait until the housing market rebounds. And no, Tammy, I'm sorry, but Iowa is not on the short list.
Health: I didn't count points while we were away, so I gained a couple of pounds. Not a big deal. The daily vitamin C and D seem to be helping my overall attitude and productivity.
Misc: Trying not to be overwhelmed by the fact that I have company coming on Saturday for Thanksgiving. I really am looking forward to seeing them, and my stress level is lower for having gotten away from the book for a couple of days. My mental list is as much about pride as anything, truth be told. I want things to be a certain way, even when I know our friends won't give a hoot and may not even notice. They've known us for years and have seen our house at its worst, sometimes for weeks at a time. I still want things to be nice when they come.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Week 44
Forty-four weeks into 2011. Imagine that! And last week was only 43. Funny how they arrive one after another like that.
From Backward NaNo perspective, I've dropped back to two days behind. From traditional NaNo perspective, I'm doing wonderfully. I'm pleased with this progress. I've completed Dickie's point of view, which is mostly a memoir as it relates to his dad, Danny, and how he transformed from a not so great dad to someone he could admire.
Last night, I began Danny's point of view, captured as Danny reads each chapter Dickie has written and provides his perspective. I decided to write Dickie's book before allowing Danny to read it. I wanted to get a more genuine response from Danny, and I didn't want to taint Dickie's views with unintended input from Danny.
It's been a busy week but we didn't get any of the things done that hubby needed me in San Antonio with him to complete. I sometimes think he does this on purpose so he can leverage me to spend time with him. I was supposed to head back to Central TX today, but since I had no compelling reason to be there, and we didn't get the tree top taken down that is precariously braced in the back yard, I'm spending a few more days here to try to get that dealt with. I mostly wanted to head back to write, but hubby hasn't been making too many pointed computer comments, so staying here will work fine, I think.
I got the yard mowed for what really should be the last time this year. I trimmed a few bushes. We raked leaves from under the hedge in the alley. I have more trimming and weeding to do, so I'll work on that. Hubby is digging up driveway and laying brick in a five-six foot swath in front of the doors to get the baseline laid for the driveway bricking. It's going to be lovely when he finishes.
Health is unsatisfactory. I've gained *mumble, mumble* pounds over the last few weeks, and I'm doing terribly on keeping to points. I'm not sure what to do with myself on this one. Pretty bummed about it and discouraged with myself.
In news to be grateful and thankful for, Della came home the last week in October (yes, I should have reported this before now!). To my knowledge, her vision has not returned, but she is well. If you want to catch up on her (scrolling past the three pages plus of birthday greetings), search Facebook for "Pray for Della!" Her daughter posted a photo of her with her granddaughter right before she had to return to Alabama last month, and she looks good.
In minor news, I ordered a dvorak keyboard and plan to begin learning that layout. Yes, I could have done this with a keyboard layout print out and electronically switching the keys, but after nearly forty years of "touch" typing, I still hunt and peck for certain keys on a qwerty layout. I do not imagine I'd be any different on a dvorak layout. This keyboard is hardware switchable from dvorak to qwerty and has keycaps labeled with both sets of letterings.
Special thanks to Tammy for pinging me in chat earlier this week to make sure I was okay, because I sounded down. I was okay, but I was feeling a little down. Nothing serious. It's mostly passed. I'm back to my morbidly cheerful self.
From Backward NaNo perspective, I've dropped back to two days behind. From traditional NaNo perspective, I'm doing wonderfully. I'm pleased with this progress. I've completed Dickie's point of view, which is mostly a memoir as it relates to his dad, Danny, and how he transformed from a not so great dad to someone he could admire.
Last night, I began Danny's point of view, captured as Danny reads each chapter Dickie has written and provides his perspective. I decided to write Dickie's book before allowing Danny to read it. I wanted to get a more genuine response from Danny, and I didn't want to taint Dickie's views with unintended input from Danny.
It's been a busy week but we didn't get any of the things done that hubby needed me in San Antonio with him to complete. I sometimes think he does this on purpose so he can leverage me to spend time with him. I was supposed to head back to Central TX today, but since I had no compelling reason to be there, and we didn't get the tree top taken down that is precariously braced in the back yard, I'm spending a few more days here to try to get that dealt with. I mostly wanted to head back to write, but hubby hasn't been making too many pointed computer comments, so staying here will work fine, I think.
I got the yard mowed for what really should be the last time this year. I trimmed a few bushes. We raked leaves from under the hedge in the alley. I have more trimming and weeding to do, so I'll work on that. Hubby is digging up driveway and laying brick in a five-six foot swath in front of the doors to get the baseline laid for the driveway bricking. It's going to be lovely when he finishes.
Health is unsatisfactory. I've gained *mumble, mumble* pounds over the last few weeks, and I'm doing terribly on keeping to points. I'm not sure what to do with myself on this one. Pretty bummed about it and discouraged with myself.
In news to be grateful and thankful for, Della came home the last week in October (yes, I should have reported this before now!). To my knowledge, her vision has not returned, but she is well. If you want to catch up on her (scrolling past the three pages plus of birthday greetings), search Facebook for "Pray for Della!" Her daughter posted a photo of her with her granddaughter right before she had to return to Alabama last month, and she looks good.
In minor news, I ordered a dvorak keyboard and plan to begin learning that layout. Yes, I could have done this with a keyboard layout print out and electronically switching the keys, but after nearly forty years of "touch" typing, I still hunt and peck for certain keys on a qwerty layout. I do not imagine I'd be any different on a dvorak layout. This keyboard is hardware switchable from dvorak to qwerty and has keycaps labeled with both sets of letterings.
Special thanks to Tammy for pinging me in chat earlier this week to make sure I was okay, because I sounded down. I was okay, but I was feeling a little down. Nothing serious. It's mostly passed. I'm back to my morbidly cheerful self.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
November 12 tambometics
Thanksgiving is coming! Thanksgiving is coming!!
Writing
Nano is stalled, which, for me, is totally expected. I wrote a waaaaaay too long scene in chapter 5, that my normal writing mode says needs to be trimmed immediately, but Nano doesn't allow cutting, and my brain fights over this so that I do nothing. I'd be better off just trimming the dang thing (or rewriting from scratch with a different start and focus might be even better) so maybe I should just do that and take the word count hit.
All silent on the M front. No news is good news, but Thanksgiving is in less than 2 weeks, and if nothing happens by then, it's very likely nothing will happen until next year since major publishers kinda screech to a halt during the holidays for year end and accounting stuff.
Sewing
Need to stretch and baste another small quilt (was going to tonight, but I haven't, so maybe tomorrow). Need to finish quilting and bind a Christmas table topper for the quilt guild meeting next month. Need to clean up my sewing room because it's clogged with totes, notes, books, magazines, patterns, and sewing supplies. Pretty much everything but fabric, because it's all tidily put away. ;)
Talked to my quilt shop owner friend about a lot of sewing stuff and she - along with others - has decided that I'm wasting my creative talents, so, I dunno. Maybe after Thanksgiving I can sew something to sell. Or not. Heck, I dunno. I'm really not sewing anything lately, all of the current projects, other than last week's baby quilt I made for Katie, are just finishing up things I'd already sewn.
That said, Bill's talking about building some things for Etsy, and we've discussed making a family store there since all three of us are 'creative'. I guess we'll see. I do have some finished quilts laying around, things I've made because I wanted to try a pattern, or there was a particular fabric that called to me. Mostly I make specific projects for specific people and I just give them away. Sewing something for sale seems... alien. But I do have these oddball things I'm not using, so maybe I'll just Etsy stuff like that. Maybe I'll just give them away on the blog or FB or whatever. Shrug.
Life
Mostly keeping on keeping on. Too busy to get much actually done or focus on anything, if that makes sense. Seems like it's an endless series of rush here, do that, then rush here to do that, then rush home to cook then off to a meeting then round and round we go! Whee!
House
It's less of a mess. Everything's inside of the house instead of some stacked in the garage (other than furniture we simply do not have room for and a stack of paintings I dunno what to do with - anyone heading toward Northern Iowa soon who might want one of my paintings from college or an armoire Bill built??) so that's good. We spent a good hunk of Friday going through a pile of boxes and bins looking for things to purge. Bill's a super-sorter (it's mind blowing how good he is at organization, while The Kid and I are, well, not) so he got gobs done in that regard while we kinda floundered. But that batch is done. Have one more closet of boxes to go then we will be DONE. As in totally. It'll be nice to be moved in completely and settled.
Now I just have to keep it up. And clean my sewing room, which is trashed.
Health
Exercising has kinda crumbled this week, only managed one day, and it was a partial before I started coughing so much (and holding my throbbing head) I got dizzy. Since then, I've simply had no time, and when I *do* have time, I'm too pooped from all the running around and unpacking.
Everything Else
It's all right. Ready for a lull, but I don't know when one will land here. No lulls on the horizon.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Earthquake and other stuff
Well, it was an exciting day. We had an earthquake yesterday and several aftershocks this morning. The major quake was 5.6 the scientists say, a record for Oklahoma. Made a few new cracks in my interior walls and one new in the brick facade, but nothing major. Quite weird.
Anyway, in less exciting news.
Writing:
Deep in National Novel Writing Month. Doing better than I've ever done with a story that I really feel uncertain about it. It's family drama. Dark secrets. But no magic, vampires, beasts, magick, swords, or really heroes. Just people making good and bad decisions and not knowing until later which is which. It's quite odd for me. I've never written anything like it. I think it's good for me for explore this new territory even if a published book never results from it.
Four people from my town signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. They've apparently all quit, but they did start and wrote a couple of thousand words, so that's good.
Health:
Still walking at the gym. Eating things I shouldn't. Got to cut that back. Otherwise, so far, so good. Intending on getting my flu shot this week.
Money:
I'm making four photo books for a woman featuring her beautiful baby. I made one of my roommate's grandchildren for him, and he showed it around work. Several other people are supposed to order ones, also. Hope they do. Not a lot of money, but it's helping pay my bills. Still selling greeting cards. Think I've thought of just about every funny thing I can about birthdays. Going to work on Christmas cards next. Still sending out resumes.
Life:
Black dog is staying away. Health is okay. Still fighting insomnia, but will talk to my doctor at my next appointment next month and see what we can do about that.
Anyway, that's my news.
Anyway, in less exciting news.
Writing:
Deep in National Novel Writing Month. Doing better than I've ever done with a story that I really feel uncertain about it. It's family drama. Dark secrets. But no magic, vampires, beasts, magick, swords, or really heroes. Just people making good and bad decisions and not knowing until later which is which. It's quite odd for me. I've never written anything like it. I think it's good for me for explore this new territory even if a published book never results from it.
Four people from my town signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. They've apparently all quit, but they did start and wrote a couple of thousand words, so that's good.
Health:
Still walking at the gym. Eating things I shouldn't. Got to cut that back. Otherwise, so far, so good. Intending on getting my flu shot this week.
Money:
I'm making four photo books for a woman featuring her beautiful baby. I made one of my roommate's grandchildren for him, and he showed it around work. Several other people are supposed to order ones, also. Hope they do. Not a lot of money, but it's helping pay my bills. Still selling greeting cards. Think I've thought of just about every funny thing I can about birthdays. Going to work on Christmas cards next. Still sending out resumes.
Life:
Black dog is staying away. Health is okay. Still fighting insomnia, but will talk to my doctor at my next appointment next month and see what we can do about that.
Anyway, that's my news.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Week 43
NaNo is going well, but I'm behind my goal for today by about 1200 words. We transitioned to San Antonio today. Tomorrow is tied up with hubby playing two Wurstfest gigs. Tuesday, he has medical tests and it's election day. That's the week ahead.
The week behind has been ok. Nothing spectacular to report.
The week behind has been ok. Nothing spectacular to report.
November 5 tambometrics
And it's November at last! My favorite month! The harvest is mostly done but we're not cooped up yet, so my allergies are at their low point. It's cooler, so I'm not bloaty and cranky, and I'm in the midst of Thanksgiving planning, my favorite holiday.
I do adore November. ;)
Writing
Nano is coming along. I'm at a smidge under 3k, but I have a really good - re: long and easy - scene in the queue for tonight. While I'm not 'winning' by any stretch of NaNo tradition, I'm very, very happy to have words. :)
No word on M other than it's off to a third publisher. Keeping fingers crossed one will bite on the book (and super crossed it'll be a particular publisher that I'm super excited about!)
Sewing
I sewed an ENTIRE baby quilt this week! Started it Thursday and finished it today (Saturday) for a friend's baby shower on Sunday. I think it's super cute. :) I'll make one later for my daughter in batiks on black, since those are more her colors. :)
Life
Ahhhhhh. No drama. Can't you feel the joy?
House
It's a mess. Was super busy then had a headachy cold early in the week, been sewing the last half. But that's okay. Half an hour plus some mopping will make it all just fine. :)
As we unpack things, though, I have decided that we have Too Much Crap. I shall start purging soon.
Health
Still exercising with Richard 4 days a week. Had my annual physical on Tuesday and everything was great. Well, my cholesterol was about 2 or 3 points above the line (other than the good cholesterol, which was fine) but, most importantly, my blood sugar passed. Woooohoooo!! My doc, however, has upped my Vitamin D (we're all in the Vit. D club here) to 2,000 mg a day. I'm cool with that because my blood sugar was good *and* I'm officially down 14lbs!
Everything Else
All in all pretty good. Or, maybe judging by my previous statements, it's super! :)