The mutiny continues

Just wanted to let you know that my cyst has grown about 10%. Awaiting official decision from my doc.

Keeping track

I intended to keep track of what I did each day so that I could have something to say here, but I forgot. I will try to do that this week.

I did preside over the writers group meeting this morning and gave the program about various writing sites that they might find helpful.

I did format several items for the writers group anthology. We're not getting the volume of submissions we had in the past. We may have difficulty in filling the pages. We'll see.

I did household chores -- laundry, vacuuming, dusting, decluttering, etc. -- and finally caught up on a lot of things that had been sitting around waiting for me to get to them.

I didn't follow my diet as closely as I should have this week. No particular reason that I didn't; just didn't.

This week, I will:

- Format more submissions for the anthology.

- Household chores.

- Continue work on Murder by the Mile.

- Publish family newsletter.

- Follow my diet more closely.

- Walk with the video more.

- Oh, and track each day so I have more to say here!

Hope you have a good week!

Saturday Here, Too!

Isn't that amazing!  I've had a fairly productive week.

• I made it through Holly's Worldbuilding Clinic beta test.  Waiting to get access to the videos (seems to have been a glitch) to complete that portion.  Last night, I played around with some exercises for my stuff, and I'm going to try to use the techniques to jumpstart my muse, who seems to be miffed at my no-nonsense side always horning in on it's ideas.  Maybe I'll get it coaxed out yet.
• It's probably the newness of things, but with the Mindfulness Diet, I'm coming up with all kinds of connections to deal with long-term problems I've had with eating.  In addition to the basics presented by the Lift plan, I'm also reading Susan Albers' Eating Mindfully. The book has a lot of exercises, but she recommends reading it through completely before practicing any of them.  I've just reached Part V, which consists of checklists to help you.  I'm finding a lot of interesting tips there.  The one I read of particular interest this morning was about snacking late in the evening.  Apparently, when you're tired, you go looking for snacks.  (Maybe why the Sleep Diet does people good?)  I'm anticipating slow but steady progress.
• I did some writing -- still not tracking the way I said I wanted to, and I have no ideas about how I want to do that.
• I pulled Polar Bear On the Loose out of the box and finished a scene.  Only 23 more to go!
• Made a little progress with decluttering this week.  Small stuff.  Mr. L suggested I box up my CDs and put them into a storage area out of the way.  (I get mildly annoyed at the way he keeps trying to get my stuff boxed up and put somewhere out of sight, but in this instance, I have to agree with him that this is a good idea.) I got them pulled off the shelves.  Mr. L found two boxes, but I need to find another box to put the rest of them in (I have over 200).
• Working through my Lift plans 
• Helped Mr. L with a few things, but mostly I stayed out of his way
• Created something like six bags of shredded material

The Week Ahead:

• Get Natasha and Daphne to the vet for their procedures
• Take Pretty Boy Floyd for his annual exam and shots
• Get more shredding done
• Continue decluttering efforts
• Continue "New You" plan
• Continue writing
• Continue revision
• Continue eating mindfully -- this is the last week of the program for Lift.  I plan to continue it.
• Watch the weather and protect Sneaky and pipes -- a couple days of freezing are forecast for this week

It's Saturday again here, too.

Hey everyone. Not sure what to talk about since not a whole lot has been happening. Um, we got the truck back yesterday, so we're once again a 2 vehicle family. My sewing day at Mrs. T's Mercantile also was yesterday and I finished one block of the month - would have sewn two, but I made a pretty substantial mistake early in the piecing and had to rip it all apart and start over - and managed to put all 49 blocks together in a 7x7 grid on a bed quilt I've been working on for almost 2 years now. All it needs is borders. And quilting. Which means I'll add it to the stack of largish quilts I need to send out to be quilted should we ever have money for such things.

Um.

No writing. Some planning - thanks Jean for the handgun help! - but I've only opened the laptop to chat and check pinterest.

Weight was down a little this week, but still quite a lot higher than I want. Stayed after to talk with one of the leaders - she made me cry! - and this week I'm gonna up my protein and see if that helps. Kay's pretty awesome.

Laundry's done, well other than the stuff we're wearing and the sheets I stripped off our bed today.

Um.

I made pork fried rice for supper (brown rice, lots of veggies). Was yummy.

Still blue, still clogged sinuses, still wondering what I'm doing.

{{hugs}}

Have a great week, everyone.

Saturday again???

It is Saturday, right? Eric is home, he's not sick, and we didn't go to church, so it must be Saturday. Obviously I need to find some new place holders on my calendar. Hoping to get some insight on that tomorrow. The new church has several outreach programs.

Good Stuff:
- Unpacking is coming along fairly well. I'd say I'm over half done, but it's a little hard to say.
- We got the rest of the book cases from Ikea last night, and they're assembled. Now to put the books away...
- Eric took me to the Great Lakes commissary this morning. Yeah groceries! The prices are far more reasonable than the grocery stores across the street (go figure) so we'll do the bulk of the shopping there and fill in locally. It's a 26 mile drive one way, but it's well-stocked, and the Exchange (the military version of Walmart) also has a nice variety of stuff. Especially The North Face clothing. They had lots of different Navy t-shirts, too, so if Alex decides to go that way I'll be going there to buy them for our parents, Alex's girlfriend, Vicky, etc. Everyone will be a Navy Something. :-)
- The cats have been manic depressive this week. Not sure if it's the noise, the cold, or just the strangeness of their new environment. I'm not worried about it. I know they'll be all right. Getting the boxes out will go a long way toward that.

Ambivalent Stuff:
- Looks like I'm taking one more trip downstate Monday to get the rest. Planning, at this point, to do it all in one day. Staying overnight by myself with no TV or Internet does not sound like a fun time to me. Better to just gut it out, but I'll probably pack an overnight bag just in case.

Not So Good Stuff:
- No words this week. I'm not cranky yet, but I think I'd better do something about that tomorrow afternoon.
- It's cold. And a little snowy. I rather like the snow, but highs in the single digits are not fun, especially when I can't find the hat with the ear flaps. Dad's going to try to buy me a couple in Florida (of all places).
- I was supposed to be at the rendezvous this week. It's the first one I've missed since 2004, although, in all honesty, even if we could have afforded, I would have stayed home anyway. There's too much to be done here, and I traveled so much last year I need a long break. The downside is my rendezvous friends aren't getting any younger and I'll miss the visit with my grandpa's sister and her husband.
- Alex's funding options are drying up. He applied for 2 loans last week and got turned down. The last of his college fund has been paid out. The college is in a rural area, so even fast food jobs are few and far between. He got some money for graduation, but I'm not sure what he's going to do for rent in March, let alone tuition.

I think that's about it. Considering a nap. Have a great week, y'all!

Quiet

I know I'm late and haven't caught up on everyone else's posts or comments to those posts, but I just wanted to check in and say things are quiet here.

Bill's had a long weekend - off until Wed -, the truck is in the shop, and TheKid is in Des Moines with her friends with the car, so we're stranded at home during a snow/wind storm. I've managed to sew a little, eat too much, sleep plenty, and generally laze around without loitering much online. I'm still half-sick with an awful head cold (lots of sneezing and congestion). Also, there's been no word on either book.

Haven't written anything to speak of, read some, but nothing exceptional, and my diet, oy, it's in trouble.

But things are okay. Wish I had more ooomph.

{{hugs}}

Taking a break

My stress level has gone way down, but oh, the drama it took to get here! Moving sucks on a good day, but moving to a northern city in January has unique challenges.

- Our friend Chad drove down from northern WI, picked up Eric and brought him downstate. Then he helped us load all our stuff, drove back upstate (in the city. He hates cities), and helped us unload. With a cold. Greater love hath no man for a friend!
- Despite the 10' UHaul, my van, and Chad's jeep, there were still a few things we couldn't fit it. Between running out of space and the time it took to load it, we rushed leaving. The stuff we couldn't move got left where it sat, but the worst part is I left my iPad on the couch. So I have one more trip downstate to get the rest. The plan is to go maybe late this week or early next week and try to do it all in one day. It does feel a little surreal to be here with no return date planned.
- Eric ate something hinky Saturday and ended up the food poisoning. Yesterday was a bad day for him. Today is better but he's thinking about staying home from work tomorrow. At least he's not contagious, but he hasn't been much help unloading stuff! At least it didn't kick in until after we got here.
- We tracked a lot of salt onto my floors. I finally got things cleared enough to Swiffer Wet Jet part of the floor, and we bought a door mat so we can knock salt off before we come in. In theory, at least.
- I'm getting things squared away pretty quickly. Surprisingly quickly, actually.
- The cats have been twitchy, but not unusually so. Tess has been vocal at night. She's testing acoustics, I think. She's our echo locator. When she finds her favorite hidey hole she'll settle down, but last night I was ready to throttle her! Ryan and Chloe seem to be taking things in stride a little more, although Ryan has velcro kitty periods. I got their feeder and water fountain set up today so hopefully that will help them settle.
- No words this week. Go figure. I need to fix that, though. We don't need any more crankiness than we already have!
- Vicky has finished her classes and clinicals. Now she just has to take the registry test and she can actively look for a grown-up job. In the meantime, they're starting to move into our house. No, they didn't break the lease on their current house, but we're paying the whole mortgage whether they live there or it sits empty. They are legally obligated to pay their rent, but not to live in the house, and frankly I think it's going to take the landlord a while to find another renter. With them living in our house he can start advertising it.
- No news this week from Alex about his funding issues or the Navy. Still not thinking about it!

So I think that's about it. I think that's about enough!

Here Comes the Sun

Typing this early Monday morning, well, not that early, after seeing Mr. L's older daughter off.  She came down for the weekend and needed to get back to her home just a little north of Dallas.  We showed her all the finest for Central Texas -- fajitas on Saturday night, bingo on Sunday afternoon, and her father's famous chili last night.  We worked on a jigsaw puzzle, and she and her dad talked genealogy.  Oh, and she and Daphne played Bug Squash on her Acer tablet.

Over the last week, I began the beta test for Holly's soon-to-be-released worldbuilding clinic, created a simple favicon for Vision and installed it, and did a little bit of writing (and I still haven't devised a tracking mechanism to quantify my work).

I'm still enjoying the plans on Lift.  I discovered another value for photographing the beginning and ending of a meal.  Day One will only allow one photograph per entry, but it does offer to change the date and time of the entry to that of the photograph.  If I allow it to do that, and I take two photographs, I can calculate how long it took me to consume my meal -- useful for evaluating if I'm eating mindfully or just wolfing something down.  I'm using the photographs to evaluate if I think I'm eating the right portion size (I usually know on an intellectual level), and in a couple of instances, it has helped me decide to choose a smaller size the next time I ate the item (think bowl of ice cream or bowl of granola cereal).  I usually photograph an empty plate, but there have been a few times when I've photographed a little food left, and there have been a couple of times when I left food -- in one instance the potatoes and beans that came with our omelet were a little cold, I finally decided, "Hey, I don't have to eat these" and left a few.  The next day, when I had the same meal and they weren't cold, it was easier to leave a few on the plate.  I've already cut out the second tortilla on that breakfast, so small changes are coming.  I don't know where this fear came from, but I've always had a strong mental fear I'm going to starve (all evidence to the contrary!).  Maybe this approach is helping my brain realize it's highly unlikely I'm going to starve in the foreseeable future. (Note:  I chose not to do the photographs while the daughter was here -- but Mr. L. trying to be helpful, mentioned the photographs, and I had to go into the explanation about what he was talking about.  So much for not trying to call attention to what I'm trying to do. She's cool, so it was no big deal, but still.)

My sister has become a Tupperware dealer, so if you need anything, please consider ordering through her website, http://my2.tupperware.com/annhouck.  I found a spice rack on sale this month and ordered it to try to organize my spice cabinet (after getting the measurements from her to make sure it would fit). They shipped it Fed Ex, and it got here Saturday.  I put labels on the containers (not included), loaded them up with spices, and put everything in the cupboard.  Works well.  (If you go there, I found her site a little cumbersome to use, but once I found what I wanted on their main site and searched on her site, it came up.  I'm not sure if that's a Tupperware flaw or her just getting accustomed to how things work.  It may or may not get easier as she gains more experience. 

That's last week.  What's up in the week ahead?

• Finish the worldbuilding beta test (five more chapters to go)
• Do more writing
• Continue my work with the Lift programs.  I'll be finishing and archiving a plan on meditation 101 today.  Informative.
• Help Mr. L. with some projects
• Keep up the decluttering efforts -- progress is very slow.
• Revision.  Remember revision!

A big welcome home to Wendy as she gets settled into her new Chicago home (you need to send us you new address -- privately, of course).

First this time

How odd that I will be the first one to post this weekend. Ordinarily I'm the last. Let's see what I've done this week. Ah ... hmm. Well ... hmm.

- I did walk a few times to a video that Tammy directed me to. Thanks, Tammy!
- I went to lunch with a friend. I went out to dinner with friends twice.
- I formatted a few items for the new writers group anthology.
- I cleaned out the cabinet beneath my kitchen sink. It looks much better after I threw away several things and arranged cleaning supplies into bins.
- I took a few photos around the area and of the moon that I think turned out well.
- I did some household chores.
- I fought a cold all week. Still have sinus drainage, but better.
- I bought a humidifier and put it in my bedroom. I'm hoping it will help me sleep. It's been horribly dry. I wake up with my sinuses and throat all dry and scratchy. My doctor suggested it. I hope it helps.

This week, I will:
- Format more items for the anthology.
- Household chores.
- Prepare the agenda, minutes, and program for Saturday's writers group meeting.
- Defeat the cold. I hope.
- Take more photos.
- Work on Murder by the Mile.
- Walk to the video.
- Continue working on my diet.
- Did I say household chores? There are a lot of them.

Watched Sherlock on PBS tonight. It was just okay. Not much mystery. Also, really think three episodes a year is not the way to run a series.

Anyway, have a great week. See you next weekend.

Already?

The last week went by fast, but when I look back, I can't see what I've done. Well, a few household chores. A bit of walking and exercise. And I presided over the writers group meeting on Saturday. And we had guests that afternoon, a great visit, but I was exhausted by the time everyone left.

What else?

Went to dinner a couple of times with friends. Enjoyed the warmer weather. It's supposed to be warmer this week, also. I'm so ready for spring and summer. I long for the light, warmth, and longer days.

So that's about it.

This week I'm hoping to do more. I'm starting work on the writers group anthology for this year. They've started submitting stories to me. I'm hoping to format them as I receive them. I'm behind at the moment, but the submissions have dropped off dramatically so I should catch up tomorrow and Wednesday.

Anyway, have a great week!

Playoffs!

I don't think any of the teams I was rooting for won, which is pretty much standard results for me. ;)

Things are going well, overall, but I am kind of... snippy. Edgy. Stressed. I just feel bombarded, I guess. I've snapped at Bill a couple of times today - something I normally do not do - and cried once. I'd like to blame hormones, but I really don't think that's the problem, it's just my head's not in the right place. Writing is fighting me, not dieting well, certainly not quilting... I'm a mess.

Otherwise things are fine. {{hugs}}

Home Stretch

Pun intended.

It's been a week, and I'm not sure I can separate good from not so good, so I'll just spew list everything.

- I've had my last-for-now-at-least fencing lesson and church service. I got through church with my make-up intact. I can't say the same for fencing. You can read about that tomorrow morning on my blog.
- Packing is coming right along. Having moved with the military, where the movers swoop in and pack everything (including the trash if you don't get it out fast enough), I never knew what good packing material clothing was. I might run out of clothes before the week is out! Never fear, I've set aside clothes to wear, rather like reverse packing.
- I have a nice pile of stuff to donate, and I'm hoping to add to it. I took a bag from my spice cupboard to church for the food pantry today. Maybe someone can use them, or maybe they'll throw them away, but they won't end up in a landfill by my hand.
- I had lunch with friends yesterday and they made me laugh. Never underestimate the efficacy of a good laugh. Or scotch. Scotch is good, too. They bought me a bottle as a housewarming gift and made me promise not to open it until I got moved so Eric could have some too. :-)
- I wrote every day last week. Writing in the morning and packing in the afternoon seems quite a good division of my time.
- If my syntax seems a bit off, it's because I've been watching Downton Abbey. Season 4 premiered last Sunday and I've watched the episode 4 times. I just love Downton, and it's such a help when I'm writing in 1918. :-)
- Alex got back to school and is getting his financial aid in order. Both Eric and his girlfriend (the homebody on steroids) told him separately on the same day that he should go into the Navy so they can pay for his grad school. I'm not thinking about it. Not yet. Not until he makes the final decision. He's supposed to call the officer recruiter tomorrow.
- The cats have been on the clingy side since he left. Poor dears, they really have no idea what's coming for them.
- Jean, per our conversation about cat litter on Facebook, Eric discovered we can get a 20 lb box from the Great Lakes commissary for the same price as a 14 lb box on Amazon. Looks like I won't be ordering litter online after all.

This Week:
- Write
- Pack
- Finish errands, including bank account switching and Good Will
- Find another good cry trigger if necessary. All my go-to movies have been moved already. Tactical error.
- Pick up the moving truck bright and early Saturday morning.

Could It Be Magic

Probably not, because nothing magically got my list from last week accomplished this week.  Oh, sure, I went to the Atmos Energy website, but I didn't find anything about any projects to move gas meters above ground.  Everything else?  Pretty much a no go.

Sneaky didn't come around the windows on Monday night, so I figured she didn't want to come in out of the cold.  Of course, the rest of the week, all evening, all I heard was Sneaky outside.  Sneaky at the window.  Sneaky hanging on the screen.  Sneaky inside the screen.  Sneaky playing with Daphne through the window. Sneaky playing coy and snubbing me when I go outside.  Do you think that cat might just be inside my head a little?

I turned around from the computer for something last night, and I swear Rossie was lying on the floor a foot from Lady's cage. It may have been Ruby, but it sure looked like Rossie.  I've had more sightings of her upstairs, too.  Her progress is so incremental, it's hard to really tell, but I think she's coming along.  I hope so.  Lady is getting impatient with her restrictions.  But, she's still beating up the other cats, so we have a lot of work to do yet.

I turned the compost pile.  There are some massive white grubs in there.  My composting book doesn't seem to mention them, and my on line searches are evenly split about whether they are good or bad.  I'm inclined to think I'm not going to worry about them.  I'll sift them out before we spread the dirt on the yard.  The yard already has grubs, and Mr. L is convinced they eat weed roots, so he's not worried about it.

It's a small thing, but I got FM's favicon working on the site.  I hadn't given it much thought until Margaret asked about it. I researched how to get it to display and took care of it.  I'm happy to see it on my browser tab now.

With the mindful eating approach, sometimes I reach a point where I just want to rush through and finish what I'm eating.  After a few days pondering that and checking in with how my body was feeling, I think that point MAY be the point where my body is telling me it's full enough.  To try and find the right portion sizes, I'm taking a picture of my meal before I begin to eat it and another one when I reach that point where I think my body may be saying, "Okay.  I'm good."  I've done it for two days, so it's too early to tell what kind of modifications, if any, I want to make.  It's intriguing, though.  I'm journaling this stuff in my Day One app on my phone and iPad.  I'd never used the app before, and I'm disappointed to learn I can only use one photo per entry.  That means two entries per meal with the photo plan. I'm also evaluating what I eat and actively making a note of foods I don't find valuable in the flavor and texture area, and I'm planning to eliminate them from the diet.  Mr. L has been told to reduce carbs by his doctor (and I need to do so as well), so I'm looking at the carb content of the foods in our meals on my Lose It! app.  We discuss which foods have higher content, evaluate possible alternatives, and then we can decide if we want to eliminate, make changes, or ignore.  Friday night, we decided not to eat the rice that came with our fajita meal.  It was not worth the 44grams of carbs to us.  That eliminated almost one-third of the carbs from that meal, and we didn't miss it.  That restaurant's rice isn't that good.

The Week Ahead:

• Continue with eating mindfully as well as with the other Lift plans.  I added Meditation 101 this week.  So far, nothing earth-shattering with it, but I thought I'd give it a try.
• Continue working on A-Z Challenge fiction -- I have the titles laid out, but I have a lot of writing to do.  I have a couple of drafts done.  I'm pleased with where B and M are.  The rest?  More work.
• I listed my draft manuscripts that need to be evaluated.  During NaNo I did some partial read back on my character sketches, and I really enjoyed those characters.  I want to spend some time reviewing characters and storylines to plan which ones to work on next after I finish the PBOTL revision -- which I'm slated to resume work on but have not done yet.  I also listed my fragments of fiction.  Last month I had a little fun with a story called Kitty City.  I need to get back to that one.
• I reviewed my newsletter layout, and discovered four of the five articles are pretty much set for topic, and I have one wildcard article.  I think the March newsletter will be an A-Z Challenge preview -- hopefully a treat for my club members.
• I bagged some leaves and debris at the shop today.  I need to get to work on the crape myrtles here at the house.  This is the time of year to trim and train them.

Uncloudy Day

But it's 31F outside.  It could be worse.  Here's what's been going on:

Sneaky  cried at the window last night, so, given how cold it was supposed to become, I took a carrier out to the side porch, picked her up, and put her in.  I brought her in the house and got her settled into Lady's cage for the night.  Lady graciously spent the night in the downstairs bathroom so Sneaky could be out of the cold.  I'm not sure she would tell the story the same way.  After the worst of the morning chill burned off this morning, Sneaky went back outside.  I plan to repeat the process tonight, since it's forecast to be 18F.

I decided to participate in the 52 Week Money Challenge with the rest of you.  I am going to do it backwards.  Since I get paid once a month and if I don't obligate my money at the beginning of the month, there isn't much left at the end, I transferred this month's allotment to the savings account this morning.  I'm sure this is violating some fun principle somewhere, but the idea is to save money, right?  Done.

I triaged the mail and paid bills until just a little bit ago.  Over the last week, we got a lot of leaves raked and bagged in San Antonio.  Mr. L verified that his tub drain fix worked, so no more tub drain leakage.  He made numerous excursions under the house to get the new support framework for the toilet installed.  This is a preventive maintenance approach, I believe.  I think the last time he did anything with the toilet was in the 70s when he bought the house, so this is somewhat routine.  But it's strenuous for him, and he wants to get the task completed.  He has probably two more trips to make, then his work will be upstairs. 

Ruby decided to stay in hiding when I was ready to come back to Central Texas, so she got to stay in San Antonio with Daddy for the week.  She and Ajax.  She came out three hours after I left, confirming what I suspected -- she's found a new hiding place somewhere in the lower kitchen cabinets.

Thanks to Tammy, I randomized for the Mindful Eating Diet in the Lift Quantitative Diet Study.  To help me get started with it, I purchased Susan Alders' Eating Mindfully (second edition).  I volunteered to blog for the project, and they use the Medium.com platform.  I posted something yesterday, but I have no idea how to find it.  It's a pretty platform but feels very disconnected to use.  I feel the diet is helpful, but I'm afraid I might burn out on it.  On the other hand, it's common sense, and, really, if I don't want to savor the food I'm eating, do I really want to eat it?  And that seems to be the question.  Frequently, the answer is no, and that's kind of the idea, right?

The Week Ahead:

• Listen to PLF Module 7 -- I got it downloaded but haven't listened to it yet.
• Begin work on fiction for 2014
• Set up tracking so I can quantify my work for this year.  I've not been doing this, and, as a result, I'm not really aware of whether or not I'm getting anything done. My perception is no.
• Evaluate what I need to do for FM this year and put together a plan
• Research the Atmos Gas site to see how we can ensure when they come through town to move our gas meter above ground we can get it located beside the house instead of by the street.  (Mr. L goes ballistic on this topic, and I can't really blame him.  How stupid is it to have gas meters sticking out of the ground by the street?  Too easy for a wayward vehicle to take them out and cause a mess, not to mention how unsightly it is.)
• Redoing the Lift Uncluttering and Writing plans as well as continuing the 90 Days to a New You and the Eating Mindfully plans.

I was having a good weekend.

Laura and TheTodder are in Des Moines this weekend visiting family and friends since Laura had the weekend off, so hubby and I have had the house to ourselves. It's been nice. Peaceful. Quiet. We've been able to have actual conversations like adults. How wild is that? ;)

But.

We're both struggling with head colds. He's blowing his nose all the time, and mine is full of cloggy crunchy stuff.

My weight's up a little more - probably because we've been going out to eat, for no good reason other than we're out running errands or whatnot and get hungry so 'let's get a sandwich and tea and talk' which leads to pie and here we are. Blurp. Still exercising, tho. :)

Bill has to work outside tomorrow, carrying mail from about 9 am til' about 6:30pm. Neither of us are happy about that, but we've made all the 'keep Bill warm' preparations we can.

Someone hit our mailbox, dented the heck outta it, knocked it askew, and broke the base clean off sometime between when I put the mail out late Friday night and when I checked it Sat evening. Bill's fixed the mailbox and put it back, but I'm concerned we've lost mail. Hopefully not. If our phone company (a local co-op centered a couple of towns south of us) hasn't cashed their check by Wed, I'll call them to see what to do. I think they were the only bill that went out Saturday, and everything's been checked off my 'bills to come in' list, so we weren't expecting anything important. I guess we'll see.

My old sewing machine fried its computer awhile back and I'd bought a replacement. Finally made myself put it through its paces today and it can't do what I need it to do. It pulls to the left pretty consistently, and balks really bad (and then pulls left really, REALLY bad, like 45˚ angle bad) whenever seams butt up. There are a LOT of butting seams in piecing quilts and I am not a happy camper about this. It's supposed to be a specialized 'quilting' sewing machine, but if it can't sew straight or drive right over seams it's totally useless to me. Since Laura's in DM with the car, I have to wait for Bill to have time, energy, and warmth to drag me out to return it, or I have to wait for Laura to get back Tues or Wed. In the mean time, I have this big, boxed, sewing machine I can't use staring at me, which is not helping my mood. I have a LOT of sewing to get done and no good way to do it. Grr.

The truck is acting up, spluttering is about the best way I can describe it. Maybe a fuel line problem? I dunno. With the car in DM, that might become a pretty big problem.

I started the LIFT monitored diet and I'm in a control group where I'm supposed to read every day. So far so good there. It isn't helping me lose weight, tho. ;)  Mmmm. Pie! I have a houseful of healthy food, but we still find ourselves at Village Inn. Dang cute hubbies and their seductive ways! ;)

I think my cyst is better. It hasn't hurt in a while, anyway. I go back the end of the month to get it rechecked.

My mother also is getting a recheck for a skin lesion. I'm currently planning on going to her appointment with her. I'm very concerned, and that's all I can say right now.

Bill and I decided to do the money challenge backward. So far so good there! :)

I took this whole, lovely weekend off from writing since I got Morgan to my agent on time (yay). I'll let everyone know privately should SPORE get good news. Or bad news. Or any news. Fwiw, I'm expecting to hear something (good, bad, or neutral) not this week but next.

I start back on SLIPPAGE tomorrow. Need to totally re-do the beginning, it's just not working, tension wise, the way it sits.

Housework, housework, housework.

Lastly, I've been dealing with my odd but normal-for-me angst over the books being 'out there', but having a weekend to hang out with Bill and relax and talk has helped a LOT. I'm good. Well, okay. I have Clarity. And that's saying a lot.

{{hugs}} for everyone!

Clarity

So things aren't right here. Worst health I've ever been in. Worst financial shape since college. Personal life ... well, that's still the same.

Doesn't matter.

Decided to lose weight and become healthy. Pulled out my low carb cookbook and crossed out all recipes that weren't low sodium. Been making low carb meals every day. Still cheating some, but that's tapering off. Walking every day, not far at all, but it's a start.

Pulled out story notes and started stepping into the Ryton world. Time to finish Murder by the Mile and publish it.

Things are never optimal. Always feel outnumbered. Always feel outgunned. Always feel out of place and alone.

Doesn't matter.

I feel a better life out there in front of me. Maybe I will never reach it. Maybe it will be always be around the next corner. Maybe I will be always be poor and ill and sad. Probably. Going to try anyway. Tired of sitting still. Of being defeated.

This isn't optimism. Don't want to mislead you. This isn't hope. It's more of stubborn bloody-mindedness. It's what I possess in abundance. And it will carry me on.

I think this is clarity. It's what I can see. Maybe not the horizon, but at least the steps before me. That's enough. For now.

Hope you have a great week. Stay warm.

All I see is white...

It's been a snowy week. I had to stay an extra day upstate, and I was downstate a whole day before it started snowing here. We've got more here than I've ever seen, which isn't saying a whole lot considering we're more likely to get ice than snow. There's enough now that I'll actually have to break out the shovel. Or get Alex to. ;-) Visibility is pretty low right now, but it's good enough that I can see a loose piece of siding waving like a banner on the house across the street.

Good Stuff:
- The apartment is starting to look like home, so much so that I left there to come downstate, not home. It's a small distinction but relevant, I think, and Eric was pleased to hear it.
- Our plans are finally firm. The final move will be MLK weekend, and Chad (one of the Boys) is going to drive down and help us. He will pick Eric up Friday night on his way here, and we'll pick up the UHaul truck Saturday morning. That gives me two weeks to get my crap together.
- Cat shots are up to date. We won't need to find a vet straight away, and if I need one, my next-door neighbor has dogs. She'll know someone. Interestingly, the cats are all 5 lbs apart now. Chloe is 5 lbs, Tess is 10, and Ryan is 15. Ryan has gained weight; Tess and Chloe are essentially the same, although at their size, a few ounces makes a big difference.
- As a bonus, I didn't have to catch any cats for the vet run. I was off telling stories when Eric and Alex caught them. I got back just in time to change back into street clothes and load the carriers into the car. The vet run is slightly more pleasant when I don't have to chase anyone down first, but not much. I'd still rather get two mammograms than take my cats to the vet.
- I had my first Lake Effect Snow Warning. If we have to have severe weather, I'll take that one. It's prettier than a tornado.

Not So Good Stuff:
- I looked at my 2013 writing spreadsheet. I averaged a little over 11 writing days per month last year. That stinks. I've added a new goal: write 200 days. That will average out to 16 days. I'd like to do 250, but that might be a bit too ambitious to start with. I'll shoot for 200 first and maybe revise to 250.
- I won't get into the details of moving prep. It feels like a lot.
- Next Sunday is my last at church. I'm trying not to think about it. Instead, I'm trying to look forward to seeing how I can get involved in our new church.

I think that about sums it up. I think I better go at least shovel a path to the mailbox, and then I need to get some more words in.