As usual, August has been a mixed bag.
My knee recovery is going well. I've increased my walking to 1.25 miles four days per week. I had been losing weight at the rate of three pounds a month, but I've stalled this month. I'll get that fixed.
I got GEEKS read in July but stalled out on planning the revision in August. I'm going to start with a 60 minute per week goal to work on it and build from there.
Giddings went very well for us. We found new homes for several large, bulky items and a few smaller items. It was fun talking to people as they came through our spaces. We only took one trailer this year. We planned to take two, but we looked at the stuff we planned to take on the black trailer and realized if we left two items home, we didn't need that trailer. We got back, we picked up some inexpensive plastic saw horses at Harbor Freight. With a plywood sheet cut in two, we'll be able to have more tables next year, which we can use.
We've modified the cat experiment. Sapphire was becoming unreachable, so we're still giving her the run of the house during the day, but she's going back in the cage with Rossie overnight and has to submit to petting to get back out in the morning. She's not fond of this, but we have to be confident we can capture her when we need to take her somewhere.
Walter is becoming extremely affectionate. He absorbs a lot of attention from both of us. Boomer is still with us. Zelda and Nick are around -- Nick mostly at Night. Hmm. I may need to rethink that name. We talked to him through the side door a couple of times this week, and he didn't run as far after the first time.
I'm trying to get the weedeating done. That's slow going when the grass has grown so much with the recent rains.
Things to work on for September:
Writing:
- At least 60 minutes per week on GEEKS revision planning
- Reevaluate blogging schedule, because I seem to be skipping posts, which indicates I may not be interested in doing some of them on a schedule anymore
- Consider planning 2-3 short stories
Household:
- Declutter five minutes per day
- Finish Central Texas Yard work
- Spend a week in San Antonio doing San Antonio yard work
- Prepare and pack for Hershey trip
- Keep up with litter boxes
- Figure out some way to keep clutter off the kitchen counter (as long as Mr. L is around, this may be futile, and since I don't plan to get rid of him, well, I just need to figure something out)
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
August in review
I just finished "Awakening." It's story #3 of the Balphrahn series, and it looks like there will be 3 more. The first draft came in a little over 10,000 words. There is one scene I might cut, but I also need to flesh out the bandit scene.
I spent a total of 35 hours in the office this month. Less than I wanted, but nothing to be embarrassed about. It's a good starting point. Word count was better--14,532. It's the best word count month so far this year, and that's unusual for summer. I worked a total of 16 days, although some of those days had multiple sessions. Like today. Again, not great, but I did take the best part of a week off for the family reunion.
Overall, I feel like I've improved but I still have a long way to go. I need to find more places to submit to. I only had the one submission this month to The Binge-Watching Cure. Still no word on that, but no news is good news. I heard on a podcast yesterday that a 10% accept rate is great for short stories, so I need to step up my submissions.
Things to work on in September:
Writing:
- Find more markets
- Pick a novel to revise
- Write the next Balphrahn story. Might as well press on while I have my head in the world
- Write 3500 words/week minimum
- Write for 20 days/40 hours minimum
- Submit 2 stories minimum
Household:
- Two drop-off trips to Salvation Army
- Keep up on dishes and laundry better
- Eat at home 5 nights a week (so better meal planning, prep in advance, etc)
- Walk at least 6 miles a week (in 3-4 sessions)
- Figure out some sort of cleaning schedule (daily, weekly, and monthly)
I spent a total of 35 hours in the office this month. Less than I wanted, but nothing to be embarrassed about. It's a good starting point. Word count was better--14,532. It's the best word count month so far this year, and that's unusual for summer. I worked a total of 16 days, although some of those days had multiple sessions. Like today. Again, not great, but I did take the best part of a week off for the family reunion.
Overall, I feel like I've improved but I still have a long way to go. I need to find more places to submit to. I only had the one submission this month to The Binge-Watching Cure. Still no word on that, but no news is good news. I heard on a podcast yesterday that a 10% accept rate is great for short stories, so I need to step up my submissions.
Things to work on in September:
Writing:
- Find more markets
- Pick a novel to revise
- Write the next Balphrahn story. Might as well press on while I have my head in the world
- Write 3500 words/week minimum
- Write for 20 days/40 hours minimum
- Submit 2 stories minimum
Household:
- Two drop-off trips to Salvation Army
- Keep up on dishes and laundry better
- Eat at home 5 nights a week (so better meal planning, prep in advance, etc)
- Walk at least 6 miles a week (in 3-4 sessions)
- Figure out some sort of cleaning schedule (daily, weekly, and monthly)
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
I'm getting tired of my crap
I saw a meme on Facebook a while back that said something like, "I've never seen real transformation in a person until they got tired of their own crap." I shared it with a comment that I'm almost there.
I'm starting to not like summer much. The last few have been stressful. I'm taking measures now to avoid it next year.
We went to my mom's last weekend for a family reunion. We haven't had one in over a decade, so it was fun to see everyone. When we were driving up, I commented that I'd never thought of Michigan as pretty until I lived in Illinois. Eric agreed, and at some point during the weekend, he started looking for property there. He says he's looking for a bug-out spot but also looking ahead to retirement.
Of course, we disagree on specifics. I'm leaning toward 5-15 acres with trees and water with a target price of no more then $2,000/acre. $1,000 would be better. It's doable there. He also wants trees and water, but he's looking at 40+ acres. He sent me a listing for a 50 acre farm yesterday for $275,000. It already has a house and several outbuildings, and one of the neighbors rents most of the acreage for farming so there would be a little income, but not enough to cover that huge mortgage, which by the way, is bigger than the one we got rid of last winter. *smh* This will blow over. It has every time but one. That one time was because he was desperate to get out from under city rent rates, and I'm happy about that. This time, though, I'm about ready to smack him. I'm pretty sure it's mostly because of allergy congestion (and accompanying low level headache I've had for about a week), and life being too peopley the last two months.
The garden is in high gear. I'm going to have to do something about food preservation this week. Good timing, since I have two shifts at the day job this week, and one next week. My shift leader trainees are doing well.
We won't talk about writing this week. I only worked 2 hours, but I knew that would be the case. There is no way I can work at Mom's. I took the iPad and keyboard in case, but the only writing I did was a few paragraphs for the Model A club newsletter. They wanted stories about people's first cars, and my stepdad didn't know how to put his story about gas line freeze together, so he told it to me and I typed it. My first ghost writing job! :-/
That's about it. I have two weeks to decompress and try to get caught up on stuff before the last summer commitment. The goals are:
Get words in--maybe 5,000 a week? I think that would finished Awakening
Do something with the ripe tomatoes and peppers in the garden. I have several options
Wash clothes
Take one load of donations to the local Salvation Army. Even a little load. Like two bags/boxes
I'm starting to not like summer much. The last few have been stressful. I'm taking measures now to avoid it next year.
We went to my mom's last weekend for a family reunion. We haven't had one in over a decade, so it was fun to see everyone. When we were driving up, I commented that I'd never thought of Michigan as pretty until I lived in Illinois. Eric agreed, and at some point during the weekend, he started looking for property there. He says he's looking for a bug-out spot but also looking ahead to retirement.
Of course, we disagree on specifics. I'm leaning toward 5-15 acres with trees and water with a target price of no more then $2,000/acre. $1,000 would be better. It's doable there. He also wants trees and water, but he's looking at 40+ acres. He sent me a listing for a 50 acre farm yesterday for $275,000. It already has a house and several outbuildings, and one of the neighbors rents most of the acreage for farming so there would be a little income, but not enough to cover that huge mortgage, which by the way, is bigger than the one we got rid of last winter. *smh* This will blow over. It has every time but one. That one time was because he was desperate to get out from under city rent rates, and I'm happy about that. This time, though, I'm about ready to smack him. I'm pretty sure it's mostly because of allergy congestion (and accompanying low level headache I've had for about a week), and life being too peopley the last two months.
The garden is in high gear. I'm going to have to do something about food preservation this week. Good timing, since I have two shifts at the day job this week, and one next week. My shift leader trainees are doing well.
We won't talk about writing this week. I only worked 2 hours, but I knew that would be the case. There is no way I can work at Mom's. I took the iPad and keyboard in case, but the only writing I did was a few paragraphs for the Model A club newsletter. They wanted stories about people's first cars, and my stepdad didn't know how to put his story about gas line freeze together, so he told it to me and I typed it. My first ghost writing job! :-/
That's about it. I have two weeks to decompress and try to get caught up on stuff before the last summer commitment. The goals are:
Get words in--maybe 5,000 a week? I think that would finished Awakening
Do something with the ripe tomatoes and peppers in the garden. I have several options
Wash clothes
Take one load of donations to the local Salvation Army. Even a little load. Like two bags/boxes
Sunday, August 21, 2016
My plan for the week
Been hard at work on various projects, including Blackbirds Third Flight. BTF's publication date is drawing closer and closer. I have a bit of a cushion in there, but hope to not use it. Being sick has eaten some of it up. Hoping this week will be very productive.
And that's my plan for this week: Today in Art, the August newsletter, and BTF. Well, chores and a couple of doctor's appointments. I'm discouraged about the appointments. I'm not sure what they're doing for me. If we're making progress, I can't see. It's a faith thing, I guess.
My car remains broken. I looked at buying a new car (well, new to me), but I just can't swing it right now. Have down payment, but don't think I could trust me to be able to make the monthly payments. Right now, I'm using my roomie's Jeep for my appointments, but I sure would like transportation of my own. I'd do a Go Fund Me if it didn't feel too much like begging.
Still using the Miracle Morning for the most part. It's been helpful in keeping me focused on what I need to be doing. Can't say I do it every day yet, but most days. Also, I've converted my Daily List to OneNote 2016, which has been helpful. I think the planning each day keeps me on track.
That's about it. Hope you have a happy, productive week, too. I'm going to.
And that's my plan for this week: Today in Art, the August newsletter, and BTF. Well, chores and a couple of doctor's appointments. I'm discouraged about the appointments. I'm not sure what they're doing for me. If we're making progress, I can't see. It's a faith thing, I guess.
My car remains broken. I looked at buying a new car (well, new to me), but I just can't swing it right now. Have down payment, but don't think I could trust me to be able to make the monthly payments. Right now, I'm using my roomie's Jeep for my appointments, but I sure would like transportation of my own. I'd do a Go Fund Me if it didn't feel too much like begging.
Still using the Miracle Morning for the most part. It's been helpful in keeping me focused on what I need to be doing. Can't say I do it every day yet, but most days. Also, I've converted my Daily List to OneNote 2016, which has been helpful. I think the planning each day keeps me on track.
That's about it. Hope you have a happy, productive week, too. I'm going to.
Finishing out the Summer
Local schools start tomorrow, so the end of summer is here.
The Olympics are finishing today. I've found the Roku very good for watching events when I want to watch them. The live play, the streaming replays for any event as well as the highlights have made my Olympic viewing an enjoyable experience. The bizarre thing is the announcing. It's hit or miss. Maybe English speaking announcers or maybe some other language, sometimes changing in the middle of the game or match. I endured very little of the endless prattle usually associated with sporting events.
We're preparing for heading to Giddings at the end of the week. Looking forward to it.
My Mastermind Partner and I are planning how we want to begin our second year of the MasterKey Experience. I'm planning what I want to get from this year. I'm certain I'll make new connections, but I have expectations that I will continue to achieve my definite purpose in life. You guys may or may not see much, but my primary purpose is to achieve mutual harmony with Mr. L, and I've been amazed at my progress (you have no idea how far I had to come to reach this place, where I still have a long way to go).
The cat experiment went as I'd hoped this week. Sapphire has been all over the house but she has chosen to spend her time near us. Rossie has chosen to remain in the parlor, where we can talk to her and pet her throughout the day. Walter came off the night shift long enough last Monday for me to get him taken to Dr Val for his annual exam and shots. He's been back on night shift ever since, so I haven't seen him. Boomer has been back and seems to be holding his own healthwise. Ajax won't listen to me about staying away from Sneaky, so I let her send him packing this morning.
We've had tons of rain this week, which we needed. Thankfully, just soaking rains, so no damage for us to contend with. There has been flooding in the state, so some people have not been so fortunate.
I've ignored GEEKS this week. I must come up with a more effective plan to get this book revised than what I've been doing so far.
The Olympics are finishing today. I've found the Roku very good for watching events when I want to watch them. The live play, the streaming replays for any event as well as the highlights have made my Olympic viewing an enjoyable experience. The bizarre thing is the announcing. It's hit or miss. Maybe English speaking announcers or maybe some other language, sometimes changing in the middle of the game or match. I endured very little of the endless prattle usually associated with sporting events.
We're preparing for heading to Giddings at the end of the week. Looking forward to it.
My Mastermind Partner and I are planning how we want to begin our second year of the MasterKey Experience. I'm planning what I want to get from this year. I'm certain I'll make new connections, but I have expectations that I will continue to achieve my definite purpose in life. You guys may or may not see much, but my primary purpose is to achieve mutual harmony with Mr. L, and I've been amazed at my progress (you have no idea how far I had to come to reach this place, where I still have a long way to go).
The cat experiment went as I'd hoped this week. Sapphire has been all over the house but she has chosen to spend her time near us. Rossie has chosen to remain in the parlor, where we can talk to her and pet her throughout the day. Walter came off the night shift long enough last Monday for me to get him taken to Dr Val for his annual exam and shots. He's been back on night shift ever since, so I haven't seen him. Boomer has been back and seems to be holding his own healthwise. Ajax won't listen to me about staying away from Sneaky, so I let her send him packing this morning.
We've had tons of rain this week, which we needed. Thankfully, just soaking rains, so no damage for us to contend with. There has been flooding in the state, so some people have not been so fortunate.
I've ignored GEEKS this week. I must come up with a more effective plan to get this book revised than what I've been doing so far.
Monday, August 15, 2016
Two Months Post-Op
I can only describe my recovery from this second knee surgery as amazing. I'm pacing myself, but I'm far ahead of where I'm supposed to be in recovery. That's not to say I'm completely recovered. That's truly a one year process. In related news, the VA approved my temporary 100% disability without even demanding an exam. I'm surprised by that. My final disability remains 80% though.
We pulled the trigger on Grand Tour 2017 ticket purchases and reservations this week. I realized balcony rooms were filling up fast for my cruise, and we have to leave Chicago one day earlier than planned on the outbound part of the trip, because the Empire Builder bedrooms were all booked for the day we wanted to travel. I couldn't get the cruise website to let me move beyond a certain screen, so I wound up calling and talking to their reservation person, which turned out to be a good thing. They have a beverage package or a $150 credit as the current special. I rarely consume alcohol, so I took the credit. Since I'm traveling alone as a single in the room, that $150 credit turns into a $300 credit (because I'm essentially paying for two to have the room to myself -- all I save is taxes and fees). I'll probably have a case of water delivered to my room at the beginning of the cruise for $14 (yes, highway robbery), and purchase the Soda and More package for about $60 for the week. That includes hot chocolate and fountain beverages in addition to the included tea and coffee. It doesn't include beverages with room service. (Yes, they have quite the racket.) I think my cruise credits will be applied to that, then I'll have to figure out what else I want to buy. I'll prepay gratuities. I can get an additional $100 in credit if I send them proof of being a veteran. I'm debating if I want to do that. I guess it doesn't hurt.
The yard sale is done. We're preparing for the swap meet at Giddings at the end of the month. Mr. L bought a little trailer today, which he plans to use to haul the electric scooters when we go to Hershey. He's been talking about getting a trailer for that trip for a couple years now. I'm so thrilled to be able to have a trailer behind me on this trip. It's going to make "Turn HERE" so much more fun. :)
I've done a small amount of revision prep on GEEKS. I've also begun doing more yard work.
We pulled the trigger on Grand Tour 2017 ticket purchases and reservations this week. I realized balcony rooms were filling up fast for my cruise, and we have to leave Chicago one day earlier than planned on the outbound part of the trip, because the Empire Builder bedrooms were all booked for the day we wanted to travel. I couldn't get the cruise website to let me move beyond a certain screen, so I wound up calling and talking to their reservation person, which turned out to be a good thing. They have a beverage package or a $150 credit as the current special. I rarely consume alcohol, so I took the credit. Since I'm traveling alone as a single in the room, that $150 credit turns into a $300 credit (because I'm essentially paying for two to have the room to myself -- all I save is taxes and fees). I'll probably have a case of water delivered to my room at the beginning of the cruise for $14 (yes, highway robbery), and purchase the Soda and More package for about $60 for the week. That includes hot chocolate and fountain beverages in addition to the included tea and coffee. It doesn't include beverages with room service. (Yes, they have quite the racket.) I think my cruise credits will be applied to that, then I'll have to figure out what else I want to buy. I'll prepay gratuities. I can get an additional $100 in credit if I send them proof of being a veteran. I'm debating if I want to do that. I guess it doesn't hurt.
The yard sale is done. We're preparing for the swap meet at Giddings at the end of the month. Mr. L bought a little trailer today, which he plans to use to haul the electric scooters when we go to Hershey. He's been talking about getting a trailer for that trip for a couple years now. I'm so thrilled to be able to have a trailer behind me on this trip. It's going to make "Turn HERE" so much more fun. :)
I've done a small amount of revision prep on GEEKS. I've also begun doing more yard work.
crikey
August has been tiring, and I don't have much on paper to show for it.
Writing last week: 9.85 hours, and 2,739 words. I submitted "Ransom" to "The Binge-Watching Cure." They received it, and right now, no news is good news. The e-mail said they take longer to respond when they like it. I have a note on my calendar to follow up in 8 weeks. All of the words went into Derrith's story, tentatively titled "Awakening." I love the way it's coming together.
Day job: 23 hours, 5 of which were unscheduled. That's a good thing. I have unscheduled hours every Monday because that's the day I do paperwork and deposit, but I can do it anytime as long as I get the deposit done, so I've stopped scheduling it. I've also started going in Sunday nights to train the new team lead trainees. At this point, I might not actually be leaving so much as cutting hours and doing admin work. It will give me a little money coming in, and a shift a week will give the girls a rest.
Life: St Louis friends contacted us several months ago saying their daughter had bought tickets to the Doobie Brothers/Journey concert in Chicago and couldn't go, and did we want to. I dragged my feet. Journey was very popular when I was in high school, but the DBs not so much. But Eric said we'd love to go. At that point, it looked like it would be a Friday night. I found out two weeks ago the concert was actually on Saturday night. Then one night morphed into the weekend.
It was fine. We had fun, and we got to catch up with friends we'd barely seen in a year. We went to Scotland with them last summer, so we had a lot more time than we normally do. The music at the concert was good, but the crowd was not so good. We were supposed to have lawn seats, but because both Eric and Dan are disabled, they moved us to the disabled seating, which is behind the stadium seats, but in front of the lawn. It saved us a hike up the hill, which was a plus. It was fine, even with the drunks and weirdos, until Eric stood to stretch mid-way through Journey. For some reason, they had 2x8s bolted to the ground behind the stadium seats. I don't know what purpose it served, but he tripped on it, twisted his knee, and bounced off the guy beside him (who was not at all happy and looked like a law suit waiting to happen). We got Eric up, gave him some Tylenol and ice (silly man hadn't brought his morphine bombs), and he was fine by the end of the concert. We escaped without needing medical attention or revealing our names to anyone, and we made sure to tell concert staff that the 2x8s are a hazard. It almost tripped me, and I'm able-bodied. They have no business seating disabled people there. Yesterday, he was back to what passes for normal and walked for two hours around the Shedd Aquarium before we took our friends back to Union Station.
This week isn't shaping up to be any better. I have 3 shifts at the day job, and we leave again Friday morning to go to my mom's for a family reunion on Sunday. We'll drive home Monday, and I'll go into work to deposit and do paperwork. Luckily, after next weekend, we have 2 or 3 weekends off before the next event.
Goodness, isn't it winter yet?
Monday, August 8, 2016
Writing retreat wrap-up
We got back yesterday, having just adjusted to Las Vegas time, which is 2 hours behind Central time. Going to sleep last night was not easy, and neither was getting up for the train run this morning. Either something is pollenating here, or I caught a cold on the way home. Either way, I'm not feeling 100% today.
The trip went well. Eric got a lot of good info and spent the week on overload. I shopped, ate, and wrote, and I spent one day at the Grand Canyon. Since I wrote primarily on my iPad, I didn't keep track of word count while I was there, and I didn't do as much as I thought I would. I put in 11 hours and a little over 5,000 words on 3 projects. Not terrible, considering I was on vacation. Still, I thought I would do more than 2 hours a day. Going to have to work on that. Now that I think about it, the best writing day was when I was using Eric's laptop and could track word count. I pushed to get 2,000 words that day because I knew I'd be gone the next day. I used lunch and a fro yo break (there were 2 shops in our hotel) as incentive to get work done. Need to investigate that more thoroughly this week. Either I need to schlep the laptop and make it more user friendly for my needs, or I need to maybe do a page count goal on the iPad.
On the plus side, I walked over 26 miles while I was gone. It was .33 miles one way to go from our room to the buffet, so steps racked up quickly. Ironically, my low step day was the day I went to the Grand Canyon. Five hours on a bus will do that.
I'll leave you with a funny anecdote from my Grand Canyon tour. The guide, Jean Claude, was French (born in France, raised in Montreal) and rather opinionated. Just off the main highway, on the way to the west rim, there is a small town called Dolan Springs. Because the earth in the AZ desert has been hard baked by the sun--it's like 6" of concrete--it's about $30,000 to drill a well, so people have big tanks they fill every week for their homes. They apparently attach a hose from the tank to the house, and that's how they have running water. Jean Claude found this idea appalling, even commenting that there are 400 people and 6 churches. Why 6 churches? Because people need a place to pray to get the hell out. He said if he lived there, he would need "every night, 12 beers, 6 ounces of marijuana, and a teaspoon of cocaine. That's what I would need to live there. Can you imagine?"
That's character fodder, right there.
The trip went well. Eric got a lot of good info and spent the week on overload. I shopped, ate, and wrote, and I spent one day at the Grand Canyon. Since I wrote primarily on my iPad, I didn't keep track of word count while I was there, and I didn't do as much as I thought I would. I put in 11 hours and a little over 5,000 words on 3 projects. Not terrible, considering I was on vacation. Still, I thought I would do more than 2 hours a day. Going to have to work on that. Now that I think about it, the best writing day was when I was using Eric's laptop and could track word count. I pushed to get 2,000 words that day because I knew I'd be gone the next day. I used lunch and a fro yo break (there were 2 shops in our hotel) as incentive to get work done. Need to investigate that more thoroughly this week. Either I need to schlep the laptop and make it more user friendly for my needs, or I need to maybe do a page count goal on the iPad.
On the plus side, I walked over 26 miles while I was gone. It was .33 miles one way to go from our room to the buffet, so steps racked up quickly. Ironically, my low step day was the day I went to the Grand Canyon. Five hours on a bus will do that.
I'll leave you with a funny anecdote from my Grand Canyon tour. The guide, Jean Claude, was French (born in France, raised in Montreal) and rather opinionated. Just off the main highway, on the way to the west rim, there is a small town called Dolan Springs. Because the earth in the AZ desert has been hard baked by the sun--it's like 6" of concrete--it's about $30,000 to drill a well, so people have big tanks they fill every week for their homes. They apparently attach a hose from the tank to the house, and that's how they have running water. Jean Claude found this idea appalling, even commenting that there are 400 people and 6 churches. Why 6 churches? Because people need a place to pray to get the hell out. He said if he lived there, he would need "every night, 12 beers, 6 ounces of marijuana, and a teaspoon of cocaine. That's what I would need to live there. Can you imagine?"
That's character fodder, right there.