Not been here much. There only seem to be so many hours in the day, and I don't fit this in, although to be honest, a bit less TV and watching shows on the Roku would give me plenty of time.
Mostly what's been going on with me is working on a health plan that includes diet changes and exercise. I've been on it since March 8. Seems sooooooo much longer. It's been really hard to force myself to exercise every day. In fact, I've been dismayed by the mental prodding I have to use to get me sweating. I'm told this will get better; that after a month or two, I might even start looking forward to exercising. Right now, that feels just about as possible as me learning to fly by flapping my arms.
I tell myself that it doesn't matter how I feel. I have to do the work and have to sweat and not eat what I desire because that's what it takes. I spent years indulging myself; now I must spend time--I hope, not years--in restoring health to my body. I'd like to say I have already seen progress, and I have, but that progress seems small next to the effort I'm putting out.
Well, there's nothing for it except to do it.
I am attempting to write, too. I've been working on my next book (Floozy Comes Back) and the book after that (Murder by the Mile). I plan on publishing Floozy in the summer and MBTM in the fall. We'll see how that goes.
Otherwise, my life is spent in chores, medical appointments, errands, exercise, not drinking strawberry shakes...life. How's your life going?
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Balance
As we walked into church today, I told Eric it seems like both my jobs don't play well together. When one goes well, the other doesn't. I'm not sure why the balance is so hard, but saying it out loud reduced my stress and helped turn my attitude around. It's like I called out the problem and suddenly it didn't seem so big. It'll probably still stink, but I might get lucky and have a little downtime while I'm on the clock that I can squeeze some words into. I'll take the iPad to work with me, just in case.
I got my garden started. I have 2 dozen baby tomato seedlings and a dozen green peppers. I tried to sprout seeds I saved from the small yellow sweet peppers we bought all the time at the farmers market last year, and they didn't come up. On the plus side, we went to the Garden and Flower show yesterday, and I found Allium bulbs that had been in cold storage all winter, so they're ready to plant. Usually you plant them in the fall, but I hope to have flowers this summer. Very exciting. I hope they look like this:
Isn't that fun? I love the size. They're supposed to get about 3' tall. Plus they're members of the onion family, so squirrels don't like them. Maybe I can keep them out of my bird feeder this year. Although they do make for good Cat TV. I guess I'll have to think through where to plant them. It will probably be Friday before I get to it.
So that's the excitement here. Hope y'all are doing all right.
(Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/cbreaud/flower-power-fundraising/)
I got my garden started. I have 2 dozen baby tomato seedlings and a dozen green peppers. I tried to sprout seeds I saved from the small yellow sweet peppers we bought all the time at the farmers market last year, and they didn't come up. On the plus side, we went to the Garden and Flower show yesterday, and I found Allium bulbs that had been in cold storage all winter, so they're ready to plant. Usually you plant them in the fall, but I hope to have flowers this summer. Very exciting. I hope they look like this:
Isn't that fun? I love the size. They're supposed to get about 3' tall. Plus they're members of the onion family, so squirrels don't like them. Maybe I can keep them out of my bird feeder this year. Although they do make for good Cat TV. I guess I'll have to think through where to plant them. It will probably be Friday before I get to it.
So that's the excitement here. Hope y'all are doing all right.
(Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/cbreaud/flower-power-fundraising/)
Sunday, March 19, 2017
Springing Forwar...Or Something Like That
Recliner life will be ending soon. Too bad. I like it. I've been reasonably productive, too. But many things that simply must be done cannot be done from the recliner, and my kneecap is healing, so it's time to spring into action. Well, maybe an activity more gradual than "springing," but I hope you get the idea.
I created an Easter Egg Hunt on my essential oils site. I hope people will enjoy the hunt. The site is getting regular visitors. I'm working into a posting schedule. If you're reading here and not accessing any of my other sites, head on over to Oil4TinMan to check it out.
I've completed my initial work on Wanna Bet to get the NaNoWriMo word padding removed. I did a few other things and tried to find areas where it needs work. I'm terribly ineffective at this, and this bothers me. The book is written using the romance novel approach of alternating chapters for each main character, except, the lead chapter is what's been written by a son about his journey to viewing his father as an unlikely hero. The alternating chapter is the father's reaction to what his son has written (which gives you "the rest of the story"). In those respects, it's a memoir, but the characters are all fictional. Yes, I know there is no fictional memoir genre.
I started on winter yard work a couple of weeks ago. Normally, I do this in January, so I'm three months behind. I did regular yard work this week. The weed whacker batteries are all recharged so I can finish the trimming this week.
Mr. L was supposed to take the lift to San Antonio this week to use it to help take down a tree. Unfortunately, he's having trouble with it. We bought new batteries three years ago, but he hasn't been keeping them charged. He thinks they were supposed to retain a charge. I suspect, since they were listed on the receipt as "golf cart batteries," they needed to be on a constant charge. Sigh. I suspect that purchase may have been a waste of money, but I hope he will take the lift to the service people and get (perhaps once again) a thorough training session about how the charging system is supposed to work and how he should best maintain the beast. He has plenty to do around here. He's having to pace himself a lot more than he's used to, so things don't get done quickly.
Planning is nearly complete for Grand Tour 2017. It should be an epic trip. I have the "throwaway" phone for the trip. I'm not particularly fond of the Android operating system, but it's functional. Apparently, I need to load $40 a month to keep the phone active and Verizon will rollover data. That $40 gets me 2G of data. By the time we go on the trip, I'll have 6G of data (because I have it locked out right now and am using WiFi only). I've loaded the money onto the account that it will need to take me through the end of May. Then I'll let it lapse. I think I have the apps I need. I added a weather app last week. How did I forget that?
Between now and then, I'll be doing yard work, chipping away at the overwhelming list of things that need to be done in an ongoing attempt to "get this house in order." I've returned to the Fly Lady concept of a shiny sink. I always got the dishes out of the sink, but I hadn't always been shining it. I'm embracing the shiny sink concept, and it really does make me feel better. I shine it in the morning and evening, then I look around for one more little thing to do to straighten things up.
Yard work, house work, cats, figuring out how to make a publishable product. It never ends.
I created an Easter Egg Hunt on my essential oils site. I hope people will enjoy the hunt. The site is getting regular visitors. I'm working into a posting schedule. If you're reading here and not accessing any of my other sites, head on over to Oil4TinMan to check it out.
I've completed my initial work on Wanna Bet to get the NaNoWriMo word padding removed. I did a few other things and tried to find areas where it needs work. I'm terribly ineffective at this, and this bothers me. The book is written using the romance novel approach of alternating chapters for each main character, except, the lead chapter is what's been written by a son about his journey to viewing his father as an unlikely hero. The alternating chapter is the father's reaction to what his son has written (which gives you "the rest of the story"). In those respects, it's a memoir, but the characters are all fictional. Yes, I know there is no fictional memoir genre.
I started on winter yard work a couple of weeks ago. Normally, I do this in January, so I'm three months behind. I did regular yard work this week. The weed whacker batteries are all recharged so I can finish the trimming this week.
Mr. L was supposed to take the lift to San Antonio this week to use it to help take down a tree. Unfortunately, he's having trouble with it. We bought new batteries three years ago, but he hasn't been keeping them charged. He thinks they were supposed to retain a charge. I suspect, since they were listed on the receipt as "golf cart batteries," they needed to be on a constant charge. Sigh. I suspect that purchase may have been a waste of money, but I hope he will take the lift to the service people and get (perhaps once again) a thorough training session about how the charging system is supposed to work and how he should best maintain the beast. He has plenty to do around here. He's having to pace himself a lot more than he's used to, so things don't get done quickly.
Planning is nearly complete for Grand Tour 2017. It should be an epic trip. I have the "throwaway" phone for the trip. I'm not particularly fond of the Android operating system, but it's functional. Apparently, I need to load $40 a month to keep the phone active and Verizon will rollover data. That $40 gets me 2G of data. By the time we go on the trip, I'll have 6G of data (because I have it locked out right now and am using WiFi only). I've loaded the money onto the account that it will need to take me through the end of May. Then I'll let it lapse. I think I have the apps I need. I added a weather app last week. How did I forget that?
Between now and then, I'll be doing yard work, chipping away at the overwhelming list of things that need to be done in an ongoing attempt to "get this house in order." I've returned to the Fly Lady concept of a shiny sink. I always got the dishes out of the sink, but I hadn't always been shining it. I'm embracing the shiny sink concept, and it really does make me feel better. I shine it in the morning and evening, then I look around for one more little thing to do to straighten things up.
Yard work, house work, cats, figuring out how to make a publishable product. It never ends.
It's only been a week?
Heaven help me.
A week ago we were facing Springtime Lake Effect Snowmageddon. Today it's in the high 40s and flirting with 50.
I made my writing goals, but barely. I'm rethinking them a little because the day job is not cooperating. At all.
I may have found another opener, which is great, but he'll have to be trained if I hire him. I'm still a little on the fence. I was acquainted with him before he applied for the job. I'll say he's sheltered and leave it at that. I'm pretty sure he's not Mr. Right, but he might be Mr. Right Now. And truthfully, the kid needs a break. But the last time I gave someone a break, I got burned. The last guy made it two weeks before I fired him.
I think this week will be doable with last week's goals, probably. I'm working 2 days this week, plus the paperwork run tomorrow, which isn't a big deal. The following two weeks might be a different story. One of my remaining openers is going on vacation. She'll be gone 2 1/2 weeks. That's going to give me 4 shifts a week.
I keep telling myself it's only 20 hours. I've been working about 6 hours a week all winter. Not only that, but I haven't worked full time since 1998. Twenty hours feels like a lot, especially since I'll have 1 1/2 - 2 hours per day commuting. By the time I come home, I don't want to do anything, especially writing.
I have alternatives. I can write before I go to work. Even if I don't get all my words in, it's something. Or, if it's slow, I can write at work. I just have to take my iPad, keyboard and mouse. If it's not slow at work, well, I'm sort of out of luck.
Just thinking about it all is making my heart palpitate. Or maybe I've had too much coffee. That could be it.
Here's another little twist. Every room in my house needs cleaning. *sigh* Going minimalist sounds so appealing, but where would I start?
A week ago we were facing Springtime Lake Effect Snowmageddon. Today it's in the high 40s and flirting with 50.
I made my writing goals, but barely. I'm rethinking them a little because the day job is not cooperating. At all.
I may have found another opener, which is great, but he'll have to be trained if I hire him. I'm still a little on the fence. I was acquainted with him before he applied for the job. I'll say he's sheltered and leave it at that. I'm pretty sure he's not Mr. Right, but he might be Mr. Right Now. And truthfully, the kid needs a break. But the last time I gave someone a break, I got burned. The last guy made it two weeks before I fired him.
I think this week will be doable with last week's goals, probably. I'm working 2 days this week, plus the paperwork run tomorrow, which isn't a big deal. The following two weeks might be a different story. One of my remaining openers is going on vacation. She'll be gone 2 1/2 weeks. That's going to give me 4 shifts a week.
I keep telling myself it's only 20 hours. I've been working about 6 hours a week all winter. Not only that, but I haven't worked full time since 1998. Twenty hours feels like a lot, especially since I'll have 1 1/2 - 2 hours per day commuting. By the time I come home, I don't want to do anything, especially writing.
I have alternatives. I can write before I go to work. Even if I don't get all my words in, it's something. Or, if it's slow, I can write at work. I just have to take my iPad, keyboard and mouse. If it's not slow at work, well, I'm sort of out of luck.
Just thinking about it all is making my heart palpitate. Or maybe I've had too much coffee. That could be it.
Here's another little twist. Every room in my house needs cleaning. *sigh* Going minimalist sounds so appealing, but where would I start?
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Game on
It's been an interesting few days. Interesting in the Chinese curse sense.
We're under a winter weather warning starting at 1 a.m. tonight. They're saying 3-6" of snow. I'd take 2' at this point. I stopped at the shop after church (they're 2 miles apart), and asked the closer to put up the sign that we're closed due to weather before she leaves. I also got contact info for our interviewees. If it does snow, we're covered, but I figure that should be enough to keep snow away. I hope it doesn't stay away. I didn't think I'd be saying that here in March.
I think I might have to reassess my writing goals. I came home from Deep Thinkers with a writing and marketing plan for the first three Balphrahn books. I sat down and looked at what I have written and decided it was feasible to have the series done this year, and that I needed to aim for 780 words a day. Every day. I did build in a month of time off for illness and/or travel. Also, that's 780 book words. That doesn't include blogs.
Still, it's doable, if everyone cooperates.
They haven't.
Last week, one of my openers sent out a group text that she needed to take care of her grandmother and couldn't open any more starting the next day. She had four open shifts a week. Of my other openers, one has another job, one can only work weekends, and one is in school. That leaves me.
Long story short, the other girls have stepped up and I only have to cover 2 of the extra shifts. If it works out, I'll go back to only doing paperwork on Monday, and have two mid-week shifts. It's not as bad as it could be, or as bad as it has been. I was, however, feeling very put out. I told my boss yesterday I felt like the universe looked over my shoulder at my lofty plans and said, "OK, kid, let's see how bad you want this." And if that's how it wants to play, game on.
As soon as I said it, my whole attitude changed. I shifted from victim to warrior.
It's going to get done. I'm going to move hell and high water to finish it this year. I might have to make adjustments, but even if I miss the mark, I'll still have more done this year than I did last year.
How bad do I want it? Game on.
We're under a winter weather warning starting at 1 a.m. tonight. They're saying 3-6" of snow. I'd take 2' at this point. I stopped at the shop after church (they're 2 miles apart), and asked the closer to put up the sign that we're closed due to weather before she leaves. I also got contact info for our interviewees. If it does snow, we're covered, but I figure that should be enough to keep snow away. I hope it doesn't stay away. I didn't think I'd be saying that here in March.
I think I might have to reassess my writing goals. I came home from Deep Thinkers with a writing and marketing plan for the first three Balphrahn books. I sat down and looked at what I have written and decided it was feasible to have the series done this year, and that I needed to aim for 780 words a day. Every day. I did build in a month of time off for illness and/or travel. Also, that's 780 book words. That doesn't include blogs.
Still, it's doable, if everyone cooperates.
They haven't.
Last week, one of my openers sent out a group text that she needed to take care of her grandmother and couldn't open any more starting the next day. She had four open shifts a week. Of my other openers, one has another job, one can only work weekends, and one is in school. That leaves me.
Long story short, the other girls have stepped up and I only have to cover 2 of the extra shifts. If it works out, I'll go back to only doing paperwork on Monday, and have two mid-week shifts. It's not as bad as it could be, or as bad as it has been. I was, however, feeling very put out. I told my boss yesterday I felt like the universe looked over my shoulder at my lofty plans and said, "OK, kid, let's see how bad you want this." And if that's how it wants to play, game on.
As soon as I said it, my whole attitude changed. I shifted from victim to warrior.
It's going to get done. I'm going to move hell and high water to finish it this year. I might have to make adjustments, but even if I miss the mark, I'll still have more done this year than I did last year.
How bad do I want it? Game on.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
February wrap up
I'm home from Destin, and I'm tired, but I wanted to check in with the numbers from last month.
February:
Words: 16,802
Hours: 35
I was in the office every day except 1. I'm counting every day I was gone as a work day since I was at a writers retreat and not goofing off. OK, there was a little goofing off.
YTD:
Words: 28,338
Hours: 54
February:
Words: 16,802
Hours: 35
I was in the office every day except 1. I'm counting every day I was gone as a work day since I was at a writers retreat and not goofing off. OK, there was a little goofing off.
YTD:
Words: 28,338
Hours: 54