1. I'm about 4/5 of the way through the speed-edit I've been trying to push through this week, which means I'm pretty much right on schedule. Go, me!
2. I'm only about 1/5 of the way through the enormous stack of paperwork on my desk at the Day Job, though, which has me a bit behind schedule there. Boo.
3. Assumption of Desire was on an Amazon Top 100 list again this morning! This time, I got a screen capture before it fell off again. (I put the picture up on my Facebook author page.)
4. Alex came in and snuggled with us this morning when my alarm went off, which he hasn't done for a while. Even though he was squirmy and talky and refused to let me go back to sleep for another five minutes, I was glad for it. I've been thinking too much lately about how, entirely too soon, my boy will decide it's undignified to cuddle with his mom.
5. Got all our paperwork appropriately signed and notarized and such for Diabetes Camp at the end of April, and it should be going out with today's mail. So we're all set for that. I need to remember to go on the calendar at work as taking the next day off, because I'm not going to be getting a lot of sleep that weekend. And to
buy a sleeping bag, because struggling with sheets last year was stupidly frustrating.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Numbers Games
It is, of course, inevitable that when I've released a new story, I haunt certain sites, looking for signs that it's been well-received. I create a couple of Google Alerts, and poke slightly obsessively at Goodreads and some of the more popular ebook sites.
Someone who reads quickly had a great review for my new story posted on All Romance Ebooks before lunch. Three people had put it on their "to-read" list on Goodreads by the end of the day (and it's up to 6, now). It was evening before Amazon had it listed, but when I checked this morning, it was actually in the top 100 listing for one category of books! (Granted, it was a pretty small category. Gay > Literature > Fiction > Romance, or something along those lines. And I'd fallen back off the top 100 before I got to work.) Barnes and Noble is listing my other two books currently in print (which surprised me; I didn't realize Torquere was selling to them now) but Assumption isn't listed yet.
It's probably a good thing that I can only access actual sales numbers when I get my quarterly royalties check, or I'd be checking it all the time instead of just occasionally.
Anyway, a brief plea: Ranked and rated and reviewed books sell better than unrated ones, so if you've read my story and liked it at all, please log into Amazon or Goodreads or wherever and give it some stars (be honest; don't rank it high just because you know me) and even dash out a short review, if you're so inclined.
And consider that a plea for whatever it is that you're reading. Your authors worked hard to put that book into your hands (or your reader, whatever). It only takes a minute to let them know how you liked it.
It's probably a good thing that I can only access actual sales numbers when I get my quarterly royalties check, or I'd be checking it all the time instead of just occasionally.
Anyway, a brief plea: Ranked and rated and reviewed books sell better than unrated ones, so if you've read my story and liked it at all, please log into Amazon or Goodreads or wherever and give it some stars (be honest; don't rank it high just because you know me) and even dash out a short review, if you're so inclined.
And consider that a plea for whatever it is that you're reading. Your authors worked hard to put that book into your hands (or your reader, whatever). It only takes a minute to let them know how you liked it.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
New Release!
When Craig walks into the Cerulean Sphere looking for a one-night stand to enliven his business travel, he is definitely NOT looking for Jesse, a flaming twink sporting a pink feathered boa. But Craig finds himself surprised by the charmer, and is forced to reevaluate his initial impression of the young man, and to reconsider his prejudices. But when they meet again by surprise several years later, Craig puts his foot in it again, and Jesse won't hear a word of his apology. Will Craig be able to break through Jesse's hurt and finally say what he really means?And as if that wasn't enough, I'm included in this week's specials from Torquere! Of One Mind and Safe Harbor are both on sale for 20% off, so if you've been waiting to try them out, now's your chance!
This "publication release" thing never gets old. I still want to squee with delight every time I see something I made out there, with my name on it.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
(CrA)^z
I'm currently editing three projects for Torquere: two novels and a novelette. One of the novels isn't due out until June and is already in the proofreader's hands and is therefore well underway. The novelette has had its first round of edits and is back in the author's hands. The other novel just hit me over the weekend... and thanks to a communications backfire, its schedule is extra-tight, so I have, essentially, one week to finish my first round of edits.
I also just got sent another novel to proofread (that's easier than editing, but still pretty time-consuming) that's on another tight-ish deadline; I've got about two weeks to get that one done.
My latest release, "Assumption of Desire", will be coming out from Torquere tomorrow. Obviously, that's complete now, but I've got some online publicity/marketing gigs to line up and execute, because that's part of my obligation as the author. (Speaking of which, if you're interested in winning a copy of the story, today is your last day to enter the contest!)
April's calendar is already nearly filled to the brim: Spring Break (including an Art Day for Penny and a day at Busch Gardens for everyone), Easter, a D&D game, Matt's and my anniversary, a kids' birthday party, two doctor's appointments, and a weekend at Diabetes Camp. And at some point after the show finishes I need to drive down to Hampton to pick up the art I bought. Plus several adult friends having birthdays. And KT and Kevin may be moving somewhere in there.
The Day Job's insanity includes a stack of paperwork that's currently twice as tall as the inbox, and an electronic "stack" nearly twice as tall as that, plus several new responsibilities that I need to remember to fold into my routines.
Plus all the usual stuff like making meals and taking the kids to school and trying to keep the house from completely falling into a slimepit. And occasionally trying to get to the gym.
Things are crazy, and are going to stay crazy for the next month, is what I'm saying.CRAY-ZEE.
On the plus side, I'm really going to appreciate the assorted vacations that are lining up for late summer and early fall.
I also just got sent another novel to proofread (that's easier than editing, but still pretty time-consuming) that's on another tight-ish deadline; I've got about two weeks to get that one done.
My latest release, "Assumption of Desire", will be coming out from Torquere tomorrow. Obviously, that's complete now, but I've got some online publicity/marketing gigs to line up and execute, because that's part of my obligation as the author. (Speaking of which, if you're interested in winning a copy of the story, today is your last day to enter the contest!)
April's calendar is already nearly filled to the brim: Spring Break (including an Art Day for Penny and a day at Busch Gardens for everyone), Easter, a D&D game, Matt's and my anniversary, a kids' birthday party, two doctor's appointments, and a weekend at Diabetes Camp. And at some point after the show finishes I need to drive down to Hampton to pick up the art I bought. Plus several adult friends having birthdays. And KT and Kevin may be moving somewhere in there.
The Day Job's insanity includes a stack of paperwork that's currently twice as tall as the inbox, and an electronic "stack" nearly twice as tall as that, plus several new responsibilities that I need to remember to fold into my routines.
Plus all the usual stuff like making meals and taking the kids to school and trying to keep the house from completely falling into a slimepit. And occasionally trying to get to the gym.
Things are crazy, and are going to stay crazy for the next month, is what I'm saying.CRAY-ZEE.
On the plus side, I'm really going to appreciate the assorted vacations that are lining up for late summer and early fall.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Frogs and Paint
Good weekend, yay!
We gamed on Saturday, and it was awesome. There was grilled meat, and bags of chips and salsa, and boxes of cookies. There were obstacles to work around and party tactics to formulate. My character got to mutter the sotto voce line, "I'm working with a demon and a werewolf. Mother would be so proud," (which is very funny if you know that my character's mother is Zoya). I got to unleash my big daily power and roll 6d6 for damage. Booya! And! And! Three party members were eaten by giant frogs. Could it get any more awesome than that? No. No, I don't think it can. (...They got better.)
On Sunday, while Matt was taking a much-needed nap, I took the kids to the new Paint On Pottery shop that recently opened in Williamsburg. Alex's dinosaur is fated to look like something from the Black Lagoon, I fear, but both kids had a fantastic time and can't wait to pick up their creations next weekend.
And I made black bean soup for dinner. Now that I've figured out the proportions of the ingredients that works best for me, I could eat this soup until it starts pouring out of my ears, I swear.
And then last night, after Penny went to bed, I sat down with my latest story, did a read-through and edit, and emailed it in! Submission: accomplished!
If there was one thing detracting from the weekend... At several points in the last few days, I've been driving along and looked down the road and thought, "Wow, it looks really smoky down there. Is there a fire?" only to realize, half a beat later, that it wasn't billows of smoke I was looking at, but billows of pollen. Seriously, billowing. Like smoke. It's incredibly thick this year, and we're not even to the really prime pollen season yet, which doesn't usually hit until the first couple of weeks of April. (I'm hoping this is just an early spring, due to our mild winter, but I probably should not count on it.)
On Sunday, while Matt was taking a much-needed nap, I took the kids to the new Paint On Pottery shop that recently opened in Williamsburg. Alex's dinosaur is fated to look like something from the Black Lagoon, I fear, but both kids had a fantastic time and can't wait to pick up their creations next weekend.
And I made black bean soup for dinner. Now that I've figured out the proportions of the ingredients that works best for me, I could eat this soup until it starts pouring out of my ears, I swear.
And then last night, after Penny went to bed, I sat down with my latest story, did a read-through and edit, and emailed it in! Submission: accomplished!
If there was one thing detracting from the weekend... At several points in the last few days, I've been driving along and looked down the road and thought, "Wow, it looks really smoky down there. Is there a fire?" only to realize, half a beat later, that it wasn't billows of smoke I was looking at, but billows of pollen. Seriously, billowing. Like smoke. It's incredibly thick this year, and we're not even to the really prime pollen season yet, which doesn't usually hit until the first couple of weeks of April. (I'm hoping this is just an early spring, due to our mild winter, but I probably should not count on it.)
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A Real Character
If I hadn't mentioned it previously, Matt has started up a 4th Edition AD&D game. He's GMing, and we're playing with Braz and Adin and my friends Jenn and Brian, who are apparently desperate enough to game that they're willing to drive all the way down from the far side of Richmond for it.
I was a little dubious about the system, but we're all new to it except Matt, so we're all dragging through the unfamiliar rules together. So far, my impression is that there's a lot to keep track of and it's oodles less realistic than the 2nd Ed I'm used to, but it's so much more well-balanced.
Anyway, we're playing in Forgotten Realms, which is where the Meadehall was set, so on a wild hair, I sort of... well... Shall we say my character has some very interesting family, back home? And then, of course, I had to write a back story for her. Because that's what I do, you know. (I swear, I should post an advertisement offering to write character stories on commission...)
But Matt really liked the story I wrote, so I thought -- hey, a lot of my readers are old Meadehallers, and this isn't really a story that belongs over on my writing site (no romance here), so I'm going to share the story with you! Here's her character description:
What do you think? I quite like the way it turned out. There was some further information that I gave just to Matt, as the GM, but I don't think you have to know it to get the story. Heck, I don't think you really need to know the 'Hall character here to get the story, though that does rather enhance its meaning.
I was a little dubious about the system, but we're all new to it except Matt, so we're all dragging through the unfamiliar rules together. So far, my impression is that there's a lot to keep track of and it's oodles less realistic than the 2nd Ed I'm used to, but it's so much more well-balanced.
Anyway, we're playing in Forgotten Realms, which is where the Meadehall was set, so on a wild hair, I sort of... well... Shall we say my character has some very interesting family, back home? And then, of course, I had to write a back story for her. Because that's what I do, you know. (I swear, I should post an advertisement offering to write character stories on commission...)
But Matt really liked the story I wrote, so I thought -- hey, a lot of my readers are old Meadehallers, and this isn't really a story that belongs over on my writing site (no romance here), so I'm going to share the story with you! Here's her character description:
At first glance, Zoyanne seems quite normal. She's tall -- about 5'10" -- and thin, but not excessively so. Her skin is pale and creamy, her hair a rich auburn, her eyes an unsettling stormcloud grey. Her clothes are well-made but undecorated and utilitarian, linen and wool and leather. There is a dagger in her belt, but its immaculate sheen suggests it sees little use. The staff is more worn, but is likewise unremarkable. She speaks Common with a Cormyrian accent and is a surprisingly earnest and capable drinker: she admits to a taste for Sembian brandy, Moonshaen whiskey, and Dwarven ale, but is happy to drink whatever the house has on tap -- anything except meade.And here's the story:
She carries several books in her pack, each lovingly wrapped in oilskin and studded with bits of foolscap to mark significant passages. Her fingers are often inkstained, and she often spends her evenings in reading and study. Sometimes, instead, she writes letters. Some of those are bound for her hometown of Marsember, to assure anxious friends and family of her continued well-being. Others have more mysterious destinations in store, being addressed to locations all over the world, each more exotic than the last: Candletown, Kara Tur, Maztica.
Inside her tunic, wrapped in paper and felt and oilcloth, Zoyanne carries four locks of hair, each tied with a bit of colored string: several long strands of snow white; a short, curled lock of chestnut brown; a thin braid of mixed black and copper; and most curiously, a finger-length lock that must have undergone some strange mishap to turn it that shade of grass-green. She does not particularly try to keep these secret, but she doesn't go out of her way to show them off or speak of them. In fact, though she talks readily enough, she rarely actually says anything.
"Mother?" The girl's voice rings out in the still silence of the hall, but the woman does not turn from the window, does not even move to indicate she has heard.
The woman's waist-length braid is as white as driven snow, her thin shoulders bowed with age and long years of being hunched over her books and experiments. Her hands are still as they rest on the windowsill, her eyes seeing something that cannot be there.
"Mother!" The girl stamps a foot, impatient with her mother's daydreaming.
Finally, the woman turns, and the grey eyes, so like the girl's, focus once more. "What is it?"
The girl holds out a book, accusation in her every movement. "What is this?"
The woman takes the book, affecting not to notice the girl's anger, and flips through a few pages. "It looks like one of your father's old journals." Involuntarily, her eyes seek the window again.
"It says." The girl pauses to take a deeper breath. "It says he was in Seng Wa, in Kara Tur, during the White Lotus slave rebellion."
"Ah." The woman knows, now, what the girl has come to say. To ask. "Yes. He was." She looks down at the journal so that she will not have to look at her daughter's face.
"That was in the spring. And I was born that winter."
"So you were."
"He's not my father." The girl's voice breaks.
"He loves you, very much."
"He's not my father!" the girl yells, angry that her mother has not denied the charge, explained away the inconsistency with some tweak of fate. She eyes her mother's midriff -- too thin, as it always has been -- with suspicion. "Are you even my mother? Or am I some foundling that you took in because you--"
"Stop." The woman holds up a hand to underscore the command, and her eyes flash. "I know you're upset, but there's no need to descend into melodrama. Of course I'm your mother."
"But not Father," sulks the girl.
"No," the woman sighs. "No, he didn't come home that time until you were nearly crawling."
"And he left here at least a year before I was born," prompts the girl.
The woman nods, watching her daughter from the corner of her eyes. She is coiled, ready to contain an explosion.
"Gods." The girl eyes the journal still in the woman's hand, as if wondering whether it might hold the answers she seeks. "Does he know?"
"He can do math as well as you. Maybe even better."
The girl rolls her eyes. "I mean, does he know who my real father is?"
"No."
"Do you even know?" She means it to be impertinent and hurtful, a lashing punishment for her mother's having kept this secret from her. She is startled to see the look of resignation that comes over her mother's face, and then horrified. "You don't know!" She backs away.
Angry now, the woman gestures, and the door slams shut of its own accord, blocking the girl's retreat. "If you will ask the questions," she says, folding her arms across her thin chest, "you will hear the answers. Sit down."
An hour later, the door opens and the girl emerges. Her eyes are red, but no longer weeping. "I'll leave in the morning," she says.
"So soon?"
"Why wait?"
The woman gestures helplessly toward the window. "Your father--"
"May be home tonight, or next month, or a year from now," the girl interrupts. Or never, she might have said, but didn't, and in that omission, her mother knows that she is forgiven. The girl's eyes linger on the window, but then her shoulders square and her mouth sets mulishly. It is in this mood, her mother reflects, that she looks most like her father.
Whatever her parentage, the girl came by her wanderlust honestly. The mother was younger than this when she embarked on her own adventure. Can she really blame her daughter for wanting the same? Especially now? She sighs and bows her head in assent. "If you need anything," she begins, but the girl is already gone.
The woman returns to the window and her vigil, but she is unsettled now, memories stirred that she had thought long since faded into dust. It is a long time since she was even a footnote amongst the machinations of the gods, but that dubious honor has crossed her threshold once more. She had not much enjoyed the implacable hand of Fate when it rested on her own shoulder, and she had hoped to spare her daughter from its weight; but it seems that is not to be the case. After a time, she leaves the window in search of her cloak, and for the first time in months, company.
What do you think? I quite like the way it turned out. There was some further information that I gave just to Matt, as the GM, but I don't think you have to know it to get the story. Heck, I don't think you really need to know the 'Hall character here to get the story, though that does rather enhance its meaning.
Danger!
I went to Target yesterday on my lunch break, because I wanted to get some sugar-free coffee syrup, and I figured as long as I was there anyway I'd pick up a pint of cherry tomatoes to put in Penny's lunch.
But as I was walking through the door, I thought, "Oh, crap, Easter is in two weeks. I need to buy stuff now before it all gets picked over."
So I got Easter basket stuff -- some silly sunglasses and craft stuff and a couple of little toys (this year, they're getting the exact same stuffie, but in different colors) and candy, of course... It's kind of dangerous to be buying candy before you've eaten lunch, y'all. I'm just saying.
I didn't buy plastic eggs, because the colors available this year were really ugly. What's wrong with the traditional palette of rainbows and/or pastels? So I still need to go to the Dollar Store to buy egg shells to put the candy in.
But other than that, I'm done. I even remembered to get a package of pre-filled eggs for Alex's class party. (And if, contrary to previous experience, they don't ask for pre-filled eggs, then that's a few more eggs I can put in my kids' baskets.)
So I walked in for about $8 worth of stuff, and walked out with over $100.
Yep. Typical Target run.
But as I was walking through the door, I thought, "Oh, crap, Easter is in two weeks. I need to buy stuff now before it all gets picked over."
So I got Easter basket stuff -- some silly sunglasses and craft stuff and a couple of little toys (this year, they're getting the exact same stuffie, but in different colors) and candy, of course... It's kind of dangerous to be buying candy before you've eaten lunch, y'all. I'm just saying.
I didn't buy plastic eggs, because the colors available this year were really ugly. What's wrong with the traditional palette of rainbows and/or pastels? So I still need to go to the Dollar Store to buy egg shells to put the candy in.
But other than that, I'm done. I even remembered to get a package of pre-filled eggs for Alex's class party. (And if, contrary to previous experience, they don't ask for pre-filled eggs, then that's a few more eggs I can put in my kids' baskets.)
So I walked in for about $8 worth of stuff, and walked out with over $100.
Yep. Typical Target run.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Good News/Bad News
Okay, so I didn't get everything done that I wanted to do. Especially sleep.
Okay, Friday was pretty awesome. I met Adin for lunch, and then the two of us went to a pottery painting place and had fun making a mess of some ceramic. (We'll get our pieces back at the end of this week, I think. I'm looking forward to seeing how awful mine turn out, or if they're actually half-decent.) And then, because the weather was so nice and warm, we had grilled meats for dinner. Yum!
I'd forgotten I had a hair appointment Saturday morning, so even though I actually went to bed more or less on time (thanks to Alex throwing a hissy fit so I took him home rather than put him to bed at the Hegemony), I was up at 8 so I could caffeinate and get over to the salon.
Hair re-colored and trimmed, I considered Penny's plea that we join the Hedge at Busch Gardens' pre-opening preview day for pass holders, and decided it was good. So we left the boys at home (Alex was still in pretty dire need of a nap) and headed out. Naturally, the park was completely packed -- we left home at 11:30. It took us 5 minutes to get to the park grounds, and then another twenty minutes to get through the parking line. And then by the time we'd made it to the back of the park to where the Hedge were having lunch, it took us another hour to get our food. (Note to self: Remember, when at Busch Gardens this summer, not to eat at "normal" mealtimes. Get a snack at noon, and have lunch at 2.)
But we did eventually get to have some fun, though Penny didn't get to do any roller coasters, as she was hoping. (There were pictures, but I haven't had time to upload them to flickr yet.) But after we left Busch Gardens, I went home and collected Alex so Matt could go to his D&D game, and then we met up with the Hedge again for dinner. Some begging had induced me to agree that Sarah could sleep over at our house, so we packed up and came home shortly after dinner, and I got all three kids to bed.
Blam! Saturday gone.
Sunday was the usual chores, mostly. We met up with the Hedge for lunch so we could give Sarah back to her dad, but other than that just lounged around the house. I made a pot roast for dinner that turned out very well, though, and I'm eagerly anticipating the leftovers. (Pot roast is always better as leftovers. I don't know why, but it's true.)
And then Monday -- yesterday -- was supposed to be my day off to really relax. Catch up on sleep, do some writing, maybe run a couple of errands. Matt looked at the calendar Sunday night and noticed a doctor appointment I'd completely forgotten about, so that was good, because otherwise I'd have missed it.
The morning got off slow, though -- I did more chatting with KT than writing (this is why I should register my copy of Freedom) and when that two hours was up, I finally guilted myself into doing our taxes.
That was a weird conglomeration of good news/bad news. Good news: We've paid down quite a chunk of the principle on our mortgage, so in 2011 we paid only half the interest we'd paid in 2010. Bad news: That drop meant that our itemized deduction was actually smaller than the standard deduction. Good news: Using the standard deduction is loads easier and lighter on the paperwork, so next year I can probably skip straight to the standard unless something happens to make me think itemizing would be a good idea again.
Good news: I actually did save the receipts from my Vistaprint orders and when I went to Roanoke Pride in September, so I could claim all that stuff as a business expense (advertising and promotion travel are allowable). Bad news: I made less than $1600 from my writing and editing combined; less than $1400 after factoring in the expenses. I won't be able to give up the Day Job any time soon. Good news: That means I got to use the "EZ" version of the self-employment form. (That would be Schedule C, for my writer friends who haven't done their taxes yet...)
Good news: We owed less than last year. Bad news: We still owed. Good news: We make enough money that we owe taxes.
Bad news: The VA form is still put together by epileptic meth addicts. Good news: The VA form still lets us claim a lot more of our daycare expenses, so we're getting a small refund from the state.
Back and forth like that. I think if I had to write them all down and add them up, the good outweighed the bad... but only just barely. Anyway, I lost a solid three hours to wading through all that paperwork. Which is nothing compared to, say, my brother and sister-in-law, who operate their own business out of their home. (Sam spent over 20 hours just gathering files and organizing things for their CPA.) But it was still three hours out of a day I'd really wanted to spend on less mentally draining efforts. Or at least, more enjoyable ones.
Then I ran some errands and ate lunch and tried to wake up a little. Later in the afternoon, I drove over to the doctor's office and had my annual boobsmashing. (I realize I am now old enough that even if I switched to a different insurance company, they're pretty much guaranteed to agree to pay for annual mammograms. I guess that's... good?)
I thought about going to bed early last night, but instead I thought I should recover some of the writing time I'd meant to have earlier in the day, so I started up Freedom (Twitter is my nemesis in the evenings) and dove into my current project. I didn't do a progressive word count, but I wrote a solid two and a half single-spaced pages, so probably 1500 words, give or take? That felt like pretty good progress. I'm only another maybe four pages from wrapping up the story, so I might make that April 1 submission deadline with it, after all. (And if not -- or if they reject it for the anthology -- I think it's good enough that a little scrub would let it stand alone.)
So that was my long weekend. Not nearly as relaxing and sleep-intensive as I'd hoped, but still (mostly, except for the taxes) pretty good.
Now, I just need a good, long nap... What? Work?
Dammit.
Okay, Friday was pretty awesome. I met Adin for lunch, and then the two of us went to a pottery painting place and had fun making a mess of some ceramic. (We'll get our pieces back at the end of this week, I think. I'm looking forward to seeing how awful mine turn out, or if they're actually half-decent.) And then, because the weather was so nice and warm, we had grilled meats for dinner. Yum!
I'd forgotten I had a hair appointment Saturday morning, so even though I actually went to bed more or less on time (thanks to Alex throwing a hissy fit so I took him home rather than put him to bed at the Hegemony), I was up at 8 so I could caffeinate and get over to the salon.
Hair re-colored and trimmed, I considered Penny's plea that we join the Hedge at Busch Gardens' pre-opening preview day for pass holders, and decided it was good. So we left the boys at home (Alex was still in pretty dire need of a nap) and headed out. Naturally, the park was completely packed -- we left home at 11:30. It took us 5 minutes to get to the park grounds, and then another twenty minutes to get through the parking line. And then by the time we'd made it to the back of the park to where the Hedge were having lunch, it took us another hour to get our food. (Note to self: Remember, when at Busch Gardens this summer, not to eat at "normal" mealtimes. Get a snack at noon, and have lunch at 2.)
But we did eventually get to have some fun, though Penny didn't get to do any roller coasters, as she was hoping. (There were pictures, but I haven't had time to upload them to flickr yet.) But after we left Busch Gardens, I went home and collected Alex so Matt could go to his D&D game, and then we met up with the Hedge again for dinner. Some begging had induced me to agree that Sarah could sleep over at our house, so we packed up and came home shortly after dinner, and I got all three kids to bed.
Blam! Saturday gone.
Sunday was the usual chores, mostly. We met up with the Hedge for lunch so we could give Sarah back to her dad, but other than that just lounged around the house. I made a pot roast for dinner that turned out very well, though, and I'm eagerly anticipating the leftovers. (Pot roast is always better as leftovers. I don't know why, but it's true.)
And then Monday -- yesterday -- was supposed to be my day off to really relax. Catch up on sleep, do some writing, maybe run a couple of errands. Matt looked at the calendar Sunday night and noticed a doctor appointment I'd completely forgotten about, so that was good, because otherwise I'd have missed it.
The morning got off slow, though -- I did more chatting with KT than writing (this is why I should register my copy of Freedom) and when that two hours was up, I finally guilted myself into doing our taxes.
That was a weird conglomeration of good news/bad news. Good news: We've paid down quite a chunk of the principle on our mortgage, so in 2011 we paid only half the interest we'd paid in 2010. Bad news: That drop meant that our itemized deduction was actually smaller than the standard deduction. Good news: Using the standard deduction is loads easier and lighter on the paperwork, so next year I can probably skip straight to the standard unless something happens to make me think itemizing would be a good idea again.
Good news: I actually did save the receipts from my Vistaprint orders and when I went to Roanoke Pride in September, so I could claim all that stuff as a business expense (advertising and promotion travel are allowable). Bad news: I made less than $1600 from my writing and editing combined; less than $1400 after factoring in the expenses. I won't be able to give up the Day Job any time soon. Good news: That means I got to use the "EZ" version of the self-employment form. (That would be Schedule C, for my writer friends who haven't done their taxes yet...)
Good news: We owed less than last year. Bad news: We still owed. Good news: We make enough money that we owe taxes.
Bad news: The VA form is still put together by epileptic meth addicts. Good news: The VA form still lets us claim a lot more of our daycare expenses, so we're getting a small refund from the state.
Back and forth like that. I think if I had to write them all down and add them up, the good outweighed the bad... but only just barely. Anyway, I lost a solid three hours to wading through all that paperwork. Which is nothing compared to, say, my brother and sister-in-law, who operate their own business out of their home. (Sam spent over 20 hours just gathering files and organizing things for their CPA.) But it was still three hours out of a day I'd really wanted to spend on less mentally draining efforts. Or at least, more enjoyable ones.
Then I ran some errands and ate lunch and tried to wake up a little. Later in the afternoon, I drove over to the doctor's office and had my annual boobsmashing. (I realize I am now old enough that even if I switched to a different insurance company, they're pretty much guaranteed to agree to pay for annual mammograms. I guess that's... good?)
I thought about going to bed early last night, but instead I thought I should recover some of the writing time I'd meant to have earlier in the day, so I started up Freedom (Twitter is my nemesis in the evenings) and dove into my current project. I didn't do a progressive word count, but I wrote a solid two and a half single-spaced pages, so probably 1500 words, give or take? That felt like pretty good progress. I'm only another maybe four pages from wrapping up the story, so I might make that April 1 submission deadline with it, after all. (And if not -- or if they reject it for the anthology -- I think it's good enough that a little scrub would let it stand alone.)
So that was my long weekend. Not nearly as relaxing and sleep-intensive as I'd hoped, but still (mostly, except for the taxes) pretty good.
Now, I just need a good, long nap... What? Work?
Dammit.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Recovery
The proposal is done. Our contracts manager sent it out yesterday afternoon. My sinus infection is (slowly) clearing up; I have a mild but persistent sore throat, but the headache is largely gone. There are a couple of documents due out today; I'm in the office to get those out the door and then I'm going home.
I'll work on the story idea I had last night, for a submission call that's due in two weeks. (Though it's possible that if I'm mostly done by that point, I can send in a precis and get an extension.) I'm meeting a friend for lunch, and we'll take it slow and easy. It's Friday, so we'll do dinner with the Hedge and hang out at their place until late.
Matt has his monthly D&D game tomorrow, which means he'll get up with the kids tomorrow morning. I'm going to sleep as late as humanly possible, and then I'll get up and do stuff. Not sure what stuff -- aside from Matt's game, there isn't anything on our calendar. Maybe we'll resume shopping for a new fridge. Maybe I'll make a run down to Sam's Club. Maybe I'll go to Bath and Body Works and buy more good-smelly stuff that I don't actually need. Maybe we'll take the kids to see The Lorax. Whatever. Since Matt's gaming, I'll probably take the kids over to the Hedge so they have someone to play with and don't drive me bonkers. (Unless the Hedge has other plans, in which case I will resort to the clever combination of bribery, guilt, and shouting that so characterizes my parenting style.)
Sunday morning I'll get up with the kids and we'll do the usual chores and stuff. See my list of "maybe"s from the previous paragraph; they all still apply.
And Monday? I'm not going to work on Monday, either. So there.
I'll work on the story idea I had last night, for a submission call that's due in two weeks. (Though it's possible that if I'm mostly done by that point, I can send in a precis and get an extension.) I'm meeting a friend for lunch, and we'll take it slow and easy. It's Friday, so we'll do dinner with the Hedge and hang out at their place until late.
Matt has his monthly D&D game tomorrow, which means he'll get up with the kids tomorrow morning. I'm going to sleep as late as humanly possible, and then I'll get up and do stuff. Not sure what stuff -- aside from Matt's game, there isn't anything on our calendar. Maybe we'll resume shopping for a new fridge. Maybe I'll make a run down to Sam's Club. Maybe I'll go to Bath and Body Works and buy more good-smelly stuff that I don't actually need. Maybe we'll take the kids to see The Lorax. Whatever. Since Matt's gaming, I'll probably take the kids over to the Hedge so they have someone to play with and don't drive me bonkers. (Unless the Hedge has other plans, in which case I will resort to the clever combination of bribery, guilt, and shouting that so characterizes my parenting style.)
Sunday morning I'll get up with the kids and we'll do the usual chores and stuff. See my list of "maybe"s from the previous paragraph; they all still apply.
And Monday? I'm not going to work on Monday, either. So there.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Sleepshod
I woke up yesterday morning and thought, "Huh, my throat's a little sore."
Then I swallowed and I thought, "Oh, shit, it's a LOT sore. I do not have time to have strep right now!"
Luckily, when I found a flashlight and look a look in my throat, I didn't see any white patches. Just raw red. Yay, weather changes and allergies, I guess.
But by mid-afternoon, I had a headache. And by dinnertime, it had become that sort of all-over body ache that I usually get with a fever, except I didn't feel feverish.
Which could only mean one thing: sinus infection.
Joy.
So I took two Advil, threw down a slug of Tylenol Cold and Sinus (nighttime), and took an Allegra for good measure, and took myself off to bed just a smidge past nine, the very earliest I could manage it after getting the kids to bed and taking a shower.
When the alarm went off this morning... and then the snooze alarm... twice... and I finally dragged myself upright, I thought, "Oh, good. Throat's not nearly so sore today. But I could easily sleep for another three or four hours."
Which says to me one of two things:
1) Either I have a cold and my body would really like me to go back to bed and drink fluids and get some rest; or
2) I've been short on sleep and running on adrenaline for weeks (if not months) and the extra two hours of sleep I got last night was just enough to make my system realize how tired it actually is.
Or, you know, some combination of the above.
In any case, it seems I need to get some more sleep, and soon. (HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!)
Then I swallowed and I thought, "Oh, shit, it's a LOT sore. I do not have time to have strep right now!"
Luckily, when I found a flashlight and look a look in my throat, I didn't see any white patches. Just raw red. Yay, weather changes and allergies, I guess.
But by mid-afternoon, I had a headache. And by dinnertime, it had become that sort of all-over body ache that I usually get with a fever, except I didn't feel feverish.
Which could only mean one thing: sinus infection.
Joy.
So I took two Advil, threw down a slug of Tylenol Cold and Sinus (nighttime), and took an Allegra for good measure, and took myself off to bed just a smidge past nine, the very earliest I could manage it after getting the kids to bed and taking a shower.
When the alarm went off this morning... and then the snooze alarm... twice... and I finally dragged myself upright, I thought, "Oh, good. Throat's not nearly so sore today. But I could easily sleep for another three or four hours."
Which says to me one of two things:
1) Either I have a cold and my body would really like me to go back to bed and drink fluids and get some rest; or
2) I've been short on sleep and running on adrenaline for weeks (if not months) and the extra two hours of sleep I got last night was just enough to make my system realize how tired it actually is.
Or, you know, some combination of the above.
In any case, it seems I need to get some more sleep, and soon. (HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!)
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Too Long
It's been too long since I last wrote. Sorry about that, gang.
Proposals suck in my brain and make me incapable of life function, it seems sometimes. And the Daylight Savings switch happened this past weekend, so my brain is still refusing to function in line with that, too. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for about three days.
Things are starting to come together with the proposal now, though -- we're still editing, but all the sections have been written and vetted and approved as compliant. It's just a question now of squeezing out the unnecessary stuff so we can fit it all in under the mandated page-count. (This is where college turns out to have been useful -- all that time spent playing with the formatting on my papers so they would fit the pagecount requirement has, it turns out, given me valuable skills.)
Penny's diabetes has been kicking our asses lately. Saturday night, she accidentally got Humalog instead of Lantus at bedtime, which meant Matt stayed up until after 1 AM checking her sugars and chasing a viciously persistent low... and then we spent all day Sunday correcting the high from lack of basal insulin. To make matters worse, she went to a friend's birthday party Sunday afternoon and had not only cake, but pizza, that bane of diabetics everywhere.
So when the school nurse called me at lunch yesterday to tell me she was crazy high, I wasn't that surprised... but when the nurse told me she was also showing moderate ketones, I freaked out. Spilling ketones is bad. We're supposed to call the endocrinologist's emergency number when she's at moderate or higher levels. But, pizza, I thought, and told the nurse to correct generously and recheck her in two hours to make sure it was taking hold.
I spent the next two hours on pins and needles. Was I going to have to leave work early to pick my daughter up from school and take her to the hospital?
When the nurse called back, the bad news was that her sugars were pretty much the same as before. Though Penny reacts to Humalog pretty late in its 4-hour window, and she'd eaten lunch in there, so for her to have remained at a stable level wasn't that bad. But the good news was that she was back to being negative for ketones. No emergency calls or hospital trips for us. Whew.
Once I'd started to calm down, I realized: I don't think she ever got her shot for breakfast. Like, at all. I'd started to do the math, but whe'd been waffling over what kind of yogurt she wanted, so I'd walked away to do something else while she finished deciding, and I think I got distracted and never went back to it. Mea culpa. I won't even get into how that made me feel about myself; you can probably put a solid guess together.
She was back into normal range by dinner, and even had a mild low when Matt checked her at 10. (Not a scary one, just a "hey, have a little milk" one.) And this morning she was right where we like to see her. So hopefully that episode is done with.
***
Back to work. The proposal doesn't go out until Friday, which means I won't be done with it until Friday. But I'm totally taking Friday afternoon -- and probably Monday -- off, as well.
Proposals suck in my brain and make me incapable of life function, it seems sometimes. And the Daylight Savings switch happened this past weekend, so my brain is still refusing to function in line with that, too. All I want to do is crawl into bed and sleep for about three days.
Things are starting to come together with the proposal now, though -- we're still editing, but all the sections have been written and vetted and approved as compliant. It's just a question now of squeezing out the unnecessary stuff so we can fit it all in under the mandated page-count. (This is where college turns out to have been useful -- all that time spent playing with the formatting on my papers so they would fit the pagecount requirement has, it turns out, given me valuable skills.)
***
Penny's diabetes has been kicking our asses lately. Saturday night, she accidentally got Humalog instead of Lantus at bedtime, which meant Matt stayed up until after 1 AM checking her sugars and chasing a viciously persistent low... and then we spent all day Sunday correcting the high from lack of basal insulin. To make matters worse, she went to a friend's birthday party Sunday afternoon and had not only cake, but pizza, that bane of diabetics everywhere.
So when the school nurse called me at lunch yesterday to tell me she was crazy high, I wasn't that surprised... but when the nurse told me she was also showing moderate ketones, I freaked out. Spilling ketones is bad. We're supposed to call the endocrinologist's emergency number when she's at moderate or higher levels. But, pizza, I thought, and told the nurse to correct generously and recheck her in two hours to make sure it was taking hold.
I spent the next two hours on pins and needles. Was I going to have to leave work early to pick my daughter up from school and take her to the hospital?
When the nurse called back, the bad news was that her sugars were pretty much the same as before. Though Penny reacts to Humalog pretty late in its 4-hour window, and she'd eaten lunch in there, so for her to have remained at a stable level wasn't that bad. But the good news was that she was back to being negative for ketones. No emergency calls or hospital trips for us. Whew.
Once I'd started to calm down, I realized: I don't think she ever got her shot for breakfast. Like, at all. I'd started to do the math, but whe'd been waffling over what kind of yogurt she wanted, so I'd walked away to do something else while she finished deciding, and I think I got distracted and never went back to it. Mea culpa. I won't even get into how that made me feel about myself; you can probably put a solid guess together.
She was back into normal range by dinner, and even had a mild low when Matt checked her at 10. (Not a scary one, just a "hey, have a little milk" one.) And this morning she was right where we like to see her. So hopefully that episode is done with.
***
Back to work. The proposal doesn't go out until Friday, which means I won't be done with it until Friday. But I'm totally taking Friday afternoon -- and probably Monday -- off, as well.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Proposed
This was not the Best Ever Morning. It started out okay, except for the inevitable post-weekend weight gain when I stepped on the Wii Fit. But then Penny denied Alex's request to let him ride in the booster seat, which caused him to pitch a complete wobbly. (Flag, flag, hat. Both kids were completely jerky and unreasonable about the whole things. I thought about asking the daycare manager if she knew of any gypsies in the area who were in the market for some fresh kids.)
My day did not improve when I walked into the office and was waved down before I'd even put my things down and got dragged into a proposal. I'll be writing about three pages, which is trivial, and then I'll be coordinating putting everyone else's stuff together, which is distinctly nontrivial.
As usual, the proposal is due on a Monday, which means I'll be working some portion of the weekend. I've already told the guy in charge that Saturday is Right Out, as I have plans, but I can pretty well expect to be here late Friday and probably have to come in on Sunday, too.
I hate proposals. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Every time I get sucked into a proposal, I consider that Matt has health insurance that I could be on if I just walked.
And then I fired up my computer to find that I'm going to be taking over a couple of administrivia-type jobs here at the office. Which I hate.
So it's shaping up to be a pretty awesome day and week.
Cursewords apply.
My day did not improve when I walked into the office and was waved down before I'd even put my things down and got dragged into a proposal. I'll be writing about three pages, which is trivial, and then I'll be coordinating putting everyone else's stuff together, which is distinctly nontrivial.
As usual, the proposal is due on a Monday, which means I'll be working some portion of the weekend. I've already told the guy in charge that Saturday is Right Out, as I have plans, but I can pretty well expect to be here late Friday and probably have to come in on Sunday, too.
I hate proposals. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. Every time I get sucked into a proposal, I consider that Matt has health insurance that I could be on if I just walked.
And then I fired up my computer to find that I'm going to be taking over a couple of administrivia-type jobs here at the office. Which I hate.
So it's shaping up to be a pretty awesome day and week.
Cursewords apply.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
News and Such?
What's with the exhaustion lately, dammit? I went to bed at 9:30 Tuesday night, and at 10:30 last night, and I still feel like I want to crawl back under the covers for a half-day or so.
On the other hand, I feel like I've been weirdly busy. Aside from work stuff, I've gone through edits on a story that's coming out at the end of this month (squee! that never gets old!) and gently poked two editors for news on other stories. (I know that's a no-no, but it's been over 3 months since I heard from either of them. I thought a gentle request for information was not entirely out of line.) I've edited a short novel (a really good one, too, which is always awesome!) and written a couple of scenes in a couple of my own projects.
I've made plans for lunch tomorrow, and talked to Penny about attending a gallery show and contest that my brother is in this weekend. (We've agreed she'll bring a book to read, in case she gets bored before it's over.)
I've drunk surprisingly little coffee, and chewed a slightly ridiculous amount of gum. (Soon, I will be out of gum, and then it will be time to kick ass, I suppose.) I've made mini-pizzas and sausage chowder and baked chicken.
The frog and dragon game obsessions continue, slightly abated but by no means extinguished.
Tonight will be TV night -- we need to watch Castle from Monday and Big Bang Theory as well.
And that's... about it, I guess.
I'm leaning strongly toward taking tomorrow off, so I'll see y'all on Monday! Have a great weekend!
On the other hand, I feel like I've been weirdly busy. Aside from work stuff, I've gone through edits on a story that's coming out at the end of this month (squee! that never gets old!) and gently poked two editors for news on other stories. (I know that's a no-no, but it's been over 3 months since I heard from either of them. I thought a gentle request for information was not entirely out of line.) I've edited a short novel (a really good one, too, which is always awesome!) and written a couple of scenes in a couple of my own projects.
I've made plans for lunch tomorrow, and talked to Penny about attending a gallery show and contest that my brother is in this weekend. (We've agreed she'll bring a book to read, in case she gets bored before it's over.)
I've drunk surprisingly little coffee, and chewed a slightly ridiculous amount of gum. (Soon, I will be out of gum, and then it will be time to kick ass, I suppose.) I've made mini-pizzas and sausage chowder and baked chicken.
The frog and dragon game obsessions continue, slightly abated but by no means extinguished.
Tonight will be TV night -- we need to watch Castle from Monday and Big Bang Theory as well.
And that's... about it, I guess.
I'm leaning strongly toward taking tomorrow off, so I'll see y'all on Monday! Have a great weekend!
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