Thursday, April 23, 2009

House Owners; plus Earth Day and other thoughts

Yesterday we bought our first home! (Well, technically financing should finalize today.) We’ll get the keys on Monday (giving current residents the weekend to move out). Thank you to my Mom, for watching B yesterday. It was nice not having my attention split. We took her out to lunch at Chili’s after.

 

This month will be busy with packing, transitions, and giving the new house some TLC. Moving date is set for Saturday, May 23. So much to do before then. You should see our needs and wants lists for house stuff to buy. I swear it grows every time I look away.

 

Writing, submissions, and queries should pick back up in June.

 

Yesterday was Earth Day, and this is still Earth Week. Some of these 5k Qs are appropriate for the occasion (namely 644 and 655).

 

5,000 Questions... My answers so far...

 

641. Do you remember Crystal Pepsi? no


642. When was the last time you spent a night away from home? In the hospital after giving birth to my son. Wow, that was over five years ago. I need a vacation...


643. Some people say that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Is that true? Yes. There are no stupid questions, just stupid people.


644. What is the most interesting TV channel? Discovery Channel. Have you seen Planet Earth? It is spectacular. Our planet is such a beautiful, amazing place. Well worth saving.


645. Name one song you could live without hearing ever again: "Hot Chocolate" from the Polar Express soundtrack


646. Do your pets understand you when you talk? Don't currently have a pet, but I believe pets understand to a degree. Even if they don't understand the words, they do understand the emotion.


647. What are three things you HAVE NOT done that might surprise people? 1. Owned a credit card. 2. Driven a car. 3. Walked on a beach (despite being in San Francisco and seeing the ocean. school trip, so no one was allowed on the beach).


648. Have you ever had a secret admirer? yes. I got a secret valentine my senior year in HS, and never found out who it came from.


649. Have you been to a museum this year? No

 

650. Do you ever watch porn? No. Sounds like one upstairs sometimes though...


651. Do you think that it would be a good idea if people served in the army, navy or air force for a while before they were allowed to vote? no.


652. If you were required to do this to vote, would you? no. the armed forces wouldn't make me more aware, it would break me. I'd probably be less likely to vote, not more.


653. Do people often give you weird looks? not that I've noticed


654. Do like Japanese cooking? I like the dishes at Teriyaki Stix. That's Japanese. What doesn't appeal to me is sashimi, or any seafood for that matter.


655. Do you care for stray animals? I want to. But feed them and they are yours. And I can't save them all. I really admire organizations that save strays, such as local shelters (where we will be getting a kitty when we move), and the Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Updated Snap Shots

I’ve had this on my site for a while, but realized some of the settings were no longer active, and don’t remember if I ever introduced it. So…

 

Introducing Snap Shots from Snap.com

I just installed a nice little tool on this site called Snap Shots that enhances links with visual previews of the destination site, interactive excerpts of Wikipedia articles, MySpace profiles, IMDb profiles and Amazon products, display inline videos, RSS, MP3s, photos, stock charts and more.

Sometimes Snap Shots bring you the information you need, without your having to leave the site, while other times it lets you "look ahead," before deciding if you want to follow a link or not.

Should you decide this is not for you, just click the Options icon in the upper right corner of the Snap Shot and opt-out.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Housing Update

Everything is going smoothly (in a crazy way, of course) in the house buying. This last week was inspection and appraisal, which both went well. Some minor fixes, but nothing major. Decent house, three bedrooms, one and three-quarter baths, and a bonus den. Biggest thing that needs work is the yard. HUGE backyard, but all dirt. They had three dogs. Front and back yards are fenced/walled. Should be closing on in just over a week. Paperwork is all ready for this weekend, but current owners need time to move out. Pretty much a sure thing now. Very exciting! We should be moving next month. More craziness. Squee! Looking forward to saying goodbye to the apartment, and the noisy “active” upstairs neighbors.

 

Being first time homebuyers, we had no idea how much paperwork and steps were involved. Been a learning experience.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

a distracted (and belated) Tuesday Tally

EotF Status

My synopsis is down to 3 pages, and much stronger. I sent out four queries this week, two of which came back rejected same day.

 

T.C. Status

word count: 7,718

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 2,387

no change

 

Color Poems

complete: 12

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous Goals:   

  • revise and submit poem
  • polish synopsis
  • send out next round of queries
  • write a chapter in TC

 

Goals for this week:

  • don’t stress over what I’m not getting done

 

Distracted with house stuff (looking to buy our first house). Not setting any goals. Can’t get in creative mindset at will. Going to stick to querying at the moment, and not stress the rest. That may include blogging. I’ll touch base when I have something substantial to share, but may not be blogging much this next month or two. I have no idea.

 

On a good note, I got my first poetry rewrite request!! The editor said that if I changed one line then he would hold the poem for final consideration. It was a very easy change, and did make the poem better, so I responded in the affirmative. Now more waiting. *crosses fingers*