Thank you Home Depot

I am thankful for early Black Friday deals. I don’t like the early hours and super business of Black Friday. I’m glad some stores begin their deals early, and that a lot of deals are also online. Wednesday we took advantage of Home Depot’s early deals to buy a new washer and dryer. Much needed!

Boards of Inspiration

We all have things that inspire us. Excite us. Images that take our breath away. Some people do collages or create vision boards. I use a nifty site called Pinterest to organize mine.

I have a board for my wish list, one for favorite places, books I love, anything Gamer Girl, and a newly added one for my Inspiration Room I hope to have someday.

Fly with me as I find inspiration.

Tuesday Tally and the Hauliday

Last week:

• continue Page-a-Day Challenge - faltered
• finish crit
• submit some poetry
• start summer routine

 

This week:

• get back on track with Page-a-Day Challenge

 

Wednesday after Kindergarten graduation I came home to find the neighborhood garbage bins out. My husband had planned to take the day off when they came, but we never got the notice. So as soon as he got home from work, we got busy hauling junk and wood beams.

A few hours in, I noticed B was no longer playing, just sitting by the wall. I discovered he wasn’t just tired, he had a fever. (Thankfully waited to get sick until school was out for the year.) He was sick for a couple days. :-(

Thursday I got some writing in, but found all that hauling had made typing (and much else) painful. My wrists, hands, forearms. Everything hurt. Didn’t get much chance to recover, as Saturday we installed a garbage disposal, Sunday I hauled and stacked brick in the back yard so my husband could mow, and Monday we installed a built in dishwasher (replacing an old, cranky portable one). Needless to say, I didn’t write and I am exhausted!

So, how was your weekend?

Kittens!

Meet the newest members of our family. 7 week old Topher and Priya.

The black one is Topher. The tortoishell is Priya.

And a second photo, just because.

Priya is our little princess. Once she got used to us, she loves lap time. Try to put her down before she’s ready, and she doesn’t hesitate before turning around and climbing back up. She’s also quite the explorer. All dusty from excavating behind computers and under couches. Climbing as high as she can, and discovering all available cubby holes. When not getting attention or exploring, she is napping on top of her brother.

Topher is mellow. He needs his sister. When they were first exploring the house, he would start meowing if he realized Priya had wandered into a different room without him. Always looking for her. If they both want to play with a toy or box, he defers to her, waiting his turn. He likes attention, but doesn’t demand it as much as Priya.

These two were the last of a litter. We had already talked about getting two kittens this time around, and instantly fell in love when we saw them. The family we bought them from was surprised when we said we wanted them both. If we hadn’t taken them, they likely would have been separated. Priya would have been fine on her own, but I think Topher would have had a much more difficult time adjusting.

Spring “Break”

This last week was an interesting one. B was sick for a week, staying home from school Monday and Tuesday. I didn’t have to worry about missing school the rest of the week, as it was Spring Break. Tomorrow he goes back to school (yay!).

My wrists were also hurting, so I took a break from writing and video games to give them a rest. (Thus the lack of blog updates.)

What did get done was house stuff. And I got a lot of reading done. B did as well. Just prior to Spring Break was parent teacher conference. Since B is doing so well in school (going to start some first grade level work), we bought him an early reader at the book fair. This is the first book that is really meant for his reading level, and he was excited to read it to me. Made it easy to get some reading in even though he was home sick.

B is very demanding when he’s home. Not just because he was sick. Wants Mommy to be involved in everything. I don’t want to know how many board games we played. Or video games on Monday (which probably contributed to the sore wrists).

Before school gets out for the summer, I will want to create some sort of routine, for everyone’s sanity.

Thankfully, B seemed fully well by Easter. Had plenty of energy to play with his new foam dart gun and rocket launcher. Of course, as soon as B gets better, I start to feel sick… One more day of Spring Break to survive.

How was your Easter?

Going Green for more Green

When you realize your income just isn’t keeping up with your expenses anymore, it’s time to make a change. Buying a house has brought lots of change and adjustment. Our most recent is selling the car. Since the car was still rather new and in good condition (bought it in August), CarMax gave us an awesome deal. We were able to pay off the negative equity and still have money left in savings.

No car means no car payment, no car insurance, no gas money, no upkeep. We figure we’ll save around $400 a month. Last Monday my husband took the day off, and we had our adventure. Bought him a bus pass, did a trial run of the route to work, and then went shopping to stock up so we don’t need to shop as often. Then my mother-in-law met him at CarMax and we did it. Sold the car.

It sure was an exhausting week, as we walked more and dealt with finances. But we’re happy with our decision. Now we’ll actually have money for savings again. And can afford to do more on the house – updating appliances, get the rest of the windows replaced by next winter, etc – which will save us even more money in the long run, as our house becomes more energy efficient.

Another benefit, we’ll be in better shape. We can’t just stop and get fast food because we’re out and about. And, well, the walking. I’m more used to that than my husband, as I walk my son to and from school every day. Poor hubby was sure sore by the end of Friday. 

At least there’s a benefit to not being terribly social. Less outings and places we need to drive.

All in all, having no car will take getting used to. Better to buffer our finances before we’re in trouble rather than struggle to repair them. And with all going on in Haiti, we’re grateful for how much we do have.

Warm Tidings

Remember the cold times? They are getting better. Friday we had more attic insulation put in. What a difference!

Before: by the time air got to our family room from the furnace, it had lost all its heat. The portable heater would have to be on for an hour on high to go up ten degrees, and once it got to a good temp would drop if put on low. I had to constantly check and put it from low – med – high throughout the day to not waste too much energy but not get too cold.

After: The whole house actually gets warmer with the furnace going. It doesn’t get as cold at night, and warms faster. The portable heater goes on for an hour to boost lower temps in family room, then actually maintains that heat when put on low! Much more efficient heat and energy wise now that all the hot air isn’t escaping through the ceiling.

Still to come: Windows have been scheduled for installation! We’ll be getting the two on December 28. We need to get a quote for a third window (big front one, or our bedroom one), as a wonderful relative (love you!) has offered to help us buy another.

Christmas is almost here! My husband bought stocking stuffers yesterday, and all our presents have been wrapped and delivered. We are ready! Are you? In case I don’t blog again this week, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all my blog readers, even the lurkers who don’t comment. Wishing you a wonderful season filled with the best parts for you, whether that be family, friends, or peace and quiet; snow or blue skies.

A Cold, Cold Winter

If you’re newer to the blog, this is our first winter in a house of our own. We are learning how much colder it is here than our prior apartment a mere thirty minutes away.

For one, we get more snow. Eleven inches over a couple days. The other factor is the house itself. The windows are old, and plastic covering only helps so much. We’d love to replace the windows through the entire house, but can only afford a couple right now. And we won’t bet getting those for a couple more weeks.

We replaced the filter in the furnace, which improved efficiency, but we can’t keep it running all the time. A portable heater in the family room has done wonders, but I still have a hard time keeping my hands warm.

Last week on the first cold-cold night, most of our hot water pipes froze. Saturday, my husband ventured into the scary attic. After discarding junk such as old pants, clothing gift boxes, old metal pipes, and empty shotgun shells, he found the naked pipes and covered them with the unopened(!) bag of insulation also discovered in the attic. We found a big reason it’s so cold here: the attic insulation is three inches at its thickest. It should be at least eight! No wonder we keep getting sick.

I know the cold contributed to my dwindling numbers during NaNoWriMo last month. Once the temperature dropped considerably, my fingers got cold, wrists stiff. Hard to type! Also, it’s harder to think when my body is focused on getting warm. I was planning to finish my NaNoWriMo novel Race to 100 Deaths by the end of the year, but between the cold and the Trinity Coven chapters I promised my husband (and of course Holidays!), I see the chance of that happening to be… well, very small.

Hopefully we can get this house in warm shape soon. In the meantime, my goal is to figure out the warmest time to write. Maybe just after lunch, after the heater has been on. I’ve been writing this in spurts, so my hands aren’t out of the blanket for too long.

Chores are so neglected… as I limit my visits to the colder rest of the house. Now I must venture into the cold to change laundry loads.

Wishing you all warmer weather. Or if you already have heat, you’re welcome to some of our snow!

Tuesday Tally – Halfway through year

EotF Status

# of queries out: 6

# of fulls out: 1

 

T.C. Status

word count: 8,272

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 3,028

progress

 

Color Poems

complete: 13

min needed for chapbook: 20

 

Previous goals:

• brainstorm wizard story for anthology – have a few ideas which I’ll let simmer for a while
• write rest of Alexa letters for FwM – wrote needed ones for story, going to write a few more for backstory that won’t be in book
• house project – organize scrap book supplies

Goals for this week:

• finish fleshing out chapters 1 and 2 of FwM
• poetry submission
• write new poem
• house project – weed flower garden out front

 

Six months left in 2009, so I thought I would revisit my goals for the year. As usual, I seem to have way over estimated my abilities. My goals were all in increments of 50. If I was super awesome, my numbers would be 25/50 for each. Here’s the actual totals to date:

 

Books read  10/50

Poems written 17/50

Poems submitted 28/50

Chapters written 5/50

 

Okay, that’s painfully behind. But I must remember what I have accomplished. I’ve queried twenty-one agents, purchased and moved into a house, babysat two kids full time for one month, and gotten into a regular exercise routine with my husband which is actually showing success (my arms have muscles after all!).

 

What I’ve learned so far:

1. I’m not in a place where I can read one book a week. Maybe if I only read Young Adult books, and/or didn’t have so many other hobbies. Of course, a five year old also interferes with long reading sessions.
2. Mystery books slow me down. I’m just not into them like I used to be, and find myself reading only a few pages at a time.
3. I second guess myself a lot when writing, which interferes with getting chapters done. I keep telling myself to allow first draft messes, but my pep talks are easier said than applied. So much easier to write a page, then say I’ve accomplished something and allow myself to go browse the web, or play a game.
4. It’s even easier not to write when I’m tired, hot, and/or have a headache. I need to stop making excuses, and stop beating myself up. A good writing session is energizing, and will help me forget the heat and aches.

 

I don’t have to be perfect, as long as I’m moving forward. How are your goals for the year coming along?

6/23 Tuesday Tally

EotF Status

# of queries out: 8

# of fulls out: 1

 

T.C. Status

word count: 8,272

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 2,873

additions, deletions. lots of notes and fiddling

 

Color Poems

complete: 13

min needed for chapbook: 20

one new

 

Previous goals:

• query agents researched last week
• finish another color poem
• house project – put items collecting on top of the Hope Chest into the Hope Chest
• borrow my son’s camera to see if I can take a few decent pictures to share with you – not enough working batteries. I will return to this one.

Goals for this week:

• brainstorm wizard story for anthology
• write rest of Alexa letters for FwM
• house project – organize scrap book supplies

 

I wish I had a picture from when we first got Rayna. She was so tiny. I swear she’s grown twice as big in just a month.

 

I have joined Twitter. Don’t know how active I’ll be. Still learning. I joined so I can participate in Twitch Week, where you tweet your pitch to BookEnds agents. Check out the rules.

 

My color poems are venturing into metallics… copper, silver, steel, gold. I may reach my goal of 20 yet.

Tuesday Tally on the rise

EotF Status

# of queries out: 5

# of fulls out: 1 (my first!)

 

T.C. Status

word count: 8,272

no change

 

FwM Status

word count: 2,760

progress! making some changes to split chapter one into two chapters, taking more time on each section

 

Color Poems

complete: 12

min needed for chapbook: 20

no new

 

Previous goals:

• research/personalize for 4 more queries - done
• write something every day – only missed one day
• house project – organize space under sinks – I don’t know about the organized yet, but everything is under there now
• polish and submit a poem - sent 5 in to one magazine

 

Goals for this week:

• query agents researched last week
• finish another color poem
• house project – put items collecting on top of the Hope Chest into the Hope Chest (which I suppose is more appropriately a Memory Chest, now that I am married, have a child, and a house)
• borrow my son’s camera to see if I can take a few decent pictures to share with you

 

As a house yard warming gift, our Realtor and friend gave us a tree! It’s a 20-ft red maple. We got it planted between rainstorms on Saturday. Very exciting. The ground, once bare dirt, has been covered in morning glories. It may not be a lawn, but it’s green, and quite pretty. We’ve cut down the forest of weeds along the wall (including a few sticklers as thick as our new tree, and taller than my husband), and it’s actually looking respectable back there. In the front, there’s a little flower garden area. It’s mostly weeds, with a few unknown flowers. We’re considering filling it with Emerald Gaiety Wintercreepers.

 

I wrote a new poem this week. Felt good. Most of my other writing has been freewriting about story problems for my two WIPs. But it was writing! So I’m happy. :-)

*Waves Hello*

Hi everyone! Miss me? I’m feeling much better today. Ready to get writing and blogging again. I need to get a camera again so I can show off Rayna, our kitty.

 

How come every time we buy something for the house, I discover two more things that we either need or want for it? House = Never-ending project. Enjoying the space though. :-)

 

P.S. Thanks to Little Scribbler for the blog award while I was gone. I’ll pass it on later this week.

Alive

I think.

Move successful. Internet acquired yesterday. House looking much better even after just one week. (Hubby only working half days for the win.) Body adjusting to torture of moving and housework. Got kitty (gorgeous 2 month old short hair, tortoiseshell). Got from shelter. Name that came with her: Raynie. Changed it to Rayna.

Now feeling miserable. Think I got food poisoning. Hope to get back to regular blogging next week. Got to run. :-S

Soon!

Two days until the move! Our phone/internet provider, and our heating/gas company, both don’t end services on the weekend. So, as this is a long weekend with the holiday, our options were to end services on Friday or Tuesday. We didn’t want to get billed for three days we won’t be here, so they’re getting shut off tomorrow morning. At least we already bought our prepaid cell phone. This is my last day of internet for a while. We’re going to switch to Comcast, so hopefully we can get that set up in the next couple weeks (sooner rather than later).

 

On a good note, at least we will have electricity. They do weekends. Today is big laundry and dishes day, as we won’t have any hot water tomorrow. Not a bad thing, as the day will be busy packing. My husband has already asked for Friday off so we can get everything done with less rushed stress.

 

We’ll have the weekend to settle into our house. It looks so much better than when we bought it. Fresh paint in most rooms. New carpet in the den. A few new doors. So exciting! Looking forward to living there, not just working there.

 

I will miss checking in on my blogging friends. I will blog again when I’m connected. Love you all!

Quick Update

In an hour, B and I are leaving for the house with my in-laws. Going to do some painting, and a guy is coming to measure for carpet. We’ve done some fixes, gotten the vents cleaned (much needed!), put in a couple new doors, and painted a formerly Disney-princess-pink-with-purple-trim room. Not much left to do, thank goodness. We’re going to paint the family room, front room, and one of the bathrooms. Other rooms aren’t top priority, and will only be repainted if we have leftover paint. Saturday I was painting doors outside, and got sunburned. Been a while. Not fun. Bringing sunscreen from now on. We’re getting new carpet in the family room (previous owners had three dogs in there), and getting the rest cleaned. Really looking forward to all this pre-work being done, and being able to actually live there!

 

B had his first “monster-under-the-bed” experience. Now added to the bedtime routine are checking under the bed, telling him everything is safe, and leaving the door open.

 

Moving date is May 23. Not much longer! Still have packing to do…

 

Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day to any mothers who read this! My husband bought me a radio/CD player, which I have been wanting. :-)

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.

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.

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*

Tuesday Tally, plus Life

EotF Status

My synopsis is looking a lot better (thank you, Lynn).  She pointed out an answered issue within my synopsis, that turned out to be unaddressed in my manuscript! So I came up with a solution to explain it, which makes some motivations stronger as well, and made all necessary changes. Very exciting. During the process, I came up with an alternate title if “Emergence of the Fey” needs to be changed at some point.

 

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 – did most work on this. waiting for feedback on latest revisions
• send out next round of queries
• write a chapter in TC

 

Goals for this week:

• carry over last week’s goals

 

It's officially Spring! And what happens? It snows… and not a sprinkling, melting as it hits the ground, but a few inches on the ground yesterday, and still there this morning. Very cold waiting for B’s bus yesterday, with all the snowing and blowing.

 

On another note, didn’t get many of my goals done. My youngest sister had spring break and came up Wednesday night, stayed until Sunday morning. I’ve spent most of my writing time focusing on my synopsis and making small revisions in EotF. And, hoping to move this summer, we’ve been working with a great realtor and actually went out to look at some houses for the first time! Very exciting. In short, Life trumped writing this last week.

A Few Notes

Still sick, but on the upswing.

 

Title "Magic is Believing" changed to "Fly with Me."

 

Due to last week's funeral, and then being sick, I am behind on pretty much all of my obligations and goals... and now have paperwork to do for pre-kindergarten evaluations for B.

 

Bought My Fitness Coach (it's Yourself! Fitness (best exercise program I've tried), new and improved for Wii), but haven't started it up due to achey blahness of being sick.

 

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

540. What do your parents do that you will try never to do? I'm not sure, so peacefully backing out of this one.

541. What gets you through the night? Knowing I am loved and not alone.

542. Do you really want to live forever? I don't know. If I was in prime condition, and wasn't alone, sure. But if everyone I knew was dying, then no.

543. Do you often experience powerful emotions? Absolutely. My emotions are generally way up or way down, very rarely mild.

544. What could make you so happy right now that you would cry and laugh and sing? To get an email from Firebrand Literary Agency requesting the full of manuscript for EotF, or an acceptance from a magazine for Blazing Princess, or to find out I somehow inherited a lot of money and can go out and buy a house.

 
545. Who is your favorite visual artist? My favorite for the longest time was Vincent Van Gogh (still ranks high on my list). Now, I'd have to say Selina Fenech.