Yes, I have been cooking lately, healthier things for myself. I really went off course with eating right over the holidays, so I decided to stick to a very strict regime of eating right and no junk food, not even in moderation. Whole grains, no more than 50 carbs per meal, 10 carbs in a snack, lots of liquids - coffee does count as a liquid, right? - and no added sugar, sugar alcohols or anything that may up the glucose or the A1C glucose. Very little processed foods, they have a lot of added sugars, salt, and other things that will mess with a person's system. Whole foods are best. I work from home, so I can take the extra time to prepare healthy meals, and if I can purchase locally grown and raised foods, I will.
I'm 12 days in to it, and I'm feeling a lot better. My mind is much clearer, and although I would love a bowl of my favorite cheese chips once in a while, I can't do it. It's either all or nothing. I admit I will treat myself to a diabetic friendly dessert once in a while - I have a few amazing recipes thanks to various diabetes sites and friends who do low carb! - or even a mug of sugar free hot chocolate (cocoa, milk, sweetener and real cream), but nothing that will make my glucose or weight go skyward.
THANK YOU to my husband... Although he is still purchasing junk food for himself, he is buying stuff I do NOT like, which means I will not want any. Brilliant on his part. I didn't even ask him to do it. He's a wonderful man, I'm so lucky to be his wife...
It's been so cold the last few days, so I'm not walking outside at the moment. The cold and the wind make my trigeminal neuralgia go bonkers, which means I'm in constant agony while outside. I've been using the stairs in our house as an exercise machine. Walking up and down them a few times in a row burns a few calories, and helps my body's endurance. They're there, they are free to use, and I can do it at any time of day or night. Why not? Plus, I haven't felt like going to the track, which I should be doing too... So the stairs is a good compromise.
Writing wise, there's been a few changes...
Work on "Something About Alexis" is done until further notice. For the time being, I will not be posting public updates. For updates on it, you must join ROMANCING THE MARITIMES.
Work on the unnamed MSIP continues. I've hit a few snags, but I'm hoping to get this latest one untangled soon. I have an idea of where to go with it, thanks to my longtime pal and fellow eXtasy Author, Maggie Blackbird, so with a little luck, I'll be zipping along in that one in no time.
That's all for now... I leave you with "Right Through You" by Alanis Morissette.
"You scan the credits for your name, and wonder why it's not there..."
Happy New Year everyone! 2018 saw a lot of changes in my life, and except for the last three months of it, it was a rough year.
Marnie says "2018 can kiss my fluffy grey pantaloons, Mama!", which sums up how I felt about most of the year. We all know the horrible things that happened last year in my end of the world, so I'm not going to rehash it. I am still crying over Amber's passing, a lot. She left a huge hole behind, one that Marnie is helping to heal. 2019 is starting off with a bang... A huge one! I am still working on the four projects I've mentioned in other blogs - an unnamed MSIP, a short story, revising a finished draft, and getting "Something About Alexis" ready for submission - and they are priority unless something comes up. Lewen has joined the team of beta readers, which is greatly appreciated. I have gotten the first round of critiques for "Something About Alexis" from Sara, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. A few typos here and there, and a small plot hole that can easily be fixed. I gave everyone the deadline of January 30th to get back to me, so I have a couple of weeks to wait on that one. Last night, I did something spontaneous... I started a Facebook Group attached to my author page! It's called "Romancing the Maritimes", and although it's brand new, I'm starting to get a few people interested in it. Certain things like early excerpts from works in progress, the first sneak peeks at upcoming releases and a few draws will be EXCLUSIVE to members. You can find Romancing the Maritmes HERE... Thank you for joining everyone! ♥ My goals for 2019 include: WRITING:
Submit "Something About Alexis", and if I'm lucky, see it published.
Finish the unnamed MSIP.
Finish the short story.
Start a new story.
PERSONAL:
Get back to the track on a regular basis, and go swimming once in a while at the Lifestyle Centre.
Lower my A1C hemoglobin glucose.
Remind myself that it is okay to reject toxic people, no matter who is demanding I talk to them.
Avoid drama at all costs - it makes my neuralgia flare up, and knocks me off the writing mojo.
Stay positive!
Thanks again for sticking with me everyone... Have a fantastic 2019!
Schools are done for the holidays in my district, but that doesn't mean all of us are on vacation.
For authors like myself, we never really take a "vacation". We're always promoting, networking, writing, editing, thinking about writing, or revising even when we're doing our regular every day routine - housework for example. I get a lot of ideas for scenes or stories while I'm scrubbing the toilet, doing the dishes, or even tossing a load of clothing into the washer.
The last two months have been crazy for me, ever since Maggie [Blackbird] yanked me out of my shell and encouraged me to talk to more authors at eXtasy Books. It's been such a fun whirlwind of talking, networking, exchanging ideas, and promoting each other that I haven't had much time to think!
I am adoring every single second of it, and I would not change a bit of it for all of the money in the world. I've met some amazing, talented people who have become dear friends in such a short time!
This entire year has been a roller coaster. I went from being extremely depressed and spaced out due to medications, to upbeat and alert.
I am back to being MYSELF, and it feels great!
What's been going on in my writing world, other than having guests post on my blog?
I've been busy. I'm still writing the yet unnamed MSIP and the sports short story, as well as revising one I wrote a few years ago. (NO, not the ABOMINATION, that is so awful that it will NEVER see the light of day - it's so bad I don't even have it on my hard drive!)
The big news is I sent a story to be critiqued for the first time since STRICKEN - over 2 years. "Something About Alexis" was read over, edited and revised (the stuff I could see), and it went to six special people yesterday afternoon for their enjoyment.
Yes, I am nervous. Stricken has amazing reviews, but not all of my work was liked. The Abomination for example... It was touted as me "trying to write like someone else", and it didn't work - at all.
This is why I insist on having someone else read my work, whether it's a voracious reader like myself, or another author who knows what to look for as well as industry standards. I tend to miss something or go on a zillion tangents if I am not kept in line.
A huge thank you to my betas for "Something About Alexis" - Gordon, Amy, Erin, Erica, Heather, and Sara. It's really appreciated, I hope you like it!
I wish all of you a happy whatever your reason for the season, and may all of you have a lovely holiday season!
I will be back at least one more time between now and 2019, I have another guest blogger appearing on FRIDAY December 28th!
I leave all of you with something different. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" heavy metal style, care of TWISTED SISTER.
Things have been so crazy here! First of all, it's March Break, and that means I'm dealing with a goofy teenager all day instead of only part of it. Hubby had a mishap and that means I've been in charge of taking care of HIS end of things like shopping and such as well as my own stuff.
PLUS we had a nor'easter here on Tuesday, and the power went out at 7 p.m. that day... It didn't come on again until 11:20 this morning. That's over 40 hours without power, folks! I did get in some reading while the power was out... Two books, but this is the one I really want to show off:
SQUEE!!!
Heh. YES, it does have a LOT more than the movie did, and I am grateful for it. It explained and showed stuff that should have made the final cut. Overall, I think I actually liked the book better, despite it being one of Mark Hamill's best performances to date. ROUNDUP! The first round of nerve blocks wore off around 2 weeks after I got them... So that meant another trip in to see my specialist, on February 14th. Four weeks, one day later, I'm still pain free for the most part. Now I do have a sinus headache and some shooting pains associated with nerves in my face, but that is *nothing* compared to what I've gone through with the occipital neuralgia. I'm so darn grateful for the nerve blocks because I don't think I could have managed everything that's happened the last two weeks without some sort of relief from the neuralgia. That stuff is PAINFUL. In between things, I've still managed to get some work done on the first book of the "Something About" series (edits, and revisions, plus a LOT of eliminating!), plot a few things for Fourteen (companion book to another one) AND start looking for ideas for books 2 and three of the "Something About" series. PHYSIOTHERAPY - I started on February 13th, and it's not just acupuncture as the specialist ordered. Apparently if one slouches, it pulls on the muscles that are around the C2 vertebra, where the occipital nerves exit the spinal column, which can compress the nerves and therefore aggravate the occipital neuralgia to the point where one cannot function. So..... I'm now doing resistance training to strengthen the muscles in my back, and I am now in the middle of training myself to hold my back and neck perfectly straight when I'm sitting or standing/walking. It IS helping, a LOT. Or I think it is. It's kind of hard to tell when the nerve blocks are still working... LOL In conjunction with the physiotherapy and nerve blocks/injections, I made a huge decision about something a couple of weeks ago......... I chopped off my hair. (Did some of you faint?) Seriously. It was waist length, straggly, thin, fine and FRIED from the medications I'm on as well as being dyed so many times. I used a TON of conditioner every time I washed my hair. It tangled easily, felt hot and heavy, and was driving me bananas... Despite how thin and fine it really is. It also made my occipital neuralgia go crazy when I pulled it back into a ponytail, because it pulled on the scalp, and therefore aggravated the nerves. Having it short makes it so much easier to get the injections, not so much hair to wade through either. Today, I went to the salon and a good friend of ours, Susie, cut it for me. We were not sure what to do with it first - she and the other girl in there (another longtime pal of ours named Crystal) just about fainted when I said I wanted it SHORT. We talked it over for a few minutes, and settled on an angled bob. If anyone watched Orphan Black, look at Rachel's hair. That's an angled bob, and I loved her hairstyle. That's exactly what I have now, except mine isn't as thick as hers was. It needs another dye job, due to the amount of roots I'm showing, but overall, it's awesome. and I love it.
Front.
Back!
Side view!
Just for reference, here's a before photo, from last year...
Note how my ponytail is ultra thin in that one (ironically from a year ago on Saturday...) I feel so much LIGHTER! I think I lost about a foot of hair, and about a pound or two from my head alone. It feels so much better too, no dead ends, no broken parts, no fried areas, nothing but soft, healthy and easy to maintain hair. I don't know if my mom saw the photos on Facebook or not, but I'm betting she's going to be shocked. I've had long hair as long as I can remember... The shortest it's been since I was a toddler was when I was 12, it was about shoulder length then. It's been longer than that for over 30 years now. It was past time for a change. Way past it. I'm glad I did it. No more fried hair for this little metal chick! On a final note, a HUGE CONGRATS to my friend Maggie. YOU DID IT GIRL! (She knows what I mean!) I leave you with my favorite song by Heart. "Alone".
Sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary. Since my beloved nation is 150 years young today, I thought it would work as a blog title.
Things have been hectic with the end of the school year and just life in general.
Son's last day of school was yesterday, and I didn't know that they had an awards ceremony for students in grades 5 through 8 who excelled in academics and sports during the closing.
I only found out when Son's grade six teacher called me and invited me to attend.
You see, my son got an award yesterday, Greatest Improvement Overall for his class. He, along with a few of his pals from grades six, seven and eight, got the awards because they went from struggling to doing an amazing job in their studies.
When Son's name was called, he didn't walk to the stage like every other student - he RAN! He was so excited that he was jumping up and down and hugging a lot of his fellow winners.
He won a medal with the school emblem on it. It is gorgeous, and it'll be hanging in his room over his bed when we get around to putting it there.
I'm really proud of him. His grade six teacher said he's a brilliant kid, he just needs a little guidance and a reminder now and then... He was also a joy to teach and have in her classroom this year.
I've learned that exams are only given to Grades 8s, 10s, and 12s... So he's safe for another year! (THANK HEAVENS!)
He's now home for the summer, and we're making plans to do a few things. He wants to go swimming at the lifestyle centre, play video games at home, as well as go bowling in town, and take the occasional day trip.
I am still going to the track, but not as frequently as I would like. Son doesn't like the walking bit of it, so it's best I go without him. I am getting faster at doing a km, and I've even upped the laps to five (1250 m) a few times. I'm slowly getting more and more used to it.
I'm not as heavy as I thought... I was weighed during an appointment with the centre that helps people who have that lifelong condition and I'm about 30 pounds less than expected. I still have a long way to go, but the amount I want to lose seems reasonable right now... It's a lot but it IS possible!
As for the writing, I'm not going to write at all this summer. I've decided that I have to clean up Dream On before I go near Fourteen and its rounds of cleaning, then start writing it again. I'm thinking a full rewrite may be needed.
I don't know, I'll just have to see how I feel in September, or when Dream On is finally in the hands of my beta team.
I may not post a lot over the next few weeks - real life and summertime fun with my family will probably dominate July anyway, if not August.
I wish all of you an amazing summer... Don't forget to wear sunblock if you're going outside a lot!
In the spirit of the day, I leave you with a song by one of my favorite Canadian bands, RUSH.... CLOSER TO THE HEART.
Yes, I've changed the look of my blog again. Purple and black together is my favorite color combination, and they've become my signature colors as an author. I wear mostly those two colors too, I even have purple laces and black sneakers, as well as the black hoodie with my pen name embroidered on it - which was a gift from my husband's mother and youngest brother.
ANYWAY...............
Summer is officially here! The lupines and lilacs are in bloom, the black flies are fading into mosquitoes, and the humidity is through the roof. The air conditioner in the bedroom has been running all night too, and the fans around the house are set up and running full time.
Despite the heat and humidity, I've been plodding along in the first round of edits in "Dream On". It's not going that well. It needs a *lot* of work, from areas that are too wordy, to others that are so bare bones, one doesn't know what's really going on. My writing itself is inconsistent, it's all over the place. I know I can do better than this - think Stricken - so it's really annoying me.
It may need a full overhaul before my betas even see it.
If they ever see it. I have to finish this once over, and see how I feel after the next round of edits later this summer.
Fourteen is still on the "shelf" right now. I haven't opened that one in a couple of weeks, it's been determined that I am still burned out somewhat. I'm not allowed writing until I either figure out how to fix that one, or I have a new idea hit me. Hopefully I'll be able to start making notes in a couple of weeks.
We have this week and next week of regular classes for my son. This is the last year he'll be going every day right up till the end. Next year is the start of exams... Which I am not looking forward to. He hates tests, and does better if the questions are given to him one at a time unless it's math. Then he excels and really shows off.
I'm still going to the track, although things kind of went sideways for a bit. I wound up in the ER recently, due to food poisoning. I don't remember much of the first three hours or so after the intake and getting an IV put in (I was dehydrated) but the last two and a half hours are clearer. It was the sickest I had ever been in my life. Not even chicken pox topped that, and I had a horrible case of it when I was twelve.
I am back to my normal, silly self, after a full week of recovering. I wound up sleeping the entire day after coming home from the hospital (they didn't admit me) and rested a lot after that.
I am still doing a full kilometre (2/3 mile - four laps of 250 each) when I go to the track. I will be upping the distance slowly over time, once I don't get winded from what I'm doing now, or any weight loss has become noticeable. My clothing is starting to loosen a bit, but that could be me losing a lot of water weight too. I've cut out a lot of salt again, and that's always a huge help.
I'm also on a new medication for my lifelong condition. It's helping so far! I'm feeling a lot more like my old self on it, which is awesome... And things are finally starting to balance out again. I love that stuff.
My plans for the summer? I hope to get "Dream On" completely cleaned up at some point, and maybe with a little luck, figure out how to fix Fourteen. There is a solution to both, I haven't found them yet, that's all.
I will also be going to the track at least two or three times a week, either with the guys or on my own, and with a little luck, Son and I may go swimming at the lifestyle centre's pool a few times. Swimming is a great cardio exercise, but for me it's also fun. If I had a choice, it would be all swimming or bowling for an exercise regime. Since I can't do it all of the time, walking at the track it is.
Have a lovely week everyone!
I leave you with one of my favorite songs by LIVE, "I Alone". Enjoy!
I used the title because it's something that's currently happening on my Facebook author profile right now - we're discussing what's best on French fries. I'm seeing a lot of the regular stuff - ketchup, mayonnaise, gravy, salt, pepper, and vinegar - but I'm also seeing a few things like honey-garlic sauce, sweet and sour sauce (my son loves that), ranch dressing and mustard, to name a few of the more exotic condiments. I'm considering trying a few of them sometime. I can have some fries, just not a lot. Too many carbs in them... Moderation is the key. ;)
I've been busy again - writing, editing, debating revisions, and promoting STRICKEN - so that's why I didn't post a blog entry last week. No new banners were created, although I'm starting to think I should make a few more, both with the paperback version and the e-book version visible... Possible photo shoot? I'm not sure.
Fourteen is coming along, even if the progress slowed down a bit. I think I have to do a few more revisions, like stretch out the time between things again... It's moving too fast, and I think I did something a little too EARLY... If y'all know what I mean. So I'll be looking at that this week or next week.
Things are going good. Word about Strickenis getting around, and people are showing more and more interest. I've noticed a lot of my local pals are getting the print on demand paperback version of it, and that makes me feel good... Even if they never read it. Just buying a copy to show their support is more than I can ask for... Thank you everyone!
Since Stricken is showing up on Goodreads, I finally broke down and signed up - as an author. I thought I may as well do it, it's another way to be more accessible to my readers and possible readers, plus it also helps promote the book, and any more I get published in the future.
If you want to follow me on Goodreads, my author profile is here:
I've already answered a few of the general questions asked to all authors, but I'm also open to new questions from fans and followers at the moment... So if you're on there, feel free to ask me a question related to Stricken or one of my future books.
I hope everyone's having a great May, and not getting eaten alive by bugs... It's not exactly nice out there in my area of Canada right now despite the sunshine and warm temps. Too many bugs in my opinion!
I leave y'all with "IMMORTALIZED", the title track from Disturbed's 2015 album... Enjoy!
This past week has been very interesting. Today, Whom Gods Destroy released their first vlog of 2017... It's less than 13 minutes long, so I decided to burn some bandwidth and watch the entire thing. Let's just say it's nuts. There's never a dull moment with the guys. However the last thing I wanted to see was Tim's butt crack. Thanks for imprinting that onto my memory for good, guys. *GAG!!!* It's shared on my author page, for anyone who wants to see it. Link to that is in the Links list in the left hand column. WARNING: Foul language! May not be suitable for all viewers! On the writing front............ I didn't think I'd do it due to lack of writing time, but I have another rough draft finished. Husband took Son grocery shopping yesterday and I had the entire house to myself for the whole afternoon. I typed in "THE END" at 4:57 PM Atlantic Time yesterday. Finally. It's shorter than I expected, only about 90 pages, maybe 92. Less than 50K... BUT that's subject to change as things get edited and rewritten. It needs a *lot* of work before even my editor, Peapod, sees it. Right now, it looks like a bomb went off in the middle of an ink factory. The basics are there... I use Draft 1 to build the foundation and subsequent drafts (or incarnations) to erect the rest of it. I do have a working title for it, but that's subject to change too... "Fugitive Dreams". It went into Draft 2 mode earlier today, and I will be cleaning it up a bit this week, when I'm not working on the next project that is... Or beta reading... I think that as an aspiring author, being a beta at least a few times is essential for growth. You learn a lot by reading the rougher drafts of other people's stuff... And it trains your eyes to see similar mistakes in your own work. I took this morning off from my own stuff to do a beta read for one of my betas... Gang, this gent is *good*. It was a rougher draft, but the principle of the story was still there, and he has a solid foundation for this particular story. I'm hoping to do another round of beta reading for him or someone else soon. Sometimes you need to take a break from your own work and read someone else's for a change. Back to working on a blurb for the newly finished first draft. Hopefully I can come up with something coherent that won't give away the full story. Have a great weekend everyone... I leave you with "Sea of Tears" by Whom Gods Destroy, from their 2007 Demo CD.
It's true folks. I'm almost done another rough draft. Now this story is about as messy as it can get - think nuclear bomb going off in the middle of an ink factory messy. There's a lot of wordy areas, and spots where I need to make it less choppy - it needs to flow a little better. Work on a manuscript does *not* stop when one types "THE END" after all. It's a constant process to get it refined... From the wording, to the way the story itself flows, and everything else has to be tweaked to as close as perfect as you can get it before your betas even get a whiff of it. I have at least two betas from another project lined up for this one already. When asked, both Peapod and a sweet lady I met in one of my old Creed haunts jumped at the chance to help me with this one too. So proud to have them both on the Beta Team, they're like family to me.
I'm down another chapter, and today, I wrote the anticlimax. It was tough to do considering everything, but it's done. I'm now mulling over how to arrange the lead in to the grand finale. I already know what's going to happen then, so I'm okay. I do have a working title for it, for the record. I wound up figuring one out the day after I wrote up the previous entry about hating coming up with even a working title. So far it's liked by my Facebook pals. Peapod thinks it's awesome and more catchy than the original one I had planned. Hopefully I'll be able to type "THE END" into that next week or the week after, and put it in stasis while I go through my ideas list and see which one hooks me next.
*****************
I'm also seeing a chapter end in my life. One that's been going on for a few years. I'm finally saying "THE END" to work on one of my stories, for good. You see, I finally found a publisher, one that's giving this little unknown a chance. My first book is coming out later this year. I've been going nuts working with the editors at my publisher trying to get this story perfected - from the editing to the proofing and even getting things just so with the way things line up for chapter breaks and so on. I have also seen the cover proof for it. It's GORGEOUS! The artist who did it pretty much depicts how I pictured the leads since day one. (I cried when I saw it, it's so pretty, and I can't stop looking at it!) I am seriously in love with that cover. *happy sigh!* I can't say much else right now. I will post things when I'm given the okay to share everything. I promise! Not hard to tell I'm excited, huh? *looks innocent* Have a great weekend, folks. I leave you with my favorite Disturbed song... "STRICKEN".
I hate choosing a title for a story. I never seem to choose one that suits the story and has a lot of punch at the same time. My title choices tend to be boring, really boring. Hearts Remembering. Yeah, it says what the story is about but it doesn't have pizzazz in my opinion. I'm so glad I changed it at the last minute, it did turn out to be *gold* after all. (Long story!) In case anyone's wondering, I'm trying to think of a one or two word title for the current WIP, one with a lot of punch yet gives a hint to what the story is about - a modern day romance. So far a number of ideas have gone through my mind, but none really suit the story, the characters or me, and some of them are already in use. I was thinking "Smitten" but Husband and Peapod both said it's too close to my upcoming book's title, Stricken. So that idea is out, for now at least. I put things out there for my Facebook friends to help me brainstorm, after a short rant about how much I hate settling on a title, especially one that feels blah. Maybe with a little luck, talking things out with them will result in a good idea. It did when I was trying to come up with a good, solid name for the leading man in Stricken years ago. Lightening may strike again, in a different area. One can hope at least. Anyway, I did manage to get some work done on the WIP, the one I'm trying to find a title for. Thursday was it, and it was only 2 hours of work time before the bus arrived. It was still productive, a 2200 word day. I managed to wrap up a chapter and put in a huge key scene, along with finish two smaller ones. I was so deep into it that I even wrote after Son was home from school, a rarity considering how noisy he is when he's home. I wanted that scene *done* dang it, so I could continue on in a fresh chapter and scene next week. I'm pretty close to 3/4 of the way finished this one's rough draft, or possibly more. I'm almost at the anti climax so that's good, I think. Who knows, I may actually get this one done before my deadline of March 10th. The rate I'm going it's quite possible. Have a lovely weekend everyone. I'm hoping to get more done this week, and I'll update when I can. Once again, I leave you with a photo of Amber from Thursday, doing her "Writing Su-purr-visor Impreshun". Silly furball. LOL
Happy Sunday everyone! It's been a crazy ride since I last posted. My lifelong condition went crazy again, and between that and not sleeping, I didn't do a lot of writing until this past week. The current WIP is over halfway finished now, and a lot has happened between the mains. I'm really making progress, and I hope to continue the momentum. I want this one finished, so I can finally set it aside to perk while I get another story going. I'm in limbo right now, waiting for some awesome folk to answer a question about something I'm unfamiliar with... Gotta love the research part of the job! I am not sure if this one will ever be published or not. Either way, it wasn't a waste of time. I think if it isn't up to my publisher's high standards, it's still a practice story, one to get my feet wet with the writing again. I've been writing it a certain way so I don't have as much work to do if I send it to them either. It helps to know what's expected of you before you submit future stories. This week was close to a 5K week. I'm hoping with everything going on that I can squeeze in enough time to get another 1500 words added to it this coming week. If I get more, so be it. At least I'm writing, and loving it, right? ;) Nothing new on the local metal music scene, but WGD has mentioned they will be at a few live shows this year. I hope I can go, to show my support for the guys and the rest of the gang in the local metal scene. There's a lot of wonderful and talented people in it, and I am proud to support every one of them. Have a great week everyone, I'll update when I can. Things are really getting crazy here, for a good reason. I'll fill you in when I am allowed to. I leave you with Amber in "Supurrvisor Kitteh" mode from Thursday morning (02/02/17). I had a writing day and this was my view when I opened Word.... I adopted a goofball. Seriously!
Back to school, and back to writing. Or so I thought. Last week, I had two writing days... Thursday and Friday. Thursday, things went a little cuckoo with my lifelong condition in the morning again (like it has been for the last couple of weeks), so I decided to start narrowing things down to see what was causing it. I changed up my routine a little by changing some of the things I eat in the mornings. That didn't work. Since I feel icky and don't want to write when things are going crazy with it, I decided to take the day off from writing and do something I should be doing at least twice a week anyway. I zipped up to the local Lifestyle Centre, and used their walking track, which is around the top part of the ice arena, above the seats. Four laps of 250 metres each, or a full kilometre, and about 10 minutes. I wasn't even going that fast, and I still made great time. I wasn't happy with myself because I had forgotten the ear buds for my phone (I have all of my music on there for walking, etc), but it wasn't that bad. They have music playing there for all of the areas - arena, cafe, upstairs conference rooms and yoga studios, and of course, the indoor pool. It was mostly pop music out of the 1980s, but it was still a lot better than it could have been.... Even if it wasn't Disturbed, Creed or Whom Gods Destroy. Things with the condition were evening out by that time, so I decided to pick up a few more things to help it... Fresh and frozen veggies, some cream for the coffee over milk (I use less, so I don't get as many carbs or sugars in the cream), whole grain crackers, and so on. By the time I stopped in to say hi to Husband at his workplace, I was tired but feeling a lot better. His boss was there, and she and I talked about some awesome news that happened to me last year - some of you know about it, but until things are confirmed with dates, etc, I'd rather not share it here... I will share when I can, I promise! She's really excited for me, and can't wait for things to really start. I'm too tired and busy writing to be excited right now. I'll save that for when things really take off. Friday was much better. Despite things still going crazy with the lifelong condition, I knuckled down and opened TEN. My goal for this week was 1500 words. I got 2252 in only 3 hours, and had a lot happen between the mains. Not bad considering things are still acting up... Although I am pretty sure I have figured out what's going on... Tomorrow I'll be trying something new and keeping everything else the same. If the condition goes crazy even with the switch, that wasn't it... If not, I was right, as weird as it sounds. I have a few writing days coming up, and if possible, I'd like for this one's first draft finished and in stasis before March Break rolls around. That's two months away. I've written a full first draft in less time, surely I can finish a partially written one............. I hope all of you have a fantastic week! I leave you with a quote from "Whom Gods Destroy" by Whom Gods Destroy off of their 2011 album, Signs of Life (used with permission from the band): "Inside, you've got it all But fear can cheat the brave And destroy your heart and soul To believe gives endless power The darkness of the mind The spell that binds So tip the scales, but understand Whom gods destroy, they first make mad An angel's face, the devil's hand Whom gods destroy, they first make mad." ~Copyright 2011, Whom Gods Destroy (Mad as in "insane" for the record!)
Good tidings, everyone! The solstice has come and gone, and we are now going to see the sun move in a northward direction, meaning our days in the Northern Hemisphere are getting a touch longer, and the nights are getting a little shorter. I hope all who celebrate Yule had a peaceful and safe day. My Yule had an unexpected gift - One last writing day before Winter Break. Husband got scheduled to work the opening shift, and it was Son's last day of school before the holidays. I dived into Word as soon as I guessed I had consumed enough coffee to be alert. I've been thinking about the manuscript code named "TEN" again. I hate the seesawing back and forth between the original way and the alternate way, and I'm so frustrated with myself for being indecisive. So I made up my mind. I'm doing it the original way I had planned when I came up with the idea in 2014. I'm going to finish the manuscript's first draft come hell or high water, and even if it kills me... I hope it doesn't! If my betas don't like it or say it doesn't work, it's going into the "rewrite" pile along with the original version of "Fourteen". I really hate rewriting a manuscript halfway through the first draft. Call it laziness if you want, but sometimes we have to write something that's not good to produce gold in the end product. Sometimes I do better doing a rewrite, instead of having the original idea drafted out. That's been proven already. Ask my Beta Team. They'll tell you. Not the full story on the manuscript in question, but they will tell you its current incarnation is a huge improvement from the original version. That's another story for another time. I'll talk about things when I'm ready and able to on here. It's all good. No worries. ;) The end result was 2450 words added, three scenes worth, and a major event happening between the mains. It's rough and needs a lot of polishing - one of my more recent jokes is that my rough drafts look like a nuclear bomb went off in the middle of an ink factory - but the gist of it is there, and I think it's working for the most part. That may change after the Betas get their paws on it though. I won't be working on much writing wise until after January 3rd, 2017, when Son returns to school. Those late night writing sessions always seem to mean "REWRITES" for me, so I'm just going to take the next while off and relax with my family, and of course, keep the prank war going with my best pal in Facebook. I'm a dead girl walking. Oh well. It's worth making her laugh. *looks innocent* Husband has the entire weekend off... For the first time in five years, he isn't working till 9 PM on the 24th. It's going to be great to have him home and eat supper at the normal time for a change that day. Son and I are normally up watching Santa zip around the world on NORAD's site while we wait for Husband to get home that night. We're probably going to be keeping track again, but not as much. It's still going to be a great holiday. Just being together is a great present in itself. My holiday wish came early this year... We saw "Rouge One" in the theater Saturday night, and it was *awesome*!!!! I'm so glad they are keeping the feel of the original trilogy, as well as the story lines perfectly lined up. This movie felt like it had been filmed before "A New Hope", because it lines up perfectly with the beginning to that movie. If you love Star Wars - I do, I'm a huge SW geek! - you will love this movie. It answers a lot of questions about how things came to be at the start of "A New Hope". Don't miss it. Seeing it in 3D did make my occipital neuralgia go nuts, but that's normal... That gets agitated at the stupidest things I swear. Anyway, I wish all of you an amazing holiday, whatever you celebrate... Keep rocking everyone. Namaste and all the best.
Have I ever mentioned how much I despise winter weather?
We received our first snowstorm of the season yesterday, and it was not fun at all. The snow started around 7:30 AM yesterday, and it was coming down so fast that the little car was covered before 8 AM, as were the roads.
Schools were going to be closing 3 hours early yesterday, meaning Son's school was getting out at NOON... But after seeing how fast the snow was falling, and how slippery things were at 8 AM, I made the executive decision to keep him home.
I'm glad I did. Our road hadn't been plowed at noontime, and I didn't see any plows go by until after 3 PM, it was actually closer to 4 by the time the first one went by. I didn't see it go the other way until after 6 PM, when I was on the phone with my best friend - two hours on the phone with her and that's a *short* conversation! We've gone SIX HOURS before, and probably will again sometime soon. Living across the continent means we become chatterboxes when we get talking over the phone.
The roads were still nasty this morning, but Son was kept home for another reason. He's sick again, but not as bad as he could be. I think it's just his dust allergy acting up a touch. He's fine, and going back tomorrow even if he doesn't like it....
Things are better with the anemia, but not perfect. My ferritin level (iron stores) came up a couple of notches, but it's not high enough to stop taking the iron supplements. I'm still slightly anemic too. I'm not impressed, but if I want to get better and keep feeling like myself, they are a necessary evil. So... I'm still popping them, and will be until my next check up in March.
Oh, it's really fun, being sick. /sarcasm
Other than that things are looking up. My lifelong condition has evened out, I'm eating much better, feeling much better, and best of all, I lost a little weight!
Husband said I'm back to being sunny and positive spirited again. For a while, I was really down in the dumps about certain things, and since they have improved by a thousandfold, I'm feeling more and more like my old self, and I hope this continues.
There *is* a reason for it, and I will let y'all know when I'm allowed to do so. It's freaking awesome is what it is. ;)
So.....................
My best friend said something last week that got me thinking. It made me conclude that I've been expecting perfection in my writing in a rough draft, and therefore throwing me way off, which is the probable cause of me skipping from one story to the next instead of just focusing on one only... I should just *write* and worry about getting it perfect in a *later* draft.
I'm nowhere near the level of some of my favorite authors, and I should stop thinking I have to have a perfectly polished draft from the get go.
So.... Friday, I decided that I should try writing again, and thought that TEN needs to be fully revised, from the start. It was stalling me a lot, and I could not get past certain things with it, and some of it was illogical for a contemporary, Earth bound romance story.
I started writing it as just a regular story of a small town boy that meets his match on the desire battlefield... The next thing I knew it was after 2 PM, and I had two whole scenes written in rough draft. Over 1500 words.
Dang, that was easy, once I let go of the notion I have to be perfect in a rough draft.
I keep forgetting exactly *how* much work went into one of my manuscripts, and how long it took me to get it from its initial draft/incarnation to what it is today.
It took me over five years to get that particular manuscript up to the highly polished work it is today. Five years of writing the initial draft/incarnation, edits, revisions, more edits, rereads, critiques, more revisions, and a full rewrite, and more revisions, edits, critiques, and so on.
That said, it was worth it. Every single minute of it was a lesson on what to do, and what to avoid.
I'm still learning, and thank heavens I am able to talk to others with more experience, and who know what they're doing. Not just in my genre, but others too.
It's because of their guidance, honesty and experience that I am the writer I am today. I am so grateful for everything they have taught me, and what they will teach me in the future.
On a final note, WHOM GODS DESTROY has started re-releasing their songs from their 2007 Demo and their 2011 album "Signs Of Life" as videos with lyrics in them on YouTube. It makes it so much easier to learn the songs, or it is for me. *laughs*
In closing, I give you one of my favorite songs, "Sea of Tears", from their 2007 4 track Demo CD.
A big WELCOME to all, and I hope you like the new look of my blog. The background photo is one I took myself, on my brand new smart phone - which was a combination reward for reaching 2 years smoke free and early birthday present to myself. It's a Samsung Galaxy A5, and I LOVE IT. I also found a gorgeous case for it, it has a nebula on the back and it's all different colors. So pretty and so ME.
Love it!! OTHER NEWS...
Three weeks. That's all we have left of summer vacation. The last 8 weeks sped by, in a haze of writing exercises, zipping around the area with my son, tripping over the damn cat, and trying to figure out the best spots for updating my exercise regimen, preferably in a controlled environment - no bugs and little humidity in the summer, with no ice and warmer temps in the winter, and something that doesn't have only walking either, somewhere that has other exercise activities I enjoy. I found a spot, and once school starts, I hope to start going there a few times in a trial run... If I like their facilities, I'm going to join in a full membership. They have swimming, a walk track, yoga, aqua-fitness classes, and if you like it, ice skating - not something I do, but others love it. There may be more in time, but so far it's looking like it's right up my alley. :) I have a brand new bathing suit that will fit me AND I actually *like* on order from an online retailer (it's hard to find really cool stuff in my tastes for girls my size), and I'm going to be getting a pair of yoga capris, along with a tee-shirt that's suitable. Did I hear a few of you faint? *blink* Yes, I hope to take some yoga too, so I need the damn pants. It's not easy to do yoga in jeans, especially the style I wear. As for swimming, it's one of my favorite activities. I just don't do it very often now due to lack of bathing suit that fits me properly. I hope the new one does, because I'm sick of being stuck on the sidelines while everyone else is having fun in the water. It's a great exercise all around, even for people with arthritis or other mobility problems. It gets the entire body involved, which is what I want. I like walking but swimming is FUN all around, and has been to me since I first learned how to swim at the age of 9 years old. Son loves it too so y'all know he'll be tagging along occasionally, if there isn't school on certain days, or if we decide to go on a weekend. Things are easier for me to do now, I'm more mobile for the first time in years, and I love it. I'm hoping to get back into the writing routine when I'm not at the Centre this coming school year. I'm starting to get ideas for some of the stories I have on the go - I have THREE WIPs right now! - and I'd love to get back into at least one of them. I do hate leaving a story unfinished........... Son is excited about school starting in three weeks. We are now officially DONE school shopping, and I'll soon be digging out his bookbag and school supplies to organize. We are going in for a tour of the Grade 6 wing and the rest of the Junior High end of campus the day before school starts, so Son can get his bearings, see who his teacher and the TA will be, and maybe even meet a few of his classmates that are special needs from the one feeder school that has their grade 6 class go into junior high. Today is also World Photography Day... Here are a couple of photos I took myself in celebration:
The first few are of my favorite beach, taken the other night, and the last one is of Amber who was on my chest. That's literally what I see when she does that. Thank you to all who sent me birthday wishes so far, that was very kind of you. Since it is my day, I will leave you with something I love.... My favorite cover of all time. Everyone, please enjoy "The Sound of Silence" from the album "Immortalized" by one of my favorite all time bands, DISTURBED.
It's the final countdown... Countdown to summer - two days away - countdown to Father's Day - Tomorrow, and lastly, the countdown to Son's last day in Grade Five.... Which also means his last day in Elementary school. Thursday. Thursday, June 23rd is the last day Son will be an elementary school student, he will be graduating from the little school into Junior High and the "Big School" on June 29th. The countdown to saying goodbye to his elementary school autism team has begun too. Some members like Cathy from the Autism Centre will be traveling with us to the next level, so will Barb from Assistive Technology, but we will leave his current Resource Teacher, the Vice Principal, and lastly his Teacher's Aide behind as he takes a giant leap from one level to the next. I had my first Transition Meeting with the Grade Six team on June 7th... They all seem like great people and some of them can not wait to get Son in their class! The Junior High Resource Teacher is very excited to be teaching Son this coming fall, and can't wait for summer to get over. She's already making plans for his time with her, and even has ideas on ways to help him if he's in the middle of a "stuck" episode (where he can't move on to the next activity), and get him even more interested in scholar pursuits. She's high energy, which is what Son needs. I hadn't met the Grade Six teachers yet but I like them. One even asked me if we can get some instrumental heavy metal songs for his reading time, because she puts "yoga music" to help the kids concentrate on their reading... Which would set Son off. He HATES anything other than heavy metal and rock - yes, that is MY influence, OOPS! (NOT!) - so we're now looking at instrumental pieces by Disturbed and other bands he likes so he can listen to it on his school tablet with the ear phones and not have to worry about him taking a meltdown. What really made me happy was meeting one of the TA's for Grade Six. She's a former school mate of mine! She was a year ahead of me in school, but her brother and I were in the same grade from Primary upwards... And BOTH of her parents taught me. Her mom was my grade 4 teacher, and her dad was my grade 5 teacher. I loved both of them, and they are two of my favorite all time teachers to this day. I wish either or both of them were still teaching now, so there was a chance Son would be lucky enough to be in one of their classes........... It was a relief knowing I already know one of the TAs somewhat (it's been years since I saw her, but we did recognize each other!).... That reassures me Son is in AWESOME hands, even though Mrs. T won't be with him next year - she helps out with Elementary students only (poo! :( )... However, he's allowed visiting her once in a while at the Little School, same goes for all of his old teachers over there. Orientation night for ALL parents and students entering the junior high - grade six for our school, grade 7 for the other feeder schools - was on June 13th. We didn't go on the tour because Son already knows where most things are over at the big school - he takes Music, sometimes Gym class, and eats lunch in the Cafeteria there - and we will be getting a personalized tour the day before school opens in September. It was the Resource Teacher's idea, and I'm glad she asked about it, because if she hadn't, I was going to. LOL As for Son, he's pretty excited about moving forward... Although I don't think it's really sunk in to his brain what's really going on this coming fall just yet. I don't think it will until he's actually *there* in the classroom on the first day of school, in a new building with new teachers, a new TA, and new faces from the Grade 7 wing staring back at him. I think it'll sink in then and we'll have a few really rough spots. I hope not. I want him to enjoy his school years. I hated mine, because I was the fat girl and bullied from Primary to my graduating year. I'm just grateful he's only moving from one building to another on the same campus. When I started junior high - ironically at the same school complex, but another building, the current building was built in 1997, I graduated into high school in the late 80s - I had been at one of the feeder schools, and my class was only 30 students, compared to the 50 plus that had come from the elementary end of the complex. He already knows the majority of students that will be in Junior High this coming fall, thank heavens.... Our neighbor's daughter will be there, she's in Grade 8 this coming year, she and her friends were always good with Son, probably because they knew he needed help with some things, and they are great kids. I thank my lucky star that she's still there, and will be for Son's first two years of Junior high. Yeah, busy times. I hope things go smoothly. Wish us luck! :) So........ I've been doing more work on an older manuscript that was started a couple of years ago, but never finished. "Away to Me" kind of took over the brain halfway through writing this one manuscript, so it was set aside. Although it's been on my mind a LOT, I really didn't think I'd ever finish it. Well, I've looked at it, did a lot of revisions, and I'm considering MORE once school starts up again in the fall. I may rewrite it - or the premise of it at least - or I may leave it as is but just edit and do a LOT of revisions and polishing to get it "just right". Peapod and I have been discussing things in regard to it, and although I'm not "overcome" by this one again, just looking at it is good enough for me. It goes to show I'm not dead in the water with the writing, and it shows that maybe "Away to Me" and "Hearts Remembering" will not be the only stories I write. I hope I can write again anyway..... If not, I may wind up shooting someone..... It's also countdown to "TWO YEARS SMOKE FREE"... Today marks ONE YEAR, ELEVEN MONTHS SMOKE FREE! :) My reward is going to see LIVE MUSIC thanks to Troubled Waters, they are holding an event in town again on the 24th. It's a release party for Flesh Cauldron's album "Lightening Leather", and it features them, WHOM GODS DESTROY and other local metal bands. Come on, y'all KNOW I can't resist live metal music, especially if Whom Gods Destroy is playing! LOL Can't wait! Have a great weekend everyone! I leave you with photos of Amber, lazying in the sunlight on top of my monitor.
