Category: Home

After feast comes famine

#books, #design, #dystopian, #nerd, #publishing, Art, costuming, Crafting, embroidery, Exercise, Fitness, Geek, Health, Holiday, Home, Novel, SCA, Sci-fi, Sewing, Stress, Thanksgiving, Time, Weight loss, Work, Writing

I made it through Thanksgiving weekend, despite my stomach and esophagus rebelling against the copious amounts of food I had each day. Now I have to buckle down and get back to work on Escaping the Light, among other things. 

There’s still the original Super Sekret Projekt for embroidery that needs to be done, and the current projects I have lined up. There’s making gift bags for the Christmas holiday giving season. There’s embroidery that the Baroness of a nearby Barony asked me to do before Estrella War. There’s my husband’s Viking hood to finish. There’s two full Persian outfits to make before January. There’s a lot.

In addition to going back to my old writing and crafting habits, I have to create new eating and exercising habits. I’m tired of being fat. I’m tired of feeling sluggish and miserable. I’m going to go back to exercising with my friends, but I worry that I won’t be able to get back into the routine or keep up like I used to. They have never once made me feel bad about not being on their level physically, but my own tricksy mind has. I mean, I used to kind of be able to keep up. Now, on the rare occasions when I’ve gone back, I am far, far behind while they all have increased their stamina and endurance. It sucks.

Today I have my annual physical, too. So I have to tell the doc about the weight issues and other concerns I have…like the aforementioned reflux that has been eating away at my esophagus and is in no way healthy. It can be damn dangerous if I let it go, actually, so I need to make sure I get some kind of prescription for it. I can take OTC meds, but there might be something stronger or better for it that he can prescribe. Maybe.

The breakneck pace of constant SCA events and other running around has slowed some, but not much. I’ve got a dyeing class that I’m going to this weekend, a household meeting (we’re finally officially members of House Sable Millrind!), next weekend is Christmas shopping with household members, the weekend after is the work Christmas party, the week after that is pre-Christmas at the in-laws’ house, the week after is…something, I’m sure. Maybe that’s a weekend off–I don’t know anymore.

Amidst all of that I still have to find time to exercise, to practice rapier more, to write/revise…

…And to goddamn sit up straighter. Geez, I didn’t even have anything overly spicy or irritating for breakfast, but because I’ve been slouching I can feel the acid creeping up inside my chest. Yuck.

The good news is, the Christmas tree has been up for a few days now and no cat destruction has occurred. They’re mildly interested from time to time, but aside from sniffing it or maybe nibbling on the plastic branches, Rory and River really have been good with it. Mostly leaving it alone. Hopefully I won’t lose too many ornaments this year to feline antics.

I still have a couple of Doctor Who ornaments to put up, but they’re fragile and important to us because they were gifts, so I’m waiting until I’m 100% sure they’re at least relatively safe from the cats. 

I guess that’s about all for now. Life moves on. The wheels keep turning and all that. But I’ve got at least some semblance of a plan for keeping myself in better shape and for getting things done.

Incoming

#books, #nerd, #publishing, Abnormal, anxiety, family, Geek, Home, Marketing, Mental Health, Novel, Parties, Promotion, Reading, SCA, Sci-fi, Social Media, Stress, swordfighting, Time, Writing

The weekend is upon us, and it’s Crown Tourney weekend for those SCA folks in Atenveldt. That means lots of fighting and fun–except there was a minor major hiccup with the site, which means I suddenly have lots of houseguests incoming. 

I don’t mind being hospitable to our chosen family (especially since our guests include my husband’s Peer and his belt brother/sister), but I’m wondering how the ol’ social anxiety will hold up for the weekend. I can handle people over at my house for a little while, but these people won’t be going home until Sunday. Two whole days of people in my house. Mine. I know, I know, it’s not the invasion of the Huns–it’s just a weekend. Still, the animal brain inside my head is in defend-my-territory mode, and I need to find a way to calm it down.

I also need to find a way to get this place presentable this afternoon. I’m skipping the contemplation hafla (drum and dance party) because A – I don’t dance and B – I don’t know the person being elevated. I’m going to be tired after work, and I’d rather have a smidge more time to myself before chaos reigns.

There’s laundry still to do, plus the aforementioned cleaning, plus figuring out what-all I’m going to wear this weekend, plus hostessing, plus plus plus. Oh yeah, and I have to keep up the work on doing my marketing workshop assignments, which means finding time to blog/tweet/Instagram/Facebook etc etc. Eight more days until Abnormal‘s release! Tick-tock, man, tick-tock.

The battle (moor) is over

#design, #dystopian, #nerd, #publishing, Art, Crafting, Critique, Education, embroidery, Exercise, fencing, Friendship, Geek, Home, Learning, martial arts, Novel, SCA, Sci-fi, Sewing, swordfighting, Thoughts, Time, Work, Writing

We have left Battlemoor behind, and soon Colorado will be in the rear view mirror and we’ll be staying the night in Albuquerque before we go home.
I had a great time, but I miss my Rory-kins and my River monster. It’ll be good to be home and have them happy to see me. It’ll also be nice to sleep in my own bed … and write on my couch.
I managed to get a decent amount of writing done while on vacation, but I’ve got a lot left to do. I’ve gotten my MC into a sticky situation, and I’ve got to get her out of it… but I’ve got half a book to go for that.
I met many new people and made a few new friends this past weekend. Got some good rapier fighting in, and (in a rarity only found in out-of-kingdom events) managed to get to fight only people I’ve never fought before. Won a few fights, lost a few, but thanks to my rapier teacher I’m trying a new thing where I try to remember at least one thing I learned from each fight to help teach me new things and learn how to improve. I wasn’t able to get over my shyness to ask other fighters for pickup fights, but a couple of people asked me so I did get a few non-tournament fights in.
Tuesday I go back to work and fully back to mundane life. It’ll be a little bittersweet, because I’ll be back to normal but I’ll have to leave SCA life behind for a while. Not completely behind–I never get completely away from it because I’m always working on craft projects in my off time. I have to buckle down and get my A&S projects finished when I get home. I’m not going to try for Champion this go around. Novice for me this time, but maybe for the Kingdom A&S in the fall. We shall see.
Speaking of down time, I should get some writing in while I’m sitting here in the back seat.

This brainstorming episode has been interrupted by…reality

#design, #dystopian, #publishing, Art, Convention, Corsetry, Cosplay, costuming, Crafting, embroidery, Friendship, Geek, Home, Novel, Parties, SCA, Sci-fi, Sewing, Steampunk, Stress, Thoughts, Time, Writing

I have it all planned out. In the mornings, I will write. Or embroider. Or remake my Dark Phoenix corset for Tucson Comic Con so it fits. Or do some such creative endeavor. I mean, I’m up early enough usually, and my husband is either sleeping or working. Lots of “free” time to create.
Except…We have that huge SCAdian housewarming party this weekend. And my husband’s Peer is staying in the craft room. And the craft room looks like a crafting tornado hit it. FML.
I hate cleaning before I have to work, though. I have limited time in the mornings because I have to pay attention to what time it is so I can get my shower in and get dressed and whatnot. When I’m hip-deep in fabric, it’s harder to keep track. I either waste time constantly watching the clock, or I set an alarm which goes off mid-project. I have the afternoon off today, so theoretically I can get work done then, but then the problem of needing to get other projects done comes in. I have things like blood work to get. And a podiatrist appointment. And SCA scribal stuff to do.
There are shelves to store the fabric in so I have easier access and can see at more or less a glance what I have–but I have to sort and fold all the fabric and put said fabric on the shelves. There are two 6’x3′ tables that are CHOCK FULL of supplies and sewing machines and what have you on top of them that I need to clear off for potluck foodstuffs that will be brought by our guests.
*Sigh* I suppose Book 2 and the embroidery projects I have will have to hold off for a bit. At least a couple of days, until I can get the craft room presentable. Then it’ll have to wait for me to set everything up in its proper place. Then…I write? I hope.

Gone to bed–time to start the day

#dreams, #dystopian, #publishing, Convention, Home, Marketing, Novel, Promotion, Sci-fi, Social Media, Stress, Writing

It’s bedtime for ABNORMAL. I’ve officially emailed the final revisions to RhetAskew.
Soon come the marketing materials and the footwork to get ABNORMAL out in the public eye. I have a lot of work ahead of me; I’m not trying to fool myself into thinking things are done. Even if I didn’t have Book 2 and the others to write, I’ve got to put in as much work as possible on the marketing.
Ah, marketing. The thing I spent my first year of college majoring in. Twenty years ago. If I recall, the only actual marketing course I managed to take before I switched majors was Business Statistics. So yeah. I’m flying blind here.
There’s one small local bookstore that I’ve heard of. A couple bigger ones in Tucson and probably a bunch in Phoenix. And I wouldn’t rule out traveling out-of-state for conventions or book signings. That’s not enough, though. I’ve got to blow up Twitter and Instagram and Facebook and All The Things to get word out. But it’s not like I don’t have resources. I can look up blogs on book marketing, ask my publishers for advice, ask other authors who’ve had success in their own marketing.
Until my marketing package arrives though, I guess I’m going to start back on Book 2.
Well, after today’s barbecue.
Welcome to home ownership.

So close, yet so far away

family, Home, Thoughts

Timing is everything…and it looks like we were just in time–or not.
See, part of the reason for the whole house thing–the land transfer from my parents, the building, the moving–was so we could be closer to Mom to be able to help her if needed. My mom has fibromyalgia and has a tendency to overdo things (and thus be out of commission for days afterward) or to lose her balance and fall. Yesterday, the latter happened as she was on a walk. By our house. Like, right next to our driveway.
We were cleaning our apartment at the time.
It was a #fml moment to realize that at the exact moment we were getting most of the last of the stuff out of the apartment my mom needed us. Sure, my sister was with her…but she wouldn’t have had to hobble all the way across our adjoining land (on a broken left foot) to get home, and she wouldn’t have had to wait for my dad to get off work to go to the ER. Even if I had been at work, my husband could have checked on her, made her stay put, walked over and gotten her car, helped her into it, and taken her to the ER right away. Did I mention she hit her head when she fell? Yeah. That too.
She’s okay; she’s in a splint for her foot and I guess testing showed that her head was okay. But still, it was a hard reminder of why we really moved. It wasn’t just to get out of apartment life. It was to be there, extra hands if needed, for Mom.
And we weren’t. We could have been. And there are going to be times when we’re not here. We’ll be at SCA events or I’ll be at work and we won’t have the car or we’ll be at the movies or grocery shopping or whatever. But, for the most part, we’ll be here. Four acres away.
We just weren’t here yesterday. 🙁

Signed, sealed, delivered, HOME

#design, #dreams, #nerd, #publishing, Art, Crafting, fencing, Home, Marketing, Novel, Parties, Promotion, SCA, Sci-fi, Sewing, Sleep, Social Media, Stress, swordfighting, Time, Writing

We did it! After more than a year and a half of planning and building and paperwork and stress, our house is our house. We can sleep and eat and shower and live in it!
The first night went well, though I didn’t sleep any better than usual. Still woke up ass-early in the morning, but I was able to do some revisions on the chaise of the couch while my husband slept soundly, without worrying about typing too loud or finding headphones to listen to music on the laptop.
Yeah, there are boxes everywhere. Yeah, we still don’t have all the smart home stuff fully set up (though I can turn on/off lights and fans and such with my phone or the Echo now). Yeah, there’s still stuff lingering in the apartment. Yeah, we still need to clean the apartment. We have to officially change our address at the post office and numerous other places. We have to get used to driving an extra 20+ minutes to get anywhere compared to the 5-10 minutes it used to take when we lived “in town.” We’ve got stuff that we need to purchase to maintain the land and house and all that. But we’re home.
Rory and River love it. They were apprehensive at first, but once they realized they were here to stay and they had twice the space to explore as the apartment, they were all about the house. There’s new furniture and old to climb on, new windows to look out (with windowsills they both fit on), and a nice, new concrete floor to lie on when they need to cool off.
This upcoming long weekend will be a huge help in getting settled. We’re going to see Solo on Saturday (and making an out-of-town trip for it), but otherwise we don’t really have anything planned. We can take a breath and focus and get things organized. Just knowing that we have that little bit of extra time helps me relax and get out of OMG-I-have-so-much-stuff-to-do-and-no-time mode.
Revisions are coming along again now that we’re moved. I’m about halfway through a preliminary read of the edits, but of course I have to review everything a couple of times before resubmitting. After all, this is the LAST batch of edits. The LAST revisions before publication. I can’t say when publication is yet, because I haven’t been officially announced by the publisher, but as soon as I can I’ll be blasting it all over the Interwebs. (Which reminds me, I need to get back to actually utilizing Twitter to grow a fanbase/network and to start marketing.) I’ve given my publishers an open invite to stay with us should they ever come to Arizona, and there are tentative plans in the works to get some booths set up at local conventions once the book is published.
As soon as this first book is “put to bed” I’m going to get cracking on simultaneous edits/rewrites on Book 2 and SCA Arts & Sciences projects. I have to learn/write the documentation for the one thing I’ve made so far, finish the research on the research paper I plan on writing, and potentially make a third thing for entry. I’ve gone from entering just in the local Baronial Arts & Sciences competition to entering as part of a household in another Barony. Still a lot to do in just a month or two, but I’ll be okay. I just need to breathe and not stress out too much about any of it. Of course, to make the third as-yet-to-be-determined thing for A&S I’ll need a new chair for the craft room. Turns out the carefully-planned room (which is still awesome) does not have enough room for the futon I used to sit on, so I need an actual, like, office chair or something. Oh yeah, and I have to put all the crap in there away, or at least “away enough” to where I can start on the third project. At least the research paper doesn’t need to be constructed, just written and printed.
We have no less than three house parties in the works now, with one huge SCA party planned, one party for family and coworkers, and one party (date as-yet-to-be-determined) for close friends. I’m hoping to get at least some of the “rapier obstacle course” that I plan on making done by the SCA party, so we can have some er, party games. Yeah. Party games. With mutherfuckin’ swords. Hell yeah.
Lots to do, but much less pressure now.
Now that I’m home.
Home, sweet home.

Slow but sure

#design, #nerd, #publishing, Art, costuming, Crafting, Critique, embroidery, Friendship, games, Geek, Home, Marketing, Musings, Novel, Promotion, SCA, Sewing, Stress, Time, Work, Writing

Revisions are… coming along. Slowly. Mainly because of adverbs like slowly and mainly. And because of gerunds. I apparently love gerunds. It’s funny the things you don’t realize you do until someone points out how often you do them.
I’ll get it all fixed though. I am so excited for this book to be published! It’s been a long couple of years since I made the resolution to get the first draft finished, but I’m now on the final revisions and Book 2 is in the early stages of revisions for the first draft. It’s got a long way to go as well, but now that I’m more aware of my gerund affinity I’m sure it’ll be easier … Won’t it?
Oh, who am I kidding? I’ll be just as stressed for Book 2, 3, and onward. Lol But it’ll all be worth it. I just have to push on.
In other news, the house is almost home and I’m doing some unwinding this weekend in between revision sessions. Soon things will be back to (my) normal. Work is work, and crafting is taking a hiatus while I finish the book. That means I probably won’t get the time to make and document enough stuff to enter as Champion for the Baronial Arts and Sciences competition. I can still enter as novice in a couple categories, but I’m a little disappointed in myself for not being able to go for the big prize right out of the gate. I had wanted to push myself, but maybe all this is the Universe’s way of telling me to simmer down and just take my time. I have the rest of my life with the SCA to try for Champion; I don’t need to get greedy the first time I enter.
Well, guess I should stop dwelling and get to the relaxation part of my weekend… While it lasts 😉

A portent of things to come

#design, #dreams, #dystopian, #publishing, Home, Marketing, Novel, Promotion, Sci-fi, Sleep, Stress, Time, Writing

I received the best email this morning: the previews for the promotional materials for my book! They look great, and it’s lit a new fire under me to get my revisions done ASAP.
Unfortunately, I’m still mid-move, so that throws a bit of a wrench into things. I can’t just wake up early and open the laptop and get cracking. I have to pack boxes and get those things ready. That’s in the mornings; the evenings (after work) are for unpacking said boxes in the house. We’ve gotten maybe half of the apartment moved over, but the remaining half is the tough stuff. Clothes, dishes, electronics, deep freeze, food, bed, TV, and all the little piddly stuff that’s been left. I don’t know where I’m going to get the time. Well, I suppose I could cut back on what little sleep I get….
I’ll get it done by the deadline. I have to. I’m not giving myself any other option.
It’ll be nice to finally be in our house… But I can’t let my guard down. I’ve got to remember that I’ve still got work to do.

Seal of approval

#dystopian, #publishing, Home, Novel, SCA, Writing

It’s nearly done! After almost two years of planning and 7-8 months of building, our home loan has been approved! This Friday we sign the loan, and Monday we’re officially moved in (okay, so we’ve been moving our crap in ever since the builders told us that we could start).
Some of this early, early morning (thanks, Rory) has been spent packing boxes. I may or may not have gotten distracted looking for my first SCA award, which we plan on getting framed along with all the others and hung in the Olrun-and-Floki-SCA-Hall-of-Fame, but it was found safe and sound and now is with all the other awards we have received that are yet to be framed–except my husband’s Queen’s Cipher. He put that….somewhere. He’ll have to find that one.
Once I ran out of boxes, I decided I kindamaybesorta need to get cracking on revisions. Yep, my latest round of line edits has been returned, but I was so frustrated at comments or suggestions that didn’t make sense to me that I took a step back from it. Now, though, I have to somehow manage moving to a new home, working full time, and completing said revisions. Oh, and SCA life. And crafting. No sweat, right? Right. Sure. I can do this.
Rory and River have figured out that there’s something going on–we’re excited, we’re moving stuff around, boxes are appearing and stuff is disappearing–but they don’t yet know what’s in store. I can’t wait to see them chasing each other around the house!
Yeah, my commute to work goes from 5 minutes to 25. Yeah, it takes longer to get to the grocery store. Yeah, we’ve gotten spoiled by the small-town nothing-takes-longer-than-10-minutes-to-get-there life. But soon–SOON–we will be home.
Our home.
Our house.