Okay, so between the extra coffee in my coffee and the early external interaction, I'm more awake than usual when I write the Sunday Update. Let's see if that helps...
Writing: I got the 2nd round notes finished for Sleeping Ugly. Only 8 pages worth this time. Then I took Friday off. I meant to work my ass off on Saturday, but I started a book Friday afternoon that sucked me in and made me not want to do anything else. I finished that and got to work last night. Almost two pages worth of notes are tackled. Yay.
Reading: The book that sucked me in was A Grave Mistake by Alexander Tarler. So totally different from any other zombie story, which is why I bought it. (I don't usually get into zombie fiction, but the premise was worth the chance.) It reads more like a fun fantasy novel and the necromancer and his zombies are the heroes of the piece. So cool. It took me about 24 hours to read. (Not all of them, but throughout the course of one evening and the next day.) I didn't read anything else because I was focusing on getting the editing done.
As for the early external interaction, I had a PM from the author of
above novel waiting for me when I woke up this morning. My first
thought was 'ut-oh, I wonder what I said that would make him PM me'. My
second thought was 'I'm going to need more coffee before I reply'.
After I got the more coffee, I read what he wrote and replied. It was
all good. He seems like a cool guy. A young writer. And he said my
review and my comments helped him, so it's all good. I hope he does
well.
Gardening: My anemone bulbs came in. They looked like rocks. They might be dead, I think. I planted them anyway. If they don't come in, someone is getting a terse letter, lemme tell ya. I also did some more weeding, because weeds don't stay weeded. On an up note, my roses are still blooming like crazy and so's the hydrangea. Plus, my hollyhocks have buds for the first time. Yay!
Exercising: Did 6 out of 7 days again of active stuff. Only 4 were actual exercising. The rest were cleaning or gardening. No weight lost last week, but I'm holding steady considering how naughty I was with my eating habits. Going back for seconds, even when the food is healthier, is a bad idea. But the cheesy salsa chicken was so yummy, I couldn't help myself.
Cheesy Salsa Chicken
1 whole chicken breast
mild think-n-chunky salsa
colby-jack shredded cheese
Place breast in baking pan. Cover with salsa. Sprinkle cheese over it all. Bake at 375F for 30-40 minutes or until juices run clear. (Which is kind of hard to see with the salsa all over it. You kind of have to take it out and cut it in half and make sure the meat is white all the way through.) Cut in half and serve. (Hubs didn't eat all of his half, so there was my second helping.) I served it with Uncle Ben's Ready Rice - Pinto Beans and Rice variety. So yummy.
Okay, there's probably more, but I'm tired of being social and I have stuff to do this morning. Ta-ta for now.
How was your week?
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Thursday This n That
My ad comes out today and the waiting is kinda killin' me.
We've been updating the drainage system here. We live on a hill, you see, and so when it rains, the water comes straight down the hill toward our house. Which means we realized the first month we were here that we needed some kind of drainage system. And what we created works for the most part. Except that ditch I created next to the driveway. I mean, it works, but it's eroding . Soooo... We've come up with an idea to line the ditch with larger rocks. Lord knows we have enough rocks around here. It's about 60% done now and yesterday's gullywasher proved that it works. The fast moving water was slowed down by the rocks. Yay. Now to finish it. Hubs has been a champ, filling the wheelbarrow with rocks from the downslope, rolling it back uphill, and adding them to the ditch. He's awesome.
I haven't exercised since Monday and I'm feeling like a toad. I did some gardening yesterday - enough to break a sweat - but not really a lot. I'll rectify that later this morning and do my exercises.
I looked out the window just now and saw 4 deer and 3 turkeys. I told Hubs "Your entourage is here." He's feeding them now.
I need to bake something, so Hubs has treats. I have the ingredients for cake cookie bars. I just need to get off my butt and make them.
Raspberry sherbet with chocolate ice cream is yummy. And I found this 'choco-politan' ice cream at Wallyworld. It's like Neapolitan, but with three strips of different chocolate instead of the usual brown/white/pink. This is dark/white/milk chocolates. Yum.
The more I exercise, the more I can eat treats without gaining weight. Funny how that works. I mean, not A LOT of treats or it defeats the purpose, but still.
Ugh, I need to vacuum.
What's on your this n that list today?
We've been updating the drainage system here. We live on a hill, you see, and so when it rains, the water comes straight down the hill toward our house. Which means we realized the first month we were here that we needed some kind of drainage system. And what we created works for the most part. Except that ditch I created next to the driveway. I mean, it works, but it's eroding . Soooo... We've come up with an idea to line the ditch with larger rocks. Lord knows we have enough rocks around here. It's about 60% done now and yesterday's gullywasher proved that it works. The fast moving water was slowed down by the rocks. Yay. Now to finish it. Hubs has been a champ, filling the wheelbarrow with rocks from the downslope, rolling it back uphill, and adding them to the ditch. He's awesome.
I haven't exercised since Monday and I'm feeling like a toad. I did some gardening yesterday - enough to break a sweat - but not really a lot. I'll rectify that later this morning and do my exercises.
I looked out the window just now and saw 4 deer and 3 turkeys. I told Hubs "Your entourage is here." He's feeding them now.
I need to bake something, so Hubs has treats. I have the ingredients for cake cookie bars. I just need to get off my butt and make them.
Raspberry sherbet with chocolate ice cream is yummy. And I found this 'choco-politan' ice cream at Wallyworld. It's like Neapolitan, but with three strips of different chocolate instead of the usual brown/white/pink. This is dark/white/milk chocolates. Yum.
The more I exercise, the more I can eat treats without gaining weight. Funny how that works. I mean, not A LOT of treats or it defeats the purpose, but still.
Ugh, I need to vacuum.
What's on your this n that list today?
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Randomosity
My posts this week are like a box of chocolates... Sorry, slipped into Gumpian mode.
Anyway... Wish in One Hand is on sale starting today. 99c here in the US. .99p in the UK. Sorry if you're elsewhere, but Amazon doesn't allow me to have Kindle Countdowns in other countries. It'd be cool if they did, but I don't have that kind of decision-making power at the big A.
By the way, if you've accidentally purchased a box of chocolates without a map to tell you what's in each one, you can poke a hole in the bottom of each one to tell which ones are the best without anyone knowing they've been examined. ;o)
Unless they're hard caramels. Those suckers don't allow for poking. Too hard. Which is why I don't eat them. Plus, they stick in my teeth. I hate that.
My eyes are gritty and gluey this morning. Too much time on the Kindle, I expect. But it's because I'm using it to edit. Read on the Kindle, make notes in the big notebook.
We got a hailstorm the other day. Beat the living hell out of my peonies. =o(
I pronounce PEONY pee-a-knee. Yesterday, I ran into someone who pronounced it pee-O-knee. Hmm. Might be a Missouri thing.
We watched Best Baker in America last night and for the initial challenge, the chefs had to make strawberry shortcake. They all had to make them using some kind of biscuit. Ew. In my world, we mean it when we say shortCAKE. It's best with pound cake or hot milk sponge cake. I had it with biscuits once. It was gross. Might've been the chick who made it, though. She was evil and her strawberries had no sugar. Blech.
Okay, that's quite enough out of me. Feel free to spread news of the sale around, if you're so inclined.
See ya in the funny papers.
Anyway... Wish in One Hand is on sale starting today. 99c here in the US. .99p in the UK. Sorry if you're elsewhere, but Amazon doesn't allow me to have Kindle Countdowns in other countries. It'd be cool if they did, but I don't have that kind of decision-making power at the big A.
By the way, if you've accidentally purchased a box of chocolates without a map to tell you what's in each one, you can poke a hole in the bottom of each one to tell which ones are the best without anyone knowing they've been examined. ;o)
Unless they're hard caramels. Those suckers don't allow for poking. Too hard. Which is why I don't eat them. Plus, they stick in my teeth. I hate that.
My eyes are gritty and gluey this morning. Too much time on the Kindle, I expect. But it's because I'm using it to edit. Read on the Kindle, make notes in the big notebook.
We got a hailstorm the other day. Beat the living hell out of my peonies. =o(
I pronounce PEONY pee-a-knee. Yesterday, I ran into someone who pronounced it pee-O-knee. Hmm. Might be a Missouri thing.
We watched Best Baker in America last night and for the initial challenge, the chefs had to make strawberry shortcake. They all had to make them using some kind of biscuit. Ew. In my world, we mean it when we say shortCAKE. It's best with pound cake or hot milk sponge cake. I had it with biscuits once. It was gross. Might've been the chick who made it, though. She was evil and her strawberries had no sugar. Blech.
Okay, that's quite enough out of me. Feel free to spread news of the sale around, if you're so inclined.
See ya in the funny papers.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Sunday Update - Week 20
Good morning. The coffee is strong here today by necessity. Grab a cup.
Another week of not much going on in the writing/editing sphere. I finished round 1 of the edits on Sleeping Ugly. As I lay in bed last night trying to sleep and failing miserably, I started writing SU#2 in my head. Desperate for sleep, I did not get up and write any of it down. Needless to say, I lost all that between then and this morning. SU is sitting my Kindle waiting for me to get back to work on it, which I will do today. I have 11 days, but I will have it ready for the editor on June 1st.
I read four books last week. A crime novel (Deadly Welcome by John D. MacDonald), a fun mystery (Hitwoman in a Pickle by JB Lynn), a fantasy (Dragon's Child by DJ Salisbury), and a romance (Where There's Smoke... by Laura Abbot). Which puts me only 6 books behind on my Goodreads goal.
On the get-healthy front, I did something active 6 out of 7 days (took my birthday off) and lost about another half pound. Bringing me to 3.2lbs lost since I bought the new scale during week 16. So, about a month. If you're keeping track - which you probably aren't - that leaves me at 191.2 as of yesterday morning.
Other than buying a cheesecake sampler for my birthday, I ate pretty healthy, too. Fish or lean meats and salads and fresh fruit at mealtimes. Nuts and prunes and dark chocolate or baked chips and crackers for snacks.
For my birthday, I had a choice to either go fishing or go shopping. Since it was hot and sunny, I went shopping. Bought stuff for my birthday dinner and dessert. Picked up eight books at St. Vinny's. Made it home without stopping at KFC. It was a good day. But I was so hot and tired by dinner time, I bypassed dinner and had cheesecake instead. Hubs made himself something or other. It's all good.
The trout for our anniversary dinner turned out amazeballs.
I also went fishing once last week. You can read about that here, if you want to.
That's about it for me. How was your Week 20?
Another week of not much going on in the writing/editing sphere. I finished round 1 of the edits on Sleeping Ugly. As I lay in bed last night trying to sleep and failing miserably, I started writing SU#2 in my head. Desperate for sleep, I did not get up and write any of it down. Needless to say, I lost all that between then and this morning. SU is sitting my Kindle waiting for me to get back to work on it, which I will do today. I have 11 days, but I will have it ready for the editor on June 1st.
I read four books last week. A crime novel (Deadly Welcome by John D. MacDonald), a fun mystery (Hitwoman in a Pickle by JB Lynn), a fantasy (Dragon's Child by DJ Salisbury), and a romance (Where There's Smoke... by Laura Abbot). Which puts me only 6 books behind on my Goodreads goal.
On the get-healthy front, I did something active 6 out of 7 days (took my birthday off) and lost about another half pound. Bringing me to 3.2lbs lost since I bought the new scale during week 16. So, about a month. If you're keeping track - which you probably aren't - that leaves me at 191.2 as of yesterday morning.
Other than buying a cheesecake sampler for my birthday, I ate pretty healthy, too. Fish or lean meats and salads and fresh fruit at mealtimes. Nuts and prunes and dark chocolate or baked chips and crackers for snacks.
For my birthday, I had a choice to either go fishing or go shopping. Since it was hot and sunny, I went shopping. Bought stuff for my birthday dinner and dessert. Picked up eight books at St. Vinny's. Made it home without stopping at KFC. It was a good day. But I was so hot and tired by dinner time, I bypassed dinner and had cheesecake instead. Hubs made himself something or other. It's all good.
The trout for our anniversary dinner turned out amazeballs.
I also went fishing once last week. You can read about that here, if you want to.
That's about it for me. How was your Week 20?
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Saturday Fishing Report - 5/19/18
Hello! I know I haven't done one of these in a while. It's been a slow fishing year for me so far. And the rest of the year ain't lookin' all that great either. I'll fish when I can and report when I think I have anything interesting to say.
I only went out once last week. It was a cloudy afternoon when Hubs and I decided we both had cabin fever and needed to get the hell out of the house. We went to the recently opened park and had the whole place to ourselves. I decided to fish the cove by the boat ramp. And I was getting a lot of hits.
One interesting thing is that something kept taking my worm and not taking it down, per se, but moving it to one side before releasing it. I'd heard about this behavior. It's a fish removing annoyances from where it's bedding. Supposedly, you have to be really on your game to catch a fish right then because they're technically not eating it.
I was not on my game, but I did get a fish to finally hit it like normal and I reeled in a 13" smallmouth. Then the bite dried up and the sun came out.
We moved west to follow the clouds and ended up at my go-to spot. The sun came out there, too. And I got fried because I was too lazy to put on sunscreen. I also caught a 6" bluegill. And learned where they get their names - because this one had strikingly brilliant blue lining its gills. So cool. I'd never actually seen that before. Gotta love spawning.
Hubs didn't catch anything, but it was his first time out this year, so just being at the lake was enough for him. All in all it was a nice afternoon.
If you get a chance, go outside sometime this week and enjoy whatever's left of Spring.
I only went out once last week. It was a cloudy afternoon when Hubs and I decided we both had cabin fever and needed to get the hell out of the house. We went to the recently opened park and had the whole place to ourselves. I decided to fish the cove by the boat ramp. And I was getting a lot of hits.
One interesting thing is that something kept taking my worm and not taking it down, per se, but moving it to one side before releasing it. I'd heard about this behavior. It's a fish removing annoyances from where it's bedding. Supposedly, you have to be really on your game to catch a fish right then because they're technically not eating it.
I was not on my game, but I did get a fish to finally hit it like normal and I reeled in a 13" smallmouth. Then the bite dried up and the sun came out.
We moved west to follow the clouds and ended up at my go-to spot. The sun came out there, too. And I got fried because I was too lazy to put on sunscreen. I also caught a 6" bluegill. And learned where they get their names - because this one had strikingly brilliant blue lining its gills. So cool. I'd never actually seen that before. Gotta love spawning.
Hubs didn't catch anything, but it was his first time out this year, so just being at the lake was enough for him. All in all it was a nice afternoon.
If you get a chance, go outside sometime this week and enjoy whatever's left of Spring.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Thursday This n That
I just did one of those 'list challenge' thingies. This one was supposedly all the books that have ever been on the AP English test. I'd read 35 out of 350+. A lot of the books on there I'd never even heard of. As I expected, there were few I hadn't read that I'd want to. Bleh.
Today is our anniversary. 14 years and still going strong. Marrying Hubs was the best decision I ever made.
I'm making trout for dinner. They just happened to have some at the Wallyworld, so I thought 'why not?'
After several days of hot hot hot, yesterday we had a break in the temps. I had to actually put on pants for our walk. (Instead of shorts, silly.) And because it was cool, we ended up walking about a mile and a half round trip. Which was awesome.
Anybody else watching Long Lost Family? There was one the other night where the adoptive mom told the gal that she'd been put up for adoption because her birth mom had a new boyfriend who didn't want to be burdened with another man's child - which totally wasn't true. But even if it was, what kind of monster would tell that to their child, adopted or not? Made me want to poke that lady in the eye. Gah.
Yes, I am constantly amazed by the stupid, ignorant, cruel things people do. I shouldn't be amazed, but I must hold out some kind of secret hope that men can be better than they are. (Men as a general term referring to humans regardless of gender.)
It's kind of sick that I have to put in qualifiers like the above. But there's a lot of weird in the world right now. :eyeroll:
On a happier note, my birthday is tomorrow. I'll be four dozen. (I've been saying it that way because it amuses me.) I was telling a friend of mine that and said 'four decades' by mistake and she corrected me to five decades. Umm, not quite. LOL. Then we talked Chinese New Year and how this was the year of the Dog and how me being a female born in the year of the dog made me a... She stopped and thought about it for a second and then burst out laughing. I've been using that schtick for years and it works every time. And that's why I don't let it bother me if someone calls me a bitch, because technically, I am one. :cheesy grin:
Have an awesome day out there folks. Don't let the stupid and the ignorant, the cruel or the thoughtless, bother you today. Or any other day, for that matter. =o)
Today is our anniversary. 14 years and still going strong. Marrying Hubs was the best decision I ever made.
I'm making trout for dinner. They just happened to have some at the Wallyworld, so I thought 'why not?'
After several days of hot hot hot, yesterday we had a break in the temps. I had to actually put on pants for our walk. (Instead of shorts, silly.) And because it was cool, we ended up walking about a mile and a half round trip. Which was awesome.
Anybody else watching Long Lost Family? There was one the other night where the adoptive mom told the gal that she'd been put up for adoption because her birth mom had a new boyfriend who didn't want to be burdened with another man's child - which totally wasn't true. But even if it was, what kind of monster would tell that to their child, adopted or not? Made me want to poke that lady in the eye. Gah.
Yes, I am constantly amazed by the stupid, ignorant, cruel things people do. I shouldn't be amazed, but I must hold out some kind of secret hope that men can be better than they are. (Men as a general term referring to humans regardless of gender.)
It's kind of sick that I have to put in qualifiers like the above. But there's a lot of weird in the world right now. :eyeroll:
On a happier note, my birthday is tomorrow. I'll be four dozen. (I've been saying it that way because it amuses me.) I was telling a friend of mine that and said 'four decades' by mistake and she corrected me to five decades. Umm, not quite. LOL. Then we talked Chinese New Year and how this was the year of the Dog and how me being a female born in the year of the dog made me a... She stopped and thought about it for a second and then burst out laughing. I've been using that schtick for years and it works every time. And that's why I don't let it bother me if someone calls me a bitch, because technically, I am one. :cheesy grin:
Have an awesome day out there folks. Don't let the stupid and the ignorant, the cruel or the thoughtless, bother you today. Or any other day, for that matter. =o)
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Riding the High
Yesterday my ad was accepted by Ereader News Today. And I was squeeing like I'd won the lottery. I even posted to FB with a snoopy sticker of him doing a happy dance, I was so excited. Suddenly everything was brighter and the world had a happier outlook. Over one ad.
And I told Hubs later that it was silly to be so inordinately happy over one stupid $40 ad. But I was.
I mean, let's put this into perspective a little.
Getting an ad with any of the big venues is incredibly difficult. I had an ad with ENT back in May of 2015. It was the best sales month I have had since I started this 3 years ago. Hell, 2015 was the best sales year I've had. I got another ad with them a couple months later and that did almost as well. Then I couldn't get an ad with them to save my ass. At one point, I gave up. Why keep submitting ads with them only to get shot down every time?
And then I got over it and began trying again. I requested an ad earlier this year. Oh, they shot that down, too, but I tried again. This time it worked.
Which, like I said, suddenly made everything better. I suddenly became like a bipolar, swinging on the happy side. I was laughing and smiling and filled with the hope of better things to come. Hell, even dinner turned out awesome - with the salmon cooked to perfection and the sweet potato chips full of salty-sweet goodness.
Kind of sick when you think about it. One $40 ad. They're like freakin' drugs, those ads. Once you get the high of an awesome sales day, you're forever chasing it. And it gets really depressing when you can't have it. Yep, when they reject your ad, it's like they're denying you the drug and you're totally jones'n.
So, I'll be running an ad with ENT on May 24th. Wish in One Hand will be on sale for 99c/.99p from the 22nd thru the 29th. I'll probably put some more ads out for that, too. Smaller ads with like Author Billboard and PUFB. We'll see what happens. The hopes are that people will snag WIOH and then get the other genie books, too. :fingers crossed:
For now, though, I'm trying to ride the high of getting the ad and I'll worry about whether it pays for itself later this month.
And I told Hubs later that it was silly to be so inordinately happy over one stupid $40 ad. But I was.
I mean, let's put this into perspective a little.
Getting an ad with any of the big venues is incredibly difficult. I had an ad with ENT back in May of 2015. It was the best sales month I have had since I started this 3 years ago. Hell, 2015 was the best sales year I've had. I got another ad with them a couple months later and that did almost as well. Then I couldn't get an ad with them to save my ass. At one point, I gave up. Why keep submitting ads with them only to get shot down every time?
And then I got over it and began trying again. I requested an ad earlier this year. Oh, they shot that down, too, but I tried again. This time it worked.
Which, like I said, suddenly made everything better. I suddenly became like a bipolar, swinging on the happy side. I was laughing and smiling and filled with the hope of better things to come. Hell, even dinner turned out awesome - with the salmon cooked to perfection and the sweet potato chips full of salty-sweet goodness.
Kind of sick when you think about it. One $40 ad. They're like freakin' drugs, those ads. Once you get the high of an awesome sales day, you're forever chasing it. And it gets really depressing when you can't have it. Yep, when they reject your ad, it's like they're denying you the drug and you're totally jones'n.
So, I'll be running an ad with ENT on May 24th. Wish in One Hand will be on sale for 99c/.99p from the 22nd thru the 29th. I'll probably put some more ads out for that, too. Smaller ads with like Author Billboard and PUFB. We'll see what happens. The hopes are that people will snag WIOH and then get the other genie books, too. :fingers crossed:
For now, though, I'm trying to ride the high of getting the ad and I'll worry about whether it pays for itself later this month.
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