*Fanfare* (for various reasons)

First and foremost, congrats to Carol on her release!  Head over to The Wild Rose Press and purchase her book.  Then pop by Jen's blog with your order number for another contest!

As for myself...tonight I officially resumed work in earnest on OHN!  The Next Level Workshop opened properly yesterday, but I was exhausted and brain-drained and so I didn't really dive in until tonight.

Thank God for caffeine pills, though.  I think my single greatest discipline in working on this MS is making myself take one (note to self: taking a caffeine pill WITH a Mt. Dew is a bit of overkill and makes you jittery) and then getting BICHOK until it kicks in.  Then I'm golden.  Last night I was practically passing out at my keyboard by 10:30, but now it's almost 2 am and I'm going relatively strong.  Off to bed soon, though.

I may continue to have a reduced online presence for the immediate future.  With my writing time restricted to late night (generally the hours between 9 pm and midnight) and so much work to do on revisions, I can't afford to futz around playing Text Twirl or looking at LOLcats for very long.  Also we've been asked to scale back our internet usage at work, and with a load of new (and old) projects - not to mention an upcoming certification exam - I'm too busy to do much online there anyway.  Even my e-mail activity will be restricted to only the most urgent of dealings.  I will TRY to maintain a presence on the CompuServe Forum (and yes - I know I still owe several people replies!) but I've cut myself off from most of my other message boards and hangouts as nonessential for the time being. 

Notes from the home front:

• I'm just now almost over the upper respiratory infection that kept me coughing for a week, then morphed into a sinus infection that's had me blowing my nose constantly for the past 5 days.
  
• We've decided to enroll Little Boy in a Montessori preschool beginning in the fall.  He'll be 2 1/2, which was way younger than I planned to have him in any kind of program, but I just recently discovered Montessori and from what I've read it sounds like a GREAT fit for him, and they usually start kids at 2.5-3 years old.  It's only half days, and it will also give DH a chance to go to class/work on schoolwork/have some downtime.
  
• To that end, we've also begun potty training in earnest.  Pray for my sanity, hehe!  LB is doing well, all things considered...which is to say he's no longer screaming and running from the room when we ask him to sit on the potty chair.  Switching to cotton training pants during the day has gone a long way to further his awareness, and he does want to keep them "kween an' dry!"  (Though I felt bad for him the other day, when he was trying so hard to not pee on himself that he wouldn't go AT ALL - even in the potty or his diaper.  He spent the last hour or so before bed with tucked knees and a hand over his bladder, and then filled the diaper as soon as he relaxed for sleep.  Bless his heart.)
  

Up and Coming:

• More posts!  I try to post a little progress bit at the end of each session when I'm actively working.  And believe you me, this workshop's gonna kick my ass (in a good way!) for the foreseeable future, so I WILL be actively working.
• Blog updates.   New pics and stuff for the sidebars, mainly.  I'll be updating my blogroll, so if you're a regular reader and want your blog linked to, just drop me a line to remind me!

Character Portrait: Artist's Take

WOOT! Jason's got a post up on his blog about my commission of Alec & Elspeth, so head on over to check it out:

1000 Words

Be sure to give him some comment love and tell him what a good job he did. *g*

T-minus 4 days till revisions workshop. I may or may not be a larger online presence during that time; it depends on how busy Barbara keeps us. *g* Tomorrow's holiday is slated for more outside/yard work, at least until it rains.

For now, I'm off to comfort the sobbing toddler who didn't nap and therefore can't get to sleep. (If anyone can explain THAT one to me, I'm all ears...)

Book Giveaway!

Author, blogger, fellow Forumite and friend Carol A. Spradling has her first book Cost of Freedom coming out (digitally) next week by The Wild Rose Press.  Print version releases in November.  Yay, Carol!  *g*

 

Cost of Freedom

Release Date: Digital May 30, Print Nov. 28
ISBN #: 1-60154-241-0
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

 

Jen is sponsoring a contest to celebrate, and you could win your very own e-copy of COF.  Head on over and throw your name in the pot:

 

COST OF FREEDOM Book Giveaway

 

(I'd put up the banner and book trailer, but those don't work by e-mail post.  You can see them at the contest page.)

 

Let's all say it again: Yay, Carol!!!

Sick

Ugh.

 

Little Boy's been sick for the better part of a week (upper respiratory infection; read: bad cold), and he passed it along to me just before he left for Granny's house on Sunday night (she kept him until yesterday, so DH could finish the last of his papers for school).  For the past several days, I've had a persistent, unproductive cough, and as of yesterday the lymph nodes in my neck are all swollen and tender.  Joy.

 

I finally broke down and took some NyQuil last night - I'm a big proponent of letting my immune system try to handle things on its own - and some generic OTC gel-caps of cough suppressant/expectorant this morning.  They do seem to be helping.  I also gave up the ghost and fell asleep on the couch right after LB went to sleep last night, and got up and went straight to bed around midnight.  Needless to say, I didn't get anything accomplished.

 

Also, my boss has been on vacation all last week and this week, so I'm pulling down double-duty and that's keeping me busy at work.

 

Between those two situations, you can see why I haven't been up to much online.  *g*  I'm hoping the full night's sleep will restore my attention span and bolster my immune response, and I'll be able to stay on task today.  I've got quite a bit to do, online and elsewhere.

 

One week and counting to get stuff caught up before the revisions workshop consumes my existence...

A Meme about Various Things

Carol got me!  Here goes...

 

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read the player's blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer.

A Meme about Various Things

What were you doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago I was in high school, wrapping up my junior year and preparing for this summer program I'd been accepted to.  I was hoping it would take my mind off the ex I was still pining after.  Little did I know I'd meet my future husband there...  *g*

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
IMRT film analysis

Check plans and finished charts

Go to Wal-Mart

Clean out my aquarium

Watch Dancing With the Stars final results show

What are some snacks you enjoy?
Pringles

Oreos

Chocolate

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Visit all the places I want to see, build my dream home and settle down with my own ceramics studio and do that or write whenever I wanted.  After responsibly investing all my money for the future, of course, and donating to several worthy causes.  *g*

What are three of your bad habits?

Talking too much (who, me?)

Procrastination

Squeezing pimples (I know, but I can't help it!)

What are five places where you have lived?
Louisville, KY

Brandenburg, KY

Irvington, KY

Lexington, KY (southside)

Lexington, KY (northwest)

What are five jobs you have had?
Hallmark Cards - merchandiser

Humane Society - adoption counselor

Physics Lab - research assistant

Graduate School - full time grad student

Cancer Clinic - medical physicist

What were the last five books you read?
I really haven't been reading as much lately...I know I'm slacking but there's so much going on.

A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS Khaled Hosseni

I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE Wally Lamb

THE SIXPENCE BRIDE Virginia Farmer

THE PERILS OF PLEASURE Julie Anne Long

SIN AND SYNTAX Constance Hale

 

What are five web sites you visit daily (in no particular order)?
iGoogle (for my blog subscriptions, Gmail, news feeds - one stop shop!)

Facebook

Compuserve Books & Writers (mostly lurking lately, hope to change that!)

China Adopt Talk

BabyCenter Carseats Board

 

And yeah, since I'm the last to post this, there's not anyone really left to tag!  So if you're reading this and haven't done it...feel free.  *g*

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday!  I'm 27, for those keeping track.  I actually got carded buying beer last night at the grocery store, though the nice older lady who checked my ID then said "Oh, no, you're definitely okay!  But the years have been good to you, haven't they?"  I thought it was odd, considering I've only been "legal" for 6 years now.  But hey, at least I still look young!  (I think it's the braces.)

 

I do have birthday plans, though not huge ones.  I'm at work right now; no way around that one.  But Little Boy (though sick with a cold) went to his Granny's house last night and is there until Wednesday while DH finishes two papers and a final for school.  So tonight we're child-free, and we're going to my favorite sushi restaurant for dinner.  Then I'm volunteering at a car seat check from 7-9 pm.  (Yeah.  Is it sad I thought it would be fun to install carseats on my birthday?  ...Don't answer that.  *g*)  The seat check is at a Babies R Us store which happens to be right next to a movie theater, so after the check we're going to see Prince Caspian.  Should be fun.

 

Oh, and then I have to run home and watch the DVR'd final of Dancing With the Stars so I can vote.  Or maybe I don't have to - I'm giving all my votes to Kristi Yamaguchi anyway.

 

10 days and counting until the revisions workshop begins and I'm back at the grind full-time.  In the meantime I'm trying to revive my presence over at CompuServe.  (A big thanks to everyone who commented on my "secondary character" snip!  Replies soon.)  I'm also still fiddling with Liquid Story Binder.  It has the potential to become a VERY powerful tool for me, if I can just learn the ins and outs and get all my stuff organized into it.

 

P.S. I do have that meme partially written up and saved as a draft; I just need to finish it.  Hopefully today.  I know you're all just hanging around waiting for me to post it.  *w*

Elspeth's Birthday

Today is Elspeth's birthday.  (She's 25, for the record and according to the birthdate I decided on.  Though in my head she's still a nebulous kind of 24-and-a-half.  It's weird to think of the events in OHN in a strict sense of real-time, in which case the climactic events have already happened, but the book's conclusion is still the better part of a year away...)

 

Her birthday horoscope (courtesy horoscope.com): 

 

For those of us born on: May 12
Happy Birthday! The months ahead are likely to start with a short trip or journey, and it might be that a blast from the past is the spur. July sees miscommunication leading to a slight muddle, while August onwards highlights new interests and romance! September is a revitalizing month, and great in terms of cash. A work related development should lead to a boost in income, while October will be the month where you should concentrate on yourself: join the gym, or resolve to embark on a healthier lifestyle, because December is the month of excess! January highlights home improvements; there big projects will require one hundred percent commitment! March is the ideal month to relax and count your blessings!

 

I normally put NO stock in horoscopes, but ahaha I just loved this one.  Those who've seen all or most of OHN will understand why.  *g*

 

A belated Happy Mother's Day to all, and those wishes PLUS belated Birthday wishes to Claire, who made an exciting announcement on her blog!

Productivity

...just not the writing kind.

 

I had a very productive weekend.  Among the many projects I completed were:

-Final sanding, re-spackling, and final-final sanding of new closet in upstairs hall, culminating in painting the new wall of said closet on Sunday afternoon.  Now I just need to get the same kind of trim paint as in the rest of the house, and do the frame and door.
-Laundry.  It may not seem like a big deal, but it is.  For me.
-Sorting through, folding, and boxing a whole bunch of clothes Little Boy has outgrown to give to our friends who are adopting a boy (6 months younger) from China.
-Rearranging stuff into various closets to clean out Little Boy's "big boy" room/playroom to open up space for more toys.  From downstairs.  Seriously, they are taking over our living room right now.  About 50% of those are baseballs.  DH and I have decided LB can fund our retirement with his Major League career.  (Did I mention he's 2?)
-Sticking the better part of 90 glow-in-the-dark stars to the ceiling in the aforementioned room.  I tried to be conservative, but I ran out of sticky-tak so the remaining few are sitting on top of his dresser for now.

Okay, side note.  DH pointed this out...  Of the people who put glow-in-the-dark stars on their kids' ceilings, how many bother to put in constellations?  And of those, how many print off a star chart from the month said child was born, and put the constellations visible at that time in their proper orientations?

*Jenny sheepishly raises hand*

I've still got about 20 of the littler stars to put up - the last bits of the Milky Way, such as it is - and once I get everything done I'll try to get a decent pic.  It's pretty neat to look at from the floor in a totally dark room.

 

On the writing front I haven't done much but I do have a (sort-of) excuse: I've been accepted to the Next Level Workshop, and it begins May 29th.  So even though I have writing stuff here and there I could be doing, the NLW will take up so much of my time in a few weeks - AND it will be focused, directed edits rather than my shotgun approach - that I've decided to allow myself other household projects in the meantime.

 

Oh, and congrats to Jen on her upcoming graduation from Law School!