Month: May 2022

I didn’t get quite as much focused work in this past week as I was hoping, though my trial run of evening work met with good success when I tried it. I’m ankle deep in the word-cutting pass for my latest short story, and I’m finding I really prefer having quiet, extended time to pick over it, rather than coping with interruptions during the daytime hours. I’d love to get this thing wrapped up before I travel later this month, so I’m hoping I can make some significant progress this week. The first few word-specific searches always take a long time (I’m a sucker for “of”), but they do get faster as I go. And I know once I get the cull done, I’ll be amped to get it polished and submitted. So that’s the goal this week: get the word-cull done. Maybe I can do the read-through over the weekend next Saturday/Sunday. 

But I did manage to build the storage bench (with a power drill!) for the dining room, and got the round eating table (aka: my desk) tidied up and my books all organized neatly on a shelf, so feeling quite good about that! We also finally got the rest of the soil dumped into our last two raised beds where we’re going to try for peas (though with the heatwave coming next week, WHO KNOWS HOW THEY’LL DO). 

Also, we have a baby bunny who lives in our garden. I’ve named her Iris, because she nibbles the irises, and she’s adorable. Thing 2 runs through the house to grab whomever he can when he sees her, calling “RABBY RABBY RABBY!” *dies of toxic cuteness syndrome*

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This past week has been so busy! Aside from Mother’s Day today (which was lovely, and involved hanging out with my own mother, shoe shopping and book shopping and having lattes in peace and quiet, as well as homemade cards from my boys and a gift from both Andy and extended family-!), we’ve started Mommy and Me swim classes with Thing 2, in addition to our Nature Friends class mid-week. It’s always hard to incorporate a new routine, and this week was no exception, and probably contributed to some of the challenging attempts to get work done. 

Mostly, in my free moments, I’ve been burying myself in The Long Dark, though I’ve now frozen to death in a snow storm, been mauled to death by a wolf, and the day before yesterday I was trampled to death by a moose, so, you know, not doing such a great survival job. XD It is fun, though! Tricky, but fun. 

We also watched The Meg on Wednesday night as a treat, which was delightfully ridiculous in the way only giant sharks can be, but we had a fun trashy time. I believe Sharknado is on our radar next, because we missed it when it first made its big “splash” as we’d just had Thing 1 and were too exhausted to watch movies. 

I started Noom a couple of weeks ago, just to see if it could help me take off a few extra pounds that have been making my beloved jeans a liiiiiiittle too snug of late, and so far, it’s been really helpful. I don’t have a lot to lose (I like my shape, generally), but I was interested in getting ahead of my own bad eating habits (hello giant bowl of goldfish crackers… man, I love them…) before it was a “I need new pants” problem. (Especially after working so hard on getting a wardrobe I actually LIKE that actually feels like ME!) 

It’s been really interesting to see what my eating habits actually are. It’s so easy to not pay much attention (and honestly, I prefer not paying attention) and let not so healthy choices build without even realizing it. I’m already about halfway to my goal, and it hasn’t been especially bad (yes, some choices between having a whole beer vs. an ice cream mochi later… but overall, reasonable and not too difficult) so feeling pretty good about it. I doubt I’ll do it for more than the initial three months, but it’s nice to have it in the back pocket. 

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This coming week is going to be busy again, with classes and a family birthday, though I’ll admit I’m kind of looking forward to the heat wave (a little—it’ll also probably get old FAST) if only because it means I can get the sprinkler out and let the boys run around and get muddy, which will entertain them for ages while I read in the shade. XD 

End goal: get the word-cull draft DONE. That’s it, that’s all. 

The theme of this past week was disruption. Disruption due to school vacation. Disruption due to another cold passing through the fam (Thankfully, I didn’t get this one too bad, which I am SUPER grateful for after the last two awful head colds I’ve had, and everybody seems to be healing up well now.) Despite all that unusual schedule chaos, I actually managed to get through the retype pass of my latest story! 

Phew! That took so much longer than it seems like it should have, but it *is* a long story. But I got the retype with all the tweaks fitted in there, and now it’s time for the word-cull draft (which sounds rather ruthless. Maybe I should call it something nicer, like “the sculpting pass”—that’s kind of what it feels like: take out everything that isn’t the story). 

I’ve also started getting some pressure-buildup ideas for the two novels I’m toying with at the moment, which is exciting! Once this story is wrapped up and submitted, it’s novel-writing time! Wee!

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This week, because everyone’s been sick, it’s been a major “just hang around the house and be boring” kind of time, as is needed. I’ve been trying to fit in more reading time, which has been surprisingly hard, but probably accounts for some of my lack of creative energy. Need to refill the well with brain food. Still chunking away at Dread Nation and Do Nothing. Both are great, but my focus endurance is looooow. 

I’ve started getting out and about in the garden, getting things filled up with soil and watering a few things that seem to need a bit more rain than we’ve been getting. We’re going full cottage garden here this year, trying a lot of everything, and doing minimal planning—just stick a plant you like somewhere and see if it thrives. It’s the first year I’ve done roses and vegetables in I don’t even know how long, so we’ll see what survives! 

Had a great time yesterday digging up one of the bare patches in our yard and plucking almost-fat-enough-for-Bear-Grylls-to-eat grubs out of the soil and gently tucking the earthworms back in. Fed the grubs to the birds—at least someone was happy to see them! Went for a nice hike today in the amazing upper 60’s weather, and let the boys get out the hose for a major mud-puddle party, which was hilarious. 

Andy and I have been working our way through INVENTING ANNA on Netflix, which has been delightful. I was fascinated by the story when it first came out a few years ago—(if you need more con artist in your life after the docudrama, check out the excellent nonfiction book: The Confidence Game by Maria Konnikova). 

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This coming week, we’re getting back into the regular schedule (hopefully), which means trying to get back into the good habits that got dropped this past week (and let’s be honest, probably most of April…and a good chunk of March…). Honestly, my writing habit has taken a major hit of late. It’s like I hit this massive wall in March that just stopped me dead in my tracks. I’m clawing those habits back, but it’s been HARD. And the fact that it’s been so hard has made me look at the past couple of months and what’s changed:

1) I decided to start pursuing a slightly different direction in fiction, which is both scary and exhilarating, and I’m probably now out of my “honeymoon” phase with it, and just need to get to work. 

2) Things have started opening up, COVID-wise. One could argue whether or not that’s a *good* thing, but it does mean I’ve been trying to get out with Thing 2 a bit more, go to parks, go to the store, walk through PetSmart and stare at crazy fish. But that’s also meant my daily schedule has shifted a lot. Since I used to get my writing done in the morning, my mornings are often now busy with going to baby swim classes or baby nature groups. This has been GREAT for me feeling like a good mom, but SHITTAH for me feeling like a good writer. Gotta love that life-balance, ammiright?

3) Things are opening up, and therefore there are now social obligations that didn’t exist before. Friends want to meet up for lunch. Family have get togethers and celebrations that have been postponed for sometimes over two years, and I can’t lie and say I’m not excited to see people. I actually am, which is strange, given how gathering averse I usually am (even pre-COVID). 

4) The naps are a thing of the past. It’s official, I’ve got to let it go, but I’m still hooked on trying: Thing 2 is no longer napping regularly, and I have not yet figured out how to cope with that, time-wise. Because his not napping has two effects: 1. I don’t get quiet time during the day to do any kind of focused work or simply recharge my own batteries, and 2. Without a break during the day, by the time I get him and Thing 1 down to bed, I am FREAKING EXHAUSTED, and my brain doesn’t want to work at all. 

5) I haven’t been reading before bed. See above for why. 

So what do all these things mean? I need to make some concrete plans to overcome some of these snags. 

– I need to get to bed a little earlier so I can read for at least a half-hour before falling asleep. 

– I need to start listening to audiobooks during my quick morning walk/run. 

– I need to guard my tiny bit of writing time—even just five minutes—in the morning before we go out or do anything else, and I need to start inching that time back up to my original 25 minutes. 

That would at least start refilling the well and getting my feet back under me again. My numbers last month were awful, so hoping to improve on that in May… Despite travel, and classes… Ugh. Overwhelmed much? 

Small steps, right?