Monday, April 26, 2004
Whoo hoo!
Okay! So this was a productive weekend (not for writing, but for pretty much everything else!) Let's see:
1) bought loads of furniture for the new house (justified by a no interest until 2007 offer -- I mean, how could we resist?)
2) finished "sprucing up" current house, realtor took pics. Now we must keep it looking spruced (which is harder than it sounds when I'm on deadline).
3) D read and thumbs-up'd my current WIP (the Game manuscript for Downtown Press). This one really is fun, and the plot is complex, so it was really nice to have him give it a once over and say he loves it! (patting self on back...)
4) Potty training -- over a week (pretty much) accident free and counting! (Man, if she finds out when she's 16 that I posted this ... yikes)
5) More? There must be more. I'm so exhausted and sore that can't possibly be all I did for 3 days.....
But, yeah, I think that's it (well, bills, paperwork, sorting laundry, grocery shopping, the usual). Right now, I'm working on Game (trying to decide whose pov to tell a scene in) and am also working on a proposal for something new and fun. At least, I hope it will be new and fun. And in other exciting news, my editor signed off on CARPE DEMON! It's done! It's revised! It's gonna be a book! Whoo hoo! (Now to write and outline the next one ...)
OK. Off to work....
1) bought loads of furniture for the new house (justified by a no interest until 2007 offer -- I mean, how could we resist?)
2) finished "sprucing up" current house, realtor took pics. Now we must keep it looking spruced (which is harder than it sounds when I'm on deadline).
3) D read and thumbs-up'd my current WIP (the Game manuscript for Downtown Press). This one really is fun, and the plot is complex, so it was really nice to have him give it a once over and say he loves it! (patting self on back...)
4) Potty training -- over a week (pretty much) accident free and counting! (Man, if she finds out when she's 16 that I posted this ... yikes)
5) More? There must be more. I'm so exhausted and sore that can't possibly be all I did for 3 days.....
But, yeah, I think that's it (well, bills, paperwork, sorting laundry, grocery shopping, the usual). Right now, I'm working on Game (trying to decide whose pov to tell a scene in) and am also working on a proposal for something new and fun. At least, I hope it will be new and fun. And in other exciting news, my editor signed off on CARPE DEMON! It's done! It's revised! It's gonna be a book! Whoo hoo! (Now to write and outline the next one ...)
OK. Off to work....
Thursday, April 22, 2004
And in honor of my whine fest ...
So shoot me ..
Yes, yes, yes. I know I've been absent from bloggidom. Here's why: Buying new house (having new floors installed and various work done). Selling California rental house. Getting ready to list Austin house that we're living in (requiring things like, oh, PAINTING and CLEANING). Find new day care in Georgetown. That one we did, but so that C can be in the right class, we had to add Potty Train to the list. And, oh, there's that little business of a deadline (looming!) and galleys I had to get out the door. I know, just a lotta excuses, but, hey, there really are only 24 hours in the day even though I'm trying to cram more in. Anyone know where I can buy a time machine?
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Life's little lessons
What I learned today:
1) Daylight savings time wreaks havoc with the sleep schedule of a toddler.
2) Toddlers (well, my toddler) are very persistent in insisting that NO, it is NOT bedtime.
3) The whipped cream is the most important part of strawberry shortcake if you're two (and, apparently, if you're a few decades older and are said two-year-old's father ... but I'm not naming names ...)
4) While I truly believe it's not possible to own too many books, it IS possible to own too few bookcases.
5) Moving is a big pain in the patootie.
6) Having a nice new (to us) house makes up for the pain in the patootie (1.5 days to closing, btw!!!)
7) Painting the ceiling of a bathroom -- even a small bathroom -- is tedious and dull ... but does allow for much pondering of plot. And (yay!) I think I worked out a gnarly plot point in Game (still desperately in need of a real title ... sigh). Not that I want to spend EVERY evening painting bathroom ceilings, but it was a nice little perk ...
8) It's MUCH easier to sleep late when it's rainy and stormy outside. And so very hard to drag into the office.
9) When it's rainy and stormy, "dragging" in is exactly what you do, at least in Austin, where everyone seems to forget how to drive in the rain and traffic backs up to Buda.
10) And the last thing I learned today? Even in the face of a deadline, galleys, revisions-that-will-show-up-soon, house-fixing-up, packing, and other life stuff ... it's still terribly important on a Tuesday to make time for American Idol (they should just pick Fantasia and leave it at that!) and The Shield.
1) Daylight savings time wreaks havoc with the sleep schedule of a toddler.
2) Toddlers (well, my toddler) are very persistent in insisting that NO, it is NOT bedtime.
3) The whipped cream is the most important part of strawberry shortcake if you're two (and, apparently, if you're a few decades older and are said two-year-old's father ... but I'm not naming names ...)
4) While I truly believe it's not possible to own too many books, it IS possible to own too few bookcases.
5) Moving is a big pain in the patootie.
6) Having a nice new (to us) house makes up for the pain in the patootie (1.5 days to closing, btw!!!)
7) Painting the ceiling of a bathroom -- even a small bathroom -- is tedious and dull ... but does allow for much pondering of plot. And (yay!) I think I worked out a gnarly plot point in Game (still desperately in need of a real title ... sigh). Not that I want to spend EVERY evening painting bathroom ceilings, but it was a nice little perk ...
8) It's MUCH easier to sleep late when it's rainy and stormy outside. And so very hard to drag into the office.
9) When it's rainy and stormy, "dragging" in is exactly what you do, at least in Austin, where everyone seems to forget how to drive in the rain and traffic backs up to Buda.
10) And the last thing I learned today? Even in the face of a deadline, galleys, revisions-that-will-show-up-soon, house-fixing-up, packing, and other life stuff ... it's still terribly important on a Tuesday to make time for American Idol (they should just pick Fantasia and leave it at that!) and The Shield.
Monday, April 05, 2004
Back in the Bloggy Groove ...
Okay, so slap me. I've been away from bloggidom, but I have a really good excuse: WE FOUND AND ARE BUYING A NEW HOUSE!!!
Whoo-hoo! We close this Thursday (crossed fingers most appreciated ... since I have flooring guys scheduled to come Thursday night, a bumped-back closing would be soooooooo inconvenient).
Of course, this whole "let's buy a new house" thing, while having certain ups (a garage that hasn't been converted to a room! Over an acre of land! A fireplace!) also has certain downs. For one thing, we have to move our stuff. (I keep thinking about George Carlin ...)
The biggest down, of course (aside from packing, which is a really big down) is the fixing up of the old house to sell. (And the fact that this whole process eats into my writing time ... I am nothing if not able to procrastinate with the best of them). Suddenly, things you've lived with for years seem like hideous, glaring, icky things. Okay, okay, maybe they were hideous all along. It's just that now you have to fix them. Like that hole in the bathroom wall. Apparently the folks who owned our house previously decided to use both screws AND superglue to install the towel rack. Uh-huh ...
So there I am, innocently removing said ugly towel bar to put in my cool new rack. Undo the screws ... and it sticks a bit. Not too surprising; probably stuck to the paint. I yank ... and out comes a huge chunk of sheetrock. Had I been clever, this would have been the perfect opportunity to install a wall safe. But seeing as I have no real need for a wall safe, this idea did not occur to me. What DID occur to me was to fix the hole. And yesterday (albeit a few years after said superglue incident) repair it, I did. (Hey, what can I say? At first it wasn't a priority. And then it just became part of the landscape...)
Moving on to the writing life ... (as if anyone cares about my moving woes ...) I'm happy to report that Carpe Demon is with my editor. A bit of nail-biting going on, but not too much. I'm supremely pleased with the way the story turned out. (Hopefully she will be, too!). Will report back, of course....
Currently in the pipe? I've returned my attention to my The Rules of the Game series (which, sadly, is still seeking a new title). This one is great fun, and while writing Demon, I've been researching background for this one. I'm going to post some code/cipher previews on my webpage soon. Stay tuned.
On the calendar for tomorrow: Must Write. Spent most of the weekend working on the house and taking C to the zoo. (In case you were wondering, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, she DID love the train. The not-so-aptly-named "Rocket." No coaxing, however, could convince her to either feed or pet the goats.). Also tomorrow: final walkthrough of new house, visit new day care center. And write ... write ... write. (And add a new poll to the blog. Must think of something at least somewhat clever ... will ponder ...)
Whoo-hoo! We close this Thursday (crossed fingers most appreciated ... since I have flooring guys scheduled to come Thursday night, a bumped-back closing would be soooooooo inconvenient).
Of course, this whole "let's buy a new house" thing, while having certain ups (a garage that hasn't been converted to a room! Over an acre of land! A fireplace!) also has certain downs. For one thing, we have to move our stuff. (I keep thinking about George Carlin ...)
The biggest down, of course (aside from packing, which is a really big down) is the fixing up of the old house to sell. (And the fact that this whole process eats into my writing time ... I am nothing if not able to procrastinate with the best of them). Suddenly, things you've lived with for years seem like hideous, glaring, icky things. Okay, okay, maybe they were hideous all along. It's just that now you have to fix them. Like that hole in the bathroom wall. Apparently the folks who owned our house previously decided to use both screws AND superglue to install the towel rack. Uh-huh ...
So there I am, innocently removing said ugly towel bar to put in my cool new rack. Undo the screws ... and it sticks a bit. Not too surprising; probably stuck to the paint. I yank ... and out comes a huge chunk of sheetrock. Had I been clever, this would have been the perfect opportunity to install a wall safe. But seeing as I have no real need for a wall safe, this idea did not occur to me. What DID occur to me was to fix the hole. And yesterday (albeit a few years after said superglue incident) repair it, I did. (Hey, what can I say? At first it wasn't a priority. And then it just became part of the landscape...)
Moving on to the writing life ... (as if anyone cares about my moving woes ...) I'm happy to report that Carpe Demon is with my editor. A bit of nail-biting going on, but not too much. I'm supremely pleased with the way the story turned out. (Hopefully she will be, too!). Will report back, of course....
Currently in the pipe? I've returned my attention to my The Rules of the Game series (which, sadly, is still seeking a new title). This one is great fun, and while writing Demon, I've been researching background for this one. I'm going to post some code/cipher previews on my webpage soon. Stay tuned.
On the calendar for tomorrow: Must Write. Spent most of the weekend working on the house and taking C to the zoo. (In case you were wondering, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, she DID love the train. The not-so-aptly-named "Rocket." No coaxing, however, could convince her to either feed or pet the goats.). Also tomorrow: final walkthrough of new house, visit new day care center. And write ... write ... write. (And add a new poll to the blog. Must think of something at least somewhat clever ... will ponder ...)
