The Last For 2011
This is my last weekly update for 2011, though I do have 5 more daily updates before this year is done and a new goals post to recap 2011 and set up for 2012. But man, am I glad to see this year going out the door. There were some good things, it's true, but they were very few, and for many friends as well as my own family, it's been the toughest year I've ever experienced. So for me, and for many of them, it can't be over soon enough. And, really, that's all that needs to be said about that, for the most part.
Christmas was actually pretty reflective of the year, to be honest: it had its high points, but was odd and was one of the least enjoyable we've had, and not just because our older girls weren't here to celebrate with us. Problems began with the preparation of the food: I managed to "mess up" at least half of dinner and even totally mucked up one of the cookies I've made every year for about a decade now. The cookies were, to me, inedible, but my son seems okay with them so at least they won't go to waste. Most of dinner was okay despite the issues with it, and nothing was thrown out. The other big problem, however, was that I was in the second or third day of dealing with SAD, so I was out of it most of the day and wasn't very hungry. I fell asleep right after dinner and didn't wake up until 5 1/2 hours later.
We couldn't get anyone gifts this year, but have been the recipient of a few. My oldest is in a phase where every gift must include a photograph of her daughter, which worked pretty well for me (coffee mug with a photo of my older male cat, Vagner, and grand baby) but not so well for Chef (a picture plate of the grand baby). It's not that he disliked it, it's just, as he said, we have a ton of photos of the grand baby (and I mean, they have almost taken over the number of pictures we have up of our children) and there were other things that would have made a more appropriate gift, considering his interests and needs. She did give both younger kiddos each a gift card to Old Navy, which is perfect since they need jeans and other things. Her anniversary gift to us, which we did open early since he'll be working on our anniversary, was a huge surprise and had us both floored in a good way: a curved glass piece with a photo of us when we were saying our vows in front of the justice of the peace. I'm still amazed by it (how much we've changed since then!). Middle daughter was more cognizant of giving things more reflective of the needs and interests of the recipient: Chef received an Enterprise Pizza Cutter that we're now trying to figure out how to display (it has no place to attach a string and no stand or anything, but no way are we going to ruin it by using it), she gave me "Ceremonials" by Florence + the Machine and the "Burlesque" DVD, boyo got a Vader "mood" T-shirt (all his one mask for each of a dozen moods), and youngest got earrings and colored hair extensions.
There are other things on the way that missed the Christmas deadline: tea for me from a friend, another friend who made the kids hats and mits and me a pashmina as well as few other things in a care package gift box she and her mother put together for us, something from the grandparents (I believe). And there was the seafood box given as a combined grad/Christmas gift given to Chef by his last construction boss and now good friend, some of which still waits to be used (in the freezer until we can decide what to do). So though it was a much quieter year, we've received, or will be receiving, some really nice things from friends and family. I have to say, we do have some amazing friends and family. ;)
We spent a fortune on food and are pretty well covered for this week and probably into next. As of next Friday, we go back to scrimping though. Even if Chef manages to find the jobs he wants, we've got a lot of catching up to do, so we'll probably be keeping the food bill as low as we possibly can. Besides, if he finds the jobs he wants, he won't be home to cook, and I don't do fancy food. This is a good thing. Straight forward, simple meals are cheaper than the fancy stuff. ;) The point being, for once I think we're covered for the next week or two food wise. The utilities are in a good place right now as well. If there's a problem anywhere, it'll be rent, and we'll just have to remind him that we said we'd catch EVERYTHING up on January 10th and that's honestly the earliest we can do it.
So, for once, I'm not too stressed about anything. I've got a couple of weeks off from worrying so much and shuffling the money and hoping we have enough in the cupboards. Here's hoping this becomes more and more common over the next year. ;)
The first week or two of January, however, look a little frightening because of the reduced hours for the catering company and the fact that any job he does find will take at least 2 weeks for the first check to kick in. For now, for this week, however, I'm not going to think too much about it. We'll deal when we get there. We always do. And I'm due for a somewhat stress free week or two, so not going to borrow from future concerns.
As for writing, I pretty much kept on track until Friday night of last week when I started the baking for Christmas. But even missing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I managed just over 10k. Granted, not much else was on the table, but I love 10k weeks. Makes me feel very accomplished. lol
Here's the numbers and the 2011 goals for the last time....
2011 Goal Progress
» 450k :: current count: 584,243
» fin/polish/submit Charms :: ch29
» Mists rough draft :: Notes Draft: 17,714
» submit 1 short/month :: Jan: 2, Feb: 1, Mar: 5, Apr: 2, May: 10, June: 5, July: 4; Aug: 2; Sept: 0; Oct: 12 (+2 poems); Nov: 3 (+4 poems); Dec: 5
» read 24 books :: 36
» 1 new recipe/month :: Jan: 3; Feb: 6; Mar: 11; Apr: 3; May: 4; June: 2; July: 5
» finish Alden.nu MT repairs
» move Journeys to Alden.nu once repair is done
» update Lessons in Writing, Meta, & Journeys once/month :: Feb: L; Mar: L, M; Apr: L, M; May: J, L, M; June: J, L, M; July: L; Nov: J
» domynoes.com fixes
» AM & PM stretch 6x/week :: need to start again
» replace my glasses
Not expecting much progress on anything that's not been met this week except word count and Charms-this last week will be focused on pushing through and finishing up so I can get it out to beta readers the first or second week of January ( still looking!), so much so that I'm keeping this week's goals very limited.
Progress This Week
Word Count:
for the week: 10,572
for the month: 32,818
last month: 74,139
this year: 584,243
last year: 868,421
Goals:
» B.C. chapter 27, 28, 29 :: started
» 1250/day; 7500/week
» 1 DII crit
» journals: whysper
» post to writersweighin
» Market Finders update
» WCP editing
» reading
» laundry
» beta reading
» web work: domynoes.com fixes
» web work: Alden.nu fixes
» file clean up on My Book
Reading List This Year:
» Geist
» Some Girls Bite
» The Stepsister Scheme
» The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
» Friday Night Bites
» Twice Bitten
» Spider's Bite
» Magic Bites
» The Broken Kingdoms
» The Mermaid's Madness
» Red Hood's Revenge
» Firespell
» Changes
» The Summoner
» Song of Homana
» Legacy of the Sword
» Track Of The White Wolf
» A Pride of Princes
» Daughter of the Lion
» Naked Heat
» The Iron Hunt
» Phoenix Rising
» The Piper
» Flight of the Raven
» Hard Bitten
» A Tapestry of Lions
» The Still Life of Hannah Morgan
» The Darkness That Comes Before
» Storm Front (reread)
» Fool Moon (reread)
» Grave Peril (reread)
» Unseen
» Grave Witch
» Summer Knight (reread)
» Death Masks (reread)
» Blood Rites (reread)
I'm hoping to finish the Dresden book I'm in the middle of rereading before the end of the year, but we'll see. The editing job and the beta read give me plenty of reading material, and they take precedence. It's just nice to get in some reading that doesn't require as much critical thinking. The other distraction is that I installed the Nook for PC and have since added a number of shiny new books that they have available for free, and new often distracts from something I'm rereading even if I love what I'm rereading.
As noted above, I'm keeping the goals for the week fairly short. The big focus is getting through the last 3, possibly 4 (depending on any splits or shuffling), chapters of Charms. I went through the first 16 chapters of notes from my pre-beta reader this week, and she didn't have much to say. There were a few fixes here and there and a couple places where I worked in things from crits that didn't feel right and she confirmed weren't quite right. Always nice when that happens. There's something else I need to add before it goes off to the final group of betas next month, but that's pretty much it: 3-4 chapters, the last 15-16 chapters of tweaks from the pre-beta notes, and one addition I want to get in before I send the monster off. I'm hoping to get it out by the end of the first week of January, but that may depend on my pre-beta reader. She's been quite busy and may need longer. Regardless, it will go out by the middle of the month. Need it off my plate for a few months.
So, for this week....
Goals This Week
» B.C. chapters 29, 30, 31, 32 (?)
» 1250/day; 7500/week
» 1 DII crit
» journals: whysper, journeys
» journals: 2012 goals post
» post to writersweighin
» Market Finders update
» WCP editing
» reading
» laundry
» beta reading
That's right, no extras, not even DII Admin stuff. We give them December off every year so they, and us Admins, can enjoy the holidays and get caught up in the whirlwind and chaos they tend to create. Even our meds are completely covered for the next couple of weeks. And with Charms as my biggest focus, followed by editing work, there's not a whole lot of room for much else. The website fixes and the My Book organization are big jobs that are going to take time. I've missed on the Alden updates already (quite badly, actually) and don't see a point in allowing them to derail what I need to get done right now. I'll get back to them in January, like everything else. With all that extra stuff off the table, it makes for a small list.
I'm even keeping today's list pretty small....
» dishes
» laundry :: started
» B.C. chapter 29
» 1250 words
» journals: whysper
» journals: 2012 goals post
» post to writersweighin
» WCP editing
» beta reading
» reading
Will be getting back to market_finder tomorrow or Wednesday. It's actually a lot harder to find PAYING markets than you might think, especially for a listing as old as MF. It can take me several hours to find anything now. And besides, between the SAD, the baking, and the actual holiday, a break was definitely in order. Won't be taking one over the New Year's holiday since Chef won't be home to celebrate the anniversary (and I've never been one to celebrate New Year's until we married on New Year's Eve 14 years ago), so taking an extra day or two now instead.
Do have my goals for 2012 decided and will be putting those up after I post to writersweighin tonight, then I need to tackle the editing, at the very least, and maybe some work on Charms.
The kids are home for one more week, the holidays are pretty much over, so I don't see a problem getting through what I have planned for the end of the year. This should be a reasonably good week. *knocks on wood*
You know, despite the issues I noted above, our Christmas was okay. I wish I had been awake for more of it, that we could have finished our "Transformers" marathon like we planned, but you know what? We did have a Christmas during the worst year we've ever experienced. I am beyond thankful for that. I think this year proved that come what may, we can always find a way to celebrate this one day. I celebrate very few holidays during the year, and this one is one of the most important to me. I'm really hoping next year I can make up for the lack this year, but even if we don't, we got a few presents, we had good food, and we were surrounded by love. That last is the most important.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday as well, whatever you happen to celebrate. :)
~~~
most recent
whysper the challenge begins :: journeys Finding Tools That Work
the chef's wife Cranberry Sauce
Christmas was actually pretty reflective of the year, to be honest: it had its high points, but was odd and was one of the least enjoyable we've had, and not just because our older girls weren't here to celebrate with us. Problems began with the preparation of the food: I managed to "mess up" at least half of dinner and even totally mucked up one of the cookies I've made every year for about a decade now. The cookies were, to me, inedible, but my son seems okay with them so at least they won't go to waste. Most of dinner was okay despite the issues with it, and nothing was thrown out. The other big problem, however, was that I was in the second or third day of dealing with SAD, so I was out of it most of the day and wasn't very hungry. I fell asleep right after dinner and didn't wake up until 5 1/2 hours later.
We couldn't get anyone gifts this year, but have been the recipient of a few. My oldest is in a phase where every gift must include a photograph of her daughter, which worked pretty well for me (coffee mug with a photo of my older male cat, Vagner, and grand baby) but not so well for Chef (a picture plate of the grand baby). It's not that he disliked it, it's just, as he said, we have a ton of photos of the grand baby (and I mean, they have almost taken over the number of pictures we have up of our children) and there were other things that would have made a more appropriate gift, considering his interests and needs. She did give both younger kiddos each a gift card to Old Navy, which is perfect since they need jeans and other things. Her anniversary gift to us, which we did open early since he'll be working on our anniversary, was a huge surprise and had us both floored in a good way: a curved glass piece with a photo of us when we were saying our vows in front of the justice of the peace. I'm still amazed by it (how much we've changed since then!). Middle daughter was more cognizant of giving things more reflective of the needs and interests of the recipient: Chef received an Enterprise Pizza Cutter that we're now trying to figure out how to display (it has no place to attach a string and no stand or anything, but no way are we going to ruin it by using it), she gave me "Ceremonials" by Florence + the Machine and the "Burlesque" DVD, boyo got a Vader "mood" T-shirt (all his one mask for each of a dozen moods), and youngest got earrings and colored hair extensions.
There are other things on the way that missed the Christmas deadline: tea for me from a friend, another friend who made the kids hats and mits and me a pashmina as well as few other things in a care package gift box she and her mother put together for us, something from the grandparents (I believe). And there was the seafood box given as a combined grad/Christmas gift given to Chef by his last construction boss and now good friend, some of which still waits to be used (in the freezer until we can decide what to do). So though it was a much quieter year, we've received, or will be receiving, some really nice things from friends and family. I have to say, we do have some amazing friends and family. ;)
We spent a fortune on food and are pretty well covered for this week and probably into next. As of next Friday, we go back to scrimping though. Even if Chef manages to find the jobs he wants, we've got a lot of catching up to do, so we'll probably be keeping the food bill as low as we possibly can. Besides, if he finds the jobs he wants, he won't be home to cook, and I don't do fancy food. This is a good thing. Straight forward, simple meals are cheaper than the fancy stuff. ;) The point being, for once I think we're covered for the next week or two food wise. The utilities are in a good place right now as well. If there's a problem anywhere, it'll be rent, and we'll just have to remind him that we said we'd catch EVERYTHING up on January 10th and that's honestly the earliest we can do it.
So, for once, I'm not too stressed about anything. I've got a couple of weeks off from worrying so much and shuffling the money and hoping we have enough in the cupboards. Here's hoping this becomes more and more common over the next year. ;)
The first week or two of January, however, look a little frightening because of the reduced hours for the catering company and the fact that any job he does find will take at least 2 weeks for the first check to kick in. For now, for this week, however, I'm not going to think too much about it. We'll deal when we get there. We always do. And I'm due for a somewhat stress free week or two, so not going to borrow from future concerns.
As for writing, I pretty much kept on track until Friday night of last week when I started the baking for Christmas. But even missing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I managed just over 10k. Granted, not much else was on the table, but I love 10k weeks. Makes me feel very accomplished. lol
Here's the numbers and the 2011 goals for the last time....
2011 Goal Progress
» 450k :: current count: 584,243
» fin/polish/submit Charms :: ch29
» Mists rough draft :: Notes Draft: 17,714
» submit 1 short/month :: Jan: 2, Feb: 1, Mar: 5, Apr: 2, May: 10, June: 5, July: 4; Aug: 2; Sept: 0; Oct: 12 (+2 poems); Nov: 3 (+4 poems); Dec: 5
» read 24 books :: 36
» 1 new recipe/month :: Jan: 3; Feb: 6; Mar: 11; Apr: 3; May: 4; June: 2; July: 5
» finish Alden.nu MT repairs
» move Journeys to Alden.nu once repair is done
» update Lessons in Writing, Meta, & Journeys once/month :: Feb: L; Mar: L, M; Apr: L, M; May: J, L, M; June: J, L, M; July: L; Nov: J
» domynoes.com fixes
» AM & PM stretch 6x/week :: need to start again
» replace my glasses
Not expecting much progress on anything that's not been met this week except word count and Charms-this last week will be focused on pushing through and finishing up so I can get it out to beta readers the first or second week of January ( still looking!), so much so that I'm keeping this week's goals very limited.
Progress This Week
Word Count:
for the week: 10,572
for the month: 32,818
last month: 74,139
this year: 584,243
last year: 868,421
Goals:
» B.C. chapter 27, 28, 29 :: started
» 1250/day; 7500/week
» 1 DII crit
» journals: whysper
» post to writersweighin
» Market Finders update
» WCP editing
» reading
» laundry
» beta reading
» web work: domynoes.com fixes
» web work: Alden.nu fixes
» file clean up on My Book
Reading List This Year:
» Geist
» Some Girls Bite
» The Stepsister Scheme
» The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
» Friday Night Bites
» Twice Bitten
» Spider's Bite
» Magic Bites
» The Broken Kingdoms
» The Mermaid's Madness
» Red Hood's Revenge
» Firespell
» Changes
» The Summoner
» Song of Homana
» Legacy of the Sword
» Track Of The White Wolf
» A Pride of Princes
» Daughter of the Lion
» Naked Heat
» The Iron Hunt
» Phoenix Rising
» The Piper
» Flight of the Raven
» Hard Bitten
» A Tapestry of Lions
» The Still Life of Hannah Morgan
» The Darkness That Comes Before
» Storm Front (reread)
» Fool Moon (reread)
» Grave Peril (reread)
» Unseen
» Grave Witch
» Summer Knight (reread)
» Death Masks (reread)
» Blood Rites (reread)
I'm hoping to finish the Dresden book I'm in the middle of rereading before the end of the year, but we'll see. The editing job and the beta read give me plenty of reading material, and they take precedence. It's just nice to get in some reading that doesn't require as much critical thinking. The other distraction is that I installed the Nook for PC and have since added a number of shiny new books that they have available for free, and new often distracts from something I'm rereading even if I love what I'm rereading.
As noted above, I'm keeping the goals for the week fairly short. The big focus is getting through the last 3, possibly 4 (depending on any splits or shuffling), chapters of Charms. I went through the first 16 chapters of notes from my pre-beta reader this week, and she didn't have much to say. There were a few fixes here and there and a couple places where I worked in things from crits that didn't feel right and she confirmed weren't quite right. Always nice when that happens. There's something else I need to add before it goes off to the final group of betas next month, but that's pretty much it: 3-4 chapters, the last 15-16 chapters of tweaks from the pre-beta notes, and one addition I want to get in before I send the monster off. I'm hoping to get it out by the end of the first week of January, but that may depend on my pre-beta reader. She's been quite busy and may need longer. Regardless, it will go out by the middle of the month. Need it off my plate for a few months.
So, for this week....
Goals This Week
» B.C. chapters 29, 30, 31, 32 (?)
» 1250/day; 7500/week
» 1 DII crit
» journals: whysper, journeys
» journals: 2012 goals post
» post to writersweighin
» Market Finders update
» WCP editing
» reading
» laundry
» beta reading
That's right, no extras, not even DII Admin stuff. We give them December off every year so they, and us Admins, can enjoy the holidays and get caught up in the whirlwind and chaos they tend to create. Even our meds are completely covered for the next couple of weeks. And with Charms as my biggest focus, followed by editing work, there's not a whole lot of room for much else. The website fixes and the My Book organization are big jobs that are going to take time. I've missed on the Alden updates already (quite badly, actually) and don't see a point in allowing them to derail what I need to get done right now. I'll get back to them in January, like everything else. With all that extra stuff off the table, it makes for a small list.
I'm even keeping today's list pretty small....
» dishes
» laundry :: started
» B.C. chapter 29
» 1250 words
» journals: whysper
» journals: 2012 goals post
» post to writersweighin
» WCP editing
» beta reading
» reading
Will be getting back to market_finder tomorrow or Wednesday. It's actually a lot harder to find PAYING markets than you might think, especially for a listing as old as MF. It can take me several hours to find anything now. And besides, between the SAD, the baking, and the actual holiday, a break was definitely in order. Won't be taking one over the New Year's holiday since Chef won't be home to celebrate the anniversary (and I've never been one to celebrate New Year's until we married on New Year's Eve 14 years ago), so taking an extra day or two now instead.
Do have my goals for 2012 decided and will be putting those up after I post to writersweighin tonight, then I need to tackle the editing, at the very least, and maybe some work on Charms.
The kids are home for one more week, the holidays are pretty much over, so I don't see a problem getting through what I have planned for the end of the year. This should be a reasonably good week. *knocks on wood*
You know, despite the issues I noted above, our Christmas was okay. I wish I had been awake for more of it, that we could have finished our "Transformers" marathon like we planned, but you know what? We did have a Christmas during the worst year we've ever experienced. I am beyond thankful for that. I think this year proved that come what may, we can always find a way to celebrate this one day. I celebrate very few holidays during the year, and this one is one of the most important to me. I'm really hoping next year I can make up for the lack this year, but even if we don't, we got a few presents, we had good food, and we were surrounded by love. That last is the most important.
I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday as well, whatever you happen to celebrate. :)
~~~
most recent
whysper the challenge begins :: journeys Finding Tools That Work
the chef's wife Cranberry Sauce