Sunday Ramblings

You would think, now that I'm home with a primary focus on writing, and this blog is about writing (though I rarely write about writing), that I would post to the blog every day.

Wouldn't you?

So, I'm sorry, I've been terrible. I have this belief that I'm only talking to myself here, mainly because of the lack of comments, despite the fact that people are always telling me they read my blog. (Hi, Cindy! Hi, Bethany! Hi, Jennifer, and Susie, and Patty, and Smith. Or whoever really told me they read it, 'cause I can't remember.)

Okay. So. Time for me to say all the stuff I've been bottling up for a week.

*crickets*

Seriously, I had blog thoughts. At least six times I thought, "I should blog about that."

Right now? Mind's a total blank. Dammit.

Well, how about an update on how this whole work-at-home thing is going?

Nothing like I planned, of course. My cleaning schedule fell apart Wednesday, which I spent in a sick haze (thanks, Ohio people! *waves*). I briefly but incompletely resurrected it on Thursday, and said "to hell with it" on Friday. My kids were happy.

But I did keep up with the dishes, which made my husband happy, which alleviated my guilt for sleeping to 8 or 9 every day.

I also managed to get some writing done. I met my goal almost every day I set one. The Blue Silver project is coming along nicely, though late. A five-author collaboration does run into obstacles. But we're all really pleased with the results, and I hope you readers are, too. Sequels and prequels are being considered.

Brianna's Navy SEAL would be about 15 pages from being done, except the story's longer than my minimum page count called for, so it will likely be another 50 pages before I hit the end. But that may be by the end of the week! Woo hoo!

Ah, sad news. Inara Press is closing its doors. That's a big shame, because Dawn and Sara and the editors and authors over there were doing a bang-up job, but reality is often difficult to predict. That means Black Widow won't be out this summer/winter like I announced, which means Cindy has to wait for her dedication. Sorry, Cind. I'll make it really good when it finally makes it out there.

Got a new cat. Her name is Frisbee, because the rescuer saw her get thrown from a truck on the highway. She's sweet, but she's also a candidate for meankitty.com. She's affectionate and likes being around us, but nips. McKenna got scratched several times, too, which is possibly her own fault, but is a bit worrying. She hasn't eaten much that we can tell, because Maya/Garfield keeps getting into her food. She is either low appetitish because of the move up here, or finicky. She sniffs and walks away, and then if Maya doesn't chow it down, the dog does. She also took offense to our litter box, and used the clean sheets in the laundry basket instead. I went to buy a second litter box. Someone's used it, and I hope it's not Maya, because that kind of defeats the purpose.

Dammit, I don't want a smelly house! So far, we've completely avoided it. If she starts pissing all over the carpet, we're in trouble.

Ummm...Oh, yeah. In case anyone doubts the problems with the ozone layer--I was in the sun for two hours on Friday. SPF 60 slathered on before we left the house. SPF 50 layered over it after an hour, and I'd done minimal swimming (one dip in the water, no toweling) and sweating (not wiped off). These sunscreens proclaim to be effective for 4-6 hours, even with swimming, sweating, and toweling.

Yeah, you know where this is going. Burned! The worst spot is a place I obviously missed, along the crease of my arm next to my armpit. But my face and shoulders and chest, which I paid close attention to, are fried. My only consolation is that the sunscreen seems to have worked better on my kids, who do appear to be a bit darker, but did not burn. They've had one minor burn in their entire 10 and 7 years, respectively. I'm very proud of that.

Of course, the only reason I try to be careful with myself now is the pain. You know how they say one bad sunburn in childhood predisposes you to cancer as an adult? I'm totally doomed. Try one bad sunburn EVERY YEAR, MINIMUM. I was always a nice dark brown by September, too. So we'll see.

Okay, is that enough content to make up for the past week? For those of you who haven't fallen asleep? All one of you? :)

I'll try to be better...