irrelevant (and sometimes questionable) ramblings

It’s September, and the Offspring starts school on Tuesday. It’s about bloody time, let me tell you. We’ve had a good summer, but it’s becoming obvious that the (mostly) unstructured days just aren’t fun anymore and the kidlet is actually ready to go back. This is the first year that she’s expressed excitement about returning to class, and I’m taking that as a good sign.

Truthfully, I think Autumn is my favourite time of year — perhaps tied with Spring. I love Autumn’s cooler days (well, not really happening yet, but next week — according to the long-range forecast) and the return of routine. I’ve been busy putting a schedule together for myself, actually, and looking forward to implementing it starting next week.

I’m actually doing things for myself this year (or at least I’m going to try). The plan is to take piano lessons and join a choir. Those activities, along with getting back into a fitness routine and starting work on new writing projects, will definitely fill up my time. We’ll see how it goes, especially after the first blush of excitement and newness has worn off…

I will make more time to blog and try to increase my internet presence, as well. Dipping my toes into the promo pool is long overdue. It’s hard and it’s a lot of work, but it’s a necessary evil, I guess. Unless one’s name happens to be Stephen, Danielle or La Nora.

Ah, well. Onward and upward, wot ho?! Catch ya later, folks…

*swipes finger along shelf*

Whoa. Look at the dust in here. Um, sorry about that, folks. In addition to having the new babe in the house, I’ve been suffering from a sore throat/achy head & neck for the past few days. So what that means is I’m *really* drained, and I apologize for being absent. Things will get better eventually!

At least, this is my mantra, anyway.

I’ve checked my stats, though, and want to thank those loyal readers who keep comin’ back, regardless. You guys rock! I truly appreciate you!

And here’s a little secret between you and me — I have a release date for Higher Learning! My newest story will be in your hot little hands on October 6, 2010! Yeah!

The cover’s a scorcher, too — just wait ’til you see it. I’ll post it soon!

Anyway. Anybody out there have a chance to read Lovely yet? What did you think? Inquiring minds want to know!

I am just plowing through DVDs lately. It’s turning out to be the perfect activity for nursing time — I watch 15-20-minute chunks at my computer, and it’s a great way to catch up on all of those good (and definitely not-so-good) movies that passed me by along the way.

If you want to see what I’ve been watching, check out my Books and Movies list (the link is on the sidebar). The reading part has diminished rather abruptly, but the viewing part has jumped.

So between library borrowing and utilizing home video collections of friends and family, I am glutting on movies. And B.E. doesn’t mind — most of the films I’ve been watching are fluffy rom-coms or hokey things that he’s not interested in, so that’s okay, too.

Have *you* watched anything really good lately?

Hey gang –

I’m talking babies over on Shelley Munro’s blog. Come by and say hi! You could win a PDF copy of Lovely!

(Please make me feel a little bit popular. Okay? Pretty please?)

Is it me, or did July just fly by?

I wanted to say thanks to all of you who’ve been stopping by, checking for new posts and/or updates. This “new baby in the house” thing has seriously played havoc with both my brain and my creative time. The only thing that it’s helped with has been my movie watching.

Hey, it’s one way to help make that fifteen minutes of nursing go by much faster. And this way, I also get to watch (that phrasing makes it sound like a privilege, but in some cases that is NOT true. Yeah, I’m talking to YOU, The Back-Up Plan!) movies that I know B.E. is absolutely not interested in. So that’s okay. I’m going through them pretty quickly, though, so I’m going to have to start borrowing more and/or upping my library usage.

Anyway. That’s my life right now. They tell me it’ll get more exciting eventually. I’ll let you know if/when that happens.

Let’s face it — with a brand-new baby in the house, the amount of actual writing going on over the last little while has been pretty much zero. This does not mean there hasn’t been progress, though. On the plus side, plot points have been percolating in my otherwise overtired brain.

And while it will certainly feel somewhat like getting rusty gears moving again, I’m beginning to get that slightly anxious feeling that tells me I should be BIKHOK-ing again. (That’d be Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard for all you newbies out there.) Truthfully, nothing may happen for a little while yet — there is that overtired thing mentioned above. And that fact that Miss Junior Peanut is still trying to figure out just what sort of routine to get into.

There’s no real hurry, I guess (other than the factor of my own impatience). I do know, though, that there’s certainly going to be a 1K-word daily requirement imposed. Being an author can’t be treated as a hobby — it needs to be given the same importance as a regular office job. So deadlines must be set and met. That’s all there is to it.

But for now, I’m going to nurse and watch movies and attempt to get my energy back. Soon it’ll be, look out world!

I didn’t think it was even humanly possible to feel this completely, utterly, physically, emotionally tired.

I am aware it will get better, but…

…damn.

I wish teh Interweebs would just shut up about Lindsey Lohan and LeBron James.

I. Don’t. Care.

Of course, some other celebrity will eventually have their own train wreck and take center stage. It never ends.

That is all I’ve got to say.

From the My House Is A Mess files…

It just occurred to me — while staring at my bathroom sink — that a really awesome baby shower gift would be arranging even a one-time service from Molly Maid (or the local moral equivalent in your town). I don’t know what the costs are, but having just the bathroom and kitchen scrubbed during the haze of post-baby-arrival sleep-deprivation would be worth much, much more than another package of receiving blankets or cute sleeper.

Then you could even pretend that cleaning fairies do exist! Wouldn’t that be fun?

…I must be nursing.

Sorry folks, “life” as we know it around here has ground to a halt with the arrival of Junior Peanut. You’ll have to excuse me (I’m not at my best!) while we get into a better routine around here. Will be back later — I promise!

Ciao!