Tag Archives: balancing

Hello September

04 Friday Sep 2020

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Yes, I know that it’s not Monday, and yes I know I missed last week for posting. But September started slightly mid-week and since we’re welcoming September, well, it’s only fair that we start it in September instead of saying hello to September during the last day of August, right? That’s not exactly fair to our dear August as it left us.

Last week was a mix of not posting because it was my birthday and I took a little time off, but also coupled with a small downswing in my mood that threw everything off for most of the week. I’ve since recovered from said downward swing of mood – partially by taking walks around the part to get some fresh are because I think a lot has to do with just being cooped up inside for so long.

My introverted self doesn’t mind being able to work from home and not having to deal with the random issues and questions that slide past my desk back when there was the old normal – a normal I do hope that we get back to soon though I think I heard that the best case if the vaccine works for widespread distribution is like next summer? Because once we find a vaccine, it takes time to make and then get to everyone so we’re able to go back to what we used to know as normal. My go-to when I’m feeling too closed in is outside. Be it the park or Mom and I have really gotten a lot of use out of our Arboretum passes this year. I used to enjoy going to like the outdoor mall to get away but shopping has become very stressful over all so it’s not exactly an escape from the house anymore. But the Arboretum with all the plants, sunshine – and sunscreen I remembered last time and will remember this weekend when we go – and sure there are occasionally people but it’s a large enough area with timed entrances so there’s never too many people in the place wandering around at a time, it’s actually relaxing and helps.

Plus, I get to take some really nice pictures, like the one at the top of this post. Crafting is normally my go-to for relaxing too but writing has been hard, I think partly from the stress of everything going on, and crocheting while it has been fun and I made some cute bees has aggravated my wrist so it’s been hard to work on that as much as I want. And with the heat, my garage where I do my painting hasn’t been friendly either. So all the things are letting me down for stress relief, at least in their own ways.

But September is here, and with it, hopefully, some cooler weather. I say hopefully because the last week or so here in Illinois it’s been record-breaking highs in the 90’s. Which has left me melting and not wanting to do much because ugg too hot.

This weekend Mom and I are headed to the Arboretum again because I wanted to get out. Plus they’re having their annual plant sale, so I’m curious to see what they’ll have that we can buy and bring home. All the pretty fall plants hopefully. I’m also, as of September, started last Tuesday, going to try to do a million words in a year. Not solely novel type words, though that is a large part of why I want to strive for this. But all words, even the words from this blog will count. There’s an authortuber I watch that’s decided to do it and I thought it would be an interesting challenge to try and do along with her. It’s a good motivational goal to try and do. The authortuber in question is Kate Cavanaugh, and you can find her channel here.

For those trying to count it, it’s roughly 83,333 words a month which, thankfully she did the math for in one of her videos. It’s roughly 2,741 words per day if you write every day or, if you’d like to be able to take holidays and weekends off, it’s 3,831 words per workday. Which, as a whole, is a lot more than a NaNoWriMo month, but at the same time counting editing words, blog words, and other words writing past your writing project, it does help to add up a little better, or well, should.

So September word count, all words, goal is 83,333 words. Will I hit that goal? I certainly hope so or this new million words in a year challenge will be off to a really poor start.

I’m also trying to aim to edit and finish my one novel that’s been in editing for a while maybe by the end of this year. So gotta get cracking on that. I did around six chapters of it originally but I think I’m going to do another quick run-through of them because it’s been a while since I even did those. So to finish editing the novel, starting from technically scratch, we’re looking at twelve chapters a month for September, October, and November, and then ten chapters and the epilogue for December.

Overall, I think it’s a do-able goal. Then track down some beta readers to give it a once over, and I think I’ll feed it through my Writer’s Group to get their feedback on it too.

Naturally, I’d also like to get some new original words. I have a few short stories I started that I’d like to finish, edit, and get released as well. Plus new shorts and novellas that are sliding around in my head that want to get out and written. So I think for this year I’m going to try and finish a few that are halfway or more toward completion and then start new things with the new year in January.

So kind of a quarter goal for me right now instead of just a September goals list. But I think over all if I can keep myself moving, it’s an achievable goal.

Wishes and Rainbows

17 Monday Aug 2020

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I could say that I missed last Monday’s blog post because we had a storm! We lost power! All of which is true. About 4pm on Monday last week, a storm rolled in with tornado level winds and knocked my power out within a minute of the storm hitting my area and about five minutes before any actual rain happened. And we were left in the dark until about 10pm, which is luckier than some of the people I know who were without power for up to two days. Overall, the storm lasted maybe an hour and disappeared East rather quickly. But I also can’t deny that the post should have been written before 4pm on Monday as well.

The truth of the matter is that work gets to me and everything else kind of falls to the wayside. Which is not a good thing and I’m working to rectify it but it takes time.

Saturday before my missed Monday I was feeling super caged in with this whole stay at home order, so Mom and I went out to the Arboretum – wearing masks when around people but for the most part not too many people because large tree and plant area with lots of paths to walk and super limited in how many people come in over an hour to ensure limited interaction between visitors.

I was able to get some nice photos while we were there. Which is something that I always love to be able to do. It felt good to get out, spend some time really outside with some nature, and getting some sun. Yes, I can get sun in my backyard but it’s not the same with the neighbors talking on either side, someone playing music and the traffic noise from half a block away because we live off a busy street just an alley away.  There’s something a lot more relaxing about being able to go somewhere that’s quiet and for the most part just you and the trees and the bees.

And Sunday was spent mostly just vegging out to some Stardew Valley – it’s my go to game when I need to just relax and chill and get out of my head because it’s such a chill game.

And then the work week started again, and time just flew by. It seems to be doing that a lot lately. I never really know where the week goes, if I’m being honest. Even when I have enough to show that I’m being productive, it still feels like the day is gone before I really blink, and then it’s the weekend again and I need to try and rest before more work starts again.

I’m looking to really start getting back into writing again. I’ve probably said that before in posts, but I do mean it every time I say it. I want to get back on schedule, to get more words in, and to really get more stuff getting out in the world. Which means continuing to carve out some time to do that every week, and every day of said week.

I’ve also decided to try doing a million words in a year. All words technically. So like, the blog would count toward it, as would any non-fiction words I write – like my dabbling in RP, plus my actual original words.

I have a few plots that have been kicking around my head, begging to be written. And I really want to get my one Fae novel finished so I can get it out in the world. So lots of plans. I also want to see if there’s any way to get myself on like a full schedule – in so far as, have edits done by X, this idea plotted by Y, and first draft finished by Z to get a fairly good pace. I just also don’t want to push myself. The more stress I feel towards something, the more I tend to roll away from it.  Which wouldn’t be good either.

For the right this second, as I type it, it’s all just hand wavy plans. But I’m looking to make good on them all.

How is your August going so far? Can you believe we’re half way through it?

It’s Only May, Right?

03 Monday Aug 2020

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Okay, so the title sounds stupid, but like, I feel like in some ways it shouldn’t be August. I shouldn’t be prepping at work for school to start back up while juggling the continued stay at home stuff while also balancing the idea of having to go back into the office once a week, twice if someone is on vacation. There’s a part of me that feels, because we were stuck inside, and still are to a point, for so long that the year has kind fo whirlwind by.

Work is stressful because while it’s nice to work from home and the commute being from bed to desk and lunch being just rolling to the kitchen where I can cook pretty much anything I want for my meal has taken some of the stress off, in other ways it has added to the stress. Whereas before if I needed a signature today I could hop down to the office and get said signature, now I am dependant on hoping they see my email, open my email, actually read my email, and then digitally sign the paperwork I’ve sent over to them. And only have following up by email to get stuff fixed. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when someone’s diploma is dependant on that signature, it’s super stressful to get it when it needs being gotten. There’s also the whole international students being able to get here stress. Can they still take their first semester of courses while waiting for their Visa appointments in October… can they still work as TA’s while in their country of origin… how do we pay them if they are in said country of origin since they don’t have the required paperwork that is usually given to them when they arrive here… It’s not easy answers, it’s not easy fixes, and it’s a world of headaches as the days pass by and the first day of classes steadily gets closer.

There’s also the added stress of having to deal with being in public to get basic human needs and all that it entails with keeping distant, wearing masks, making sure even with all that you are careful on how close people get and wondering who has things and who doesn’t and why is that woman coughing by the crackers.

In the beginning of the pandemic, I was crafting. I did resin, I painted, and I even made jewelry out of some of the paint skins that came from the paintings I did.

But stress kind of eats away at people. Or at least me. That and it got super hot out, and painting in a garage with no real air flow isn’t exactly easy, coupled with the town doing work on the street and painting has taking a back burner for the moment. Plus I have necklaces that need to be sold to good homes now. I’d originally, back in April hoped to sell at a couple conventions at the end of this year, beginning of next year but both have been postponed a year in order to hopefully see this pandemic over.

When painting wasn’t a thing I was doing, I read a little though not as much as I’d like. And I haven’t been writing. I think part of it’s just being cooped up inside and all. I donno if I should see if I can go to the Arboretum and find a tree and see if I can get some writing done in the outdoors. The tree picture above is from said Arboretum. My Mom and I went and walked around for the morning out there and I do have to say that it is lovely and quiet. They’re limiting the number of people that come in, and they’re all timed entrances so people will end up more spaced out than normal and so it was actually super peaceful when we went.

I’ve considered going to the park, but I was at the park a couple times the last few months and no one wheres a mask, no one adheres to social distancing, and the runners – I get why the runners don’t wear masks but still – aren’t exactly careful when they go by you for how close or far they are from you. And with living with Mom, it’s just not worth the risk.

I’ve also been doing a little crocheting in my spare time. I’ve made a few bees.

I think they’re super cute. Yes, these are going on my ‘I think I want to sell them’ list, though we’ll see. Ever since my wrist was in a cast, I can’t use it to crochet fast or often anymore so I’ve been slow to make these furry guys up. Granted since it looks like the next convention I’ll be attending is in November of 2021 – so help me if we haven’t gotten through this pandemic by then – I should be able to make up a small stock of them.

Also, I need to really buckle down and write. And edit. And get writer stuff done. The last few weekends, I’ve written about a hundred original words each, but it’s mostly staring at a blank computer screen or staring at a blank notebook page, which also doesn’t help the stress because now it’s like, but why can’t I write, why are the ideas up there in my brain but I can’t find the words to get them down on paper?

This is honestly the first time I’ve felt motivated to do anything social media wise that wasn’t post a photo of something cute, delicious or pretty – seriously my Instagram is getting the most love right now and even that’s few between. I’m working to get back into the posting game. Maybe if I go back to the posting on here and twitter and Instagram, finding a little more balance of normalcy, I can find my words again.

Here’s hoping anyway.

Things are getting Crafty

20 Monday Apr 2020

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So, if you’ve been following my Instagram at all (meriscorner), you’ve seen this already. If not, check out my Instagram, I’m always posting food and cat pictures over there as well as all the interesting crafty things that I’m doing in my life. It’s not all books with me, especially when words are being hard to find.

This week, I’ve dived into the world of acrylic pour painting. The image above is from the pour I did on Sunday, still went so I’m still waiting to see how it fully dries and how everything shifts as it finishes finding it’s level place. This is only my second pour and I’m trying to figure out if I had too much paint in the cup when I did the pour or not. While there’s a lot of paint on the bottom of the container I am doing this in, I had a little trouble at first getting it to the corners – trust me not from lack of it being too thick.

My first pour was WAY too thick. And I know that because after waiting like ten minutes it was still very textured. Though it thankfully leveled itself out and dried flat.

This time, I was able to get the recipe right for the paint, so it flowed really well, it was just happy chilling not in the corners, which from the videos I’ve watched of people doing this isn’t uncommon.

On top of playing with paint I have been writing a little bit. Like around 500 words little this month so far. It’s small but it’s something, for which I’m incredibly happy with.

As well, I’ve got a couple reviews coming up. One will be up on Wednesday for a book that’s coming out tomorrow, Tuesday April 21st. I was lucky enough to receive an arc copy of Twisted Devotion by Jessi Elliott – who is doing a Release Day Party on her Youtube channel Tuesday, so be sure to check it out her party. And then come back here Wednesday for the review to see what I thought of the book!

Link to her Release Party HERE

What do you mean it’s not Monday?

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

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So I’ve lost track of what day it is in self-isolation.

That’s not entirely true, because I’ve been updating this cute little whiteboard on my fridge with the day and date every morning to make sure I know exactly what day it is. This was supposed to come out Monday, but my days have been getting away from me.

Part of it’s stress at work – while I like working from home for the most part and falling into a rhythm is easy enough because I’m keeping the same hours I would were I actually at my desk in the office, I feel like some of the people have gotten either incredibly lazy or incredibly stupid with this stay at home during work time. Or potentially a little of both.

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of them are playing Fortnite instead of working considering the amount it takes them to answer an email just to confirm they are working on it – it’s like a two-second email it shouldn’t take you six hours to see my email and send it.

A lot of summer events that I have been working on both for my office, we’re supposed to be hosting a conference at the end of July, and my volunteer group, we’re supposed to be hosting a festival at the end of July, are kind of on notice because the Illinois Governer has not yet canceled summer events but has already voiced that he’s concerned about holding them until we have a vaccine for this virus – something that’s months away at minimum. And honestly, I can’t blame him for being concerned.

As much as I want to get back out in the world, to not have to worry about someone sneezing or coughing while I’m out shopping for essentials because I couldn’t get them delivered, I also don’t want to rush it and end up right back where we started. I want everyone to be safe first, because our health is the most important thing in this world.

That being said, I’m also seriously hoping that by November I can attend a Sci Fi Convention and potentially get a little booth and sell my wares – one of which I’m hoping will be a hold in your hands, large enough to print novel. Yes, I’ve got shorts and novellas but nothing that’s really big enough to run through the print on demand for paperbacks. But soon. SOON!

I’d say I’m making great headway on it, but the reality is that I’ve been spending a lot of time playing my newest addiction. Animal Crossing New Horizons on the Switch.

That’s right. I have a self-isolated myself not just in the house, but to a deserted island that I’m slowly building up to be a cute little town. It’s a really cute game, and if you like things like Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon and things, I’d totally recommend it. It’s super chill, super cute, and super fun.

Also – if you play the game and have Roses, Lilies, or Cosmos for sale? Hit me up, I’m totally needing them!

I’ve got a couple books I’m looking to read this month, a review going up next week, and some artsy things I’m looking to try out. All the plans, on top of getting some editing done on that novel.

And yet, it’s hard to want to do much except nap when I turn around from my desk and see cuteness overload.

I mean, how can you not want to nap when you see that behind you?

I hope everyone is staying healthy, staying safe, and finding ways to stay sane while we’re stuck at home.

🎵 Just another Manic Monday 🎵

16 Monday Mar 2020

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So interesting fact that I’ve learned over the last few days – I touch my face a lot. Like, I’m constantly rubbing my eyes or scratching the top of my nose and I’ve started to notice it more and more with the instructions being to not touch your eyes, nose or mouth. But how do you get those little gunkies out of the corner of your eye if you can’t touch your face? How I ask you, How!

Also, the photo above was the Sam’s Club by my house – yes I went out on Sunday. Mom and I took some inventory of the house and braved the stores for a brief, and I do mean brief, time to grab a few needed items for the house. That was the line to get into the store just as they opened. It trailed behind us down the length of the building and in front of the store next to it. Though in the 30 minutes after we slipped in, got everything we needed of the things that were left, and then slipped out to the car with our limited spoils of shopping there wasn’t a line to get in anymore.

And the good news is I am stocked up on all the non-perishable items we need should they be missing from the store, the stores are closed, or I have to self quarantine now.

Aside from food things, I slipped into the Walmart next door and wandered briefly through their lego section. I have mighty needs for legos. I love legos, I love building legos, and I stumbled across this interesting thing. It’s like a cross between Polly Pocket and Legos.

And I was like, well that’s a definite have to own. So I picked up two. This little science lab and the pet photo studio. Both of the littles are put together, yes. They’re adorable and I love them.

I also saw this beauty on the shelf.

I couldn’t justify getting it right now. But I want it. I want it so badly I’m not even joking. But I’m going to see if I can push my family to buy it and sets like it for me for my birthday. This beauty is the Baking Competition set. I did however buy the cupcake shop set which was half the cost. I haven’t opened it to build it yet.

Also, work has been trying to stay on top of the virus situation. Or well, really they’re trying to stay ahead of it. Because I not only work for a University, which comes with its own set of complications for remote working, I work literally next door to the hospital in the College of Pharmacy, with clinicians and pharmacists that have to continue to work at the hospital and clinics during this time. I’m just administrative staff, but it’s the administrative staff that keeps departments running while they’re off doing all the science-y things.

The students were all given this week off at my University – extended Spring Break – so they won’t return to classes until March 30th. This break allows all the faculty to work with IT staff in order to transfer their classes to 100% virtual learning so when the students come back to classes it will be virtual, likely through the remainder of the semester.

A lot of the non-essential to be physically here staff have been prepping all the work we do as well, so we can work remotely in the coming week or so. I’ve been told my department may shift that way before the week is out.

Anything and everything we can do in order to keep everyone healthy but still maintain the University functions. Luckily in this day and age, a lot of what we do now can be done via phone or skype/webex for meetings and systems that are all interconnected via online, so we don’t actually have to be in the office to accomplish a lot of what we need to do.

Whatever you do for a job, wherever you are, make sure to wash your hands and be safe during this time. A lot of people are panicking about how things are going and how bad it’s getting, but if we take precautions and are careful, we’ll be okay.

Update – My Monday has become my Friday

06 Friday Mar 2020

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So the sick Kitty is doing better. Have a shot of him while we drove him to his two-week check-up. He was not a happy kitty to be outside, but then he never is. He hates the outdoors, he hates being in a car, but he quiets down when I let him stick his head out of the bag and look around while we drive.

Overall, the prognosis is, he’s doing better! He hates his meds. He knows what time meds are given due to work schedule, and tries really hard to hide so we can’t give them to him – I feel bad that it’s gotten to this point but they’re needed to get him to feeling better. I’m hoping next week, after his four-week check-up, that we’ll be at a point where he won’t need the drops or the steriods and so the only meds will be the antibiotic shot to give him.

We learned how to properly clean his ears, with the best practice for him so it’s lower stress on him while we do it. The goal they said every three to four weeks is good to keep the build-up from getting to infection point.

Writing-wise for me has been slow. The last two weeks I’ve felt super low, kind of like I was drowning in the world. This week has been better. I feel more on top of everything, more like I’m at least paddling in the boat instead of trying to hang onto the side for dear life. I still have a good deal of catch-up to do but I’m more confident I’m getting it done.

I’m hoping to get my one novel that’s in editing stages done faster. Like, actually finish it and release it into the world this year, done. Preferably around September or October. I may or may not be poking one of the Sci-Fi cons mom and I attend to see what it actually costs for a table to sell, and maybe sell the pretty finished book along with some resin and costers and things.

Because for all my dabbling in things, the resin isn’t going away. If anything, it’s getting stronger. Like, I just bought some mica powder and more molds to do more things. And I am super excited to try all the things with resin.

I recently sent these guys off into the world. And I mean, how cute are they?! Two are currently keychains, but they could be necklaces. And the other two are magnets – they have a magnet on the back of them.

I also ended up getting a mold for zodiac constellations which I found super fun and cool and I’m still working on them in order to get the best results. And more mermaid tails.

I also ended up picking up this cool heart puzzle mold that fits together that I want to play around with a little more, but I’m already loving how it’s coming out.

So yeah, resin is now my life in general. Along with all the words and things. The great thing about the resin though, is that once I pour it and it’s curing, it hast to sit for 24 hours, which means after it’s poured, it’s all about working on those words. =)

Life – It’s Winding Road

17 Monday Feb 2020

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resin

So, not an excuse, but holy cow how are we already halfway through February?!

In the last month and a half since I wrote a blog post – my apologies by the way – I have participated in two write 10K in a day challenges, done a crap ton of resin (the photo), design & get to the printers the flyers for a festival I’m helping with, fix printers issues with said flyers because they couldn’t do things the correct way on the first go, talk to corporate about things because yes, corporate got involved, and also my cat ended up in an emergency visit to the vet that is still ongoing healing wise.

Let’s start with the 10K in a day challenges. So on Jan. 18th and Feb. 9th Mandi Lynn hosted a write 10,000 words in a day challenge. And, because I’ve been super lax on my words the last year or so, I decided to participate. I was able to pull off a win both times!

January’s day ended with a total of 10,771 – it’s a respectable start to a Horror short that I had originally planned to be about that length and who promptly told me ‘ha! I’m going to be longer!’. I’m estimating that it’s about half done because this one ended up needing to be a slower burn horror.

February’s day ended with a total of 10,556 – which I was able to finish my mermaid story, Treasure of the Deep, which if you didn’t know is my newest release.

So yeah, so far so good for getting writing done this year. I just need to continue writing between the 10K challenges, and also if possible continue to participate in said challenges.

As you can see in the picture above, I’ve also been playing with resin. I’ve found it super therapeutic to be able to play with it and create some fun magnets and keychains. I need to pick up some more though because I have maybe one more run of the molds before I am totally out of it.

The print job I’m not really wanting to go into much detail on, partially because I want to leave it in the past now that it’s over. The short of it is, I lost four days to this issue and had to go to the same store five different times, talk to corporate about it, before it was for the most part resolved, though after a small preliminary count it also looks like we were shorted 25 copies. And I’m just kind of done with it. Flip a table, let me break something done. Corporate kept saying they didn’t want to lose me as a customer, but I just can’t trust the company after this. So I’ll be trying a different company for next year, one that I’ve been working with through my 9-5 job that has great customer service and delivery so I don’t have to constantly run back and forth to a store.

And lastly, and most recently, my cat ended up with an emergency vet visit Tuesday night. Mom and I came home Tuesday night to find him not stable on his left front paw and his head tilted so his left eye was nearly on the ground when he stumble-walked. Naturally, I panicked and we found the closest emergency vet we could take him to. After they ran some preliminary tests on him the prognosis was ear infection which is why the dizzy and stumbly from him. The infection is pressing on his vestibular nerve, which controls balance in both humans and cats. Nothing that can’t be fixed with some meds. So that night, despite choking on the bill, mom and I went home with a sign of relief.

Dex stayed at the vet because the specialist wanted to take a look at him, the emergency vet had called her that night to get a recommendation on meds, so he stayed overnight and I was called Wednesday with the official prognosis. Basically, the infection was caused because he had build-up of wax and bacteria in his ear due to a mass in the canal that’s stopping it from self-cleaning itself the way it normally does. In 3 out of 4 cats, when masses appear in cats of his age (17) it’s usually aggressive (read cancer). Right now our focus is healing the infection and getting him better on that end because that’s faster fixable, just meds to heal him slowly.

The next step will be discussing where to go from here for the mass. Ideally, the simple but expensive route is removing it. But that involves putting him under to take a biopsy so they can 100% tell what it is and based on that how to deal with it. Then, putting him under again for the actual surgery. In a healthy cat, this would still be fairly stressful. But we’ve found he also has a heart complication because he has a heart murmur. This means we have to be careful about putting him under at all because it could be too much stress on his heart and if it’s too much of a risk then the surgery just isn’t worth it either. If the surgery isn’t worth it, it means that we’ll just triage his symptoms as we can for the duration of the rest of his life and make sure he’s the happiest, most spoiled lap snuggle cat he can be.

It’s been some hard news to take in, and because we’re only a few days into the meds he’s still walking like he just stumbled out of the nip’bar at 3am after a hot night with the girls, and while thinking of it that route makes me giggle a little it still makes me sad that he’s not as stable on his feet as he should be. He’s got a lot more energy since we got the meds for him and are keeping up with them, and even though he’s stumbling, he’s not letting it slow him down much so it helps to know that he’s feeling a lot better. I did notice that he’s not touching the dry food as much but will gobble the moist, so I’m going to have to pick up more moist for him. Normally the moist was a every so often treat, but if that’s what he’s happier eating, I want to make sure it’s now a daily meal for him. Right now it’s day by day as I try not to think about the more serious parts of his prognosis because right now it isn’t the focus for getting him better and honestly there’s nothing we can do about that part of it now.

That’s been my life the last month and a half. Hope yours has gone well! alk to you soon!

Happy New Year!

02 Thursday Jan 2020

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It’s not only a New Year, but a New Decade.

I’m personally hoping that 2020 is a fantastic year. It’s only the second, but I’m being hopeful. There were a lot of things that kind of fell to the wayside in 2019 and I want to make sure that they don’t continue to be sidelined this year.

Namely, my writing and reading. Everything kind of stalled after that fall I took in May where my wrist ended up in a cast, well that and gaining more responsibility with my work about the same time. But I’m finding a balance with my work, which means that reading and writing balance is coming very soon.

If you’re wondering about the picture, my aunt gifted mom and I tickets to the Morton Arboretum’s Illumination show and that’s one of the shots I was able to take during it. It’s an evening walk along some paths and they light up all the trees in really cool and interesting ways.

Anyway, back to the important topic at hand, as is the habit with new years, I also have some resolutions, or goals if you will.

  1. Publish a minimum of 2 short stories this year. I have one that I was hoping to get done and out before the new year came to an end, and unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. But, I’m hoping to not only get that one out but a second one. The second one isn’t written but I have several that are stetch outlined out to pull from and write.
  2. Finalize and publish at least one full-length novel. I have several that are in various states of completion and my goal is to finish one and get it out into the world.
  3. Read 50 books in 2020. I didn’t hit this goal in 2019, I only read/listened to 32 books. But just like my writing things kind of derailed in May and I didn’t really touch a book either. But my goal is to see that not happen this year.
  4. Relaunch and run my jewelry shop. This kind of ended up on hiatus in 2018 due to too much on my plate with mom and I so we stepped back to focus on things that were a little more important. But both of us feel better and ready to get the shop back up and out there.
  5. I’m also making stickers for my planners, because I find that I don’t use a lot of the stickers that happen to be in the packs other people sell. And since I’m making them for myself, I thought why not offer them, for sale, to others. So my goal this year is to launch a sticker shop as well.

Those are my goals, or resolutions if you want to call them that. Do you have any of your own? Leave them in the comments below.

Almost the end

19 Thursday Dec 2019

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We’re more than halfway through December and because I was on a Conference trip for the beginning of the month, I’m not entirely sure where the month went.

From Dec. 6 through Dec. 13th I was in Las Vegas. The photo above is one of the sunrises from Vegas while I was on my trip. Vegas is a beautiful city, but it’s also hella expensive. You’re hard-pressed to find any lunch or dinner options that are under $20.

And if you’re wondering, did you gamble? Did you see a show? The answer is no. I don’t gamble. My dad was a big gambler and it got ugly sometimes so it kind of put me off gambling as a whole. And color me cheap, but I can’t justify a $200 ticket to a show, no matter how amazing it is. I just can’t. Especially not around the Holidays when I’m trying to spend on others instead of myself.

I did go to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay though.

It was fun to see all the life there. And they have a couple ‘diver view’ tunnels with sharks swimming around above you that were pretty cool. Plus, the stingrays were adorable, they have several in a little touch pool that so long as you’re gentle you can pet them. And the jellyfish *points up at blacklight picture* were so pretty to watch. Having them under the blacklight made them look incredibly magical.

I didn’t get a lot of writing done because with working 9 hour days at the Conference, all I did was grab dinner on the way back to my hotel room and then crash by 8pm after I was finished eating.

Though, on the plane, I was able to listen to some audiobooks during the flight. Though I will say that I fell asleep in a couple places and had to go back and relisten to them while awake.

The view from the plane was pretty incredible as well.

Overall it was an incredible trip. And for some of the downtime, I did have fun. And for the work portion of it, I was told I made everything run incredibly smooth and they were very thankful for it.

If you’re interested in seeing more photos from my trip, I did post several on my Instagram. You can find me @meriscorner over there

As the year slowly crawls to an end, it’s made me realize that I’ve been seriously slacking the last half of the year on my reading goal. I marked that I wanted to read 50 books this year, and currently, I’m sitting at 31 books.

This means that I have 19 books to read in the last two weeks of the year! Can I do it? We’ll see. You’ll have to stay tuned!