whitemunin

I haven't been out to LJ in so long, I've forgotten how to use some of the bling on here. I'm on FB more these days, and even that is hit-and-miss. I've become a sucktastic social networker.

Fandom - Lately I've been reading mostly in the Once Upon a Time 'verse (Rumbelle is my OTP). A lot of excellent writing in that fandom, and I've enjoyed a bunch of stories. It doesn't hurt that I'm a Robert Carlyle fan either.

Music - I've discovered the phenomenal Sarah Jarosz who sings in a blue grass style (though not all of her music is BG), a musical genre I've never had interest in until now. This girl is amazing. If you get a chance, find her on Youtube and check her out. I'd recommend Run Away, Build Me Up from Bones and Come on Up to the House (a Tom Waits tune). And then have a listen to the ethereal Wailin' Jennys. Storm Comin and Bright Morning Stars blew me away the first time I heard them.

Writing - I'm stalled on a Stargate Atlantis fanfic because all my free time is consumed trying to finish this next book and get it over to my editors for slaughter.

Reading - I've been working on pulling together a small collection of both fiction and nonfiction works on the life of Francoise Scarron, Madame de Maintenon, the morganatic wife of Louis XIV. I've read everything I can get my hands on and am now hunting down the English translations of her letters.

Real life (aka, the truly boring stuff) - a few months ago, my eldest took gold in the Regional Women's Y12 Foil group in fencing. She did poorly in the pool bouts. Distracted, stressed, overheated. By the time she made it to the elimination rounds, she was emotionally at rock bottom. I told her to do her best and finish. Afterwards, we'd celebrate that it was just over. Obviously, the old cliche that when you hit bottom the only way is up is true. She kicked ass in the elimination rounds (where it really counts). Won the gold bout by 1 point with 4 seconds left on the clock. I think she was in shock. I was practically in cardiac arrest.

My son, who is autistic and mostly nonverbal, has decided to become an escape artist and try walk-abouts in the neighborhood. We've had to lock this place down worse than Fort Knox to keep him from sneaking out and making his way to grandma's house who lives a mile away. We've already had to go on one frantic search for him, aided by the sheriff's department. You'd think a rigorous level of vigilance would take care of that, but no. We are vigilant, but he's so fast and so quiet that I'd have to shackle him to my wrist. Thus, we have 4 different kinds of locks on all the outside doors and I've called a couple of contractors to give me bids on installing a gate across my front entryway.

Work, house repairs, child rearing, homse schooling, writing and watching my hair turn gray -- all part of the fun.

See you on the flip side, flist.

I've been working on a DOL audit that refuses to die. Won't go into to details except to say that for every one step forward we take in getting it closed out, we take two steps back with newly discovered problems/obstacles. I'm fed up to my back teeth with the thing and wish it was over and done. The pro side of this is that at least I'm not the one being audited.

We're on week 2 of home schooling, and it's going pretty good. I've tried to meld some subjects together. For example, for art, we worked on creating a mandala. Kidlet learned about pattern and symmetry and also what "mandala" means in Sanskrit, its history and religious connotations and the history of Sanskrit as a language. She just cut out a pattern for a mandala to make a pillow with the design. I don't sew, but her grandmother does, so that's one art project they'll work on together. The next one will be cave paintings which I tied into our current history studies on 8th and 7th century millineum BCE. If I can get to the craft store, we might recreate a version of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey.

We went to Whole Foods as a field trip earlier this summer to get a first hand look at ancient grains and cereals. We've made Kamut pancakes and flat bread using spelt. I took her to Phoenicia Grocery yesterday where she saw feta sold in 10 gallon buckets, tried pomegranate tabouleh and baba ganoush and zaatar bread seasoned with sumac and sesame seeds. I bought her fresh dates and a jar of orange blossom honey with the honeycomb on the condition she learn about the history of date harvesting and beekeeping.

Every other Friday, we meet up with a big homeschooling group in the area. I like it so far. Mostly secular, which was what I wanted--an HS community not affiliated with a particular church or religion. Kidlet immediately glommed to a group of siblings who loved dragons, pirates, vampires and steampunk and were homeschooled by a grandmother who is a HUGE HP fan.

Needless to say, between the field trips, the art and science projects as well as the more mundane lessons of math, grammar, spelling and Spanish, the days are flying by. Our first book project will be Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. For those on LJ who've known me these many years, I'm sure that comes as no surprise. ~grins~

I'm also trying to potty train my son. ~points up to subject line~ Toilet training an autistic child is its own particular level of misery for both trainer and child. I will have the patience of Job by the time this is done. That, or be reduced to a blithering, drooling idiot because I finally snapped and lost my last marble. Good thing I work at a winery and get free wine.

From what other more seasoned self published authors are stating, the first month of my book's re-release has had a very respectable showing. I can pay a bill or two with the royalties but won't get rich. Still, I've sold more units in one month than I sold in any two quarters combined when the book was with the publisher. I can't prove it, but I truly believe the new cover and lower price are contributing to healthy sales.

I love the control aspect of self publishing. It's a lot of work but I keep my rights, choose my editors (who are made of awesome) and my cover artists (who are also made of awesome). If the book flops, I have no one to blame but me--something I can live with just fine. However, I will say I hate conversion uploads with a passion.

My PC died last week. Melted capacitors in the motherboard (or so the spouse tells me). I have a stand-in now, but one with no Outlook, Microsoft Office or GIMP. I'm DYING. I can get some of my more current e-mails with a work-around, but I've lost everything prior to 08/26. WTF? Spouse gave me enough to be able to log in to work and get internet access, but that's about it. It sucks.

Just as an offnote, I've noticed that whatever pairing I like in books, T.V. shows, soap operas, movies, etc., they never work out. It's almost as if by liking the pairing, I jinx it. For example, I loved the idea of a Ronon Dex/Jennifer Keller pairing in Stargate Atlantis. It looked like the writers were going that way but did an abrupt about face and went into left field with that. I'm still pissed off about it. I watched General Hospital religiously from the end of 2006 to most of 2008 because I loved the pairing of Jason Morgan and Elizabeth Webber. The writers nixed that one too. I loved Severus Snape in HP with just about anyone, and most of us know the professor's fate. Sawyer and Juliet on LOST. Adored them as much as I adored the Desmond/Penny pairing. She dies. Nice. I could name several others, but the gist is that I obviously pick badly for my preferred pairings because they NEVER work out. Do any of you do that? Or is it just me and my bad luck/taste?

I weigh in tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I dropped a pound or two. My goal is to lose 10 pounds by the second week of October--just in time for the Texas Renaissance Festival.

Some links for you:

Art - http://dream-traveler.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d47m81d
Shoes (I bought these a few months ago, only with bat buckles) -
http://www.pennangalan.co.uk/boots/FW48.php

See you on the flip side, flist.

Flist,

I'm about to jump from fast into overdrive starting tomorrow, so a quick hello to everyone.

* I gave notice at my job in March with the offer I could work 20 hours if they'd let me do it from home. They agreed. I went to 20 hours in May, concentrating on special projects (three in the pipeline at the moment)and still cleaning up 7 IRS and DOL audits.

* My eldest would be starting middle school at the new school tomorrow, but I pulled her from the school district in May and will be homeschooling her. Wish us both luck. I'm using the Trivium curriculum as a guide. Poor kid. She'll probably hate me by the time she hits 8th grade, but she'll have learned something. My other two will continue to attend public school. My son is in a class for autistic kids. There's no way I can school an autistic child and still give my oldest the time and focus she needs. That, and I'm just not that patient. Youngest child still in elementary, where I think she'll benefit better in this grade range with a teacher in a classroom setting than she will with me--again, my issue with patience.

* One book re-released once I got my rights back from the publisher. New cover is made of awesome. A short story and three novellas scheduled to go out soon.

*I recently watched a lovely period film made in 1995. A French movie called L'Allee Du Roi. Tells the story of Francoise de Maintenon, morganatic wife of Louis XIV. I don't speak a word of French, but I know enough of this story to get the gist of what's going on and have really enjoyed it. Many thanks to Shiv for some translation!

* I joined Weight Watchers in mid January, and have lost 25 lbs. so far. My goal is to lose another 27 lbs. before I go on maintenance. I now weigh less than what I weighed before I got pregnant with my third child 7 years ago.

* Did I mention I also work part-time at a winery? Love the job and the employee perks are awesome! I've learned a lot about wine in a year, but it's a fraction of what there is left to learn.

* My Stargate Atlantis fic languishes, ignored if not forgotten. I really need to get back to that one.

Links for you:

Pizzeria in San Antonio that does pies napoletana style. Saw them on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. They were good, but the real stars of the restaurant were the appetizers. I tossed out the Weight Watchers points thing that night and thoroughly enjoyed a plate of high calorie burrata -
http://www.doughpizzeria.com/Menu/Dinner.asp

How to Mummify a Chicken - Eldest small and I are doing this as part of a history project once we tackle Ancient Egypt in her course work.
http://www.mummytombs.com/mummymaking/mummychicken1.htm

How I wish I was crafty - http://luthien27.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d41x6cp

Flist, I'll see ya on the flip side.

My friends in and around London - please stay safe. I'm watching coverage on the BBC. It's frightening.

Wow, two posts in as many days. I'm on a roll.

Sela at Romance Divas gave us a heads-up about these two blog posts. The first is a rant about about it's not a good idea to be a writer; the second is the poster rebutting the first post. Both are made of awesome and very funny. If you haven't read these, please do.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/01/20/no-seriously-im-not-fucking-around-you-really-dont-want-to-be-a-writer/

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/01/25/whatever-screw-that-jerk-you-totally-want-to-be-a-writer/

And since I forgot to post artwork in my last post, here are two for today:

http://yigitkoroglu.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2kspqg

http://lunakenei.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2niocp

It's rainy, windy and cold here in H-town. Not a good day to be on the roads, so I'm working from home and staying warm.

See ya on the flip side, flist.

I'm a fan of Michael Franti's music. A very talented man whom I'm glad to see become more well-known now that he's getting more radio play. Of course radio is pretty narrowly focused in what it will play, and unfortunately, my local station will only play one of his tunes. But it's one I really like, and even better, one my kids absolutely love.

I take my two daughters to school in the morning. It's about a 5 minute drive one way--just enough time for us to sing this at the top of our lungs and start the day with a smile.

Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehu3wy4WkHs

Flist,

Hope all is well with you and that you had a great end of year.

Quick post here.

1. I'm on the Weight Watcher's bandwagon and doing pretty good. No cravings or feeling hungry and steadily losing weight. I'd like to shed 32 pounds by the time the program stint is done. We'll see. Luckily, I'm a decent cook and enjoy the challenge of cooking what is normally high-calorie food and tweaking it to stay within a reasonable point level.

2. Got a huge bonus at work. Yay! I was hoping the 15 IRS and DOL audits I handled in a month and half would earn me some brownie points, and it seems they did.

3. I'm working on a free read for a Valentine's Day event over at Romance Divas. I'm trying my hand at gaslight fantasy romance. Way outside my comfort zone but fun nonetheless. Will post about the event when it gets here. Many links to other participating authors writing in various genres.

4. My brother comes home from Iraq on February first. He's a contractor there. You couldn't pay me enough to do his job. Very grim and tragic. It's no wonder he has a finely honed sense of gallows humor.

5. After a two-year wait, Danse Macabre has updated her breathtaking Dark Hour of Night story (Labyrinth 'verse). Life is good.

Flist,

Hope all is well with you and yours. Busy as usual. I'm only managing to type all this because the rest of my household is sleeping in this morning.

Spouse and I took the eldest small to Dickens on the Strand in Galveston yesterday. It's been a few years since we've been. Fun street festival, but by the time it opens for the first weekend in December each year, we're festivaled out from attending TRF (Texas Renaissance Festival) multiple times. Plus, we're more into the medieval/Renaissance periods than the Victorian one.

My oldest kid has a wonderfully eccentric imagination, so the idea of Steampunk really appeals to her (us as well), and she's embraced it wholeheartedly. We're all for expanding the imagination and encouraging what is turning out to be a self-confident and eccentric personality. Since Dickens was hosting a Steampunk contingent this year, we told her we'd take her.

My and the husband's garb was more traditionally Victoria, with mine being very basic (hard to pull together an outfit in a week). The small was decked out, as was a good friend who has also embraced Steampunk.

We expected to stroll the streets, enjoy the food, shops, music and people-watching. And we looked forward to seeing what the Airship Isabella crew had planned for the festival.

Today, I'm half blind from having our pictures taken a gazillion times and beyond foot sore because my shoes, while very period appropriate, were not meant for marching in a parade.

As a group, I guess we looked good because we must have been stopped every five feet for photos. My daughter was beyond thrilled and felt like a celebrity. Our friend was very eye-catching in his Steampunk garb, though it paled in comparison to the amazing stuff created and worn by the airship crews Isabella and Neo-Dulcimer.

My spouse had his picture taken multiple times by himself. His outfit was very reserved and traditional. However, between his boots and his top-hat, which had him towering at about 6' 8", and a waterfall of waist-length snow white hair, he attracted a lot of attention and a lot of cameras. At least 6 people, by my count, stopped him to ask if his hair was real. I'll post shots when I get them off our camera.

While visiting the Steampunk area, members of either the Neo-Dulcimer or Isabella crews (don't know which) invited my daughter and my husband to march with them in the 7 p.m. parade. I thought the kid would implode. She also got to be one of the lamp carriers. She didn't want to march without her mom, so I came along too. We have one picture of her where I think her face threatened to split in half, her smile was so wide. You couldn't mistake how thrilled she was to not only be in the parade but to be part of the very ecclectic and fun-loving Steampunk group. They were a welcoming and generous bunch. I can't thank them enough for turning this night into such a magical one for my child. It was very cool.

And a little art to commemorate the evening:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=§ion=&global=1&q=steampunk#/d2v7yje

You need to read this. I laughed so hard I think I broke something.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/11/dogs-dont-understand-basic-concepts.html

And I can so relate this post from the same blog. The illustrations are a hoot.

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html

Thanks to Briana at Romance Divas for the links!


Last but not least, art for today:

http://ellygator.deviantart.com/gallery/33774#/d7dncj

1. Dear client, when the Dept. of Labor has tagged you for an audit of your records, that's some serious shit. Please treat it that way. Like the IRS, they are an entity of draconian power and can smear you across the floor without breaking a sweat. Work with me, people.

2. I am made of writing fail. A Stargate Atlantis fic needing an update and two originals needing attention...I have done practically nil on any of them. I did, however, come up with a title for one that has been nameless for a while now, so I suppose that's something.

3. Fall and winter have obviously chosen to skip us this year. It's 84* today, and no, I don't live down under.

4. Has anyone seen The Man Who Cried? Not the movie with Ciaran Hinds but the one with Johnny Depp. I saw it and loved it. If ever a movie cried out for fanfic, that one does because of the ending.

5. Dear IRS, I enjoy working with your agents. They're nice folks (of course I'm only coordinating the audits, not being audited). But please, can I have a break? I'm really tired of being your bitch and can use some vacation time.

6. Hooked up with an old high school friend via FB. His kids are now the same age we were when we became friends. Jaysus, I am old.

And art for today:

http://browse.deviantart.com/traditional/paintings/fantasy/?order=5&offset=192#/d32lsum

Flist, I'll see you on the flip side.