irrelevant (and sometimes questionable) ramblings

What are YOU doing to celebrate the end of a decade?

We’re hangin’ out with some great friends, eating lots, laughing lots, and playing lots of Rock Band on the Wii. Sounds like a whole lot of fun to me!

Whatever you do, stay safe, don’t drink and drive, and definitely find someone to smooch at midnight!

See you next year, gang…

xoxo

I’ve seen similar posts around teh interweebz — Doug and Dean, for example, and Donna (lookit all the “Ds”!) — and thought that perhaps it might be a good exercise to finish off this decade with an accounting of the 00’s for Yours Truly. (Truthfully, it didn’t even click with me that this was more than just the end of a year…must be baby brain!)

In ‘99, I was living in Southern Canuckland, having just married the ex-husband. Working, enjoying big-city life. Watching (more in retrospect than at the time) the slowly-increasing downward spiral of that relationship.

‘00 brought more ups and downs, the biggest “up” revolving around the conception of the Offspring. And more downward spiraling.

‘01 gave me one of the best things in my life — the Offspring. Becoming a parent was probably the most life-altering thing that ever happened to me. The spiraling worsened.

‘02 delivered to me the secondmost life-altering event — separating from the husband.

‘03-’05 was a difficult chunk of life. Exhausted, trying to be the best single parent I could be, working full-time… There were some highs, definitely, some good times, but it was a time filled with lows, as well. At the beginning of 2005 I made a critical, difficult decision — I quit my job. Moving up here to Northern Canuckland to be with family was a huge decision, not one to be taken lightly. But it was done.

The rest of ‘05 had me settling into a completely different environment, working as a freelancer, trying to get used to small-town life again, not to mention 24/7 contact with the Mater and Pater. The dabbling with the writing had started, culminating with my first sale to Ellora’s Cave at the end of the year.

‘06 brought a couple of things — it sent me to the gym (following Rella’s example) and began my “babe-ifying” time period, and it brought the release of said novella. I think that was probably one of the most edifying years. So much change, not only internally but externally. Not only that, but I sold my second novella to EC. So overall, 2006 was a pretty damned good year.

‘07 saw the release of the second book and The Dare, which resulted in some photos of Yours Truly in three pink triangles of the Weasel variety. And most importantly, a return to the (sometimes horrifying) World Of Dating, via the Internet. On the Very Big Plus side, 2007 also brought B.E. into my life. Who knew how things would change?

‘08 brought me the beautiful, sparkling solitaire currently residing on my left hand. Yay! And on top of that, I got to see George Michael in concert. (I know, I know — he had to make the highlight reel!) The print version of the Shrink Wrap trilogy made its way into the world, as well.

‘09 turned B.E. and I into homeowners, with the purchase of our new house, followed by the Wedding of The Year. (Mine, you goobers!) And a mini-honeymoon to our Nation’s Capitol. Which led, as you are all aware, to Your Hostess With The Mostess getting knocked up. Wow. (Oh, and I sold another book. W00T!)

Honestly, this decade has been one of such dramatic change — and truthfully? That change has revolved around me. I am not the same me that started this decade. I am stronger, tougher and more confident. I like me again, and I am happy with my place in the world. The next decade can only be an improvement. Who knows where we’ll be when we turn from 2019 to 2020? I can only imagine. Hopefully many more books sold. Hopefully B.E.’s experiments will come to successful fruition.

Wow. The step-Offspring will be 23 by that point!? Incredible! The Offspring will be 18. (OMG, I am SO not ready for that!) And the new babe will be 9. Unbelievable! Hard to believe all of the changes that will take place…but in some ways, it’s hard to believe all of the major changes that took place in this past decade. I think it was pretty dramatic. I don’t think I need that level of drama in the next ten years, thanks.

So let’s just hope for prosperity and good health, and much happiness and laughter. I think we all deserve it!

I’m not sure where or why this idea popped into my head, but I am seriously considering making an online list of the books and movies that get read/watched through 2010. Not a critique of each item, no, more just to see what the variety is and how many I get through. (Being up at night nursing will likely give me an opportunity to watch some DVDs of TV shows, at least!)

If I do it, it’ll be an extra page on the sidebar of the blog so you Gentle Readers can see what I’m up to. I may at least give a one-word response (eg. “Recommended” or “Skip” — that sort of thing) in case anyone wants to know how I felt about that particular title.

Of course, this may just be a pipe dream, but I think it might be interesting. I’ve been eyeballing our Zip.ca account (Canuckian version of Netflix) to see what I can add. (By the time we get down the list the baby will likely be here… )

Anyhoo. I’ll let you know if/when that page comes to life. In the meantime, there’s another blog post a-brewin’ that I hope to put up before the end of the year.

Once again, we’ve come to that time of year. (Already??)

I wish all of you Gentle Readers a very, very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Joyous Kwanzaa. I hope you have lovely celebrations, whatever your faith, and that you are able to spend precious time with loved ones.

Cherish the memories and treasure the time!

Enjoy, and I’ll be back again soon!

This Christmas season has snuck up on me rather sneakily. It’s partly Junior’s fault — up until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t have the energy to do anything holiday-related (and I certainly didn’t want to shop, clean or decorate whilst feeling as though I were about to hurl…) — but it’s also the fact that as a grownup, now it’s my turn to do the Christmas prep.

Being a kid meant not really noticing what was going on around the house (other than being told to stay out of the way) until the decorations were almost all up and the kitchen smelled deliciously of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Now it’s my turn (yes, technically mine and B.E.’s) to do all of the behind-the-scenes work that makes it feel like Christmas. And boy, oh boy, it’s a lot of effort. Thankfully, last weekend’s party forced a thorough cleaning out of us, so next week it’ll simply be a surface tidy in preparation for the Big Day.

(*Oooh. Note to self: monster 21lb turkey needs to move from freezer to fridge by Thursday to start thawing. Took the Thanksgiving one a week to thaw; this one will be no different.)

On the plus side, I got a chunk of shopping done yesterday, with a handful of remaining items to pick up. Should easily be done in one more trip out. Then the wrapping begins. And I really should choose some cookies to make and actually make them before we have guests over!

Next year will be even more interesting as there’ll be a six-month-old getting underfoot, too. *gg*

But anyway. One thing at a time. It’ll all come together quicker and more smoothly than anticipated. It always does.

…and now your hostess with the mostess is knocked up.

Heh.

Yeah. That’s the big news, folks. It’s also the reason why I haven’t been around much lately. This wee bairn gave me the most awful “all-day” sickness for the last ten weeks — so much so that I found it difficult to spend much time sitting at the computer. I spent my hours more comfortably ensconced on the sofa, reading. (One way to get through all those Jim Butcher books so quickly… )

However, I am starting to feel more like my normal self. I think. Whatever that is. So I shall endeavor to make my presence known here a little more regularly. My goal is to try and write at least a couple more novellas, maybe a novella and something longer, before the baby comes in June. Because after that, I’ll be taking a bit of a break to actually do some mothering, or something. Heh.

Anyway. Thanks for understanding, and thanks for coming back to check on what’s transpiring here. I’ll try my best not to inundate you with baby-related posts.

Catch you on the flip side, gang!

I have gotten to the point where I. Hate. This. Book.

I mean it.

It’s 30K+ words of the most ridiculous tripe that I’ve ever put down on a computer screen. Why I persist in calling myself a writer is beyond me.

Hack would be more like it.

*siiiiiiiiigh*

The worst part is, I’m approximately 2500 words from the end of it. I just don’t trust anyone’s motivations anymore. I don’t even know what the right way for the heroine to react to the black moment should be.

*bangs head on desk*

I want to move on, get to something different, but this albatross won’t let me. Not until it’s finished, edited and submitted. *whine*

Hate. It. Hate. It. Hate. It.

Thank you for letting me get that out of my system. I don’t know how much it helped, but we shall see, won’t we?

Okay, so I’m feeling somewhat nostalgic. And holiday-spirited. It *is* that time of year, though. And we finally got some snow up here in Northern Canuckland. Don’t know if it’ll all stick, but so far, so good.

Sorry I’m out of sorts, gang. I promise, all will be revealed soon. In the meantime, I’m still slaving away at Higher Learning and attempting to finish the damned thing. Combine that with all the pre-Christmas prep that’s steamrollering this way and, well, the next few weeks are going to be crazy, that’s all. But this story must be sent off before I completely rip out all of my hair. (Bald’s not me, I’m afraid.)

Be good, gang. Santa’s watching, you know!