Lauralynn Elliott's Blog, page 16

Update on Hubby

So my husband limped (see previous post) into the hospital to have his heart cath done. It turns out he DID have a blockage and they had to put in a stent. Not only that, his heart function isn’t very good (it doesn’t pump well enough), and it looks like it might be due to a couple of heart attacks he’s had in the last 5-6 years…that we didn’t know about until recently. So they sent him home with a “Life Vest” which is basically an external defibrillator. The vest itself is bad enough, but it’s attached to a monitor which is kind of heavy, and he has to wear that part clipped to his belt or on a belt wrapped around his waist. Needless to say, hubby is NOT a happy camper. They will determine in a few months whether or not he will have to have a defibrillator implanted. The doc said his heart function could improve with all the medications he will be taking.

I’m not too happy right now, either, because I don’t function well without sleep. Sunday night I didn’t sleep much or well because I had to get up at 4:00 am to get us to the hospital on time. And I didn’t sleep well last night because there’s nothing comfortable about a chair that converts to a bed. There are SEAMS in it and they aren’t comfy. I kept waking up. So between the two nights, I might have gotten 5-6 hours of sleep. Maybe.

I know there are people who are worse off than we are. I KNOW this, but sometimes knowing doesn’t help ME feel better. But I’m trying to be thankful for all the good things in my life. And you all are part of that!

ROW80 Check In 12/15/13 and an Injury

I’ve edited about half of my book. I wanted a Christmas release, but that’s not going to happen. So…sometime in January.

Now the bad news…I was so looking forward to a great Christmas. I’ve been so happy about the holidays, looking forward to time with family and friends. But hubby came home from work with an injured foot. It’s probably broken. It’s not the same one he broke earlier in the year. It was a scary thing for him. His foot got caught in machinery and it dragged him. There are reasons he’s not going to the doctor right now, but I’m not going to go into that. This is just all too much for me right now, and I’ve sat here and cried. He’s supposed to go in the morning to the hospital to have a heart cath done (a test where they check for blocked arteries, and they are also checking the valves), so now he’s going to go in there limping or on crutches. I keep thinking there are so many people in this world that are much worse off than we are. But it’s so hard to think that way when things are happening. We need prayers and/or good vibes sent our way.

Decorating the Tree and a Memorial

Since my husband has had to work so much lately (last week he worked 7 days!), we were late getting a tree. I actually went by myself to get the tree this year. I got it Sunday, and until today, there wasn’t an ornament on it except for the one I got at the ornament party on Friday.

Hubby has always been the one to put on the lights. I’m terrible at that, so he does the lights, I do the ornaments. This year, we could only afford a small tree, not much taller than my 5’3″ (and that’s stretching it) height. I was actually able to do the lights myself, and I’m thinking I might just like having the smaller tree.

The first ornaments that went on today were a set of Mickey Mouse ornaments that used to belong to my best friend who died in May 2011. Not too long after her death, her mother, her sister, and I traveled 500 miles to help her husband sort out her things and decide what to do with them. Her family was SO generous in what they let me take, and these ornaments were part of that. I didn’t even ask for them, but her family knew that the love of all things Disney was something she and I had shared. So I got all her Disney stuff. When I put those ornaments on the tree, I felt like I was honoring her in some way. It’s a mixture of joy and sorrow. Joy because we had so many good times, so many wonderful memories. Sorrow because I miss her so very much. More than I can explain with words. I have tears as I write this.

Last year was such a whirlwind of bad stuff. I lost my father on Thanksgiving Day. I found out I had diabetes in December, on the same day of the Sandy Hook shooting. Hubby and I just decided we would buy cheap ornaments and not even try to get the good ones down. Our cats were still young enough that I thought they would destroy the tree anyway, which they really didn’t. So last year was a bust with Christmas decorations.

So this year, even though we are doing it late, I’m determined to make the most of decorating, enjoy doing it, and enjoy the results. The holidays are going to be great this year. They HAVE to be. And it’s all starting with those beautiful Mickey Mouse ornaments that remind me of a person who always had joy in her heart and mischief in her mind. I’m thinking of you, my friend who resides in Paradise. I know you laugh at me every day for the silly things I do. I miss your sarcasm, your unrestrained laugh, and your kind soul. You are always in my heart.

Editing During the Holidays

Ack! That is how I feel right now. So many parties, Christmas shopping, house cleaning to get READY for it all. I had fully intended to do some editing on my book during lunch yesterday. THEN I remembered…during lunch I had to 1)Buy a sweater or sweatshirt for the ugly sweater contest at the party I had to attend last night, 2) Purchase ugly things to put on said sweater/sweatshirt, 3) Purchase food for the party (I forgot to make anything), 4) Actually put ugly things on the sweatshirt. My lunch hour was shot. I got back home too late from the party to do any editing. Tonight is church night, so editing might happen, but only a little. Why do we finish up books this time of year? I really, really wanted a Christmas release. I could probably get the first round of editing done, but I can’t expect my beta readers to drop everything this time of year to read my book. I happen to know one of them is extremely busy right now, and the others probably are, too. I think I’ve actually probably lost one beta reader due to the fact she’s so busy all the time.

I don’t believe I’m going to have a Christmas release. The upside to this is that most of my book sales have always been in January and February, because people are finding books to download on their shiny new Kindles, Nooks, iPads, etc. The downside is that most people already own a reading device now, so there aren’t as many new ones, therefore, not so many downloads. It’s not like 2011 when I had GREAT sales in those two months, and one of my books got up to 134 in the Kindle store. There are too many writers publishing now. It’s hard to get noticed. And, I’m totally rambling and getting off-topic. Where was I? Oh, yeah.

So, do you feel like it’s a huge challenge to write or edit during the holidays? How do you handle this? Do you try to schedule some time for it, or do you just throw up your hands and decide to wait until after the holidays?

ROW80 Check-In 12/8/13

Is anyone else getting excited about Christmas? I am! Last year, I lost my father on Thanksgiving day. Then, in mid-December, I found out I had diabetes…the same day the Sandy Hook shooting occurred. Not a great holiday season last year, huh? But it’s a new year, and I have my blood sugar under control with one insulin shot a day plus some pills. Not ideal, but life is good. I intend to ENJOY my holidays this year.

So onto the report.

Writing: I finished my WIP on November 30, and I didn’t touch it until yesterday. I edited five chapters yesterday. So far, so good. I only found a few little things where I thought I should word some things differently. The manuscript is actually 900+ words short of what I shot for. Also, though, I realized there was a scene that might work between the prologue and the current first chapter. I’m going to talk to my beta readers about it and get their input when I’m ready to send it to them.

Exercise: Mostly, this has gone well. I did my three days at the gym. I have an extra incentive not to skip workouts since my insurance will now pay for it if I go 12 times in a month. I skipped a couple of days on the treadmill because 1) I had to get up at 4:00 on Thursday, and 2) I overslept on Friday (probably because of #1).

FlyLady: I’ve done so-so on housekeeping and organization. Now that the last exporting class for work is over, my stress is now lower. I nailed our presentation at that class, by the way. WIN! So I’m ready to embrace all three of my goals with gusto! The rest of December is going to be awesome!

Let’s all get excited together, okay? It can be contagious!

ROW80 Check In 12/1/13

It’s been a decent week, I think. I had a good Thanksgiving with great food (if I do say so myself),but most of all, great family times. Unfortunately, my oldest son was sick, so he and his wife couldn’t make it. But we might get to see them next weekend.

So here’s the deal:

Writing: My goal was to finish my WIP by November 30. This has nothing to do with NaNo, it’s just the date I picked for a deadline. I’m happy to say I typed THE END yesterday. I’m not so happy to say that I don’t really like the ending. I kind of let my corny sense of humor get the better of me in the epilogue, and a lot of people probably won’t be amused. I’m going to need a lot of help from my beta readers with it. I’m going to start editing and proofing next week before sending it out to be criticized critiqued.

Exercise: I was off from work for the holidays starting Wednesday. I didn’t get on the treadmill for three days. Grrr. But I got back on Saturday morning and walked a little extra to make up for some of it. I’ve bumped my speed up a bit. This is a big deal for someone with short legs.

FlyLady: The housekeeping and organization with the FlyLady method is going well. Not perfect, but good enough. Because FlyLady says we have to let go of our perfectionism.

How about the rest of you? Who did NaNo? Who WON NaNo? Who is glad they didn’t do NaNo? *raises hand* Good luck to everyone this week!

Auction for Charity

I just wanted to let everyone know that my five print books are up for auction on eBay, all proceeds going to Women’s Center High Desert. This charitable event can be found on the FaceBook event Justplummy Holiday Bazaar and Fundraiser.

Here are the eBay links to my books:

Haunted Lake

Starfane

Loving the Dead and the Undead

Soul of a Vampire

Vampires’ Curse

Go check out all the listings for plumhoff1955. There will be more up this afternoon. The bids all start at $5.00. All proceeds go to the Women’s Center. This event starts today and runs for three days. Thanks Rhonda Plumhoff!

ROW80 Check-In 11/24/13

Brrr. We’re having a cold spell. My computer says it’s currently 23 degrees. Ouch!

So here’s how it went this week:

Writing: I was so afraid to read my last chapter, which is the climax of the horror part of the story. I put it off and put it off, thinking it was a mess. I finally reread it yesterday, and I really like it! I just hope my beta readers will. I also wrote almost 1500 more words, which was basically the denouement of the horror part, and kind of a little climax (no jokes!) of the romance. I started an epilogue, but I have no idea what I want to do here. I don’t know if I want this to be a complete HEA, or do I want to end it with something happening to let readers know the evil isn’t over? I will ALWAYS have an HEA for the romance part of any book I write (or at the end of a series), but horror doesn’t always go that way. I may need to brainstorm with someone.

Exercise: Walking on the treadmill every morning is continuing as usual. I’ve upped my speed just a tad. I only got to the gym one day. Monday, I had my doctor’s appointment. I went to the gym Wednesday. Then, Friday, I took too long at lunch, so I didn’t have time to work out. I only get an hour to get food and work out. It’s fine when I take my lunch, but when I have to get something, it pushes me.

FlyLady: This is the one I’m most proud of this week. I cleaned off one half of my dresser (this was a job that took a couple of hours…it was that bad), cleaned my bathroom sink (I’m letting hubby clean his side), cleaned part of my tub (it’s huge), shopped for groceries, did three loads of laundry, and WASHED MY CAR. Did I mention it’s getting cold around here?

How did the rest of you do with your goals?

ROW80 Check-In 11/20/13

This has been a so-so week.

Writing: I’m still sitting on that last chapter, almost afraid to look at it. One more day. I’ll look at it tomorrow and see if it sounds insane or awesome.

Exercise: I didn’t get back to the gym for my normal Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule because I had to go to the doctor Monday. But he’s very pleased with my blood sugar and me in general. And I’ve lost 2 lbs. this week already. I’m going back to the gym today.

FlyLady: I’ve kept a shiny sink so far this week. I did my 15 minute mission on Monday, and it ended up being more like 25 minutes. When I checked my mission for yesterday, it turns out I did both missions on Monday. LOL. So I felt like I could slack off yesterday. *looks around to see if Susan is seeing this*

I hope to have much more to report on Sunday. Later!

ROW80 – Writing, Exercise, and FlyLady

I’ve found that when the rest of my life is organized and NOT in chaos, that my writing goes the same way. I was really sick last week, and I did practically nothing in any category. So today starts a new week, and I want to tweak my goals a bit and really work hard on getting my life in order, especially now that the holidays are coming up.

Writing: I don’t know if I’m going to make my November 30 deadline or not. I don’t know how many of you read my last post, but I felt like my last chapter was out of control, so I want to sit on it a couple of days and see if it’s better than I think. I might still make the deadline, but I’m not going to obsess about it. I would rather the story be good than be done on time.

Exercise: I go back to the doctor for my three month visit tomorrow. I have no idea how my A1C test will look because I haven’t been checking my blood sugar. (bad me) I didn’t exercise last week because I was sick, but I have been exercising. And I have a new incentive to go to the gym. If I go at least 12 days out of the month, my insurance will pay for my membership fees! Who doesn’t want to save money, right? But I’ve gained a few lbs. so I’m not sure what my tests will look like. Today, I’m back on track!

FlyLady: For those of you who don’t know who FlyLady is, she has a website that basically teaches you how to keep your house clean and how to stay organized. My goal is to start back doing the daily missions, which usually take about 15 minutes. But the very first thing she wants everyone to start with is to keep your sink shiny. No dishes in it. Mine is shiny right now, and that’s after I cooked breakfast. After you get the daily missions started, you can go on to the detailed cleaning. She encourages you to keep a control journal. Check it out. FlyLady.

That’s all, folks!