S.J. Pajonas's Blog, page 28

Sunday Update – December 19, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

Well, this week sucked because I was in pain for most of it. I slept poorly on last Sunday night, and when I woke up on Monday morning, I was all out of sorts. So I was only half awake when I stretched… and stretched too far. (Insert crying emoji face here.) I hate when I do this. It's my own fault, and yet, it feels entirely unfair to be in this much pain for something so small. The pain is mostly in my right shoulder, neck, and arm. And unfortunately it has been painful ALL WEEK LONG. It's now Sunday morning, and I had an awful night of sleep last night because of pain around 2AM. Sigh. I can only hope that I'm pain free by Christmas.

Other than that, we didn't do much this past week. Most of our Christmas shopping is done. My husband has been in back-to-back meetings every day from 8AM to 6PM, so I barely see him even though we're in the same house together. I did my usual workouts, took the dog for walks, went grocery shopping, all of that, in pain. Though actually the workouts helped the most to get me out of pain, so that was nice. Once my body warms up and moves, the pain lessens. Hoping for the same today.

I've been steadily working away at A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT and it's almost done. I'm in the last act and have about 6000 words to write. That's it! I should be done by Christmas. Then between Christmas and New Year's Day I plan to make some edits to it and then set it aside for a time.

We've had a change of plans for Christmas, by the way. My in-laws were going to host and I was really looking forward to it. But they texted this weekend to say that they can't host due to having to help out elderly relatives. Which I totally get and understand. I'm a little sad about it because this is our second canceled Christmas and I really wanted to see everyone. I will be spending the next day coming up with a Christmas menu and then hitting the grocery store to get the goods, hopefully early on Tuesday morning before the crowds.

There was lots of work to do this past week as I was both writing and finishing up the last audiobook of the Flyght Series. This last photo shows my Master Scrivener Search document. I have this one Scrivener file that has all my SJP books in it. I use it almost as a series bible because Scrivener's search is really good. So when I have questions about previous books and character or place names or didn't I mention something in Book 3 that I want to use in Book 6? Well, I can just search the Master Search Document and find it, instead of having to open each project on its own. I color coded the books by series this week. It made me happy.

Lulu continues to be a good girl, even when she's up to no good.

I made gluten free Japanese curry this week! Yay! It came out almost perfect. It really just needed some salt and MSG to be JUST like the original curry roux cubes I used to buy. The store-bought cubes have wheat in them, so I had to make my own. I'm glad I can put this back in the meal rotation!

Other food… My husband made homemade guacamole for Impossible burger tacos. I got a Mamon (sponge cake) from our trip to the Asian Grocery Store. And most of my lunch times are spent eating salad and watching Gilmore Girls.

There was a lot of exercise this week with outdoor walks in the nicer weather, weight classes to stretch out my poor shoulder, and I hit my 500th ride on Peloton! Yay! But I did it in a cool down class because I had no idea I had hit 500. Boo.

I'm planning a crochet temperature blanket for next year. You can learn more about temperature blankets here.

And finally, Santa came last Sunday to deliver candy canes to everyone in town. That's my favorite holiday tradition around here. Yay!

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy! (And pain free…)

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Win An Audiobook Bundle Of All 6 Books Of The Flyght Series!

It's been a long time since I've done a giveaway, and I thought now would be a good time! It's the end of the year, and I just finished a 9-month long project of making AI-voice audiobooks of the Flyght Series! It was definitely a chore, let me tell you. But by the third book, I had a pretty clear process of how to streamline the work and make it easier for me. I finished up Book 6 just yesterday… And now I have these fantastic audiobooks all ready to go!

One of the things I enjoyed about listening to all of the Flyght Series was being in that world again. Listening helped me remember all of the fun things I wrote for this series and gave me fresh ideas for Skylar's series too! I also caught quite a few typos and missed words along the way, so I updated the ebooks and paperbacks as well.

So, for the holiday season, I'm giving away three 6-audiobook bundles of the entire Flyght Series! These will be given away via Bookfunnel, where you can either download and listen via their app or listen to MP3s on your computer/phone. I make this flexible enough for everyone. You can enter to win using the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! I can't wait to give these away to three lucky winners!

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TV Chat #15 – Dune, Squid Game, Great British Baking Show, Gilmore Girls, Cowboy Bebop, and More…

As promised, here's a rundown of the latest shows and movies we've watched here in the Pajonas homestead.

Dune
Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi | October 22, 2021 (United States)


8.2











Director: Writer: , , Stars: , , Summary: A mythic and emotionally charged hero's journey, "Dune" tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive. —Warner Bros.





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Possibly the only time in recent history I have looked at my husband and said, “Let's watch a movie on Thursday night and start at 7pm so we can go to bed on time.” Usually, TV is reserved for after 9pm when the kids are in bed and we're all done with work for the day. Not when DUNE premieres, though! To say I loved it is an understatement. I adored it. It was everything I've wanted from a screen adaptation of DUNE, one of my favorite novels of all time. I thought the acting was superb, especially Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica. She finally brought some humanity to the role that was missing in other adaptations. Overall, I loved it and I can't wait to watch it again.

Squid Game
Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | September 17, 2021 (United States)


8.0











Stars: , , Summary: A story of people who fail at life for various reasons, but suddenly receive a mysterious invitation to participate in a survival game to win more than 38 million US dollars. The game takes place at an isolated island and the participants are locked up until there is a final winner. The story will incorporate popular children's games from the 1970s and 1980s of Korea, such as squid game, literal translation of its Korean name, which is a type of tag where offense and defense use a squid-shaped board drawn in the dirt.





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There's a reason why SQUID GAME was at the top of the Netflix charts for so long. It has a lot going for it — mystery, humor, suspense, the occasional gore, plus a recall to childhood games. Yes, there was a lot of murder. Yes, there was even some sex which mostly just grossed me out. Lol. But I stuck around for the mystery, wondering what would happen next and how it would end. It surprised me all the way through. Just a note: we always watch foreign movies/TV in the native language with subtitles. Always. I never watch anything dubbed.

The Great British Baking Show
Reality-TV | December 27, 2014 (United States)


8.6











Stars: , , Summary: A group of British home bakers are convened for a baking competition. There is a theme to each week's competition, generally in the vein of the type of goods the competitors are to bake (i.e. cakes, cookies, pastry, etc.). Each week, they are given a set amount of time to complete each of three challenges, their finished products which are evaluated by expert judges. The first weekly challenge is the signature bake, the competitors to bake something from their home recipes which are to signify who they are as bakers within the category. The second weekly challenge is the technical challenge, where each of the competitors are provided the same recipe, in large part of something they may have never heard of let alone baked before in their lives. This challenge is to see how knowledgeable the competitors are about general baking concepts. Their finished products are evaluated blind in that the judges have no idea who baked what. The third weekly challenge is the showstopper challenge, in which the competitors are to pull out all the stops to produce a baked good which overall grand appearance is as important as taste. At the end of the week based solely on the three challenges, the judges will name the best competitor star baker, and will send one competitor home, that person whose competition has come to an end. The final three competitors enter into the finale, the winner of that week who will be crowned the overall competition winner. —Huggo





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We just recently finished the latest season of GBBO and the two new holiday specials. This was an enjoyable season, without too many crazy challenges. I loved all the contestants, especially Chigs, who I now have a major crush on. Lol. I was surprised at the winner of the whole season, though he certainly deserves it if you look at the whole season. I just felt like another contestant did a better job of that last challenge. No matter! One of the beautiful things about GBBO is that we don't take it too seriously.

Gilmore Girls
Comedy, Drama | October 5, 2000 (United States)


8.2











Writer: Stars: , , Summary: Thirty-two year old single mom, Lorelai, lives with her teenage daughter Rory in the small town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, with crazy neighbors and many ups and downs.





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So, here's a little secret about me. I had never watched GILMORE GIRLS when it was on the first time. In the early 2000s, I was living in New York City, going out, living a young life, and I didn't even have the money for cable. So I missed it the first time around. I'm now watching on Netflix, about an episode per day. I'm into Season 5 now, and I'm struggling with my feelings on it. I definitely CANNOT stop watching. It's like a car crash. One moment I hate Lorelai for her constant lying, and the next I feel sorry for her. I love Rory, and then I can't stand her. But I think that's the whole point of this show. The characters are complex. The writing is especially good. You're not supposed to love or hate anyone. I do dislike two of the characters a lot though. Taylor Doose has got to go. I hate his power trips and passive aggressive attitude. I'm also not a fan of Mrs. Kim and her outrageous treatment of Lane. But overly religious characters bother me on a fundamental level and I suppose this is no different. Her character is very stereotypical Korean Christian, though, and that bothers me. Anyway, there are still a few more seasons to get to! We'll see how I feel at the end.

Cowboy Bebop
Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi | November 19, 2021 (United States)


6.7











Writer: Stars: , , Summary: The space Western story follows Spike Spiegel and his rag-tag crew of bounty hunters, or Cowboys, as they try to capture the galaxy's worst criminals and survive the unexpected dangers they encounter throughout space, sometimes saving the world in the process but always leaving millions in damages. —deadline





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This show is so great. I do NOT understand all the “fanboys” who are hating on it right now. I love the sets and the costumes and the wild west in space. It's all the things I loved about the anime version. I've actually taken a lot of inspiration from COWBOY BEBOP over the years for my own writing because I love it so much. I think Netflix did an amazing job with the remake and update. Faye is finally a real character, not just some flighty tart with big boobs. Daniela Pinella has done an amazing job with her character. John Cho is not how I pictured Spike but he grew on me. Mustafa Shakir can say more with a glance than most people do with a hundred words. I'm really sad that Netflix has canceled this because the “fans” were nasty. I hope they rot in their basements, those little keyboard warriors.

Napoleon Dynamite
Comedy | August 27, 2004 (United States)


6.9











Director: Writer: , Stars: , , Summary: Preston, Idaho's most curious resident, Napoleon Dynamite, lives with his grandma and his 32-year-old brother (who cruises chat rooms for ladies) and works to help his best friend, Pedro, snatch the Student Body President title from mean teen Summer Wheatley. —Anonymous





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I know I watched NAPOLEAN DYNAMITE at one point after it came out and then never watched it again. Turns out there's a reason why! Man, I do not like this movie. It's awkward and makes no real story sense. My youngest child wanted to watch it because her friends had seen it, so we watched it for family movie night. My oldest child was bored at 45 minutes, I let her go to her room. Lol. I wish I had gone too! Ugh. I was very happy when it was over. My youngest was too. She didn't really enjoy it either. My husband, though, has been going around talking like Napolean every chance he can get. Sigh.

Okay, now you're all caught up on what I've been watching. Do you have any thoughts on any of these shows/movies? Let me know in the comments!

The post TV Chat #15 – Dune, Squid Game, Great British Baking Show, Gilmore Girls, Cowboy Bebop, and More… appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.

Sunday Update – December 12, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It was a busy week, full of work to do. I'm trying to get my biggest projects done before Christmas so I can actually take some time off between Christmas and New Years (even so, I plan to work on Nogiku Series edits). It feels like a huge ask right now. I have sooooo much work to do. But I WILL GET IT DONE. Because there's no other alternative. Just need to keep chipping away.

This week I was working on three big projects. I finished one of them, the edits of RELEASED. As you know, I'm editing the entire Nogiku Series for a big update in January, so now I have 2 of the 5 books done. That leaves me with two big projects, finish writing A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT and the last audiobook of the Flyght Series. If things go well, I should be done with the audiobook this coming week (watch for a special blog post on Friday), and then A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT by Dec 22.

Not much else happened during the week. We had Lulu home a few days because she needed her vaccines updated before she could go back to daycare. So there was a lot more walking than usual. It was exhausting but fine. I basically worked all week and I will do the same this coming week.

Oh! I did break two PRs (personal records) this week on Peloton! I broke my 45-min record which I had tried to break in August 3 times but didn't succeed. The ride I did was super hard. Then I broke my 30-min record on Friday with a Climb Ride. It was also hard but worth it. I think I'll be taking endurance rides most of this coming week. Lol.

Our Christmas tree is up! I love my new ornament. Lol.

Finally broke that 45-min record I tried to break 3 times in August.

I get up and I'm usually “at work” by 7am every weekday. 8am on the weekend. I can't wait to get some time off.

Here's the results of my RELEASED edit. I cut almost 19,000 words! It's also 6 chapters shorter.

We ordered these freeze-dried Skittles for a gift exchange for my daughter and they are pretty cool!

Sometimes I just have to sit in the car and wait for things, like waiting for Lulu to get her vaccinations. I love the Tesla though. It's very comfortable.

I also love the frunk on the Tesla. Great place for groceries!

We got a delivery of firewood.

And I made salmon hot pot for dinner on Friday. It was delicious! The first hot pot of the season.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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TV Chat #14 – Catching Up On The Last Six Months

Looking back on my archives, it's been a long time since I've talked about what I've been watching, and I'm making a resolution to be better about writing all of this down next year. I promise.

First of all, I'm turning this into a category like my Book Chat, so they will be numbered now, making it easier for me to find the images in the future. Second, I hope to update at least once per month going forward in 2022.

Now, unfortunately, I can't remember all I've watched in the intervening months, but after checking my activity on Netflix and a few other streaming apps, here's a brief rundown before we get to the recent stuff…

There was a second season of Ted Lasso that we loved. There were lots of great story lines in the season. I can't wait for more!

We only made it through half a season of Foundation but I think we'll try again.

We watched Clickbait, and we were surprised by the killer, so that was a good one. I totally guessed wrong and so did my husband.

I watched the second season of Never Have I Ever, and I enjoyed this one better than the first season. Devi still made bad choices, but things got nuanced in her life so the whole show became much more interesting.

I watched the final season of Atypical and it was wonderful. Really. This is a fabulous show. You must watch it.

We finished Kim's Convenience. I was unhappy with the ending and the way they left things. Overall, the show was great and worth watching. Just don't expect any kind of resolution at the end.

We watched Jett on HBO MAX. The show was incredibly violent (think Quentin Tarantino violent) but so well written. A little too sexy in parts as well. I'm kinda over that now, just over-the-top sex for the hell of it. Anyway, there will only be one season of this because Cinemax has decided to cut original programming. If any other streaming service picks up this story, I'd watch a season 2.

We watched the second season of For All Mankind. Overall, it was good, though I was disappointed with some of the side stories.

I got halfway through the second season of The Morning Show and stopped watching. I might try to pick it up again, but I thought the storylines were getting a little too stupid.

I watched the second season of Making the Cut on Amazon Video, and I thought all the designers did well.

And I think that's it? There were probably some movies in there too, but I can't remember. TV has been good the last few months! If my husband and I can't think of anything to watch, we watch some This Old House together and head to bed.

Next week, I'll get you caught up on more recent shows and movies we've watched! I have them all written down so I can just jump right in.

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Sunday Update – December 5, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

So far, December has been okay. No snow yet, thankfully, and the weather has been warm enough not to have to bundle in multiple layers just to go out. I'll take it.

This was a pretty chill week. Looking back on it, only a few things happened that were out of the ordinary.

I think I neglected to say that I got my booster shot last Saturday. It kinda screwed me up on Sunday evening. I had an elevated heart rate, like I was on the Peloton but sitting on the couch, and a weird taste in my mouth. Plus a sore arm. This is the MOST side effects I have gotten from any of the shots. My first two shots several months ago didn't do anything to me except for a sore arm. I went to bed early on Sunday and woke up fine on Monday.

Monday was my husband's 48th birthday! We went out to our usual Italian place for dinner and enjoyed their fantastic food. I'm a little bummed that the fun present I bought for him is still not here, but what can you do? The supply chain is slow lately. I got him a massive amount of vegan chocolate instead. Hopefully the fun present is here by Christmas.

On Wednesday, I realized that Lulu is due for vaccinations. She needs them or she can't show up to daycare. Her veterinary care is technically my husband's job but he forgot about this… and now her doctor can't see her until Wednesday of THIS week, and then not again for the final round of shots until December 20th. Ugh. It's a whole thing I won't get into, but Lulu will be home a lot in the coming weeks. It's possible I will be able to take her back to daycare later this week if the titers show her distemper vaccine is still working. We shall see.

There was some drama in the author world this week concerning my good friend, Sarra Cannon. I won't go into details here, but I had seen most of it back in July when I had coffee with her in South Carolina. It's an awful mess, and I am pretty upset with Alexandra Sokoloff for continuing to escalate her nonsense. If you want to know more about what's going on, just search Twitter or Facebook or watch Sarra's video. I stand behind Sarra 1000%. Alexandra has omitted a lot of details from her posts and keeps lying about what she did. Eventually, the actual legal complaint she sent Sarra may come out and then she'll have to face her lies, but for now, let's hope she just shuts the hell up and moves on. Her career is on the line. I have spent a good deal of time on Facebook supporting my friend, so that has taken up some time.

Saturday was busy. We went to our town's fair in the square, my daughter played in the chamber group's concert of Holiday songs, and then my other daughter went to a friend's house to celebrate Hanukkah. We were exhausted by 9pm and went to bed early.

I woke up today with head congestion again. So that's still going on. Boo.

Other than all of that, I spent a lot of this week just getting the words down on A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT. I realize that this is how I live my whole life. I chip away at things little by little until they're done, and then I move onto the next task. I am chipping away at this book by writing 1000-1500 words per day. It's taking a while, but it's coming along. I'm also chipping away at the last audiobook for the Flyght Series. I do a few chapters per day and then move on to the writing. All in all, I'm getting stuff done.

My youngest daughter made this gluten free cake for my husband. Yes, it was from a box, but she did a great job!

From my walks with Lulu.

Saturday was the chamber group and then the library's used book sale.

A french fry fell under the stove and Lulu just couldn't ignore it. She woofed at it our entire dinner until we were able to get it out for her.

I got a little knitting done this week. I find that knitting makes me sleepy now, due to the repetitive motions. So it's hard to do it in the evenings.

I did Denis Morton's newest Beatles ride on Monday and it was hard but a lot of fun!

Delicious pasta and wine to celebrate my husband's birthday.

In her favorite spot next to me, curled up on the blanket.

There was lots of wine this week. I regret nothing. Lol.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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December 2021 Goals

And just like that, it's the end of the year.

What happened with November's Goals

Finish Skylar's Book 2. It didn't happen. I have been working on it. I have 50,453 words written now. It needs about another 26,000. I will just keep working at it as best I can.

Finish the audiobook for SILENT FLYGHT. This is done! YAY!

Start editing the Nogiku Series… again. I finished REMOVED! And I opened up RELEASED and got it ready for editing.

Keep up with the Fall Power Zone Challenge. Finished this up and took my FTP test.

Start the Nogiku Series paperbacks. I have decided to hold off on this until I'm done editing the whole series. So this will be back in January.

Continue with my courses. I did not do any of this.

Reading and knitting. There was reading. No knitting. I don't know why knitting has been so hard to do lately. It makes me so tired.

December Goals

Finish Skylar's Book 2. I have to finish in December or I will be behind on all of next year's goals!

Make the audiobook for STOLEN FLYGHT. This is the last book in the series and I want it DONE in 2021. I don't plan on doing any audio in the first half of 2022.

Edit RELEASED and start editing REUNITED. The editing of REMOVED only took a week. I flew right through it once I started making decisions about what to cut and what to keep. I feel like I can at least do RELEASED (Book 2) and possibly start on REUNITED (Book 3) before the end of the month.

Continue with my courses. I hope to have some time to work on these this month.

Reading and knitting. The usual.

That's it! Have a great month everyone!

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Sunday Update – November 28, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

I just put November 28 in the title of this post and had a little heart attack. Where has the year gone? I feel like time is slipping away from me.

Well, it was a busy week around here what with the holiday and all. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were business as usual. The kids had a half day on Wednesday but that really didn't affect much of anything else.

On Wednesday, I took my bike FTP test again and gained 4 points. It was HARD, y'all. About 8 minutes into the test, I almost gave up. I said, “This is bullshit,” and I stopped pedaling. But then I caught my breath and kept going. Then I almost gave up again, and again, I caught my breath and kept going. My heart rate got up to 185 this time. Last time, it got up to 189, so I knew it was going to be brutal. The test is the hardest physical thing I've ever done (having babies doesn't count). The 4 point gain is a little humbling. I thought I was in better shape, but I guess not. I still have a long way to go.

I was so wrecked from the FTP test that I did not ride on Thanksgiving, like I wanted to. I ran out of time to get on the bike anyway. We Zoomed with my family at 11am and then we were in the car to Long Island by 12:30pm. We spent the day with my in-laws who we haven't seen in two years and it was wonderful. I missed them so much! We ate good food and had great conversation. It was a wonderful holiday.

All this week, I have been working hard on both writing A FORTUNATE ACCIDENT and editing REMOVED. It was my intention to cut at least 10,000 words from REMOVED, and I more than accomplished that. It started out at 104,628 and ended up at 90,446. I massively rearranged the first chapter, cut almost all the Japanese honorifics, cut extraneous transitions, dialogue, and description that wasn't needed. I was ruthless! And I think it'll be a better story for it. It's still not the best because it lacks some structure, but at least it doesn't get lost in the weeds now. Now it moves along at a zippy pace. I'm much happier with it. Next up is editing RELEASED. That one is 109,958, so I’m going to try to cut 14,000 or more on it too. I will get started on that book on December 6. My intention is to have this entire series edited and up on the stores as a third edition at the end of January.

I've been a little absent on social media and commenting on blogs because of all of this editing. I've been getting up earlier and working on it every morning before working out, and that used to be my social media time. That's okay. I like the work, but I have missed you all! This is why I'm taking off a week before getting into another book.

And on the beach house, our mortgage went to underwriting this week. So far so good! The owners are going through the house now and determining what they want to keep and what they'd like to sell to us. Hopefully we will close the first week of January.

A quick look at Thanksgiving, even though I posted these photos already. :)

The editing process is wild around here. I have done this major edit to REMOVED once before, about 4 years ago. I'm a much better editor now (I edit while I write) and I used my skills to get this book into shape. I always put the starting word count in the Notes section in Scrivener so I can see how many words I cut. As you can see in one of these photos, I did that too 4 years ago. Lol.

Lulu loves belly rubs, especially first thing in the morning.

She also loves to tuck her face into the blanket when she's lying next to me.

I love it when this gingko tree sheds its leaves. They are so pretty.

We sold my old car to Carvana and got a great deal! But it was sad to see it go.

My brutal FTP test. It took a lot to get that weak smile out of me when I was done.

I'm still watching Gilmore Girls in my down time.

I love the window at Lulu's daycare. Look at all the dogs hanging out there!

And finally, I'm swatching for a crochet temperature blanket that I plan to make in 2022. Hopefully this all works out!

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

I meant to post yesterday, but we were gone all day, and then we made it home late. I hope you all (who celebrate) had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We got to see our family for the first time in two years, and it felt amazing to be around them again. I had a lovely evening, talking, eating, and just being present with the people I love.

My father-in-law and his smoked turkey

This year, I'm grateful for a lot of things, the health of my family and friends, our house, the life we live, and especially you all, the friends and readers who stop by here and read and/or comment. I love writing and building worlds for my readers. It's a privilege to be able to do this, and one I will not take for granted, now or in the future. I can't wait to keep writing for both you and me!

It was a busy week around here, so I didn't get to update the blog with anything interesting. Hopefully I'll have more content for you next week.

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Sunday Update – November 21, 2021

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog.

It's been another crazy week around here!

Last Sunday, we took the Tesla (now called Yoshi) out for its maiden voyage with the family. I drove us to Indian lunch and grocery shopping so that we could all stuff ourselves silly with awesome spicy food. It was fantastic. A delight for my belly. I really love driving Yoshi. There's a lot I can say about this car, but I think I'll post a review about it in a month, when I've really had time to test it out.

Monday we didn't do much. It was a usual day of school for the kids and exercise and work for me. I dyed my oldest daughter's hair pink with Overtone in the evening! That was fun but took up a lot of time.

On Tuesday, I did my last trip to get veggies and fruit and eggs from the CSA. The season is over, which is always a bummer. We have plenty of veggies we need to get through from the past two weeks, so I suspect this week we will be steaming and freezing a lot of stuff.

Wednesday was super busy. I had to take my youngest daughter to see her ADHD doctor at 8am. I like being the first appointment of the day so that we can be in and out. That's exactly what happened, and I dropped her off at school only 30 minutes late! Then I rushed home to grab Lulu and bring her to daycare because the cleaning ladies were there. We had our usual day and then I got Lulu around 4:30. She had an itchy eyeball all day, but the daycare took good care of her.

Thursday, I decided to chronicle my entire day on my Instagram Stories. I wrote about it on the blog too. I plan to do that again someday soon!

Also on Thursday, I decided that my youngest daughter should try going gluten free for a week or two and see if it helps her constantly hurting belly. Because at this point, it's either something she's eating that's causing all of this pain, or it's psychological and I need to find her a therapist. BUT, since my husband had the same thing as a kid and an adult, AND he went gluten free recently and fixed all of that, I figured we should try it with her too.

Friday, I went on the hunt for more gluten free products for her. My husband doesn't eat eggs, so finding him GF products without eggs is hard. He does most of that legwork now though I found him a few things in the beginning. I got bread, bagels, pizza, chips, tortillas, and a few other things for my daughter to get us through the week and see what happens. But the store was a madhouse with people shopping for Thanksgiving, I guess? I got out of there as quickly as I could. The rest of the day went well, though another grocery delivery I had scheduled for 5-7pm didn't arrive until close to 9pm. Regardless, we're all stocked up now.

Saturday, I woke up a little hungover. Damn my husband and his filling up my wine glass without me noticing. Lol. But I still got on the bike and got a 60-min class done. I didn't feel motivated to do much work so I puttered around online all day. My husband left in the late afternoon to drive down to Atlantic City. He spent the night there since it's only an hour from the beach house we want to buy, and he's on his way to the house inspection right now as I write this post. In the evening last night, I dropped both of my kids at the high school to watch the high school play and then I spent the evening on the couch watching Gilmore Girls.

This morning, I will be talking with my husband remotely about the house inspection, taking Lulu out for a walk after, and then I'll be working most of today since I did almost nothing yesterday.

Oh, Lulu.

Lulu at daycare with her puppy friends.

If even a square millimeter of my blanket is on the floor, she'll sit on it.

Love the apples from the CSA!

Sometimes I repeat classes on Peloton. I obviously love this one.

Also, check out this milestone!

From our trip out for Indian food and groceries!

Lots of walking this week…

My new car! I love it.

Don't forget to check out my post about my whole day on Thursday!

Cheers! I got work done on Wednesday night with a martini in hand.

Have a great week everyone! Stay safe and healthy.

The post Sunday Update – November 21, 2021 appeared first on S. J. Pajonas.