Sela Carsen's Blog, page 10

Field trips

I'm a big fan of the field trip. I chaperone lots of them and since I have two kids in the same system, I get to hit most of them twice. But today is the first time I'm going to an amusement park for something other than amusement!

DS's TAG class is on roller coaster safety. Basically, it's physics. First they learn how coasters work, then they learn how not to fall out. So today we're off to Six Flags!

I was never a roller coaster person until I met DH. One of our first dates was to the Idaho State Fair and he talked me into going on one of those swinging Viking boat rides. Scared the daylights out of me, but when we got off I wanted to go again! And we've been riding roller coasters ever since.

We live close enough to Six Flags that we usually get season tickets although we didn't last summer. I'm thinking that this next summer will definitely be a go. I missed the rides!

Chili Weather

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I blogged about Chili Weather today at the Samhain blog.

I swear to you, it's the only thing I could think of. I've been sweating that blog post for three days and couldn't think of a single thing to write about.

But DH made chili on Monday night because his office is doing their annual Chili Cook-Off today, so the house has smelled really good since then. Although I have to admit that waking up to the smell of chili isn't usually high on my list. It interferes with the coffee.

Anyway, his ingredient list is up, plus my recipe for cornbread, which is super easy and quick. I even translated it into non-American ingredients and temps for the furriners.

Miss Bramble and the Leviathan by Kristen Painter

The last thing she planned to steal was his heart.

The Company. Military institution, protector of Praeton and the nation of Grand Isle. Dirty rotten thief.

When Pandora Bramble steps aboard the Company's premiere airship Daedalus it's not for the exclusive VIP tour. It's to secure proof that the Company stole the regulator valve her father designed—even if it means tearing the engine apart. Foiled by the unexpected appearance of a handsome crew member, she despairs of ever getting another chance—until he kisses her.

Captain Theolonius Hatch, sentenced to engine room duty for refusing to take part in the Company's fleet week activities, never dreamed a woman like Pandora existed. Her brains match her beauty, a combination that adds up to more trouble than he ever expected.

As Pandora allows Theolonius to sweep her into a whirlwind courtship, her wildest dreams come true. As do her greatest fears, leaving her to decide what matters most. Loyalty…or love.

The clock is ticking.

Product Warnings
This book contains airships, mechanical owls, women who are good with tools, men in and out of uniform, steam generated by engines and people, and some hot carriage scenes.



Buy now at MBAM!

Semantics

Semantics = the difference between "progressive lenses" and "bifocals."

I would stare mortality in the face except that without my glasses, he's just this fuzzy blob.

I Tweet

And frankly, I'm rather shocked at myself. I like to think of myself as pretty easy-going, but honestly, I'm a slow adapter. For instance, it took years before I was willing to get a phone that did anything more than, y'know, call people. I still don't text. But this spring, DH decided it was time for an upgrade so we both got fancy-schmancy new phones that do everything. They have apps!

Aside, one of my favorite Castle lines ever is when the FBI agent goes to scan a fingerprint with her phone and Castle goes, "There's an app for that?!?"

Back on topic. Now that I have this schmancy new phone, though, I'm branching out into technology. Ok, I still don't know how to text, but I was able to download both the Nook and the Borders app onto my phone so that I always have reading material!

About a month or so ago, though, I decided to check into this newfangled Twitter thing that all the young whippersnappers were talking about. Well, spank me with a cane and call me whipsnapped! It's kinda cool! And I can Tweet from my phone!

Yes folks, the 21st century is a wide and wonderful place. I'm on Twitter as @selacarsen.

We camped

We went camping this weekend with the family. We do this every year. This year, it rained and dropped to freezing temperatures overnight.

I don't like camping. I'm not crazy about it even when the weather's good. I still spend a chunk of my time cooking, cleaning and wrangling children — just without any of the convenient tools that I have at home. No, instead I'm doing it while spending my not-so-restful evenings sleeping on a pad that, even should I avoid the roots and rocks, is still about an inch thick and has no insulating properties whatsoever.

I pinched my sciatic nerve about 2-3 weeks ago and I thought it had resolved itself. Oh no. About 20 minutes after I laid down, it started with the shooting, screaming pain through my hips and down my legs. I flipped this way and that way, kicking the dog the whole time. I think I finally fell asleep around 5 am. Oliver was cuddled as close as he could be and shivering like he was standing on an iceberg. The dog doesn't do cold weather well. Actually, neither do I.

The next night, I downed 3 ibuprofen just before we hit the sack and did pretty well until about 1:30. But the pain wasn't quite as horrible and I was warmer because I'd had the foresight to sleep in my sweater.

I enjoy spending time with DH's family. They're all fun people. But I dream of hotels. With restaurants. And things to do and places to go. I'd like a real vacation that doesn't involve me cooking for an army, or cooking at all. Just for a change.

Labyrinths today

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Today, I'm talking about labyrinths at Beyond the Veil.

This one is in Ely, England.

Whew! I'm tarred

Which is to say, I'm tired. Just in Texan. [image error] The other day was "Walk to School Day" in our neighborhood, so Monkey Boy and I set out with a hundred other kids and parents and paraded our way to school. It's 1 mile from our house to the school and it took over half an hour to get there.

Last night, when DH asked about it, Monkey Boy said that he quite enjoyed walking to school and he'd like to do it more often. Hunky dory with me, sez I.

So this morning, we hoofed it — the Boy, the Dog, and I. I haven't walked two miles in a long time. Even the dog's worn out.

The thing is, Monkey Boy wants to do it on his own. The last time I let him go without me, he had his sister with him. She's in middle school now, so he hasn't walked alone ever.

But you know, he's almost 10. And it's only a mile. All residential, low traffic, good neighborhood. Our parents used to let us wander all over…but to pull out a worn-out trope, it's a different world now. I'm apprehensive about letting him get to school on his own. Maybe I'd be less concerned if he biked it, but walking still takes 15-20 minutes. And no other kids walk that far, so he'd be alone.

I'm torn between letting him do this on his own because he's a good, responsible kid and doing that mom freakout thing where someone might steal my baby.

6th Annual Happy No More Cancer Day!!

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Woohooo!!!

This is a fun anniversary! DH is taking me out to lunch. Of course, he's forgotten that it's NMC Day, but what the heck. I like any reason to have lunch with him.

So, 6 years. I have to admit, some of the memories have faded. The shock of learning that I had cancer is just a memory. I know that at the time it felt like someone had punched me, but now…it's muted.

Now I laugh about how I had to comfort the nurse who told me over the phone because she thought I'd received the letter her office had sent. The timing was messy all around. We were still stationed in the UK when I had my regular Pap smear in June and they found an irregularity, so I had to go in for further poking and prodding. But I had that second appointment the day that the movers came to pack us out for our move to South Carolina.

One month later and DH and I were sitting in the kitchen — and I say sitting only because we'd finally gone out and purchased stools for the bar. None of our furniture had arrived yet and we were all sleeping on inflatable mattresses and eating on a card table I'd borrowed from one of our new neighbors.

Anyway, I get this phone call and the nurse on the other end asks (and this is paraphrased) "Did you get the letter where we tell you you have cancer?"

"Umm, no."

"OMG! I'm so sorry! I thought you knew!"

I mean, the poor woman was a wreck! So instead of a quick, sharp descent into horror, I got sidetracked to make her feel like less of a heel. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing. Anything to head off that heedless tumble into my own nightmare, you know?

Two months and one cone biopsy later, I was in the hospital — loopy from some really fun pain meds — when the doctor came in and told me that the clump of cells that had caused my family such upheaval were all gone, along with my cervix and uterus.

That night, I couldn't sleep. I had slept all day and couldn't stay in bed for another minute, so I got up to wander the halls of the women's health wing of the hospital. And as I walked, I passed other rooms with open doors and lights on in the middle of the night. I passed women who weren't as fortunate. Women whose cancer hadn't been caught as early, or who didn't respond to treatment or surgery. Women who were dying.

And I went back to my room and cried and cried like I hadn't been able to cry for myself. But inside, where no one could see it. Real tears upset everyone too much. But my heart broke that night.

I got off easy. I know that. No chemo, no radiation. A couple of snips here and there and I was back to normal. So in some ways, it feels like a cheat to say that I survived cancer. Not when I see what it's done to other people. But I did. And once a year, I remember and say a prayer of thanksgiving.

So celebrate with me! Happy No More Cancer Day!!

Blast from the past

I was looking over my stats this morning and noticed that I had 2 hits looking for "The Virgin Courtesan."

Wow. Haven't thought about that one in ages.

About four years ago, I was asked to write a short story for a now-defunct publisher. I turned in a historical set in 15th century Venice about…you guessed it…a virgin courtesan. It suffered from bad timing, mostly. I had a great beginning and a great ending, but I had to squish it all into 15K words, so there wasn't much in the middle. You know, the part where the H/h actually form a believable relationship.

Anyway, the contract was only for a year, so I pulled it when the year was up. And hey. Only a couple dozen people ever bought it anyway, so it wasn't like I was depriving folks of some great treasure.

Every once in a while I think about pulling it out and fixing it. Which would take quite a bit of work because, as I said, it had some pretty serious issues. And it's just odd that people are looking for it now.

Oh well. Maybe after the current wip is done. We'll see.