Soluble Suggestions and... Stuff!

Bart and I went out to dinner and to a Rascal Flatts concert last night. It was a great night out. :)

Tuesday we went to Epcot. It had been a while since we'd been there so we had to visit again. I just love that place. While there I purchased a small bonzai tree. I've always wanted one. I used to look at them longingly, but never bought one. This time I did. It's being shipped to my house so I won't get it for a week or two, but I can't wait. It looks like a miniature version of a large one I'd like to have in the Japanese style garden I'd love to have someday. Epcot is large and tiring, so Bart and I took Wednesday to rest up for Thursday's (Last night's) concert.

Wednesday night I smashed my toe on this glass partition in our master bathroom. It was the middle of night. I'd gotten up to use the bathroom, and accidentally walked into the small partition. I've always hated that. It's a design nightmare and a hazzard. Why the previous owner of the house put it in I'll never know. It's cemented to the floor, so until I remodel the bathroom it's here to stay. :/ Needless to say my foot, or more specifically my toe, is a mess. It's purple black and red, swollen, and pretty darn sore. It's very ugly.

My husband and I work from home. Everything we do is in some way, shape, or form, about computers. Seriously, I may work 15 hours a day on my computer, and then my "free" time is/was on the computer too. I got a bit burnt out from all of that, and decided to do other things. Nothing huge like theater or amusement parks or anything, just simple things like watching TV (Sounds funny, but our TV is on so infrequently I rarely even know the headlining news.), watching movies we wouldn't normally watch or try, taking our dogs for a walk together rather than letting them out in the fenced in backyard, sitting out by our firepit... It's funny how simple stupid little things can refresh you.

At last my stomach is managable. It's been about ten days or so, and my stomach is doing pretty good. I've come to the conclusion that stress more than anything was hurting my stomach. Though there are some foods I have to be careful with. But when I'm not feeling all anxious and stressed my stomach can handle just about anything. Just about. It isn't its old self by any means, but it's 1000% better than it's been in a long time. I can even have chocolate again!!!

Maybe that's what I needed... a type of vacation. When you're work is your home it's hard to separate down time from work time, and since my work is on the computer and all/a lot of my free time was on the computer I lost even further how to separate the two.

I'm taking up a new hobby; photography. I've been playing with this camera, but up until now haven't really posted anything.

( Pics from my backyard. )

The weather here is great! It's actually getting cold -- well cold for here. It's a sign we might actually have a winter this year. The past four years have yielded pretty mild winters. The past week intimates we might have a cold winter (meaning it could get down in the 30's and 40's). No snow though. Snow is a very rare thing here. It's a freak day when it snows in Florida.

Anyway, it's in the low seventies right now (it got into the low sixties and fifties a few days ago), the sun is shining brightly, and it's cool enough to have the windows open to enjoy the breeze.

Whew! I am almost completely caught up on everything I've had to do. I've been struggling for months on end to get things around the house, and computer and work wise, for months on end. Finally, today, I should be fully caught up. FINALLY!!! I'm sleeping like a normal human being, getting up in the morning like a normal human being, and I feel pretty good. So the stress level should be coming down?

I got this really interesting email today:

Putting a thick layer of Vick's Vaporub on you or your kids' feet with socks at bedtime will get rid of coughs in about five minutes. Apparently it works for several hours too.

Scientists at the Canada Research council discovered it. They don't know why it works, just that it does. Accoding them it works better than prescription and otc cough medicines, and it's less harmful. Cool huh? Or is it just my nerdy self that thinks so... :D

On a more personal note:

My guts have been absolutely killing me lately. I relented and went to the doctor. He thinks I might have an ulcer!! I didn't think I stressed that much. :/ Oh well, it would explain why I was experiencing a lot of pain after drinking my morning tea.

Anyway, I'm not allowed to have anything with caffeine in it!!! *dramatically pulls hair* (Well Golde, looks like Coke is definitely gone for good. :D) Unfortunately chocolate is too. *cries* At least for a long while. I have to follow this regiment for a month before anything can be decided. It's been eight days on the meds and I've definitely noticed a decrease in pain. Though having orange juice the other day messed me up pretty good. :/ So... no OJ either. :P

It's raining yet again. I'm glad though. I have my window open, and am totally enjoying the sound of the falling rain. :) I love the sound of water. I need a stream with a waterfall outside my window. I'd love to install a waterfall on my pool! Then I could definitely hear the water. Unfortunately something like that is so not in my budget. :/


I've read a few books that seemed to have all the ingredients necessary for a good novel. The plot was good/interesting, characters seemed emotional and complicated, but for some reason I just couldn't identify with the main, or any, character. I was apathetic to their situations. I've never understood why until now.

I think this may explain a few things:

According to an article in The Writer's Guide to Fiction it is the dynamics of desire that is at the heart of narrative and plot. Basically, the main character should have yearning.

The author of this article, Robert Olen Butler, writes, "Many failed manuscripts of students and aspiring authors show a lot of talent -- contained characters with problems, attitudes, opinions, sensibility, voice, personality, all of those things, and often a wonderful milieu to boot. But none of those automatically carries with it yearning."

Butler suggests there should be two shining moments in a good work of fiction. Naturally one is the climax of the story, but the other is near the beginning "where the sensual details accumulate around a moment in which the deepest yearning of the main character shines forth".

A character’s yearning must be manifest. Without that, a seemingly great story can fall flat with readers. Not necessarily that the reader will dislike the story, but it won't resonate deeply with them. They’ll feel distanced.

Is this truly the explanation to why a good book leaves me distanced? It certainly sounds plausible.

I've been so restless these past three days. Not necessarily body restless, but mind restless. Gah! It's rather infuriating. I can barely stand to do one thing for longer than five minutes. Am I subconsciously avoiding something?

About three days ago I had an amazing writing day -- amazing for me lately anyway. It felt like a huge chunk of that mental block in my head broke loose, almost like a piece of myself that's been missing for fifteen months or so came back to me. I was elated, which consequently seems to have brought back my insomnia. It left me this summer while I was sick all those weeks. Anyhow, if that means I'm able to write I'll take it, but if not... Grr.

My point is since this amazing writing day I'm completely restless. Again, let me reiterate, mentally restless. I'm grabbing things to read, but quit after a page or so, and it isn't because it's not interesting. I just feel like something better is waiting for me. That's the best I can describe it, but it's happening with everything I try to do. My feet are tapping like crazy as I write this entry. If this is a sign for me to do something I'm not I wish it would be more helpful as to exactly what it is I'm supposed to do. I'd gladly comply however such as it is I can't.

I read a pretty interesting article the other day:

According to an article in the November 2007 issue The Writer there are generally four different kinds of writing personalities.

A writing coach of five years noticed that each of her clientele fell into one of four categories: The Distractionist, The Dictator, The Perfectionist, and The Commitment-Phobe.
The titles pretty much describe the types.

The Distractionist is filled with great ideas, but quickly loses interest in each one he/she works on. He/She might have several unfinished projects with no desire to finish any of them.

The Dictator can keep a deadline, but often refuses to evolve. He/She is frequently inflexible in deviating from his/her original vision. Consequently he/she blocks their own creativity with their refusal to just relax and let go.

The Perfectionist is too busy trying to perfect every word and phrase they seldom get anything written.

The Commitment-Phobe finds it hard to settle on one project and when he/she does they spend time thinking of the projects they didn’t go with.

I think of all of them I’m mostly the Dictator. Things that might help me? Journaling (*giggles*), yoga, taking a page from the Commitment-Phobe…

Based on the article: “Which TYPE of Writer are You?” by Jill Dearman (No online link, because I didn’t read it online.)

I have the window open, so I can hear the rain falling. Sometimes I just love a good thunderstorm.

Late Sunday night I was reading everyone's LJ and replying when Bart came to me telling me he had to go to the emergency room. So... naturally I left. He were pretty sure he was having a kidney stone -- it's not his first. We have pain medication on hand in case he gets one. Unfortunately he was so nauseous he couldn't keep the medicine down. Kidney stones are way too painful to deal with without meds. So... because it was Sunday and there were no docs to see then we went to the emergency room. I did not get home until five in the morning. Needless to say it totally screwed with the sleep schedule I had managed to acquire. So the next few days I spent either sleeping or wishing I was sleeping. :) Anywho, that's why some of you might have gotten half comments and the like. :)

( In Other News... )

( On a side note: I mention this because it is currently driving me insane. )

( Oh yeah, and did you hear Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize? )

Seeing the length of this journal I guess I'm particularly loquacious today. :)

Wow am I tired today. Maybe it's because I didn't have my peanut butter on wheat toast this morning. I didn't have my tea either. It's only ten thirty at night, and I'm seriously ready for bed. *yawn* :/

Today I saw someone on TV painting. I suddenly felt really sad. I haven't drawn or painted in sooo long. Of course I've had the mother of all writing funks for a very long time now too. I sit down and try to but the joy is gone. I feel it waiting. I get excited, but I can't bring what I need to the surface. Anyway, I realized today that I stopped doing a lot of things I enjoy, or stopped enjoying things I do. lol Both I think. Why? I think I just forgot what it's like. Not one picture have I even doodled, not even one small one-shot piece of writing written. I need to find that again.

No pics today. I totally forgot about them. :( OOps! I'll post them next couple of journal entries.

If this entry makes little to no sense I blame it on my tiredness. :)

Here's a neat site. Check out the offices/desks of some famous authors.

the cave

Some of them are so small and cluttered I wonder how they get anything done. It's also a kick in the pants. If they can write in such atmospheres, aka with pets and kids and clutter, I should be able to. :/

I should take a picture of mine. I think it's a pretty good working atmosphere, or it should be :/. Oh yeah, I'll post pics of how the house is coming along too. I'm having trouble locating my before pics. If I've lost them I'll be upset. :( My kitchen is done, all except the grout for the backsplash, and the new plugs and switches and covers for them.

Meme from Goldie. She chose seven of my interests for me to elaborate on. Anyone who comments I will choose seven of yours for you to elaborate on in your journal.

asian antiques
farscape
genetics
journals
molecular biology
snow-covered pine trees
the moon

( My seven )

Strange, but cool too.

http://www.sub-find.com/trilobis65.htm

Here's a weird, neat, different cooking site. I haven't tried it yet, because I just found it. :D

http://www.cookingbynumbers.com/frames.html

Bizarre and a little eerie.

http://www.prairieghosts.com/moth.html

I said I would put an entry explaining what in the world was going on with me. So... ( here it is. )

About five days ago my eye swelled yet again! It's really frickin' painful; not to mention irritating. It's now on the down cycle, so it doesn't hurt as much; or affect my vision as much. About another five days and it should be pretty much gone. Hopefully this will be the last. This is about the sixth or eighth time in the last few months. :/

I read an article tonight about toxic pollen. Apparently this year plants are giving off mutant pollen that is causing horrible allergies in those susceptible and allegies in many who have never before suffered from them. Could this be what affected me?

I'm taking several different vitamins in the hope they help curb some of the crap messing me up lately. I'm also researching different foods and smoothies. I've had it with feeling horrible.

What can I say? I've been sick. I'm still sick. I think my immune system crapped the bed and everything took over.

Today is the first day in months that I felt okay enough to do anything. Hopefully it stays that way. :/ If not, then I'm going back to the doctor. I've been already. I just finished my pills today.I have to be on Advair about another week.

Anyway, the point of this entry is not to whine. I just wanted everyone to know I miss them and haven't forgotten about them. Hopefully I'm over everything, and can continue my online habits. :)

Thanks for the card and magazine bunny! I got my first issue a few days ago. It gave me something entertaining to read while stuck in bed. It came at a perfect time. I'm glad you liked your stuff. :)

Thanks Goldie for dropping me a line. I'm glad you liked your stuff. I just love Godiva chocolates. They're horribly evilly delicious. :)

Well, I'm back. Sort of. The surgeries are all done.

The eye surgery was horrifying. It was incredibly fast, so I can't whine too much; but it was awful. I found it painful. The things that hold your eyes open hurt. And I soo could not see afterward. Everything was so blurry. I especially suffered from light sensitivity. I've had to wear sunglasses inside! Only for the last couple of days has been vision normalized. Dryness was an issue. If I forgot one dose of eye drops my vision was blurry for the rest of the day. Now the vision seems pretty okay (20/20 so far).

Right now half of my face is swollen, and I'm a bit dizzy and nauseous. :/ I don't know why I'm feeling dizzy. It's been many hours since I took pain medicine. I think it's lack of food. There's only so much soft food one can cram into one's stomach. Plus yesterday I was in so much pain I did nothing but pop pain meds and sleep. I was so swollen and in so much pain I only ate the tiniest amounts of food required to keep my stomach settled for the pain meds. I think my body needs nutrients. :) Today, aside from looking like a lopsided chipmunk, I'm feeling better than I have in weeks.

I'll be catching up with everyone slow but sure. It's been pure hell trapped in the house with nothing to do for weeks. :/ Which reminds me... I finally decided on a motif for my kitchen. That's another load off. Anyway, I have to go now... the nauseousness is getting a bit much. Perhaps I'll try some hard food and be back later. :)

Well, I've had a very productive, if hectic week. I had three dentist appointments, one orthodontist appointment, one oral surgeon appointment, the pool guys three times this week, the electrician for the pool twice this week, Pippin's grooming, Mother's day shopping, several appointments to schedule, issues to work out, and an ass-ton of yard work. :D When I finally had time to sit down at the computer, my internet access went. We, Bart and I, only just now worked something out so we could go online. We've been without it about a day and a half or so. :( Anyway, hopefully it will all be fixed tomorrow. I don't know what happened or how it happened. It just did.

My wisdom teeth were never removed. Two of them have been growing in my jaw sideways. Without x-rays I'd have no idea this was the case.
They've been shifting my teeth, painfully so, and making them crooked. So... I have to have them surgically removed, and then get braces -- yuck! -- to correct the crooked-ness. I won't be on the computer for a few days after the surgery, because I'll be too doped up with pain medicine.

I really enjoyed working outside these past few days. It was hotter than piss outside, and the work was grueling, but I really liked it. Bart and I are done fixing up the inside of the house for now; at least until we save up a good chunk to get the kitchen and bathrooms remodeled by contractors. So we've turned our attention to the outside. A lot of work needs to be done on the outside. Hopefully the yard work will continue to be pleasing. Though honestly so much needs to be done it sets my mind reeling.

I've had this idea for my LJ entries for a while now. I think I'm going to start implementing it. Basically there has to be some sort of structure to this journal. I can't just come on here everyday and say "Hi I'm alive and breathing". It can't be a stimulating read. My life isn't interesting enough to document on a daily basis. It just isn't. Anyway. I figure I'll do this structure once a week. Daily would be too hard for me. I'm not saying what it is, because I'm not sure how it will work out. In between entries will probably still contain the mundane events of my daily life -- I happen to like mundane btw -- but I have to have more. God, if this is boring for me it's got to be close to root-canal for anyone that reads this.

( Quizzes )

The weather here is horrible. I'm really hoping we escape with no tornadoes. There's 3/4 inch hail, ugly lightning, and high winds. Yuck! So far I have power. I hope it stays that way. I mean I love candles and I love lighting the house with them on occasion, but I like it to be my choice. :)

I'm on my laptop right now. Obviously I can't be on my normal computer with such a storm going on. I'm running on battery now, because I can't have my computer plugged in with such a storm going on. It took half my battery to catch up on f-list.

We finally got our car back. That was an awful day. It was a good day too, but it was stressful and trying to get everything wrapped. The insurance company ticked me off, but I won't get into that now. It would take too long.

Bart has been gone since Friday morning. He'll be back tomorrow afternoon. It's been really weird being here without him for days. When you're used to someone being around all the time it's strange when they're suddenly gone.

I've got a damned cold again. :/ I was soooo tired the other day. I think I slept like fourteen hours, and when I finally dragged myself up I had absolutely no energy. That always happens before I get sick. I'm a walking zombie that dreams of sleep and only sleep -- or at least laying down. I think it's on its way out though. Thank goodness. I hate being sick. Though I think it's fond of me. :)

I'm seriously considering taking on two blogs. Not LJ type stuff, but "real" blogging. I could do real blogging here, but then this place would be a job rather than a for-fun thing. Plus they don't have adwords here. :) Not that I know of anyway.

Well, I have to preserve my battery so I'm off to DA. Hopefully this storm will end in the next hour and I can get on my regular computer. :)

I read an interesting guide today. Dr. Merlin's Guide to Fan Fiction.

Curiosity, and yes boredom, had me query Google for fanfiction writing. I was curious what blogs might be out there for this field. Anyway, Dr. Merlin's was ranked number one, so I decided to check it out.

The author had many helpful things to say. Not necessarily stuff I didn't know, but it's nice to hear someone else say it. If I can't visualize a character doing something, then they probably shouldn't do it. If I think my character is the most wonderful in the world, he or she probably isn't. If I've been writing the same story for months my editing judgment is probably gone and I need a beta (I did that!). That's the sort of advice given.

There was also a section on Mary Sues that I enjoyed reading. I like reading info on Mary Sues, because they're my worst nightmare -- meaning I hope to God my stories, fanfic or original, never have one (the bad unintentional kind). The author's definition of a Sue was probably one of the best I've ever read. She didn't sound like she knew absolutely what a Sue was, just statistically what a Sue usually is. Reasonal parameters were given to define a Sue making them easier to spot and avoid. I don't think I've ever had one, and I hope I never do.

Of course grammar and spelling are important, but overall impossible to catch all of them. I still find typos when I proof my chaps. -- which by the way ticks me off. I know the difference between their, they're, and their. I hate seeing them misused, so I really hate it when I do it; but I don't do for lack of knowing better. I type really fast, faster than I can think, so they slip inside. Sorry for the aside rant there. I was overcome with emotion. :)

One piece of advice I'd like to have taken would have been to write the fanfic in its entirety before posting. I actually did have that in mind when I first started, but I thought I'd lose my nerve. The whole reason for posting was to get less introverted about my writing, so chickening out would have been counter productive. I basically had to post to bully myself into sharing. Basic outlines are good, but it's nice to alter the deal if the desire strikes. Like I've had to do. Not to mention any stories in particular. :)

I updated my DA page last night. I'm really happy I did. I missed that place, and the people there. :) They have LJs too, but frequent DA more. As bad as I've been with this journal lately I've been way worse with DA -- way worse. I never posted my newest FF chapter there until like two nights ago. Not nice, but in my defense -- meager as it is -- I didn't really realize I hadn't posted there.

Boy, the American Idol Wednesday made me cry. :( I wasn't here for the episode, so I recorded it. I wish I would have been around. I definitely would have donated. I'd do it now except they were only accepting donations through the duration of the program. Man, that episode made me want to sell my house and everything in it, and give it all to those families and kids! That aside, the performances were so good!

I've been trying my hand at hard Sudoku puzzles lately. Those things are so addicting. That, Mahjong, and Spider Solitaire. I like puzzles. :) Shit, I'll sit and do difficult math problems when they come to my attention too. It's sick I know, but I like it.