01-03-2021
eBay sales: salesman samples
#MilWordy Update: 105,676 words (3,726 words/day to complete on time)
Spent most of the day finding things to donate. It’s like a mini-marathon of decluttering and minimalism videos right in my own home. My Dad took a load over to Goodwill this morning and it’s already full up again. LOL. We even found some things which are just recycling or trash as we were pawing through random drawers in the basement. I discarded a lot of little things from the gardening area which were expired. And then I donated a bunch of starter stuff that we’re never going to use here. I really should put on some shoes and venture into the Garage for more things like that. Easy decisions.
The kitchen and pantry are done. The videos are sorted. Though, I have a feeling that after I watch a few of the DVDs they’ll be either sent off to a new home at the thrift shop or I’ll sell them. There are movies that I “must” see or movies that I want to watch so I’ll actually understand the references. We all have those. I have seen a good number of the movies on the IMDB top rated movies. Many of the “top lists” give me points because there was a time in my life where I steadily worked my way through all of Alfred Hitchcock’s movies. That stands you in good stead when you’re looking at lists with older movies. My tiny squish on Cary Grant served me well too.
Did a load of inventory for the press today. I’ve got the annual report to sort out and you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be counting those words towards my MilWordy numbers. I’m tempted to count the words from my work documents too, since I’m drafting them all from scratch. And if I didn’t have a day job, then I would be counting words of that nature during the day. Any thoughts on that folks?
I hope to start doing at least one flash fiction per week. That’s not a goal I’ve set in stone though. I want to get through at least a month of blogging every day and writing a sentence or two in my journal before I add in any new goals.
I did set up my Goodreads goal for the year: I want to read 60 books this year. Or, I suppose, finish reading 60 books this year. I’ve got a few which will count towards this year which I started reading last year. But at least I’ll have finished them. That will let me drop the little plot hooks which remain in my brain. (I read many books at the same time. I am a biblio-slut. I generally have no issues putting them down and picking them up either. That means there’s a bunch of processing somewhere in my hemispheres which is devoted strictly to keeping track of where I am in certain books.)
On the other hand, now I have to resist adding books to my TBR. Do we really think I can do that?
No. We don’t. If you answered differently, you obviously haven’t been around me long. Books are one of my greatest pleasures. They are my addiction.
There are worse addictions.
Anyway, I think I’ll tie this up so that it actually goes out on time.
Love, luck, and lollipops, my lovelies.
Filed under Life in Random
01-02-2021
eBay Sales: book, pattern
#MilWordy Update: 105,088 words (3,713 words/day to complete)
Craft Projects completed: 1 Finished an ornament! So pleased with myself. (Photo below: dark blue ornament with gold and pearl beads with a gold ribbon hanger. Victorian or Russian style.)
Happy New Year, y’all.
It’s 2021 and I’m trying to be organized. I’m not failing at it.
Yet.
We’re also starting what we refer to as “Italian New Year” in our household. That’s basically a purge of items in the house that we no longer want/need. We’ve gone through most of the kitchen and it’s surprise how many water bottles one family can connect. we’ve narrowed that down to the ones we actually want. Similarly, travel mugs. We have Disney mugs which we are more than happy to use, so we don’t need random mug three from some home-show or other convention type thing we went to.
I’m starting to list again on eBay. I’ve been just coasting for a few weeks, so slow sales are all on me. I got a bag worth listed yesterday, and three items today. I’m trying very hard to just pick up and item and list it. I’m trying to get out of the “not in the mood” rut and just do it anyway. I’m only forcing myself to do half an hour a day, so it shouldn’t kill me. It’s better than just having boxes and boxes of stuff laying around.
I did win three items at the auction, though I didn’t end up going in person to bid. It was just… too cold and the possibility that folks would not wear masks or physically distance was a concern as well. I sort of miss the fact that I didn’t get any of the free food, but in exchange I got to sleep for two more hours. And I do love my sleep.
I have had the dubious pleasure of running out of some of my meds. It’s been the “time between” insurance cards and doctors. I’ve got an appointment for next week. But I’m hopeful that the doctor will do me the kindness of calling in the meds on Monday as opposed to waiting until the appointment. That being said — it’s going to be interesting. It means that my blood sugars are going to be high for a few days and I’ll need my inhaler more often until I get them back.
I just lost 2K words on one of my books.
No, I haven’t been able to find the temp file.
Yes, I did save while I was writing. I’m compulsive.
The program shut down incorrectly and reverted back to an old file.
I am sad. And now I have to rewrite the damned scene which is more annoying. At least I remember the antagonist’s first name now. And it’s not MS Word as much as I wish that were the case. I’m sensing I might need to do some sort of Crack!Fic about that.
So, New Year, New Goals. Let’s see how we do yeah?
- Goal: Finish 2 books & 12 short stories
- Goal: Keep a journal, even if it’s only one line per day
- Goal: Take a photo every day and make myself a book at the end of the year.
- Goal: Complete MilWordy.
- Goal: Blog every day.
Filed under Life in Random
Books to Read December 2020
Chokehold – David Moody
Genius Squad – Catherine Jinks
Little Creeping Things – Chelsea Ichaso
Riot Baby – Tochi Onyebuchi
Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past – Sarah H. Parcak
Profit First – Mike Michalowicz
Playing to Win – AG Lafley & Roger L Martin
Measure What Matters – John Doerr
How Brands Grow – Byron Sharp
Middlegame – Seanan McGuire
Filed under Uncategorized
12-29-20
eBay Sales: 1 pr shoes, lemon squeezer, slides, McDonald’s toys, DVD, alarm clock, capgun, and a necklace
#MilWordy Update: 104,602 words (3,655 words/day to complete)
Craft Projects completed: 0, but I got a few rows on my scarf and started a beaded ornament kit
I am beginning to think that I need to count all of the words that I write at work in my MilWordy numbers. It would make me feel better at least. I have professional emails and processes that I’ve written up in the past week that would make that number look a lot better, but that doesn’t feel right. I’m counting creative writing, blogs, and … well, things that are related to my personal business needs as part of this adventure. I am falling behind and that worries me a little bit. On the other hand, at least I’m attending a weekly sprint stream and getting a few words every week from that. And hey, while I haven’t achieved the “blog every day” ideal, I have been blogging more than usual. I’ve made progress, and that’s what I wanted from this projected.
The spam bots have become boring again. It’s just a bunch of ads for drugs and the “comments” aren’t even interesting. One bot didn’t even *try* to make a generic comment. It was literally just a keyboard smash. Where’s the pride? Where’s the attempt to fool the human into okaying your comment when it’s caught in the spam filter? The art of the con? Such a slip in standards. In my day you had to *work* for your spam comments. (Disclaimer: I’ve never actually written spam comments. But they used to be done by hand in the dark days of the web when I first started.)
It’s been a quiet holiday season and that’s fine by me. My friends though, they have had much harder seasons. Too many reports of ill family members and the passing of such. My heart goes out to them. I’ve got an uncle who’s had exposure to C-19, but no word yet on his test results.
I am looking forward to the new year. And in particular New Year’s day. There’s a local auction house I’m planning to visit. This is the first auction I’ve been able to attend in person for a long time. And the auctioneers have done their best to enact social distancing. You had to call for reservations even. I’m hoping to find a treasure. Or at least have some fun while I’m there. I am promising myself that I will not be buying anything for resale. This is a very firm note to myself that I have a huge amount of items that I need to list for sale and I cannot add to it.
(I’m totally gonna add to it. You know that right?)
Anyhow, I’m working through the end of year business delights, like annual reports and royalty statements. Wish me luck.
TTYT.
Filed under Life in Random
Writing from Prompts #5 Creep (Orig Pub 3/30/2014)
Ellen slipped down the holly festooned stairs. The wooden treads had only one creak which she deftly avoided. Her nightgown brushed along the edge of the holly, catching occasionally on a leaf. The lights were out, except for one candle in the window to guide the Mary and Joseph to a safe place.
She crept through the front room back toward the cozier family room. There, in the corner of the room was her target, the stocking with the little puppy on the front of it. It was smaller than the others by just about one inch, which really wasn’t fair. The cookies and milk they’d left out for santa were eaten, and there was a chocolate santa left on the plate.
She smiled at the sight. That was for Petey. She was too old for that sort of thing now. She was almost eleven after all. Petey was just five. The tree wasn’t lit because Mommy was afraid of fires, but the ornaments glittered in the moonlight. The draft from the fireplace made the ornaments twist and send sparkles across the room. She smiled as one of the lights bounced off of the spangles on her stocking.
Sticking out of the top of it was a rolled up puzzle book. A doll peeked out from the edge. Ellen longed to run over to it, but she had one mission tonight.
She stepped in front of the fireplace and up onto the hearth. She looked at the blue stocking with the puppy. Her mother’s stocking was always almost empty. That just wasn’t right. She looked down at the bottle in her hand. She’d saved up her allowance for over three months for it. She tucked the perfume into Mommy’s stocking, then stepped down carefully.
She was about to creep up the stairs when she noticed the man by the tree. His beard was white and his suit was red. He smiled at her and winked. Then, he crossed the room and stepped up onto the hearth. He nodded at her once, then he turned in place and was gone in an instant.
She gaped at the empty hearth. Then, a slow smile crossed her face. She slipped up the stairs and back into bed. Santa was proud of her.
FIN
Filed under Uncategorized, Writing
12-20-20
eBay Sales: 1 pattern, 2 honey dippers, purse
#MilWordy Update: 104,463 words (3,512 words/day to complete)
We’re on the countdown to Christmas and in a bit of decorating frenzy. We’ve managed to get the lights on the trees and brought up about half the boxes. There’s more to happen in the next few days. My body is not happy with the up and down hikes. Found 3 ornaments we’re going to let go and 1 santa figure. New Years is for downsizing though, so that’s what we’ll look towards.
The water in my bath today was a beautiful sea-green color. And I had a lovely time reading a new book.
And with all that elliptical speech, I mean to say, it’s just been a day. Though a winter day and a Sunday, but still just a day.
Documentary watched: “Leap of Faith” (about the Exorcist)
Filed under Life in Random
BitterSuites 