nothing to see here

First off, the cupcakes: [ Follow this finely-crafted link! ]

And now the rest of it:

Haven't been up to much. I've done like 600 words of writing over the past two days, which... isn't great? But oh well? I don't particularly care all that much, though I would like to reach 10k on Camp NaNo, and maybe even halfway on my getyourwordsout goal of 75k.

Yesterday was spent baking cupcakes and then this morning was spent decorating them. Thank goodness they were pretty low maintenance cupcakes this year. I like having all that done, because my brother and SIL are coming up for the party, and I'd like to hang out with them a little bit.

Oh, I also spent Thursday afternoon sitting outside and writing and stuff? And then I got a horrible sunburn for my trouble. Mostly just on one arm, and I got some aloe gel for it, but it hurt like a sonuva Thursday night and yesterday morning. Today I'm not feeling it at all, thank goodness, though my arm is still pretty red. I'll live. Though I will admit it's times like these that make me which I'd inherited my dad's skin, which mostly browns instead of burning. (Apparently that's due to some Cherokee blood a few generations back on his side.) That said, I don't mind being fair, but I have to remember next time to put some sunblock on before I go sitting around in the sun. 

Not much planned for today. Got my niece's birthday party, of course, and I've got three movies I need to watch or otherwise just return or whatever. I'm going to try to watch them, but I don't know.

It's been a week, that much is certain. I feel like so much has been happening, even though not really a lot has happened at all.

I survived going to jury duty. It was more an orientation and explanation of duties than anything. I spent the whole orientation fidgeting with anxiety, which was not fun. At the end I spoke to the judge about my mental health issues, and he granted me a permanent excuse from duties. So I don't have to do anything after all, which is a Huge Relief.

I also had some mental health testing done this week, on Thursday. My therapist wanted to get a more refined diagnosis, and to see if I might fall on the autism spectrum. So I did all that over two and a half hours yesterday. The only really difficult thing was some of the logic puzzles, and also taking the MMPI again. (The MMPI is a personality inventory, where you answer true/false statements about the beliefs and feelings you hold and so on. It is also 567 questions long.)

Other than those two things, I really haven't done very much. Well, apart from going out of town to see The Shape of Water, finally. It was a beautiful dream of a movie, one I didn't want to wake up from. It left me feeling happier, lighter, enchanted. I loved it, and I want to see it again. I want to see it over and over, and discern new details from its symphony of design and story and character. What a film.

I started reading a new book: Nnedi Okorafor's Who Fears Death. I'm only a handful of chapters in, but it's a very gripping book so far. I think I might actually finish it, if I sit down and devote time to reading it.

I've been watching Doctor Who again. Starting with the Eleventh Doctor, because that's what I have on DVD/streaming, and also I just like the Eleventh Doctor more? Also also, I am still harboring the hope that I can write reviews of all the episodes from Series 5 on, like I did for Series 1-4 + the Specials. I got a (re)start on it last year, but yesterday I wrote my first review in a while, and I'm hoping to get more knocked out this week and into the future. They'll all be posted on my Wordpress blog, so if you're interested you can check them out under the "Movies, Television, and More" category in the sidebar.

I've also dived back into the Doctor Who with my writing. No fics, but I am taking my Series 1-4 + specials reviews and trying to consolidate them into a collection of essays on that particular era of Doctor Who and what I did and didn't like about it. I've just written an introduction (that will probably need some rewriting), but I'm hoping to articulate my opinions without coming across as being critical for the sake of it. There's a lot about that era I don't like--the over-the-top cheesiness mainly, but also a lot of character decisions and genuine plot holes--but I don't hate it. I can't hate it, because it's what got me into the show to begin with. I obviously kept watching for a reason, and one thing I want to do is suss those reasons out. So we'll see how it all turns out.

I am hoping to get some fiction work done today as well. The Outpost still needs work done on it, and there are a couple stories I'd like to try planning out this year, too. It's just a matter of putting the work in, and since it's basically a snow day today, I have plenty of time to get it done.

Also yes, it's a snow day today. I'm not in school or anything, but a quarter inch of ice on the roads, plus snow on top of that, makes it 100% certain that I'm not going anywhere today. I will stay cozy inside the house, thank you very much. Though I guess I'll have to get out to get the mail at some point, since I'm expecting a package of yarn today. Still, not driving anywhere, so it's a shut-in sort of day.

That's all from me, really. Hope you're all doing well, and that life is treating you all right.

Well, I think my new year has gotten off to a pretty good start. I've actually managed to write some words since Monday, which I'm happy about. I'm working on The Outpost (my massive TRON fic) again, rewriting a scene for the third time. I think I've finally got it to work, and I have half an idea what I'm doing now, so that helps too. I'm hoping I can finish this fic by the end of the year, and get it all posted (or at least mostly posted), too. Here's hoping.

In other news... not much other news? I've crocheted a little bit. I bought WAY TOO MANY games on Steam during their sale and I've been having fun playing some of them. I'm particularly fond of the two idle/clicker style games I bought--Plantera and Voodoo Garden. Plantera is definitely more of an idle game--it keeps going for a certain amount of time after you've closed it. Voodoo Garden requires more active playing, which isn't bad, but the leveling seems to take forever. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying myself, so whee.

Also, getyourwordsout is going fairly well for me. I'm not on pace by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm happy to have written something. It seems like a really great comm so far, too. I'm hoping my internet shyness doesn't get the best of me and I end up making some friends over the course of this year. 

As I say, there's not a whole lot going on in my life right now. I'm doing well, and I suppose that's what's important, right?

Oh. I have jury duty next week. So I guess that's going to be a new adventure (if a boring one). Maybe I'll have something to write about that, who knows.

Anyway, I'm doing well. Hope you all are too. :)

So several things have happened since my last entry. Go figure. Time passes, things happen, who knew that was how it worked?

Sorry I think my blood sugar is low or something because I am shaky as HELL right now and my brain is kind of bouncing all over the place.

I went to the last NaNo write in thing at the library. It went all right. The same lady running it is going to be started a new writing group in the new year and I think I'm going to go to that. Whee? I don't know what I'll be writing. But I will write something.

Speaking of writing, I am thinking about doing Get Your Words Out (getyourwordsout ) next year? Just the 75k level because I am not stupid, but I wonder if setting up expectations for myself will lead to depression and such when I fail to live up to them.

Speaking of expectations, a week and a half ago my therapist made me agree to stop making to do lists in my bullet journal. I complied, and wouldn't you know it, I AM QUITE A BIT HAPPIER. Like I feel a vague disappointment when I don't do some things, but for the most part I am all right. I am not beating myself up about what I do "instead". I just do things. And I'm all right with it.

Back to writing: I think Get Your Words Out would be fun? And there aren't penalties for not reaching your goal or staying on pace, but the community and accountability would be nice, though. So I'm mulling it over currently.

In other news: I saw the new Star Wars. IT WAS QUITE EXCELLENT. I think I am seeing it again today with my parents and then I think I will be able to formulate thoughts on it? I know I really really liked it and haters to the left and wow what a movie and heck I can't wait to see Rian Johnson's trilogy and man oh man oh man what a good film.

Unrelated story: we are doing Christmas this coming Saturday because of crazy family stuff? Well, mostly just because my sister has to work Friday, Saturday, Sunday night this weekend, and her husband doesn't want to make his family uncomfortable about their immovable position on having their Christmas on Christmas. I feel for her, she is going to be so exhausted. Ugh. So we are trying to be nice to her and have a family breakfast instead of dinner, and open gifts right after and then she can go home and sleep. The whole thing is slightly... I don't know. It feels like a mess. But we are doing Christmas. Hooray?

Equally unrelated story: I am so excited for The Shape of Water you don't even KNOW. I hope my local theater gets it or I may scream or something I don't know. I want to see it so bad and if I have to go out of town to see it... I just. It's shaping up to be this year's awards darling (either that or it's going to fall to The Post or something like that), so why wouldn't my local theater get it??? 

I don't know what else. I am going to try to post more often, but I don't guarantee anything. 

So I haven't written anything the last couple days, because I was very understandably busy. So that's okay? But I'm still bummed about it, which I shouldn't be, and maybe I should talk about this in therapy on Wednesday!! -__-

But anyway, things:
- Saw Tamora Pierce in Nashville on Friday night. That was a lot of fun. I got three books signed--the new one, Lioness Rampant (which I bought at the bookstore because I'd been in the middle of the library's ebook copy when it expired on me, so), and my favorite, Squire. I picked Squire as the one that got personalized, too. :)

- Had my whole family together for mine and my mom's birthdays yesterday. (Mine was the 30th; Mom's was the 24th.) I got some nice things, and it's always so nice to have the family together for dinner and stuff like that.

- While my brother and SIL were in town for birthdays yesterday, we went and saw Thor Ragnarok! WHICH WAS SO GOOD AND SO MUCH FUN OMG. No spoilers, but seriously, go see it. IT IS AMAZING.

- I am still crocheting, though thanks to the wrist brace it's not hurting as much as it was last weekend. Oh crochet. I wish I knew how to quit you. :P

- As I said, NaNoWriMo is only kind of going at the moment. I just killed off a character, which kind of broke my heart because wow he turned out to be a great character (it was an OC) (reminder that I am using NaNo to finish a fanfic). I am hoping to get to 6k or 7k today, but we'll see how things actually turn out.

So that's how life is going at the moment. Will try to update more this month.

I really need to get a knitting/crochet/fiber arts icon. I am doing so much of it lately. >__>

So after my last post I got kind of single-mindedly obsessed with making amigurumi (which is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for "knitted/crocheted" and "stuffed toy"? I think?). You can see all my various projects on my Instagram [link]. (And also a picture of the cupcakes my sister and I decorated for my niece's birthday party.) I am having a lot of fun with it, but I think I'm going to start winding down my output, since my hands and wrists are starting to protest. I know for a fact that I'm not holding the working yarn the right way, but it's the only way that feels natural to me, and unfortunately it's not really great for my left hand. Which is the one I do almost everything with, which is not good. So... definitely scaling things back in that department.

I wish I could say there's other news, but there really isn't? The last like five days have mostly been crochet and Stardew Valley, both of which are fun, but do not make for entirely scintillating conversation. Whoops. I have made a lot of progress on Stardew, though. One of the objects of the game is to restore the town's community center, which you do by giving these adorable forest creatures different items for bundles. I have finished all the bundle packs except one, and I only need three more things to finish the last one. I'll definitely have it done before the end of Year 2 in-game, which is awesome as heck. So I'm excited about that.

But as far as other stuff that needs to get done: well, I need to clean my room. Badly. I'm planning on throwing out a lot of stuff I don't need (mostly old yarn I'm not gonna use [Red Heart is kind of the worst yarn ever] and some fondant projects from several years ago that are also never going to be used on anything) so I have room for things I want to keep. I probably need to vacuum up a lot of dust and cat sand and stuff. 

I also need to finish my short story before NaNoWriMo begins. I'm not doing NaNo very seriously this year--definitely not shooting for 50k at all--but I would like to get this story finished before it starts, so I can concentrate fully on finishing The Outpost. (If I manage to write another 50k on this fic I will WEEP. IT'S ALREADY LONG ENOUGH DAMMIT.)

I have a bunch of ebooks out from the library that I need to finish. And start, even. Yikes. 

At the same time, I need to keep my expectations on the day-to-day realistic. I can't except the world of myself, because there's only so much energy I've got to spare each day. I can definitely manage what I do with the energy I've got (like not spending it all on crochet, for example), but... adjust the expectations. I can't do everything every day. So... deal with it, I guess.

Anyway, I guess that's all from me for right now. I'll try to get back to post every day (or at least every other day), but I make no guarantees. :P

Didn't really do a whole lot today, and that's okay. I got a decent amount of stuff done, and that's good.

Things done: I read a chapter of a book. I knit an afghan piece. I worked on my side projects (knit cowl, crochet scarf). I ordered and picked up pizza for dinner. I played Stardew Valley. I talked with my brother on the phone for a little bit. I did some chores around the house. I did my daily words at 750Words.com. I went with my mom to pick up my car from the auto shop. 

It's getting late and I"m getting tired, so I won't really go into anything right now. Hope you're all well. :)

I said I'd post every day, so here I am.

Today was kind of okay. I crocheted on the scarf. I made half an afghan piece. I played a LOT of Stardew Valley. I went to the library and typed up what I've got on my short story, AND WROTE MORE WORDS. :D So I'm quite happy about that. Just checked my wordcount, and it's at 1500 words so far, which isn't half bad.

I didn't do everything I wanted, and that is okay. I need to figure out how to be okay with what I don't get done.

Anyway.

I'm having a great deal of fun in Stardew Valley, as usual. It's such a nice, relaxing game. I picked the forest farm map and I love it, even if there isn't a lot of room for farming right now. I'll have to get on the farm planner site and see what all I've got to work with as far as space goes. There may be a lot of tree clearing in my future. (And rock clearing, and weeding, and etc.) I also won the first year Egg Festival and got the straw hat! I'm not sure it looks that great on my character, but she's wearing it for now. It's a cute little game, and I'm enjoying getting back into it.

So hi. I'm here.

Not sure how much I'll be posting here, but I am here. I am probably gonna start sprucing up the place by adding some of my old fanfic, just to archive it in a different place than AO3 and FFN.

I was on LJ, but months ago when I heard about this new upcoming TOS they were gonna have, I decided to delete my journal. I did not transfer it here, mostly because it was very old and full of embarrassing stuff that did not need to be preserved. Just. None of it. Trust me on this one.

Hoping against hope that this might serve as a new social outlet for me, since Tumblr's kind of gotten... less busy than it was before, and Imzy didn't turn out to be the big thing I thought it would be. We'll see, I guess.