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Sometimes it's easy to get lost in the shuffle around here ... |
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Best quote to describe me (Anonymous): "Do not think you are on the right road, simply because it is a well-beaten path." I am what I am. Learn to live with it. And realize that comment is as much directed to myself as any reader who ventures here. Tempest arrived 31 March 2009 - changing everything, but she's pretty awesome. Dogbert arrived 13 January 2012 and is working on making the rules change again. I have two writing personas, Ransom Noble and Sheta Storm. Each has goals, and I work on them slowly. Both are published, and will continue to strive toward bigger and better things. I finally figured out how to describe myself in three words: Creative, Determined, Ambitious. It doesn't have anything to do with how I relate to others, but I do use all of those in my many relationships as well as my career goals. I know others use words sometimes like "kind" or "caring" but I think that list is the most accurate if only using three words. Cast... Sesheta: Me Dilbert: My Husband Tempest: My Darling Daughter Dogbert: My Hungry Son Sheer, Nemo, EyeKandy(K), Diego: Friends/Brothers Sugar, Wolvenwings, Mrs. Light, Jori, Trillium (others will be added): Friends It's a start, anyway. Off-Site Blogs: http://ransomnoble.wordpress.com/ http://sheta-storm.blogspot.com/ Upcoming Events: Beaverdale Books signing for Art of Science - TBD Other Items about Me: "Invalid Item"  "Invalid Item" "Failing is a part of success. To make goals effective, you have to fail at them 50 percent of the time, or they didn't stretch you far enough." Chip Wilson, courtesy of an article by Ella Lawrence called Set Your Course from Yoga Journal |
| I might be slightly obsessed with the idea of success and failure at the moment. I also started thinking about Trafficking as a possible Steampunk series. So, shoveling snow for over an hour outside (and freezing my thighs) might have been good in that sense. Mom has been here. Mom has helped. Tempest and me (and maybe mom) getting a cold. Dogbert getting better from his gastroentritis. FINALLY! And Dilbert home tomorrow. |
| I don't usually do it that way, but today was so hectic. Also need to change a couple things around if I want to mention this blog as a third point about that contest, but I don't know that I need to. Why overachieve for this thing? I don't think it would help me. Plus I can mention that the blog post goes to LinkedIn, FB, Twitter, and Goodreads. Holy crap! And I edited the post before it went up. Go me for deleting word vomit. Mom is here, staying with me, through possibly bad weather tomorrow. The awesome news? She's making breakfast and she'll get up with Tempest. SUH-WEET!! I'm so happy to have her here, and I'm trying to make her comfortable. I even showed her my secret stash of lotion - she asked for a specific brand and I had it!  We are getting along well, and I hope she's not too sore from holding Dogbert all day. Tempest was happy to go to preschool, but she keeps going potty in the pull-ups because she can. GAH! So the pull-ups just HAVE TO GO. Finding alternatives that are protecting and yet like panties is difficult. We gave Dogbert babyfood, and he is so happy with it because it doesn't aggravate his tummy but he gets real food. The poor, poor baby. I'll be so happy when he's better.  All in all, not a bad day. |
| Tempest and I are both at that point. Though after Dogbert went to bed I gave her a mani pedi, and she LOVED it!! She wanted my nails to match hers, and so we are wearing "Candles on my Cake". (Though I only did my toes.) Then I will admit we've been in the house and gone nowhere for five days. Tempest isn't sick. I'm not sick anymore, and Dogbert is holding down real food! PROGRESS! And I'm going to enter this contest: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/13th-free-dea... Why the heck not, huh? And I would love to get a couple writers to do it with me that have YA or Sci-Fi novels to enter. You know who you are, and you may or may not be reading this post in time, but I am thinking of YOU! Yeah, that's clear as mud. Mom is coming to help tomorrow, and I might actually finish the laundry. Got a sub for Pilates, and I think I can teach yoga tomorrow one way or another. WHEW. Plus Tempest gets to go to preschool, which will help her calm down. I also called today for quotes to clean my house. One lady coming Thursday, and one gave me a lot of information over the phone and said she didn't need to come to the house. She seems very similar to the cleaner I had in DSM, and I like that. At least it is something I can fit into my budget! And that will free me up for all those other things on my list... |
 Dogbert and I have been sick: gastroentritis. I'm getting better faster than he is, and the poor guy needs a break. Dilbert left this morning for Orlando, returning Thursday. Tempest is rambunctious, and it doesn't help that she's been shut in the house for three days while Dogbert and I struggle with illness. Re-started the Reviewing Newsletter, I hope. Got locked out of my PC, blankety-blank picture passwords. I'm beginning to admit I'm overwhelmed with everything I'm trying to do, but I'm also getting a handle on the requirements. Asked for a substitute for tomorrow, because while I could teach PIlates, Dogbert probably shouldn't be in childwatch. Breastmilk, gatorade, and cheerios is about all that stays down for the poor kid. Plus diarrhea. Not fun. Researching pilates online certification. Juggling  ideas. Thinking about hiring a house cleaner. again. Realized we have a ton of birthdays to celebrate between now and April, which means a lot of shopping and wrapping and a bit of travel. Whee. Tempest is extremely happy about birthdays, and says hers is next ever since we talked about Dogbert's birthday. So we have gotten her to understand it goes: Dogbert, Tempest's nearest in age cousin, Grandpa (my s-Dad), Dilbert, Tempest. Then we enter the family birthday drought until July. It is going to be a long time until 31 March. I'm catching up on Twitter, but not Facebook or my blogs. However, I am picking things up one at a time, and the Noble blog can be next. Brandiwynš¶  has helped by writing a couple of Reviewing Newsletters for me. I'm excited. I wrote one today, and that might keep me going for a couple months until I secure a couple editors. I need editors. I'm not as good at this as I'd like. I have too many ideas about Freeborn and Next Jane, but at least I am slowly focusing those ideas into ways to hone the storytelling and world building. I can't wait for warmer weather. I'm freezing, I haven't weighed this little since college (or maybe right after), and this bout of illness is only going to exacerbate my need to buy new jeans that I can't wriggle out of without unbuttoning. My new cooking club is making goodies that take minimal preparation at home and offer changes of dishes. Today's dish: Chicken cordon bleu casserole. Took twice as long in the oven as I expected, but it is good. Catching up on reading at Zite and Zinio, too. So just need to pick up the novels, but I just finished what was posted in the January Review Exchanged (of which it is only me and one other person, so I had to participate). However, she has only finished two or three of my chapters. Is my book uninteresting, is she busy, or a combination of the two? Had a lot of deep thoughts about my hormones, mental illness, and how they are related recently. I think I have a lot of erratic behavior that is brought out during times when I do not have my hormones controlled (by birth control). Some methods of BC make it much worse. Some make it slightly better. So I worry that if I were to go off that, for whatever reason, I might lose my mind. Maybe I did in the past when those were not helping me stay "level". Gah. Redefining my hatred of acne. I pick at my face, even though I know I shouldn't. Recently recognized the return of a growth that I had cut out when I was 14... yikes. So considering return to the dermatologist. Sigh. If only some of that could be easier. |
| 1. I'm so far behind it isn't funny. 2. At least our health has returned. 3. Dogbert turned 1 and loves everything with wheels. (Sunday was his birthday. So proud of the little guy - he's getting 3 teeth at the same time {one molar and one on each side of the 3 he has on the bottom} and such a trooper.) Had a dinner party to celebrate with very confusing names, and most of them could come. Wonderful time. 4. Tempest has been jealous of Dogbert's birthday. She's getting better with the potty, but it isn't able to do it all herself yet. And she still misses occasionally, on a not-quite-daily basis. Sigh. 5. Her preschool teachers have talked about her doing three years of preschool already. I need to email them and ask if it is simply about the potty training aspect, or if there are other reasons to hold her back from Kindergarten. I feel blindsided by the notion, simply because i have been in there to ask EVERY MONTH how she's doing, and every time until last week they said fine. 6. As far as holding me back as a child, it was supposedly for being immature. But when I think about it, I'm not sure that helped anything. I could handle all the academic stuff. And I was still the most immature (probably) person in my grade. I'm still not on the same wavelength as people my age. It's closer now, but a lot of people assume I am much younger (like, in my 20s instead of 35). I don't want to do that with Tempest. They might cite things like being behind in reading or math, but the girl counted to 200 last week with only a little help from me. And she didn't miss a single number, either. 7. Plumbing issues in the house - an outdoor faucet was leaking, and of course Dilbert had to find it on Dogbert's birthday. And instead of making it an emergency first thing, he brooded over it the entire day. Then things got moved around, more brooding, more SKY IS FALLING crap, and two days of me trying to feed the kids and wrangle them into bed all by myself. 8. Dilbert did get up with Tempest one day this weekend and let me sleep in until Dogbert woke up. That wasn't long, but it was a nice thought. He also helped with Dogbert had the diaper blowout on Monday morning. I didn't ask for much - just for him to watch Dogbert while I got things cleaned up so Tempest wouldn't get into the mess and got out a towel and stuff. Still helpful. 9. I got my hair cut today. The lady who usually does it no longer works for that salon. And the new girl didn't do it right at all. It's too long, she kept trying to style it over my forehead (which i hated), and she tried to charge me double what the last lady did. PuppyTales  thought I should buzz it, and I'm halfway thinking I ought to. 10. As of yesterday, I teach Pilates as well as Yoga. And the class went well - 22 strong and several said they enjoyed it. I'm researching not just Pilates but also the way to get a correspondence course to be certified. If I'm going to teach it long-term, I want the knowledge there. Plus it would look good to be certified in both areas. Might even open some doors for me to teach in more places. 11. As soon as I get enough , I am going to hire another cleaning person. Which means figuring out exactly how much I need (interviewing cleaning people) and how much I am making from those two classes, minus the membership fees for the kids. 12. I thought I had lost my notebook with all the Freeborn and Next Jane stuff in it, but it was hiding under my bed. (I KNOW I have looked there at least twice since New Year's.) Whew, found it. Still world building that place. But there's a bunch of universe to conquer. I need to start some drawings. So, I'm overwhelmed and trying to juggle too much. And yet, teetering between enjoying life and finding the whole thing depressing or pointless. I hope I'm on an upward swing, emotionally. |
| Knocked out over a week of time. Good news, tempest is nearly potty trained. Bad news, Dogbert seems to be coming down with the flu just when everyone else turned not contagious, which will complicate the week ahead. I feel useless. Also agreed to start teaching a Pilates class next week. I need to check out my paychecks and figure out how much more I need to get someone to clean my house. That would help my stress level. Because we all know when Dilbert spends too much time looking at a mess, I get more snide comments like this morning About how do I clean the stove and the lids (of the pots) never get washed. Duh, they never get washed because I see him washing the actual pots, but then he leaves the stupid lids. Who does that crap? Oh, right, Dilbert. |
| Have been crazy and busy and not what I would have planned... Tempest has influenza A and B. all evidence says I had them over the weekend. Dilbert seems to be showing signs of coming down with them. Dogbert is holding out, I hope. All other plans have been suspended in the wake of the fluplague. |
| And not just because Tempest is home. It's just a struggle to put my thoughts together and get through each day. Instead of naps yesterday, both kids were screaming. So they took late naps. Today was much the same, and the lack of schedule is driving me nuts. I finished making marks through Ch 16 in DTYM this evening. 37 Chapters total, so really not going to make it where I want to, but at least I can keep working on it. One official entry (as in, managed to fill out the survey as listed and send me GPs) and it looks interesting. If nothing else, we could trade reviews. That might be nice... but someone else has been trying to enter and has not succeeded yet. I'm trying to channel my inner Brandiwynš¶ , but I am not sure if I am successful yet. I will also keep trying. Finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and moved on to The Girl Who Played with Fire instead of The Man from Beijing that I was given as a birthday present. Oh, the Swedish authors! The other problem with Dragon Tattoo is that I suddenly want to have an intricate plot come together at the end with the details that Larsson managed. *sigh* Won't be Next Jane, but maybe Freeborn... I think I have too many novels in my head. The last couple days also make me want to retreat into some kind of story because it seems like nothing else has gone right. Not the right gloves for FIL. Tempest not ready for the preschool without pull-ups. Kids screaming during naps. Kids falling asleep in cars rather than beds. Xmas cards wouldn't print at the store. People not returning to yoga class... and that was just yesterday. Maybe tomorrow will be better. Today kindof was. |
| Because Tempest went to my mom's house. She'll be back tomorrow. Got some shopping done, but still have a little left to do. Couldn't figure out how to both pay credit card and use my gift balance for amazon, so I used the entire gift balance... Whee! Some items may have been purchased from my wish list, so awesome. I didn't buy any of those. Also bought two magazines today  and with the shoes last week, wow. Splurge city. Forgot to call Tempest and tell her good night last night. Damnit. Dogbert has been chatty this morning and he likes not having her grab toys from him. But he's sweet. What I really ought to do now is either wrap gifts or get out my manuscript and start doing notes. Plus more laundry. Oh, the LAUNDRY! one of the magazines was about cooking breakfast items, and the other about the brain. Two topics I seem to not be able to resist well. I hate to see my credit card bill for this month. It's going to be nuts. *sigh* |
| Dogbert was 11 months Thursday. I feel like I'm losing touch with things, but a few are getting completed. Monday felt like a complete loss. It wasn't, because we managed to get to Tempest's speech appointment. She's within normal limits of language. She doesn't name some things the way she ought to, but she's doing pretty good. It makes me happy. Then later, we ended up at convenient care - with Dogbert's ear infection and both kids got cough medicine. Sigh. Tempest managed to knock over the christmas tree in the waiting room. OF course Dilbert told me I ought to have gone earlier, like when it opened, but the problem is that the whole thing isn't going to work when her speech appointment was 9:30. After that many weeks, I didn't want to miss it. Dogbert took two steps despite the ear infection on Monday. Sunday night I had to drive him around so he could sleep. We stayed home from preschool on Tuesday. Not fun. She wanted to go later. Tempest just isn't good with time. Thursday Dogbert kicked himself over in the high chair. Knocked the wind out of himself. Luckily, that was all. But another trip to urgent care later... happily there wasn't a wait that time. Friday I got ready for christmas with my parents. I bought stuff, some of which I might not have needed. I wrapped gifts. I cleaned. I folded laundry... more and more laundry. I put laundry away. Then more laundry and cleaning. Even took Tempest and Dogbert to my friend's house (haven't seen her in weeks) and the girls (mine and hers) decorated gingerbread houses. I got to meet her girlfriend, too. Early this morning I went to the lovely training at the Y. Dogbert was up before 6, Tempest slept until 6:30, and Dilbert didn't really help much getting ready for me to take them with me. Plus she's decided she's pretty much potty trained - so she won't wear pull-ups most of the time. She's in panties. Except she isn't poop trained yet. One more thing to work on. So they didn't change her or help her go potty at the Y... and that was another mess, but at least i brought a change of clothes with me. She doesn't tell anybody but me (when i ask, mostly) that she has to go. But it's pretty much better that she wants it now. Nice day with my parents (after training) for celebrating christmas. And Tempest went home with my parents (forgot to call again, damnit) and then she won't be back until Monday, most likely. I miss her already, but she is having a good time. Dogbert went to sleep, and Dilbert is snoring on the couch. Going through my Amazon wishlist to see what else I want to get. I used most of the money for my birthday on shoes - Vibram Fivefingers Speed XC, plus a pair of socks. I wore them today to my training. And I'm going to go fall in bed now. Not editing the way I would have wished this month. But I am making a little progress... At least I did create some of a list so I can finish my preparation for xmas. Holidays take too damn much preparation. I need a holiday from my holiday. In cool news - ran into the racquetball guy who did yoga with me, and he's coming back next week!! |
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