Weight: 141

Promote copy editing services
I'm still plugging away at improving the site. I've added subscription buttons to each page of the site, so people can get notified of updates. I wrote another blog post   this morning. I created a Facebook page  . I was contacted yesterday by a company in India to provide a technical edit on a 500-600 page document, but the topic is engineering (my Self could do it, but not me). I also was contacted this morning by a fiction author who is still in the process of writing her novel, but is interested in assistance. We'll see.

I stopped in at the Vogelweh Community Center today to ask about the possibility of holding my short story workshop there. I left my contact information and they should be emailing me a worksheet for more details about what I want to do. I'm thinking I may charge for this one, but I'm not sure how much. The way I have it set up so far, it would be seven or eight weeks, one day each week, about two hours each day.

Work on Eating Our Way
I'll be making Glazed Salmon tonight, which is in the book but without a picture thus far.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
We're going to take a long walk this afternoon instead of going to the gym, just for a change of pace.
 

Weight: 142 It was 141 yesterday, but George made Chicken & Udon with Thai Peanut Sauce for dinner.

Promote copy editing services
I found a couple good sites this morning (thanks to a discussion in a LinkedIn group) that "grade" your website and blog, respectively, and give some tips on improving them. I went from 64 to 68 based on their tips, and I'll keep checking back to see how it's working. http://sarah-holroyd.com and http://sarah-holroyd.com/blog (There's a new blog post this morning about marketing your self-published book, but it would apply just as well to anyone published traditionally who has responsibility for their own marketing.)

Work on Eating Our Way
Well, the recipe George made last night is in the book, with no pic yet, but we were too hungry and the camera battery is almost dead. It's not like he won't make it again. It's yummy!

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
We went to the gym yesterday and I actually jogged on the treadmill instead of just fast walking for nearly 1.5 miles. My thighs and back are sore today, but it was a good start. George said he was impressed with how much I ran instead of walking.
 

Weight: ? I can't remember, but it was around 141.

Promote copy editing services
I added some plug-ins to my blog this morning, so now readers can subscribe to it with RSS feeds. Also, whenever I publish a post there, another plug-in automatically posts the link on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. So I'm trying to get it out there as much as possible.

Work on Eating Our Way
We made and photographed stuffed peppers for dinner last night. Either tonight or tomorrow night we'll be doing another recipe. Still a long way to go on the photos, though!

Decorate our house

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
We went to the gym yesterday after George got home from work. We stretched, then did the treadmill for about 20 minutes. He ran, I walked, but at 4 mph, so a pretty good clip. I walked a total of just about 1.5 miles. We're planning on getting over there three times a week. It helps that we're both going. It's more incentive for each of us, harder to find an excuse to skip it when it's not just me.

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
 

Weight: 141

Promote copy editing services
I added a mailing list sign-up form and a blog to the site, along with some minor housekeeping in the graphics area and rearranging the content. I'm going to try to post on that blog once a week, more if I have something to say. I'm still kicking around the online workshop idea. My web host already has forum capabilities, so it'd just be a matter of working out the details and setting it up. George had a good suggestion that I try to build a mailing list first, so I'd potentially have an audience for the workshop. If you know of anyone who may be interested in an online short story workshop, please send them to http://sarah-holroyd.com/mailinglist.html to sign up for the mailing list.

Work on Eating Our Way
We made (and photographed) another of the recipes last night, and we'll be doing another one tonight. Progress!

Decorate our house
Nothing new.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
We didn't make it to the gym on Monday (closed early for training holiday), and George was too tired yesterday after work to go.

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
I saw an ad yesterday on Ramstein Yard Sales for someone trying to start a writing group around here...maybe that'll help? Haven't contacted them yet.
 

Weight: 140
Yesterday morning it was 139.5! But then I made brownies and had some with ice cream last night...But that's the first time I've broken 140 in YEARS!!!

Promote copy editing services
I responded to another thread on the CreateSpace forums with my copy editing website and info. I also offered to do this person's book layout in InDesign for a very minimal fee. I'd like to get a couple projects under my belt with InDesign.

I opened a Twitter account as another way to promote myself (SarahEHolroyd). Now I need to come up with a theme-type thing for my posts. I'm thinking of posting some editing/grammar pet peeves, or pointers. Something like that. I'm going to try to keep a list of potential posts in a Word document so I can stay ahead of myself. Perhaps I'll try to post 2-3 times per week. I'd like to post every day...but there's no way I'd have enough material for that.

Work on Eating Our Way
I need to make some more of the dishes that we don't yet have photographed. I printed out a grid of all the recipe titles currently in the book, with a column for whether the recipe text is in the InDesign file, and another column for whether a photo is in the file. It's helpful to have that visual list posted on the fridge to try to keep us going.

Decorate our house
We hung some pictures, finally. We have two more that we know where we want them to go, but we haven't drilled the holes for those yet. Darn solid concrete walls. But I wouldn't change them. They're uber energy efficient!

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
George found the gym on the small installation closest to us, and said it's fairly decent. We were going to go work out together after work on Friday, but they closed early due to a training holiday. So we're going to go today after work.

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
...
 

So we fought some more, then he finally made me see that I had jumped right to having to find a new home for the cats. He doesn't really want that any more than I do. I think the vacuum that I've used only twice has actually made it worse, distributing the allergen wider than sweeping with a broom did. So the plan now is to find a HEPA filter vacuum, open all the windows wide when I clean (there's no air exchange in German houses), do a better job of cleaning, and more often, and actually bathe the cats once a week...that'll be fun. Buckey's not too bad...but I've NEVER attempted to give Callie a full bath. Today will be the first attempt there. George will have to help me because I'll need to use both hands to hold her down in the tub. Wish us luck!
 

I have to give up my cats. He always said he'd never ask me to do that. Well, he's not asking, he's demanding. Huge fight. HIs allergies have been horrible this week, and most of it (he says) is the cats. So what's more important to me, my marriage, or my cats? Is it wrong that it's a very close call?
 

Weight: 143

Promote copy editing services
I've responded to a couple discussions in the CreateSpace forums about editing, including my website in my posts. I also started a post on the NaNoWriMo forums, with my website there, too.

Work on Eating Our Way
I made laugenzopf (pretzel rolls) the other day. I need to play with that recipe a bit, but they were good. Yesterday I made chocolate pasties, a variation on the walnut pasties. Good filling, but I still need to perfect the technique so they don't pop open in the oven and leak all over the pan.

Decorate our house
We got a couple advertising art prints custom framed, and I picked those up yesterday. Our house is all concrete, so we'll have to drill holes and use the appropriate wall anchors to hang stuff. I bought a cordless drill and the anchors yesterday, but the BX didn't have the right size of masonry drill bits, so until we find those, we still can't hang the prints.

I tweaked something in my back or neck yesterday. It gradually got worse as the day wore on, and by the time I went to pick George up from work, it was hard to check my blind spots, so he drove home. I was supposed to take Buckey to the vet this morning for a check-up, but it's still bothering me so I didn't want to try to carry all 14-16 pounds of him in addition to the crate. George drove himself to work today, too, so I didn't have to try to drive all stiff.
 

Weight: 143.5 We had a good food weekend...George invented a new recipe (from several others, and just "winging it") for chicken and shrimp udon. It was good, and will be better with tweaks.

Promote copy editing services
Not lately. I did post in one of the CreateSpace forums about why self-publishers need an editor (including my website address), and an interior book designer emailed me privately to say that he's noticed that some projects he gets are in serious need of professional editing, and that he'll keep my name handy to refer business to me.

Work on Eating Our Way
I've been working on this a bit at a time, making recipes, George taking pics, and playing with InDesign...and finding cool new fonts on the web. Fonts are fun! I've got quite a library going now...but not many of them are actually for this project... Actually, many of my free fonts aren't licensed for commercial use, so my latest obsession has been with finding free commercial use fonts. They actually do exist!

Decorate our house
Hmm...haven't made any progress on this lately, although I've got several automated notices for certain pieces set up on Ramstein Yard Sales, so I'm keeping my eyes open.
 

Weight: 142

Promote copy editing services
I was researching SEO last week...and picked up a nasty computer virus that attacked my operating system. I wound up having to completely reformat the hard drive. It's nearly back to normal, finally, except that I can't restore the backup copies of my QuickBooks files. I need to try (again) to call Intuit and figure it out.

And I will be doing the dissertation, but that won't be until mid-June.

Work on Eating Our Way
We've been plugging along with photos and recipes. I think the structure is about set, but we're still missing quite a few pics. I made one of the chowders last night, but George wasn't happy with the pics he took. We have enough leftovers, though, that we can try again.

In other news...I locked myself out of my house this morning. I was taking the paper and cardboard out to the recycling bin. I leave the door open a couple inches when I go out. But there was a draft this morning and it blew it all the way closed behind me. So there I was, in sweats and sandals, locked out. Our landlords live across the street so I walked over and rang the bell.

No answer.

I rang again, but no answer. I rang her parents' bell (they share a building). No answer there, either. I went to our neighbors' (Americans) and rang their bell, thinking I could maybe use their phone to call a locksmith. No answer there. I was about to walk to another American couple's home when I heard my name. My landlord was on the second floor balcony of her house. She'd been in the attic and wasn't sure she'd heard the bell so came down to look and saw me at the neighbors' house. Thank GOD she was home! From now on, if I'm the only one home, I'll be taking a key outside with me!!!
 

Weight: 141!! Keep going down!

Promote copy editing services
I'm going to attempt my first dissertation for a high school classmate. I've never even seen a dissertation before, and I'm not at all familiar with APA guidelines (which I told her), but I'm going to give it a shot.

Work on Eating Our Way
We were going to make Boeuf Bourguignon (a la Julia Child) today, but we needed a stovetop/oven safe dish. We love Le Creuset (http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/en/global-landing-page/) stuff and the BX carries it. But when we went to get one, we realized that they now make them with plastic handles, which aren't oven-safe beyond 375 degrees F. We need it to go to something like 450. So we can't make it this weekend. George did some research online, and we can get a stainless steel replacement handle on Amazon, so that's what we'll do, then try that recipe.
 

Weight: 142
But George and I went to McDonald's for lunch today, so that'll probably go up tomorrow.

Promote copy editing services
I modified my copy editing web page here on WDC to point visitors to my website instead of having all the info here.

Work on Eating Our Way (Modified the goal since this is my working title)
Not yet today, but I'll be making Cornish Pasties again for dinner tonight, so I can work on ironing out that written recipe. I'll probably open the InDesign file at some point, too, and continue playing.

Decorate our house *NEW GOAL*
We've been in Germany for about a year, and in this house for about eight months, but we don't have a single thing on any walls. For those who read my offsite blog (http://holroyd.wordpress.com), you'll know that we finally got a dining table and chairs and a new sofa recently. What I didn't blog there is that I also found a beautiful rug, which looks perfect with the sofa, for $27! I also got a pretty red table runner, candles, and red placements and chair cushions for the dining set. I should have George take some more pics of this stuff and write a new Wordpress entry.

Also, today we took two art deco ad prints to a framing shop on base to get them matted, mounted, and framed (and then had lunch at Mickey D's). Once they get back (in three weeks), we will certainly hang them. So it's progress, slowly but surely. I'm still looking for a rug for the dining room so we don't have to pick up the chairs to move them in and out. Right now they scrape on the tile floor if we don't pick them up.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
Well, not really, but I did walk down the hill to find the Deutsche Post which Google Maps said existed in our tiny village. I found it, as a tiny kiosk, inside a flower shop! So much easier than having to drive somewhere just to mail something to a German address (which is rare anyway).
 

Weight: 142

Promote copy editing services
Nothing on this today, but I changed the label slightly.

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
InDesign, and the reference book for it, both arrived yesterday. This afternoon I installed the software and I'm now starting the looooong process of learning how to use it.

I also attempted a new recipe today: Pumpkin Pasties. Not sure if it'll make it into the book. It was kind of a pain to make them.
 

Weight: 142.5

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
I never heard back from that potential client, so I guess without a phone interview, he's not interested. *shrugs*

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
I finally ordered InDesign...now I just have to wait for it to get here! I also ordered Real World Adobe InDesign CS4 from Amazon so I can start learning the software as soon as they both get here.
 

Weight: 143

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
I added a "Resources" page to the site (http://sarah-holroyd.com). If you have any really good websites that you frequently use and would like to share, I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to make the site as helpful to authors as I can, in the hopes that they'll then remember me when it's time to edit.

A while ago, I responded to a message in one of the LinkedIn groups to which I belong from a non-fiction author looking for a copy editor. This morning I received an email from him requesting an interview. Not sure how that will work (given distance and time zones...perhaps by email...), but I emailed him back that I'm still interested in the project and available to work on it. *crosses fingers*

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
I made German "mandeln" yesterday (cinnamon candied almonds...okay, so "mandeln" just means "almonds", but you see them at nearly every carnival in Germany, and that's what they call them), and they are fantastic! George and I had trouble stopping munching them. They'll definitely be in the cookbook.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
Hmmm...

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
Umm...
 

Weight: 144

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
Well, I finished the basic design of the site...so I went ahead and registered the domain and got it set up! http://sarah-holroyd.com I'll probably keep tweaking it, but that's a good start, I think.
 

Weight: 144.5

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
I spent nearly all of yesterday and most of this morning so far working on building a website for my editing. I'm really liking how it's coming along, but I need to write more content now. Also, at some point I'll need George to write me some ASP code so I can have a contact form with a secure file transfer protocol (FTP) system for people to send me manuscripts and single pages for sample edits. I also still need to figure out a domain name. I'm leaning towards either sarah-holroyd.com or saraheholroyd.com so I can make it multi-purpose if (when) I ever publish. I can't decide if the hyphenated one is okay or not. I don't want to not use a hyphen without my middle initial, because then there would be two Hs together, and that could easily get mistyped. Thoughts?

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
Hmmm...Well, I this weekend I successfully made another recipe that will go in there and George got some good pics, so I guess that counts. I still haven't ordered InDesign, so I still can't really start on layout.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
I walked down to the Apotheke (pharmacy) to pick up a prescription. It's cold!

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
Um...no.
 

Weight: 146

We went down to the pub last night...

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
Hrm...guess I should start working on a website?

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
Still reading about type. Haven't ordered InDesign yet, but soon...

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
Still snowy/icy and cold.

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
...
 

Weight: 144

So I yo-yo. *shrug*

Research marketing/promotion methods for copy editing
I REALLY need to get back into this. If I can make enough this year, I could actually contribute to my Roth IRA. It'll be a stretch, but if I get to work on my own website and figure out how to get my name out there...

Work on Holroyd Cookbook
I have The Non-Designer's Design & Type Books by Robin Williams (I was going to link the Amazon page, but strangely, there's no ASIN number for this book?) and have been working my way through it. It's got some great graphic examples and keeps reinforcing the main points. I'm excited to get started with the design, but I need to get Adobe InDesign first. It just occurred to me this morning that, if we can get this cookbook out this year (and up on Amazon for sale), then I could probably write off the cost of InDesign (and the Design book, and the InDesign reference I plan to purchase) as business expenses on next year's taxes!

I've decided to try Amazon's Create Space as my POD for this project. Their rate is better than Lulu (from what I've seen), and you have more options for sales outlets if you go "Pro" with your project, which is $39 initially, then $5 each year. I haven't done the math yet, but I know I'll be ordering quite a few copies of this book for my family members, and the Pro plan lowers the production costs when you order through your membership. So I need to see how big the difference would be, if it's close enough to the Pro fee to justify it.

I have a tentative title, too. Let me know what you think: Eating Our Way: A Gastronomic Journey Around the World.

Walk for at least a half hour or go to the gym
Not with the snow on the ground, and George has the car.

Finish 1st draft of News From Ludicrous
I really need to get my ass in gear on this, too...
 

Weight: 142

And it continues.