Hapy Halloween 2014!

I looked through my tags/labels and realize I missed a few years of post costumes or forgot to tag/label them properly. Add fixing that to my list of things to eventually do.

Halloween at the paying job was yesterday and multiple coworkers said I had to wear the sewing project that I've been talking about since July, the Victorian dress that I'm sewing for the Dickens on the Strand trip. The pattern is based on the 1880s, which is later than Charles Dickens, but it's what I wanted to sew when the sewing bug bit again. But since I have never done Victorian era before I had to start from the skin out and sew foundation garments first.

"I can be a Victorian underwear model, that's all done." That was voted down, so I started last weekend sewing at an even more frantic pace. By Sunday I thought I had to buy interfacing, but then I found the interface I bought shortly after posting the planning post in the Garb Closet. I had already had shopped for all the trim and really didn't want to go back to any fabric store, so I was so glad to see it. Unfortunately I didn't unfold it or the navy fabric for the apron, bustle poof, and bodice lining when I cut out all the pattern pieces needed for the striped fabric Sunday night. My working plan was to get the bodice and skirt done and put the trim on later. Then my sister's mother-in-law died and the week got upended to go to the funeral. Monday I went to work and warned everyone that I may show up in what I had done and call myself a work in progress.

Well, the pattern instructions have you put on trim as you assemble, so as I started putting together the bodice I saw myself possible wearing it over my petticoat Thursday. Then I reached the step of assembling the interface and lining pieces and had to cut them out. The interfacing I bought was too narrow to fit the bodice center pattern piece.

Okay, new plan needed. I remembered I had a modern Victorian-ish blouse that I couldn't bear to get rid even though it was too small. Since I've shrunk recently, it now fits.

New plan: jump ahead to skirt and wear it with the blouse, decorate the hat I bought to turn it into a Victorian flowerpot hat, and the gloves I bought. The funeral was Tuesday, my parents and I would stop Tuesday night and sleep at a hotel and then making it to their doctor's appointments Wednesday with Dr. Jessica. My plan was to start sewing like crazy Wednesday when we finally got home. I managed to get one seam done before we left Tuesday, but I felt good about getting the skirt done. We got back home around 3 p.m. Wednesday and I started sewing. I put the skirt together and put the front trim on and then read ahead. The apron is sewn in the skirt waistband, so I couldn't leave it off like I had first thought. So I skipped the rest of the skirt trim and unfolded the navy. There was something white every so many inches that needed to be washed off. It was 11 p.m. already.

I cut off just enough for the apron off the bolt and washed that. While it was washing, I made a ruffle from the striped fabric because I never could find a four-inch wide lace that I liked and ended up buying navy cotton to make a ruffle for the bottom of the skirt. Navy on navy wouldn't work for the apron. I had enough interfacing for the apron with the too-narrow yardage I had and found the typo on the pattern envelope back that made me bought the wrong size. I got the waistband cut out while waiting, and typed some on the chapter that won't get post this week. Finally, got the clean navy out and cut out the apron. I can't remember now if I sewed then or later because when the clock reached 2:45 a.m., I laid down so I'd have some rest before the alarm goes off at 3:30 a.m. That's only 45 minutes when I normally get seven on top of disrupted sleep from the trip and late for me nights sewing earlier in the month.

So I got up and resumed sewing at 3:30 a.m. The apron trim had to go on because putting it on after the waistband was attached would be that much harder. Then the apron was basted onto the skirt except for two end pieces that would go around the back and close with a hook and eye. Those ends didn't go under the waistband and avoiding them (along with how little sleep) messed up the seams on the waistband, but they held. No time to sew on hooks and eyes, but I found a big safety pin to hold the skirt together. The ends of the apron do not reach around the back so it could be hooked together.

Just now typing this, I remember I had to upscale the waistband pattern for the petticoat. I used that pattern for the skirt waistband but I didn't add any fabric to the apron so that's why it doesn't fit. No matter, I already decided to take the waistband off and stick those ends under it. The gloves fit beautifully. The underwear fits beautifully. The skirt stayed on all day even though I'm tweaking it. The hat wouldn't let me stick pins in it, so I had to tape the blue ribbon on it to head out the door. I have a hat pattern, but that's an after I pay bills shopping trip. And I discovered I could drive wearing the bustle pillow!

So ultimately, I consider it a successful trial run for Dickens on the Strand. And I'm not sewing this weekend because I need to not look at fabric for a while. I'll probably start ripping off the waistband Sunday night.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Been a few weeks

It's been a few weeks, but I'm trying not to fall back into bad habits. That's easier said than done, but using the Kanban Flow checklists helps so much. I've been trying to actually honor the UfYH principle of actually taking a break instead of using the break time on another task until I reach burnout and ignore checklists and chores alike this go-round, but hit a snag over the weekend. I calculated I should be able to spend nine hours Saturday and Sunday on sewing broken into 45/15s. Same amount of time I spend at work minus the commute. That still left plenty of time for food, sleep, and other chores. Except it didn't work out that way Saturday. Precious little of the chores got finished, I only got four hours of the sewing time in, and basically felt like a complete failure for wasting my time in such a way by taking breaks. So Sunday I decided that the 15 minute break must be spent on one of my other Big Rocks for the weekend, followed by a 20 minutes on a housekeeping chore and a 10 minute break playing a computer game. Boom this scenario gave me much more progress and I didn't feel burnout at the end of the day. I'm going to keep it next weekend and see if it really works or if it was just a better day than Saturday fluke.

In health news, I've been diagnosed with mild diabetic retinopathy. The real fear of losing my already wonky eye-sight took some time to deal with, but I'm better with the news now processed. I also got a detox foot bath on my last visit to the chiropractor to flush the aspartame out of my system. But it also showed my chronic dehydration (been drinking three quarts daily for a month, how long does it take to clear up?) and chlorine, which we figured must be coming from the increased tap water I've been drinking. I finally got a ZeroWater pitcher this past payday. My home water registered 112 on their provided meter, which is about the normal range for most US households, and the filtered water does taste better. My next visit to Dr. Jessica is tomorrow, so we'll see what's changed since the last one. I also enrolled in a prescription benefit plan offered by my insurance, but I probably won't see any savings on the refills I have to pick up today. :p Oh and I found a PDF file for a Don't Break the Chain formatted calender, so I printed one off for tracking exercise. Sixteen days straight of the Fifteen Minute Results Yoga routine. :D

Television: the Fall season watching has started. So far I'm up-to-date on Gotham and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, watched the premier for Haven and haven't been home to see an episode since, and have fallen asleep before Castle comes on. I'll save my thoughts on the shows for a slow blog day.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Hot Bod Third Try

Okay I REALLY suck at keeping an updated blog when I'm writing. Yeah all the words are going to a story! Boo, anybody knowing what's going on right now. :p Hopefully the summary helped catch everyone up. This post is pretty much dealing with my diabetes, because I'm on a new regimen and I need to make notes of what's happening. Curses ahoy, don't read this one out loud.

My 2014 goal of more exercise and overhauling my food choices slacked off in February when I stopped measuring myself to see what my body was telling me about my health. So I got less strict about what I was eating and never developed a good exercise routine to follow. The time period wasn't just me completely ignoring my health. I ponied up the money for monthly massages—namely because there was no way exercise was happening as tight as my muscles were—and they have helped immensely.

So I trucked along in this subpar fashion and then signed up for the Reversing Diabetes World Summit 2014 on May 5. Initially I just followed Mark Sisson there, but I ended up listen to everybody and taking notes. Suzy Cohen, RPh. talked about how a lot of the side effects of medicine were caused because the medicine steals vital nutrients from you and the over-the-counter supplements are not pharmaceutical or medical grade so you wouldn't be replacing what your body is missing with those. Well crap, how long have I been on metformin? Dr. Josh Axe gave me goal numbers to be aware of.

Diabetic

• A1C level = 6.5 or above
• Fasting morning glucose is greater than 125 – 130

Reversed Diabetes

• A1C level = 5.5 or lower
• Fasting morning glucose = 100

Looking back, I think I picked up my mother's defeatist attitude when it comes to living with diabetes. She watched aunts follow the strict doctor's orders, kept themselves skinny, and still lose legs and eyesight. Her mother lived a lot longer (albeit in horrible shape by eating whatever she wanted. I thought I was doing better by at least being aware that I function best on a Primal diet, taking the medicine prescribed to me, exercising until I fell off the wagon, but I never sought out any additional research until the Summit dropped itself in my lap.

I checked out Drug Muggers by Suzy Cohen and Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis, since so many presenters at the Summit said his work was their starting point. I got my bloodwork done at the end of May for my June appointment with my doctor.

May 28, 2014 – June 4, 2014

• Fasting morning glucose = 183
• A1C = 7.8

He added a new prescription for Farxiga. I read my books, watched my food slightly better, and waited until I ran out of bad supplements.

I took my list of supplements modified with the information found in Drug Muggers (but not by much) to my chiropractor, who I had bought multi-vitamins from before. The office manager confirmed they sourced pharmaceutical grade and she'd price my list for me, but she recommended that I go see Dr. Jessica, a Traditional Naturopathic Doctor, for a check over. "Honey, you probably don't need all of these."

That sounded reasonable, and was even more reasonable when I saw the price tag on my list of supplements. I got an appointment to see Dr. Jessica on August 21st and filled out her health assessment before I went. My weight on August 13th had ballooned up to 194 lbs. and I had my worse week of sleep ever that week. So I answered the "list you current health concerns you would like changed" with "put my body in balance to fight the diabetes, better quality sleep, knowledge of what foods I should eat. Losing weight and getting off my medication are long-term goals." And by long-term I meant I never see it happening but I'm okay with it as long as I don't have to take insulin shots ever.

The two issues that alarmed Dr. Jessica the most about my assessment was how much aspartame I was consuming and how little water I was really drinking. Yes, I had heard many times how aspartame is evil but I didn't want to deal with caffeine withdrawal headaches and I ALWAYS figured sugar was my real enemy. "If my blood sugar ever gets to normal then I can switch back to normal drinks" was my thinking on the issues. Dr. Jessica said it was better to switch to a sugared drink for caffeine and deal with the sugar than use aspartame. And guess what, Nature just published an article on "Artificial sweeteners induce glucose intolerance by altering the gut microbiota." Thanks a whole FUCKING lot food industry!

The not enough water thing, I counted all the fluids I drank but never considered the diuretic properties of caffeine. So right away my 24 oz. of Diet Dr. Pepper put me in a deficit. Add to that Farxiga's side effect of making you pee more and how we all need to drink half our body weight in ounces of water, my body was retaining fluid like it was a dam just to function. At 194 lbs. I should be drinking a little over three quarts of water.

Dr. Jessica recommend I change my diet to gluten and dairy free, switch to sea salt, and eat more salads for lunch. Dairy-free surprised me, but she suspected it was the reason behind my always annoyed sinuses. She only prescribed three supplements to help support digestion and pancreatic function and recommended a cinnamon-based drink mix that uses mâte for caffeine called CinnaMâte. I took a sample of that to see if I liked the taste, but expected to switch the regular Coca-cola, since regular Dr. Pepper tasted off to me after so many years drinking Diet Dr. Pepper.

When I went grocery shopping that weekend, it was another thanks a whole FUCKING lot food industry! moment. I cut out high fructose corn syrup as much as I can because human bodies do not process it like sugar (you lying TV bastards!) it is addictive and they have put it into everything they can put it in. The lying TV commercials just cemented my hate of this product. Guess what 90% of all commercial, readily available not-diet sodas are sweetened with in America? Double fuck you food industry! I did find Virgil's Sodas and OMG! Not advertising hype the cream soda and Dr. Better flavors I had gave my taste buds a Great Gatsby party. Unfortunately, they are caffeine free. :p

Turns out I did like the taste of CinnaMâte and it kept the caffeine-withdrawal headache away. But I had to wait until I got paid again before I could buy a month's supply. So I foolishly decided to just have one Diet Dr. Pepper to get me to work without a headache.

The pain that hit my spine with that drink was worse than any whiplash I have gotten. So Tuesday, August 26th was when I drank my last Diet Dr. Pepper. I brewed iced tea when I got home for the commute until I got the CinnaMâte on Sept. 8th or found bottled tea made with real sugar.

I started the new supplements on August 26th too and tried to start a new Yoga routine of fifteen minutes daily. So far the exercise has been a miss. I can squeeze it in during the evenings, but not if I wake up late and leave all my chores for the end of the day. This week has been me rediscovering how I've ignored my personal checklists and getting back on them.

So this my third week into the changes and I already have some improved numbers.

Sept. 8, 2014

• A1C = 6.4
• Fasting morning glucose = 117

Sept. 18, 2014

• Fasting morning glucose = 111
• Weight = 186.5 lbs.

Like I said above, weight loss is not my goal but if I lose weight while getting my numbers in a much healthier spot, I'll take it. The fasting glucose isn't at a steady sweet spot quite yet either; I have had some days of higher than 130. Dairy-free has been less strict than gluten-free, because dairy sneaks in ways I don't think of. And every time I have some, I wake up to a half-clogged nose. Issues I have to bring up to Dr. Jessica: going back on MSM, still taking an hour to fall asleep, and sporadic leg cramps.

But overall I think everything is looking better than it has for most of the year.

Read Free!
The BookWorm

Summary of What I Didn't Blog About

So it's been a while, huh? Thing is, I didn't really notice since I was posting at least two days a week at Discipline Under Fire. So I dug into those posts to figure what I've been doing in the meantime that wasn't writing.

• April 14: I accomplished it yesterday actually, but I finally sprayed down my house for termites and carpenter ants and bees.
• April 21: Saw Captain America 2 after watching the "spoiler" episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I thought the movie was excellent and Bucky needs so many hugs (as soon as you stop being a homicidal maniac, dear.) I am still adoring the Marvel Cinematic Universe tying everything together and I'm crossing everything I can cross that we will get a Black Widow and Captain Marvel (especially before Katee Sackhoff is too old to play Carol Danvers).
• May 5: I signed up for Reversing Diabetes World Summit 2014. It's an online free starting today and running for twelve days. Lots of info and luckily, it's been a quiet day to let me listen. This lasted for two weeks and gave me lots of things to consider about my health, but that's an upcoming post.
• May 12: Shopping for medicine and food. Found out my insurance company wants to go crazy over the copay for my glucose testing strips. Confused the deli counter lady because I needed a slab of turkey to cut into cubes.
• May 13: Last episode of Agents of SHIELD season one. *SNIFF*
• Saw Godzilla in May didn't take note of when. It opened May 16th. Can't wait to get in on BluRay. "Oh no, there goes Tokoyo. Go go Godzilla!"
• May 26: Since I had the day off thanks to Memorial Day, I cleaned house and got a lot done on other computer projects. Sadly, I have found a bug with XMarks that is eating links I need for this story. So there's a new computer project that I wasn't anticipating. What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase on the third paycheck this month. What I'm not looking forward to: Paying bills with third check that may not let me buy laptop. GRRRR. Once I get XMarks saved bookmarks correct I have to have a massive save page as party and completely change how I archive my research for everything now because I can't trust the paying job computer not to screw with it somehow.
• May 28: Bloodwork and thyroid ultrasound successfully completed. Made it to the paying job despite the weather. The rain finally stopped for a while.
• May 29: I bandaged Mustard. And he's grounded. A couple of weeks ago, he got some lacerations on his neck that didn't look like the results of a regular cat fight. I doctored them, and they scabbed over well. I let him go outside and thought the rain drove him back in. Hours later, one of the scabs is gone along with a chunk of skin. Luckily, my parents had some cohesive gauze because all I have is human-won't-scratch-off-the-bandage variety in my first aid kit. So now I have to leave orders that he doesn't get to go outside while I'm gone the whole weekend.
• May 30: Did not get to buy a laptop with my third paycheck like I had been hoping for since February. I also took Mom to IP for the weekend and we saw Joan Rivers show. I know I'm typing this up after she has died but I really didn't like her routine. Every F-bomb her television shows prevented her from saying, she saved for the stage show. I admired her energy considering her age. I hope I move that well when I reach my 80s
• June 1: I came home from the casino with just about the same amount of money that I brought.
  
• June 9: Bought some food, but didn't get the stuff to clean the moldy leather. And I didn't start my sewing project either. I forget when I found that the lack of AC in the back bedroom let mold grow all over my leather garb I had stored back there, but it took me a while to finally buy tack cleaning soap and conditioner and deal with it.
• June 10: Whelp, I thought I'd at least buying the corset busk online today, even if I didn't get to sew when I get home. What the back of the pattern envelope asks for: one corset busk. What the online shop offers: this simple type ranging from 7 inches to 14 inches long, spoon busks in two different sizes, heavy duty busks for curvy people 12 inches to 14 inches long.
  
  What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase that I don't know when I'll get to make now. :( The bills ate up the money I thought I would have for it. Maybe next month if I'm good with the money. A bonus to my paycheck this week! *Checks paystub* That's enough to buy my laptop—I'm ordering the laptop!
  
• June 17: Mom's cleaning out the shed project: my items in the shed are too cumbersome for her to deal with and I forgot about it last weekend. So I got my great-grandmother's bedframe and my extra door (I knocked out the wall it was in years ago) to the front porch. Next up the heaters that were replaced by a modern one and I don't want to get rid of them for sentimental reasons. Tugged the one on the shed floor towards the door and lots of paper debris (the rodents chewed up a whole Monopoly game that had been stored out there) came out as it moved. I tilted it to lift it up and the mice living in it ran for their lives, circling around the heater and me as they crossed my path to get back to the safety of the still covered with stuff wall. I know I saw at least two, heads were mousy not rat-like, but of the two one was as big as a rat so it may have been three or more all moving as one while shrieked and jumped out of the shed.
  
  Okay, I'm a country girl and I accept wildlife outnumbers me at my home. But what flashed in my head while I reenacted every cartoon mouse encounter I have ever watched was the episode of Medical Investigations with Hantavirus and OMG how fast those soldiers DIED! After my brain rebooted, I realized Mom would be dead from it last week if those rodents were carriers, but I was done for the night. What I'm looking forward to: Laptop purchase that I don't know when I'll get to make now. :( The bills ate up the money I thought I would have for it. Maybe next month if I'm good with the money. A bonus to my paycheck this week! *Checks paystub* That's enough to buy my laptop—I'm ordering the laptop! I'm not going to talk about how the laptop purchase didn't happen AGAIN. I've paid shit off, I'm not supposed to be broke every paycheck any more.
  
  Weekend plans still look good, and my baby sister is coming down next week. What I'm not looking forward to: New issue: I have to get those heaters out before I leave on Friday for the weekend. So I'm going to see if Mustard will actually hunt in there before I move anything. I'm hoping for something like this, I think.
  
• June 18: Got my stuff from the shed to my porches. I didn't have to throw Mustard in because Mom wrestled with the rodents while I was at the paying job. I got about 80% of stuff I needed to do before the weekend finished.
• June 23: Well, I tested our new time keeping system for the paying job, by taking Tuesday and Wednesday off and putting in while at home. My baby sister came home and I got roped into taking her and Mom to IP Biloxi for nice break for Krista, she hasn't had a vacation in years. Now I REALLY need the laptop.
• June 27: It's assessment season at the paying job, so I'm pleased I got as many words done as I did. Oh and I got the library errand out of the way. What I'm looking forward to: I am actually going to sew this weekend no matter what happens.
• June 28: Laundry, saved my leather bodice from the evil mildew, have the first pattern traced and nearly ready to pin to fabric, and found way more things I need to buy after I pay the bills. What I'm looking forward to: I am sewing and starting to inventory the material stash. That needs to happen because we found more fabric when we cleaned out the shed.
• June 30: Paying job assessments are done to be mailed out tomorrow. I meant to type yesterday, but got caught in alternating sewing with bill paying and other budget chores. I also need to sit down during my breaks so my feet don't ache so much I can't fall asleep.
• July 4: Sewing! I'm determined to finish my Victorian underwear this weekend. And catch up on my rough draft. And inventory the fabric stash. And clean house. I finally settled on 45/15s. Sew for 45 minutes, inventory fabric stash for 15. Write rough draft sitting down for 45 minutes, edit the One Rule which became type Chapter Twenty for 15 when I finished the first task.
• July 5: Patterns traced out. New chemise cut out. I have no idea if I have enough material for the drawers. Nothing is actually wearable yet.
• July 7: My chemise is up to the last stage of hand sewing and hemming, and I just could not face it today. So when I wasn't typing and writing on the rough draft, I worked on inventorying the fabric stash. I'm down to eleven fabric pieces to put into the notebook, but I'm running out of stuff to store the fabrics on (wooden hangers and cardboard pieces to wrap bolts around (I found out that cutting a cardboard presentation board is perfect for this and gives me four pieces)).
• July 9: I'm researching corsets. I think the pattern I have is pretty decent for my figure and I just need to get the sizing right and buy supplies. But my sewing friend may need a different style based on her shape.
• July 14: I'm a bit surprised I managed to get over the personal daily goal with the amount of mail we had to get through at the paying job. Assessment season has kicked into gear now. What I'm looking forward to: Getting the two books I want out of the State Library. I went Friday, but they are closed now. Today had to work overtime and they were closed by the time I left paying job. Hopefully tomorrow.
• July 15: Library and only came home with three books!
• July 16: I am done shopping for sewing supplies. But I didn't get a chance to clean the living room at all.
• July 21: Almost finished the hand sewing part on the chemise while in the waiting room with my uncle's appointment. Didn't get the cleaning done that I wanted to, but finished the worst area in the kitchen over the weekend. Everything that's left is more spot-checking cleaning. What I'm looking forward to: New mattress, July 30th I hope. I had to use my mother's credit to order it online after Sam's Club did not have the size my bed is. But this way they will deliver it to my house.
• July 22: My corset supplies came in today! I really wasn't expecting to see them until August. What I'm looking forward to: New mattress, July 30th I hope. What I'm not looking forward to: Rearranged the sewing disarrayed living room so the new mattress can get inside my house.
• August 3: My weekend writing time has been eaten up by sewing and I still haven't figured out how to accomplish both at the same time.
• August 6: Budgeted the paycheck before I got it! Really hate the numbers I came up with because they leave out the tires. I really need tires. What I'm looking forward to: Everybody getting off my back about how's the new mattress? It's new, I sleep on it, my Chiroflow pillow needs some adjustments so I'm not pinching the nerve that makes my hand go numb. Second thing: seeing Guardians of the Galaxy this week when I get paid.
• August 8: Bought my movie ticket and fretted over the sticker shock. But it was worth it. Guardians of the Galaxy was such a fun ride from "pelvic sorcery" to "We ARE Groot."
• August 11: Tires for Rizzo are on order. And I was typing up a storm when the news broke about Robin Williams. "O Captain! My Captain!"
• August 12: I had hoped to do more typing when I got home, but the computer decided to be petulant and update needy. So no typing, but I did get a book I'm not done with renewed from the library.
• August 13: I just realized I forgot to pack another pack on loose-leaf in my black bag. I'm in no danger of running out today, but I should have replaced it already.
• August 16: Finally bought new tires using Dad's credit card so I can have four at the same time instead of two.
• August 19: What I Accomplished in the Narrative Today: I'm still writing Chapter Twenty-Five's rough draft and now I've started typing it. Never again will I publish a WIP. NEVER. Fave line: That simple declaration brought Bruce onto his feet with the fewest repetitions of push-ups that Alfred had ever witnessed him perform. – It is sad how much I like the obsessive amount of push-ups. What Else I Accomplished Today: I didn't finish the rough draft so blah. What I'm looking forward to: Payday! What I'm not looking forward to: Take the bras back to the store that didn't fit. I'm not crazy about underwires. I have a petite torso and they constantly poke me in the arms. But I am of the boob size where the only bras you can get are underwire. These that I'm taking back gave me under-boob. I didn't think that was possible with underwire bras but hey, time to prove me wrong about that too.
• August 20: I lost thirty minutes coming into work (Stupid traffic made me 15 minutes late and we have to take time in 30-minute intervals). Then I ended up staying late for thirty minutes. But I got the bras returned! What I'm not looking forward to:
  
  Remember the whole XMarks situation I’ve been not dealing with waiting for the eventually I’ll do it? Yeah, more fun on the paying job computer and I synced to not lose my open tabs and discovered XMarks ate all the bookmarks saved on the server.
  
  I didn't lose my data; I've been backing up my bookmarks at home so I could do a flush and clean install. But since reading over reviews for this year and talking with a coworker, I'm leaning towards using Dropbox to keep things in sync instead. The only con I can see is it is not cross-platform like XMarks, but I never used that feature of XMarks. So yes, all that has to happen this week. Probably Friday or Saturday since I have a doctor's appointment Thursday after work.
  
• August 21: Doctor visit: I'm dehydrated and need to wean myself off aspartame like ASAP. Food-wise: shift the diet to gluten and dairy free for a while. I'll be covering this more in a future post. What I'm not looking forward to: First thing: Don't plan on going anywhere because I need to up my water intake to where it should be. BUT I have to finish grocery shopping on Saturday.
  
  Second thing: XMarks freaked out when I got home and freaked out again at work. Good news: everything matches up to the home computer's saved set now. Bad news: I don't trust XMarks to keep the safe, especially the stuff I reference for story writing.
  
  So my weekend plans, such as they are and scheduled to change everything permitting:
  • Drink more water and pee every five seconds (probably).
  • Grocery shopping.
  • Scour the computer for stuff I'm not using, delete what I don't need, archive what I want to save, and backup.
  • Clean out the mass of bookmarks.
  • Set up Dropbox account to sync bookmarks.
  • Sew my corset.
  • Write Chapter Twenty-Six.
  • Regularly schedule chores.
  Hopefully the weekend won't turn into this:
  
• August 22: Shopping, too much shopping, so I didn't have as much shopping on Saturday.
• August 25: Visited parents who made it in from their trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Over-scheduled the weekend as usual, so I've got to spread things out throughout the week. Decided to start cleaning my hard drive with the game demos from Big Fish Games since I have the bad habit of not deleting something I'm sure I won't buy. I reached the M's. XMarks did not go cuckoo today. What I'm looking forward to: Three-day weekend! What I'm not looking forward to: My weekend week plans:
  • Drink more water and pee every five seconds (probably). I think I've got this under control now and I am feeling better.
  • Add in new 15 minute yoga routine.
  • Scour the computer for stuff I'm not using, delete what I don't need, archive what I want to save, and backup.
  • Clean out the mass of bookmarks.
  • Set up Dropbox account to sync bookmarks.
  • Sew my corset.
  • Regularly schedule chores.
  Made it through Monday, bring on the rest of the week.
  
• August 26: Everyone decided to call me while I was trying to do the yoga routine, so the fifteen minute program took thirty. :p
• August 27: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. I shifted my chiropractic appointment to today instead of Thursday, so I have lots of spare time in Baton Rouge today. Unfortunately I need the time at home to get ready for weekend trip. :p
• September 8: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. At the paying job, I’ve been switched over to a virtual machine. So far the only difference I’ve noticed is how much room there is for my feet without the desktop tower under my desk. What I'm looking forward to: Finish copying the patterns so I can take the book back to the library.
• September 9: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. Paying job moved everyone in my office to the virtual desktops. It went as well as anything concerning technology does. I also finally finished all the scanning. I have no idea if I will ever make any of those outfits, but now I have source material if I move to a new time period. What I'm looking forward to: Finding a dairy-free eggplant recipe.
• September 10: Library book returned and no new ones checked out. Tried out a new recipe.
  
• September 11: The bitching from my coworkers over switching to a new system has commenced. Today has been a headphone with music playing day.
• September 12: Covered already.
• September 13: XMarks did not go cuckoo today. Mom asked me to test her old washing machine that has been sitting next to mine on my back porch for months. So I hooked it up only for my outlet to spark when I plugged it in. Turns out my outlet broke. By the time we got a new outlet inside the box, it was four hours after I had gone out to start laundry.
• September 14: I'm still working on laundry and cooking meals for the week, which got interrupted by eating out with the parents. At this point, I don't know if I'll get any sewing done at all. And I didn't, the whole weekend was a bust on the sewing front. But I did managed to working in twenty minutes on Tuesday night!

Up next, I probably over share on health news, but hey it's good news.

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The BookWorm

I had planned a different post

I thought the post breaking my hiatus of blogging would be on my health news instead of this, but Friday night has been just full of surprises. I also thought I would finish typing the chapter I still have to post, but plans got derailed.

Around eight o'clock while I was eating supper and playing a computer game, I heard squealing tires and a whump. It wasn't a tree crash and it's sad to know the difference just by sound alone. I went out the front door and heard kids crying. I was committed then, and spent the next two hours helping and witnessing. The SUV skidded off the road for reasons unknown right now, broadsided the neighbor's retaining wall he built on his driveway, and plowed sideways into the ditch that runs across his yard to the creek.

Luckily there were only minor injuries and the three kids about ten and under were more freaked out and in shock. I brought them to my front porch until the first responders arrived to get them out of the way and to check if they needed more first aid. The youngest was freaked out the most and wanted his daddy then his mommy and after I explained that his mommy had to wait until the cops came to deal with the car, he calmed a little. Then the fire truck arrived on scene. They always reach a car crash first. He freaked out again. "Firefighters! We don't need firefighters! What are they doing here?"

They actually managed to pull the SUV out without destroying the neighbor's driveway further and everything wrapped up and we got back inside by ten. So I've been working on this to calm down enough to go to bed.

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The BookWorm

Faith Rewarded

Tonight's episode was WHY I've stuck with Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. And here's an obligatory SPOILERS alert!

I still haven't seen Captain America 2, but yes, I caught the spoiler for the movie, but I really don't think it was anything anyone would be surprised over. Cap won his fight, duh. Fury's dead; I'll believe that when I can check his pulse. And I'm still predicting Robert Redford's character is a Hydra agent. That one they actually didn't give away in show. I've just believed it since the first trailer aired. Oh and I suppose that Hydra are the bad guys is a give away, but really a little Marvel knowledge gets you that close. It's either them or the A.I.M. guys, and they have to recuperate from Iron Man 3.

Okay, I adore how they are tying the Marvel movie universe into a systematic whole. I have loved how the characters from the Marvel Shorts have dropped in on Agents of SHIELD. Spoilerific on the actual episode: Sitwell is a Hydra agent? Or was the Clairvoyant just name dropping so we suspect him too? I continue to wish Mike had just been Joss Whedon-ed; being Deathlok is worse than getting shot through your heart when you just made up with Willow. I still love Melinda May and Fury isn't dead so he can clear her name. I'm mildly shocked that we have made it this far without figuring out what Skye as a 108 can do, and I'm perfectly happy leaving that mystery for season 2. Hand is dead? No, nope, nope, I'm on the nope rocket for that one. Show all the running blood you wan; we brought Phil back from the dead. If Fury's dead, Hill or Hand must start running SHIELD. I'm not sure how I feel about Ward's final actions. Hydra agent or triple agent both look equally plausible. Not a Ward/Skye shipper though, oh the conventionally pretty people hook up. :p Fitz is TONS more awesome than Ward. "You will pay for what you've done and I will play a part in that."

Okay, I'm done gushing on the show. If you skipped all that, have some pictures of my new office layout.

Ignore the date, I have to fix that on my camera. No more half-wall of shelves.

Standing desk.

Sitting desk.

The corner bookshelves I made with shelves I already had and a floor lamp. I'm tickled how this corner came out actually.

So now I think I've calmed down enough to go to bed. Nighty-night.

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The BookWorm

New computer desk

I spent last week in Texas, visiting the family over there and leaving my mother behind to man that fort when my sister has to go back to Dallas for more training on her new job. But it reinforced something writers with kids have probably already learned: it's nigh impossible to write smut with pre-teens running around. So no writing it while they're up and about and needing a referee (really my nephew's sport balls collection has no idea how lucky it was that I left my sword at home). No writing after they went to bed because I was exhausted and went to bed thirty minutes later. No writing in the morning because Mom had a list of things to do that I had to drive her to get done. I was counting on writing two chapters and I barely managed two paragraphs.

Luckily, since I drove home alone, I was able to finish the smutty portions of the scene when I stopped for meal breaks. And that's all I want to talk about that twelve-hour drive. No, Austin isn't that far away from home and I don't know what happened to my progress between Houston and Lafayette. I do know what happened between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, and why can't we have a dedicated radio station for traffic like other states manage to have?

Really not talking about it now. On to good stuff. I paid my car off with last paycheck in February.

Alas, Rizzo is not Lola and I don't work for the un-secret spy organization. As a treat, I planned an Ikea shopping trip on my first paycheck in March and bought a new dresser and a new computer desk.

I don't have any pictures of it assembled in my house because I just finished putting it and the computer back together last night and I still don't know what to do with the rest of the office. I had two short bookcases making a wall and supporting the old desk and I'm liking how the room flows without the half-wall. But the shelves and the books have to go somewhere.

And because this is me and I can find a complaint about anything, why design the desk that you have to screw the shelves to brackets upside down? I decided against putting on the SIGNUM cable trunking attachment because it meant more screwing upside-down. And also because I discovered I still haven't bought a replacement battery for the computer and will have to rearrange all the wires again. Next issue is my computer system. To save money, I reused my monitor and discovered that the data cord gives the screen a lovely green tint. All I had to do to fix it was shift the cord on my old set-up. Now the cord is stretched so tight, no shifting is available. So buy a new backup battery and a new monitor cord to finish off the computer shuffle.

So far, all the computer equipment fits on the new desk including the LaserJet printer. That gives me full table space to use as my writing desk. I would have tried it out last night, but Mustard hurt his foot and claimed my office chair as his bed and I couldn't be mean to my sick cat.

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The BookWorm

Early Birthday Present to ME!!!

GARGOYLES SEASON 2 VOLUME 2 ON DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only available online at the Disney Store for the United States. Yes, I already gave them my money. Yes, that fucking sucks for the rest of the planet. have a hard time caring because my Gargoyles collection will be complete! (as soon as the package arrives)

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The BookWorm

But I Don't Want to be a Special Snowflake!

The temperature on my computer's desktop weather app was 19 degrees Fahrenheit when I got to work. I didn't check it when I left the house, but that's what the news said Hammond was reporting too. In Louisiana, our idea of cold is still above freezing. Part of me was glad I wasn't a customer of the electrical company that had 7000 power outages last night (though natural gas is my main source of heat, I just wouldn't have woke up with my alarms off), and glad there is not snow or ice to contend with and make everyone on the roads bad drivers. Then I realized snow and ice would have given me an excuse to stay home in my nice warm BED!

Now that I made it here, I think the state of my body that I ignored while getting dressed should have made me call in and go back to sleep. My FSA is working again, my body is in bad shape, so I went for a massage yesterday after work to work the kinks out before my exercise program made them worse. Of course we found kinks that my body was dutifully ignoring. I went home, drank lots of water, took a hot shower, and went to bed. I wanted a hot bath with Epson salt, but there's not enough insulation around my bathtub and the hot bath would have become a lukewarm one as the outside temperatures dropped. This morning, my back is on strike. The two Aleve pills have kicked in, but I'd still rather be in bed.

Alternate title for this post: I'd Still Rather Be In Bed.

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The BookWorm