27 May 2006
Another busy day
My house, after 3 years, is still in the process of needing decoration.
Slowly, slowly, slowly I'm getting there and I'm winning the battle against the woodchip.
Today, was another strategic move to get the rooms how I want them, because today I sorted out my old room at Grandma Gandalf's house. This is part of a cunning plan to sort out my back bedroom here. Bear with me. It might make sense. Then again, I've had a whole bottle of beer... so it might not.
1. Clear strip and paint Samwise's room and move him into it... but to do that the old study furniture needs to go somewhere else.
2. Move study furniture to back room... but the back room already has old shelves.
3. Sort out my old room at Grandma Gandalfs (as I've been promising for 11 years *blush*) and she can have the shelving units from the back room.
4. Ah... but all the stuff now needs a home in the back room.
5. Move the excess cupboards from the morning room to the back room and throw in some shelving.
6. Bugger. Now the morning room needs something to stand the fish on.
7. The fish can have tallboy from my bedroom. Oh and the table from the hall, currently squatting on the back landing can go under the morning room window.
8. As a 'move-excess-stuff-from-my-bedroom drive' Frodo can have the chest of drawers. And we can have new wardrobes.
9. I'm not even mentioning the carpets, French windows, or demolishing the garage.
See? Not so complicated.
And you wonder why I never have any time to write.
Slowly, slowly, slowly I'm getting there and I'm winning the battle against the woodchip.
Today, was another strategic move to get the rooms how I want them, because today I sorted out my old room at Grandma Gandalf's house. This is part of a cunning plan to sort out my back bedroom here. Bear with me. It might make sense. Then again, I've had a whole bottle of beer... so it might not.
1. Clear strip and paint Samwise's room and move him into it... but to do that the old study furniture needs to go somewhere else.
2. Move study furniture to back room... but the back room already has old shelves.
3. Sort out my old room at Grandma Gandalfs (as I've been promising for 11 years *blush*) and she can have the shelving units from the back room.
4. Ah... but all the stuff now needs a home in the back room.
5. Move the excess cupboards from the morning room to the back room and throw in some shelving.
6. Bugger. Now the morning room needs something to stand the fish on.
7. The fish can have tallboy from my bedroom. Oh and the table from the hall, currently squatting on the back landing can go under the morning room window.
8. As a 'move-excess-stuff-from-my-bedroom drive' Frodo can have the chest of drawers. And we can have new wardrobes.
9. I'm not even mentioning the carpets, French windows, or demolishing the garage.
See? Not so complicated.
And you wonder why I never have any time to write.
26 May 2006
Guess who's got Slapped Cheek...?
Another joy of having small children is that they're just one germ warfare experiment after another... *sigh*
25 May 2006
Second night out on the lash
Been out tonight with a break away war-band of the fighting Uruk-hai.
I'm now tired and full of cake.
I need to sleep.
I'm now tired and full of cake.
I need to sleep.
23 May 2006
Happy Birthday to The Ent
It's The Ent's birthday today - not saying how od, cos he'll get upset.
We went out for a meal and ate too much. Retired to a cafe bar and watched the bar flies *grin*
Tomorrow I have a night-out-meal-type- thing with the fighting Uruk-hai. I am going to be soooo fat *sigh*
We went out for a meal and ate too much. Retired to a cafe bar and watched the bar flies *grin*
Tomorrow I have a night-out-meal-type- thing with the fighting Uruk-hai. I am going to be soooo fat *sigh*
22 May 2006
Wishful thinking
I just realised I put chapter eight rather then chapter six for the next part of Bone Magician.
Wishing this was done, finished, over with? You bet, LOL
I want to get on with Alchemy. I have sex, drugs but... as yet... no rock 'n' roll in 6th century Byzantium.
22k into Bone Magician and counting...
Wishing this was done, finished, over with? You bet, LOL
I want to get on with Alchemy. I have sex, drugs but... as yet... no rock 'n' roll in 6th century Byzantium.
22k into Bone Magician and counting...
21 May 2006
Another nothing day
Got nothing done.
Walked to the local Oxfam with Frodo, carrying far too many books. We both got soaked through, LOL Samwise went swimming with The Ent.
Thought about catching up with Bone Magician... then sleeping turned out to be a better option *grin*
Samwise is in Nursery tomorrow morning, so I such get into chapter six for the hour and a half that he's there.
Walked to the local Oxfam with Frodo, carrying far too many books. We both got soaked through, LOL Samwise went swimming with The Ent.
Thought about catching up with Bone Magician... then sleeping turned out to be a better option *grin*
Samwise is in Nursery tomorrow morning, so I such get into chapter six for the hour and a half that he's there.
20 May 2006
They won!
You could just predict how the UK would vote in Eurovision... and no surprise that Lithuania and Finland got the top points. And then Finland hammered everyone. Which is cool, hehe
Now my Eurovision fix is over for another year.
Not much writing done as I spent 5 hours steaming woodchip from Samwise's new room. But I did realise a connection, and a service that my main character in Alchemy performs. She's an amoral alchemist, doing almost anything for money, so it's really useful if she makes recreational drugs for the aristocracy.
5 hours - one useful thought.
'Bout average... *grin*
Now my Eurovision fix is over for another year.
Not much writing done as I spent 5 hours steaming woodchip from Samwise's new room. But I did realise a connection, and a service that my main character in Alchemy performs. She's an amoral alchemist, doing almost anything for money, so it's really useful if she makes recreational drugs for the aristocracy.
5 hours - one useful thought.
'Bout average... *grin*
19 May 2006
And this is who we're arguing about...
Something slightly different from the usual bland faire *grin*
The Lithuanians are also a fab choice.
Mainly for the cheek of their song...
No writing done today. I knuckled down, sort of, to household thingies. It's looking vaguely tidy at the minute.
It won't last...
18 May 2006
Eurovision
I want Lordi - the Finnish entry. The Ent is ranting about the Lithuanian entry - We Are the Winners.
Fight. Fight. Fight.
hehe
Fight. Fight. Fight.
hehe
16 May 2006
Ill Again *sigh*
The Ent seems to have brought a bug home.
Let the stonking headache and vomiting ensue...
Let the stonking headache and vomiting ensue...
15 May 2006
The Prologue Queen strikes again!
Alchemy now has its prologue. Yay.
It turned out to be a lot darker than I expected it would be. A lot darker, LOL. But it crystallised a number of things that will be important to the plot. Which surprised the hell out of me.
I've always said this. My subconscious is the writer. I'm just here to type *grin*
It turned out to be a lot darker than I expected it would be. A lot darker, LOL. But it crystallised a number of things that will be important to the plot. Which surprised the hell out of me.
I've always said this. My subconscious is the writer. I'm just here to type *grin*
14 May 2006
Odd brain
So I'm dutifully typing out chapter three of Bone Magician... and enjoying how annoying Jarod can be, LOL and it hits me. Out of nowhere.
Alchemy needs a prologue. A 'how the two main characters met under dire circumstances' prologue.
I am so becoming the prologue queen *sigh*, but Varo doesn't pop up until the end of chapter three. I think the reader needs to see him in action and that would help with Alesh's motivation... and her general obsession, hehe
Alchemy needs a prologue. A 'how the two main characters met under dire circumstances' prologue.
I am so becoming the prologue queen *sigh*, but Varo doesn't pop up until the end of chapter three. I think the reader needs to see him in action and that would help with Alesh's motivation... and her general obsession, hehe
I'm a very bad blogger. Sorry
This week has been a bit crazy.
It started off with good intentions to attack the latest edits of Mackenzie... but then my body went into free all and I began to swell up like a balloon and just ache, LOL I couldn't sit at my desk without my feet and hands bloating to twice their normal size. I'm blaming the heat.
Fast forward to Thursday and I finally got going on my edits and finished them late last night. YAY. They've been shot into the ether and I await word on the next round.
Meanwhile, I'm back to Bone Magician and deep into chapter three. I'm also going to start looking at Alchemy again. I need to push that along if I want to sub it by September.
And finally... I entered the Romance Junkies Writing Contest. After last year's debacle, LOL, I'm not saying what story or what name I entered under.
So there, hehe
...back to Fen and her melting corpses...
It started off with good intentions to attack the latest edits of Mackenzie... but then my body went into free all and I began to swell up like a balloon and just ache, LOL I couldn't sit at my desk without my feet and hands bloating to twice their normal size. I'm blaming the heat.
Fast forward to Thursday and I finally got going on my edits and finished them late last night. YAY. They've been shot into the ether and I await word on the next round.
Meanwhile, I'm back to Bone Magician and deep into chapter three. I'm also going to start looking at Alchemy again. I need to push that along if I want to sub it by September.
And finally... I entered the Romance Junkies Writing Contest. After last year's debacle, LOL, I'm not saying what story or what name I entered under.
So there, hehe
...back to Fen and her melting corpses...
11 May 2006
Reviews, review, reviews
I got my first reviews for Billionaire.
And I'm very relieved, LOL
Talia Ricci at Joyfully Reviewed said:
I simply, and thoroughly, adored it!
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/TheBillionaire’sSeduction.html
And Holly at Euro Reviews said:
Kim Rees does a terrific job of keeping this story at just the right heat to keep you interested as the suspense develops and is resolved. The hidden history between the characters adds another layer of intensity which just adds to the drama and Emily’s sense of humor gives a wonderful comic relief.
http://euroreviews.eu.funpic.de/bookdetails.php?book_id=172
I'm happy today *grin*
And I'm very relieved, LOL
Talia Ricci at Joyfully Reviewed said:
I simply, and thoroughly, adored it!
http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/reviews/TheBillionaire’sSeduction.html
And Holly at Euro Reviews said:
Kim Rees does a terrific job of keeping this story at just the right heat to keep you interested as the suspense develops and is resolved. The hidden history between the characters adds another layer of intensity which just adds to the drama and Emily’s sense of humor gives a wonderful comic relief.
http://euroreviews.eu.funpic.de/bookdetails.php?book_id=172
I'm happy today *grin*
10 May 2006
Woo hoo
We had a meeting at Frodo's school this afternoon. Through several tonnes of paperwork and phonecalls by the school and us, we managed to get Frodo outreach support.
We didn't know exactly what this entailed, thinking that it would be another advisory role.
We turn up this afternoon to find that a special school in the north of the city is giving Frodo an outreach teacher for three mornings a week. The head teacher was being concilitory, saying that we really couldn't expect full time, one-to-one support... I never expected that. At all.
I was stunned at the three mornings and grinned like an idiotic, LOL
He also did really well with his OT this morning.
So a good day all round.
But I'm guilty of abdandoning my edits today. Eeep. I have my writing group to go to tonight. I've missed a few weeks due to various lurgies. So I have to go out. Honest. *grin*
We didn't know exactly what this entailed, thinking that it would be another advisory role.
We turn up this afternoon to find that a special school in the north of the city is giving Frodo an outreach teacher for three mornings a week. The head teacher was being concilitory, saying that we really couldn't expect full time, one-to-one support... I never expected that. At all.
I was stunned at the three mornings and grinned like an idiotic, LOL
He also did really well with his OT this morning.
So a good day all round.
But I'm guilty of abdandoning my edits today. Eeep. I have my writing group to go to tonight. I've missed a few weeks due to various lurgies. So I have to go out. Honest. *grin*
09 May 2006
Why I shouldn't do wall paper stripping...
...because my body went into melt down, LOL
I used to be able to strip a room, repair and fill cracks and have 3/4 coats of paint applied in 6 days... in between all the usual domestic mayhem.
I stripped one wall and a bit over the door frame and came out in an all over rash and and my knees swelled so I can't walk.
The Ent thinks it's caffeine related, LOL I think I haven't decorated properly for a while.
Ho Hum
I used to be able to strip a room, repair and fill cracks and have 3/4 coats of paint applied in 6 days... in between all the usual domestic mayhem.
I stripped one wall and a bit over the door frame and came out in an all over rash and and my knees swelled so I can't walk.
The Ent thinks it's caffeine related, LOL I think I haven't decorated properly for a while.
Ho Hum
07 May 2006
Busy, busy, busy
Thanks everyone for the support over my insane idea to give up caffeine. I'm feeling okay today. No headache... so far... touching beech veneer, LOL
I had a Samhain loop chat yesterday. Manic but fun, LOL. And I found out, in a round about way, that I should be getting my very first review *gulp* in the next few days.
Not that I have any nails... mainly because I've been stripping wallpaper all afternoon... but what I have left are whittling down fast, LOL
I had a Samhain loop chat yesterday. Manic but fun, LOL. And I found out, in a round about way, that I should be getting my very first review *gulp* in the next few days.
Not that I have any nails... mainly because I've been stripping wallpaper all afternoon... but what I have left are whittling down fast, LOL
05 May 2006
Caffeine withdrawal - day four
Slightly less of a headache today - which seems to have cleared up with a blast of Sinutab. So the headcahes could be sinus rather than caffeine related, LOL Still very, very tired though. Did coffee, tea, chocolate keep me awake this much??
04 May 2006
Caffeine withdrawal - day three
Okay - I never knew I depended on caffeine this much, LOL
I can barely stay awake. It doesn't help that there's been a mini heat wave and I was designed for the artic tundra. So not happy with hot weather, LOL
Samwise spent his first morning at pre-school. Had his little uniform and everything. He was fine until he realised that I wasn't staying. Then a very unclingy boy got clingy. He was teary when I came to pick him up two hours later. But I think that had a lot to do with him being tired. He can't have had that bad a time as he managed to paint himself orange while he was there. *grin*
And for Mackenzie I have to sort out wandering body parts. Roll on Zombie fest...
I can barely stay awake. It doesn't help that there's been a mini heat wave and I was designed for the artic tundra. So not happy with hot weather, LOL
Samwise spent his first morning at pre-school. Had his little uniform and everything. He was fine until he realised that I wasn't staying. Then a very unclingy boy got clingy. He was teary when I came to pick him up two hours later. But I think that had a lot to do with him being tired. He can't have had that bad a time as he managed to paint himself orange while he was there. *grin*
And for Mackenzie I have to sort out wandering body parts. Roll on Zombie fest...
03 May 2006
Caffeine withdrawal - part two
Regular caffeine consumption reduces sensitivity to caffeine. When caffeine intake is reduced, the body becomes oversensitive to adenosine. In response to this oversensitiveness, blood pressure drops dramatically, causing an excess of blood in the head (though not necessarily on the brain), leading to a headache. This headache, well known among coffee drinkers, usually lasts from one to five days, and can be alleviated with analgesics such as aspirin. It is also alleviated with caffeine intake (in fact several analgesics contain caffeine dosages).
Often, people who are reducing caffeine intake report being irritable, unable to work, nervous, restless, and feeling sleepy, as well as having a headache. In extreme cases, nausea and vomiting has also been reported.
References. Caffeine and Health. J. E. James, Academic Press, 1991.
Progress in Clinical and Biological Research Volume 158. G. A. Spiller, Ed. Alan
R. Liss Inc, 1984.
I do feel dreadful, LOL... so no writing again today. Ho hum.
02 May 2006
Caffeine withdrawal
Today I cut out coffee and have just had one cup of tea.
Guess who's had the headache from hell since 11 this morning?
Guess who's had the headache from hell since 11 this morning?
01 May 2006
Waxing lyrical...
I should be stripping wallpaper, but two small Hobbits conspired and that's not happening today, LOL. I'm getting stuck into Bone Magician, instead.
This fantasy novel started last year with a throw away prologue wrote in an hour, starting with:
The metal was hungry.
Which I like as a first line. *grin*.
It's also my first attempt at a truly ambigious hero. Jarod Vae was fun to write. The reader has no real clue where his motivations or loyalties lie. He's powerful, arrogant, smart... and of course sexy...
Which had The Ent muttering when he read through the first draft, hehe
This fantasy novel started last year with a throw away prologue wrote in an hour, starting with:
The metal was hungry.
Which I like as a first line. *grin*.
It's also my first attempt at a truly ambigious hero. Jarod Vae was fun to write. The reader has no real clue where his motivations or loyalties lie. He's powerful, arrogant, smart... and of course sexy...
Which had The Ent muttering when he read through the first draft, hehe
