Writing Stuff. Here’s the resolution for the new year: Finish the first draft on one (1) novel. I know, this isn’t too impressive for those who’ve finished their novels during the November NaNoWriMo project–one novel, one month (why November, I’ll never know). Nevertheless. Hm…this ramble can wait. Something smells suspicious, and I’ll bet you a […]

Achievements. Ray can climb on top of the toilet now. And, using a chair, gain the tabletop.

Frutration. I’ve been frustrated lately, and it’s getting to the point where I’m getting cynical. Again. Cynicism is when you lose trust in the whole world, right? I spent a lot of today talking to Joe’s mom (out from Davenport, IA, to attend a Broncos game Joe won in a contest at work). It was

Santa Claus. Maybe this is just too much sugar-coated goodwill for you. What are you, some kind of Nazi? I was six or seven when I found out that Santa Claus wasn’t “real.” Two bullies a grad older than me spent a day tracking down little kids and mocking them for believing in such a

Early Christmas present. I took a look at the pile of presents on the table (ostensibly out of reach) for our daughter, and said, Oh, the hell with it. We unwrapped this toddler’s computer game and loaded it up: almost everything is set up so you can make something happen just by banging on the

Review: The Paths of the Dead, by Stephen Brust. No spoilers, but…you might want to think twice before proceeding. The Paths of the Dead is the first volume of the book The Viscount of Adrilankha–i.e., the first third or so of a novel. It is not, in any way, designed to stand on its own.

Plotting. When you read a scene in which someone is describing something that happened somewhere else, what you’re reading is twice the work of your regular, it’s-happening-right-now scene. You have to plot out the events that happened elsewhere, you have to plot out the here-and-now. Both sets of events must happen in your head as

Gifts? Lee’s mom sent us a box of stuff. I guess…I was a little embarrassed. It’s not that my family doesn’t give gifts, it’s just not so enthusiastic. Ray can climb up on chairs now, so keeping her away from the packages is a little hard.

Ray. Ray’s tummy has graduated. She’s moved from milk-based with food to food-based with milk now. Good thing she’s not picky.

Car Notes. So after all that with the IA DMV, we’re not getting the car we were looking at. Following a couple of suspicious conversations with the seller and the financer, we decided to call it off. Sales price: changed from 7900 to 8900 to 7995. Loan amount: changed from 500 to 7500 to 5795.