Monday, April 29, 2024

You Really Can't Do Everything

 

It's funny that my post from two weeks ago was labeled "Time Keeps On Slippin'." 

After having Becca (my Personality Strengths guru) mention the book 4000 Weeks by Oliver Burkeman for the bazillionth time (okay, not really), I finally decided to check it out. As luck would have it, one of my online libraries carries the e-version and I was able to ... check it out. :0)

The title alludes to the fact that as a general rule, we humans live for approximately 4000 weeks. I've been alive for around 2900 weeks, give or take a few, as of this blog.

In referencing the second part of the title (time management), the author's most salient point (so far) is that we can't get everything done no matter what time management plan we pick. We just can't. Some will work better for others, depending on your Personality Strengths, but the problem remains, we don't have time to accomplish everything we'd like to. Pick and choose those things that are most important to you and go from there.

For example, if a clean house is vying for your time and attention against spending time with family or friends, maybe you live with a slightly less clean house (or pay someone else to do it).

In recalling my many laments about my own housekeeping, this was a bit of validation if you will. :0) I would like my house to be cleaner, so I'm hoping for some elbow room in the budget to pay someone to do some of the heavier duty stuff.

For full disclosure, I'd only read through chapter five when I determined that I really wasn't in the right head space to push through, so I'll check it out virtually from the library again later and make further headway.

* * * * *

Speaking of elbow room in the budget, we've finally started disbursing the money from the sale of my mom's house. The first payment was just reimbursement for things we paid for on her behalf. So the first credit card is fixing to get paid off. The next wave of disbursements will be 90% of the "inheritance" portion and several more credit cards will then get paid off. Then that money that pays those credit cards will be rolled over to the next credit card in line. I'm very excited to finally get this process rolling.

I can't just start spending the money, though, on house cleaners or anything else because that would defeat the purpose of rolling credit card payments/paying down debt. But I'm creating a bucket / line item in the budget and will figure out a plan to make it happen.

* * * * *

In other news...

A) My boys in Victory Green clinched the top spot in the Western Conference meaning they have home ice advantage through at least the first three rounds of playoffs.

I'm not sure what happens if they meet the team who clinched the top spot in the Eastern Conference and who also has home ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Final. I'm sure there's some sort of determining factor.

B) They're still in the middle of Round One, having lost two and winning one. Game Four is tonight (the date of this posting) and they need another win badly. They'll head home for Game Five. I'll keep you posted.

* * * * *

And last but not least for this week's edition of the blog...

DD and I started a new show: Manifest on Netflix and it's super compelling.

The gist is (from its Wikipedia page:) It centers on the passengers and crew of a commercial airliner who suddenly reappear after being presumed dead for five and a half years.

For the passengers, they take off in one airport and land in the next (as one does) and it's as if no time passed--but for the rest of the world, it's been five and a half years.

Once back and trying to integrate back into lives that have moved past many of them, some of the passengers start having what the show calls "callings." Basically, passengers have premonitions or hear voices or see images about people who need help and they try to figure out what the mostly vague calling means.

As I said, it's compelling; the writers have done a great job with the plot threads and cliff hangers.

* * * * *

And that, dear friends, is that for the week. Hope you're all well. Take care.

 

Monday, April 15, 2024

Miscellaneous Monday

 

I've been debating audio books, but the cost has been prohibitive until recently. Apparently Kindle Direct Publishing offered an AI audio narration beta program. One of my writer peeps tried it out on a stand-alone title. She just did it, so she doesn't have any results to share at the moment.

I too have one audio book title in play via Apple only, published March 2023, and after some research, it doesn't look like I've sold a single "copy" of that audio book. Is that mostly because it was available via Apple only and that's not a platform conducive to audio book sales?

The question becomes...do I pursue audio anyway if I can distribute through all the major audio platforms (such as Audible)? At the moment, my cost would be $0, so that seems like a no brainer, doesn't it?

On the other hand it's a lot of work for a questionable outcome and I've got to re-do the first series first, so I think I'm going to have to pass for now and hope that costs won't be prohibitive later.

* * * * *

Regal Princess / Princess Cruise Line

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Next year, I'll be cruising once again. In celebration of my in-laws 40th wedding anniversary, they (the in-laws), along with one sister-in-law and her hubster, and DH and I will be cruising the Western Caribbean. I've been wanting to go on another cruise since the last one (right before the covid shutdowns!), and now I've got one booked. I'm excited about being on the boat but I'm very much not looking forward to the long lines / long wait to actually board. I have a plan though--I saved the walker I bought for my mom for just this purpose. :0)

* * * * *

Let's do a quick check-in on my goals...but you know what? It doesn't look like my goals for 2023 were updated to 2024's goals. Huh. I had to go dig up the post. But onward:

  • I'm still reading.
  • I haven't gotten to pay off any cards because my inheritance is still waiting some information from a CPA.
  • I have not lost any pounds.
  • I'm still using Hinge Health and am doing yoga, alternating days.
  • Healthier eating has been a challenge.
  • I've not spent any time in a manuscript on a weekly basis.
  • No housekeeping routine as of yet because of a shake-up at work, but my guest room is shaping up.
  • Grandma has been sent her letters.
  • I had a slow start to the reading, but I'm now in reading mode, so catching up.
  • And I'm working on cross stitch patterns for my online store/s.

Not where I want to be in the Health & Wellness category, but I'm doing okay everywhere else.

* * * * *

Stanley Cup -- Here We Come!!

I might have mentioned a time or two that my Dallas Stars have been a popular pick to win the-hardest- trophy-in-sports-to-win amongst the hockey writers that I read and pod-casters that I listen to since the beginning of the season. (It takes 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup, but could take as many as 28 games to accomplish.) Anyway...

The Stars were the first team to clinch a playoff berth, as they say, and now, DD and I are the proud owners of tickets to the second home game of round one, dates yet to be determined.

 

And that, dear readers, is that. Hope you're all well.

Catch you in a couple of weeks.

 

Monday, April 1, 2024

Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping...

 

...into the future...

...or...

Life Returns to Normal

 

The road trip is in the rear view mirror.

My friend's visit came to an end.

Life returned to normal.

And now I have things I want to accomplish.

My desire to finish books has returned. It didn't come back in a rush because you long-time followers know that I wasn't sure it would come back at all or that I even cared if it did. But it has. The feeling have been simmering for a while and broke into a boil more recently, but being excited about my books and about writing and telling stories feels good.

My first project is a re-vamp of the first series, including new covers and some Amazon A+ Content graphics, for which I got an amazing deal from my cover artist.

The books were originally written in some weird second person, present tense which is prevalent in fan fiction but *not* in commercial fiction.

Why I did that, I have no idea, but I've been meaning to edit all those books into proper third person, past tense for years, but doing that until recently has been a tedious chore. The advent of AI platforms means I can make AI do the hard work. I still have to edit and tweak what it gets wrong (dialogue), but that's a much easier and less time-consuming endeavor.

I also want to finish book seven, which has been sitting un-done and un-touched for too many years, so I've been re-reading and percolating those heroes and that story, as well as brainstorm a plot and character ideas for books Eight and Nine. :0) I'm ambitious, aren't I?

* * * * *

Just a quick shout-out to my friend's visit because I haven't done that yet...

My friend Angela is a fellow writer and a fellow hockey fan, and we agreed that it would be fun to attend a hockey game together and, long story short, we made it happen.

She flew into Dallas to see her team play my team in my team's barn. Now, her team isn't so good right now and we both knew the chances of the Stars beating the Coyotes were high--which they did--but it was more about the experience. Surprisingly, she wasn't the only Coyotes fan in the crowd. We spotted a handful of them.

And we had fun, both visiting in general and watching hockey. Well, I enjoyed it. I shouldn't speak for her. ;0) She also got to meet a shared online friend that she'd never met before, so that was cool for her as well.

Here we are, post game:

* * * * *

So Q2 starts today, and I've been ruminating on what specific goals I want to work towards and accomplish over the course of the next three months. I also needed to update my Vision Board to keep those tasks / goals front and center.

So here are the things I'm working toward this quarter: a new cross stitch pattern for the online store; planting a Chinese wisteria in the bird feeder bed to a) provide shade for the birds / bird feeder and b) provide food for bees; read two non-fiction books (about money probably); get my eating habits back on track; and lose at least 5 pounds. I also want to finalize the converted text of the first two books I mentioned above.

* * * * *

I've also spent some time out in the yard -- HELLO SPRING -- cleaning out the squirrel buffet area of the yard. I churned up the old mulch and pulled the weeds. The weeds I tossed, but I relocated the funky mulch and dirt to a large low spot in my lawn (see that dark patch in the upper right edge of the image).

I also took down and tossed that white bench hanging off the tree at the top of the image. It was falling apart. I like it a lot, though, so I looked for another and happened to find them on sale at Hobby Lobby where I just so happened to have a gift card. I bought two since it was basically a two-for-one deal.

I'll buy some fresh mulch in a week or two, I'm thinking red this year for a pop of color, and fill in all the spaces around the rocks and fill up the bordered space to help my tree retain any moisture come the heat of summer.

* * * * *

And some good news--the Brown Eyed Girl and her soul mate *and* Sonshine are coming to visit. Sadly, not at the same time, but I'm not complaining. The Brown Eyed Girl will be in town over Mother's Day, and Sonshine will visit for my birthday. So YAY!

And that's about all I have to say for now.

Take care and see you in a couple of weeks.