Showing posts with label miscellaneous Monday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label miscellaneous Monday. Show all posts

Monday, May 19, 2025

Miscellaneous Monday

 

Let's catch up a bit. I've been remiss in my blogging duties since the beginning of the year. Blogging wasn't high on my priority list while I was preparing to be gone on the cruise as well as while on the cruise, you know?

Once we came back, things went down with my daughter's life partner--which you saw in my previous post. Life feels like it's on fast forward right now--hockey playoffs aren't helping--and time is at a premium. There just doesn't seem to be enough time (or energy, quite frankly) to get ALL THE THINGS done. So I've had to prioritize.

I flew to Colorado mid-April to help my Brown-Eyed Girl get her car and her cat to Texas. She returned to CO to finish packing up the household stuff she wants to keep and transport it to Texas. My house looked as if a moving van vomited in it. And that wasn't even all her stuff. Just under half went into a storage unit!

So what have I been up to in between prepping for vacation, being on vacation, and dealing with a family loss?

A bit of home improvement!

I worked on one of my hall closets...all my random lap / dog blankets were in a stack in a laundry basket. But it was a huge pain in the butt to get to any of the blankets at the bottom of the pile. What you see are actually shoe racks. Walmart had them on sale, so I got two for the price of one. This is soooo much better.

On a smaller but similar vein, my charger cables were all hung on a single hook and I had to juggle up to 8 to 10 cables to find the one I wanted. So I made my own cable sorter. I already had the small clear hooks which are very small but have enough room for the diameter that most cables come in. I've since added a couple of extra hooks to this. This started off as a magnetic white board for lockers and cost me all of $3! This was very handy while on the cruise. Cruise cabin walls are metals, so my cable sorter had a place to live.

* * * * *

On another front, I've been wanting to plant flowers to bring pollinators back into my world. It took me a while to get to it, but I finally did so. I'm not quite done, but I started and I'm excited. I started with gladiolus bulbs several weeks ago and they're growing well.

Then a couple of Sundays ago I finally got my flower pots filled. I planted petunias and sweet william from seeds, but -- !! When I was picking up more potting soil from The Home Depot, I saw and bought pale purple vincas! I really like vincas. They're easy to grow and harvest seeds from, but I've only ever seen white and pink ones. The price was right so I bought three plants and replanted them in the American flag planter I bought years ago with...guess what?...vincas in it. :0)


* * * * *

And now it's playoff time, so DD and I have gone to games and watch parties.



Have a super week. Catch you later.

 

Monday, February 3, 2025

SNOW DAYS!

 

We ended up with two of them!

Snow is a fairly rare occurrence around these here parts--especially this much. But it was lovely to watch and enjoy while working from home. Technology has its plusses and the ability to work from home is definitely one of them.

Here are a few more pictures:

The water in the bird bath was frozen solid.

Rascal tracks in the snow. :0)

Snow on the driveway / ramp. (This was after the first wave of precip.)

* * * * *

Image courtesy of Paramount+.

I binged this and it's fabulous. Stallone is great. If you have Paramount+ and you haven't seen it -- go watch it.

From Wikipedia: Stallone portrays Dwight "the General" Manfredi, an American Mafia caporegime who has been recently released from prison in New York and is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he begins to set up a criminal organization.

What they left out is that he was in prison for twenty-five years for covering for the family he worked for and they sent him to Tulsa with nothing.

Can't wait for Season Three. :0)

* * * * *

Image courtesy of Netflix.

I also watched this movie, and it, too, was awesome.

From Wikipedia: The film is based on the 2019 magazine article "Fighting a Two-Front War", by Kevin M. Hymel, on the contributions of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, an all-Black and all-female battalion, in World War II.

These women have to overcome all sorts of obstacles on top of the basic indignity of being dismissed because of the color of their skin.

The battalion commander, Major Charity Adams, receives orders to Europe from the Army, but doesn't get the commensurate orders from the War Department which will officially allow her to command her troops. She ends up writing her own.

And it snowballs from there. The battalion's original housing is supposedly bombed, so the commanding general picks new housing "especially for them." Which turns out to be a filthy, vermin-infested old boarding school. So before they can even start the mission they're there to complete, they have to clean the building / facilities to make them livable.

And on and on.

I highly recommend this as well.

https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/six-triple-eight-true-story-real-history/

* * * * *

And that's all I have for you at the moment--this post is already a fortnight late. Yikes.

So...hope all is well with you.

Take care and catch you in a couple of weeks.

 

Monday, December 23, 2024

Miscellaneous Monday

 

Image courtesy of Goodreads.

My Year in Books via Goodreads!

At the beginning of 2024, I pledged to read fifty-five books in the Goodreads Challenge. I'd completed fifty-eight books or 105% when Goodreads decided to send my Year in Books Review & graphics to go with.

The above graphic was one of the graphics and I was curious as to what that actually meant, so I Googled it. :0) There were multiple ways to qualify, but I knew exactly how I made the cut:

"High Review Volume: You consistently review a large number of books across various genres."

Now, to be honest, I don't write reviews but I do give them all a star rating.

In addition to those fifty-nine books, I read a boat-load of hockey articles.

Now, if you go look at my Goodreads Challenge Book List, be aware that I did not actually read all of the titles listed. That's not to say I didn't read fifty-eight (or more) books. I know I've mentioned this in previous years, but I read a lot of fan fiction. So some of the titles listed, like Gone With the Wind, are placeholders for a piece of fan fiction. I try to choose place-holder books that have roughly the same amount of pages/words as a given piece of fanfic. I'm not reading a 500-word fic and then using GWTW as the place-holder.

* * * * *

The New Guy

Is working out great. He's smart and he learns quickly, which has been awesome. So a month + in and we're still very happy with our choice.

* * * * *

Pain Management

I have good news and bad news.

Good News: I finally had my appointment with the rheumatologist.

Good Bad News: I don't have rheumatoid arthritis requiring life-long medicating. What I do have is osteo-arthritis--which the rheumatologist said just means "I'm feeling my age." (boooo!)

Good News: My primary care doctor put me on some pain meds back in October for the right hip / bursitis I can't seem to heal.

Bad News: the meds didn't seem to help

Good News: according to the rheumatologist, the meds I was given are very slow acting, so they should start to work any time now (thank goodness, lol)

Good News: this pain med is also a mild anti-depressant, so I've been a little more upbeat even though the pain hasn't quite been eliminated.

I also had a bone-density scan done to check on...well...my bone density and take corrective action if needed. I'll meet with the rheumatologist again at the beginning of January to go over all the results.

* * * * *

Image courtesy of IMGBIN.

Book Binge

So I've started another book binge. I didn't mean to do it, but one thing led to another and, well, here we are. :0)

I've dipped my toe into some genres outside my usual purview of romance such as a police procedural, a cozy mystery series, some general fiction, and some self-help.

Didn't pay full price for any of it.

I suppose, as an author myself, I shouldn't be so pleased about that, but between the online library and some recent sales, and books just offered at $0, I'm set for books for at least a good month.

I'm currently reading a fictionalized version of Julia's Child's early career working for the government.

I've developed an appreciation of Mrs. Child after watching the dramedy "Julia" on HBO, which, sadly, was canceled after two seasons.

* * * * *

Well, friends--this is it until the new year. Hope your holidays are filled with family, friends, food, and fun.

See you in 2025.

 

Monday, December 2, 2024

Miscellaneous Monday

 

Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving Day and weekend. We had a lovely day with family on Thursday and then spent the rest of the weekend eating deliciousness -- DH's word for the things that you can't eat all the time. I.E. Rotel Queso, pizza, brownies... I did make a lovely beef stew to balance things out though.

Anyway, today, I'm just gonna share some random things.

So I've had this oven mitt for over two decades--I still use it weekly and it has one job. And that's to hold the handle of my large stock pots while I'm cooking.

* * * * *

Do y'all remember this mug? I got this early- to mid-2000s and I used it for ages and ages. These days, I'm using my tall Dallas Stars Tervis mug--which doesn't look like the picture because it's stained to heck and back with tea :0) -- but this was my go-to mug back in the day. I loved it so much, and I carted it around with me. I bought a second one in red on a subsequent trip to the USS Lexington and then broke it rather quickly. After that, I left the original at home. :0)

* * * * *

Who's not familiar with Elf on a Shelf? Basically, you buy the little elf doll and move him around the house for the little ones of the house to find each day during the holiday season. DD was in charge of the "Elf Program" at her school for a couple of years. She passed it along this year because she's already at school early enough as it.

Anywho--one of our employees has a 3-D printer and created a glow-in-the-dark skeleton whose joints move. We ended up with him somehow and DH left him in the bathroom one day, and then the next day, someone (DD) started moving him around the bathroom. Then it became a game. Whoever found him moved him to a new spot. But the bathroom is only so big, so we moved the game to the kitchen and the living room.

He's been found and moved several times since his stint in the light fixture.

* * * * *

Stars Win!

So DD and I got to watch a game from one of the suites. Someone donated two suite seats to the school fall carnival silent auction which DD won. We even got "gold parking" as part of the package.

It was a really fun experience / opportunity to enjoy the game from a suite. The food there was free, but we had to pay for our beverages, which was fine.

Here are a few pictures...




Our gold parking was under a restaurant next to the American Airlines Center and we got to take the elevator right up to the level our suite was on. Fancy!!

* * * * *

Take care and catch you in a couple of weeks.

 

Monday, November 18, 2024

Miscellaneous Monday

 

It's finally official--I'm no longer treasurer for my writers group. I handed over the reins at the beginning of October and I haven't looked back. It's been nice. Now, I am still on the board as I'm the website person and the Classroom Coordinator. But the workload is less and different.

* * * * *

As for being a member of a writers group--I'm not writing. I've had no interest and no motivation to work on the revamp I've mentioned in previous posts. I've been meaning to contact my cover artist and rework our agreement a little bit to forgo the print cover options and just get all seven covers and the Amazon A+ graphic and move on.

* * * * *

Hip, hip, hooray--we have finally hired a new employee to replace the guy that quit back in the summer. New guy starts today. We really enjoyed the break in expenses, but DH (aka bossman) was being run ragged; plus he'll be selling fireworks come mid-December so we really needed another tech in the fold to compensate. This is the "slow" time of year, so it shouldn't be too much of a challenge for him to get ramped up. Not only that, but he's young--early thirties--so he should have the energy and none of the other challenges bossman is hampered with. Primarily that of being the owner and having to do owner tasks.

* * * * *

The weather has been gorgeous. Cool overnight and lovely during the day. Who'd have thunk a mere few years ago, much less a decade or two, that I would have embraced sleeping with the windows open with temps in the 50s? Certainly not moi. But as I'm now a woman of a certain age, the body is requiring less warmth, especially while sleeping.

* * * * *

Last but not least, I want to share The Asher House.

The Asher House is a 240-acre animal sanctuary in Oregon, run by a guy named Lee Asher. He LOVES dogs. You can tell so easily.

The Asher House mostly rescues dogs, usually from shelters where they're in danger of being euthanized or from bad home situations. But they will rescue any animal in need. There are horses, alpacas, llamas, cats, birds, goats, cows, and pigs. I'm sure there may be a few more species in the sanctuary, but those are the ones I've seen on videos.

Now, when I dream of winning billions of dollars via the lottery or some old relative coming out of the woodwork and leaving me a fortune, this type of place was the "dream." But watching this guy and these videos, you see just how much money and work and time and effort it requires.

And since he's got things sorted--if I do play the lottery and win, I think I'll just make a huge donation!

If you're interested in more information, here are the social media links:

https://www.theasherhouse.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TheAsherHousehttps://instagram.com/theasherhouse?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= https://www.youtube.com/@theasherhouse_ https://www.tiktok.com/@theasherhouse

And if you have some spare money, please consider helping Lee and his crew help these animals. There's a donate button right at the top of the website (the first link).

* * * * *

Hope you're well. Catch you in a couple of weeks. And...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

 

Monday, November 4, 2024

Snoopy-O-Lantern!

 

Here it is, finally. I messed up the ear a little bit. Should have carved things in a different order. But over all, I was mighty pleased with the result. I love Snoopy. :0)

* * * * *

Now that Halloween has passed it's time to look forward to Thanksgiving and to Christmas...although Christmas is already on the radar. I've been buying presents here and there because I hate late minute shopping and I like to have most of the work done and dusted so I can actually enjoy the season.

As for Thanksgiving, we'll be spending the day with DH's family. 

But before we head out for good eats and good company, DD and I are planning a trip to the zoo on Thursday. The last time we went to the zoo on Thanksgiving, we'd planned to make a tradition of it, because we both love the zoo. But along came Mom and it's taken me a while to recover. 

When were last at the FW Zoo, there was some new exhibit construction going on, so we're looking forward to seeing the new stuff this year.

* * * * *

Running a little behind on the blog post today, but here it is finally.

Not much to share at the moment, so it's also a bit short.

Take care.

Monday, October 21, 2024

Miscellaneous Monday

 

Image courtesy of IMDB.

DH, DD, and I went to see this a couple of weeks ago as part of DH's birthday celebrations and it was really cute and somewhat of a tear-jerker. (Your mileage may vary on the tears, but mine flowed.)

From IMDB: After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

DD and I saw the trailer in one of our viewings of Twisters and made definite plans to see it. It's based on the book of the same name by Peter Brown.

I highly recommend the film, although I think by now it's no longer in major theaters. But if it comes to a streaming platform, definitely give it a watch. Also it has a message or two or three.

* * * * *

I'm a little late in my fresh start goals third quarter review, so quickly -- I'm not doing all that great. I made progress on five of twelve line items. *shrugs*

Sometimes life takes a detour. It's not a bad thing, but you're just not traveling the road you thought you would be. We'll see how the fourth quarter goes.

* * * * *

HOCKEY IS BACK !

So DD and I attended the home opener, which our boys in Victory Green won. They also won their season opener a couple of days prior as well as the two games following, to start the season 4-0... Then they lost game five to a team they probably shouldn't have lost to, but losses happen--can't win 82 games. We have tickets to Teacher Appreciation Night in December and the two bobble head nights in the spring. :0)

* * * * *

Hope you're well. Back in a couple of weeks.

Monday, July 15, 2024

What's Going On In My World?

 

First off -- there's been a huge upset in the business. Our very first employee, who'd worked for us for seventeen(!) years, gave notice a few weeks ago, and this past Friday was his last day.

It's a mixed blessing, to be sure, but ultimately, our business is going to be the better for it.

* * * * *

Also this past weekend (Fri-Sun), I was on a mini-writer's retreat with my writer besties. It was wonderful to get away (a couple hours east from home) and hang out with my friends and get some work done on the revamp of my first series. I've talked about that here.

Books 1 - 3 are all in progress, Book One needing the most work. But I reached a point with that book that I needed more time / space (well, lack of distractions) that I'd saved the focused work for this retreat and moved on to the other books in turn. Not that I've finished either of them either.

Unfortunately, Book One needed more work than I remembered and I had a hard time really getting in the work zone to do the detailed edits that need to be done. But I did read through it yet again, making minor tweaks and refreshing my memory on the scope of work. So now I can plan some time blocks to work on it.

Book Two and Book Three are, tbh, I don't even know right know. Closer to being done than Book One, so those can be worked on whenever.

As for the new covers I've commissioned, those are coming along too. The original covers are very soft and muted. The new ones are gonna be brighter and a little more cookie cutter. It's been a challenge finding appropriate models, especially for Book Two. Ultimately, I decided not to stress about it too much. They're not really for me.

My goal is to be done revamping the first three books by the end of September and then dive into the second three books during the 4th quarter. I hope Books 4-6 won't need too much work. Then comes the challenge of new words for Book 7 which is one-third to one-half done.

But I'm chugging along with the overall project, so I'm not complaining.

* * * * *

Anyone who's been around these here parts for any length of time will know I love podcasts. I've listened to various different ones, including history, but mostly I listen to hockey podcasts.

Puck Soup was my first hockey-based podcast and I loved it dearly. Yes, loved. These days, it's fine. I haven't listened to any of the new stuff since the Stars fell out of the playoffs. I couldn't bear any hockey talk because the Stars' defeat would have been a hot topic and my heart was too raw to hear the players and the play dissected.

I've basically unsubbed from everything podcast / hockey related -- except Puck Soup even though I could save myself $9 a month by doing so. I keep it solely because of one person...Greg Wyshinski, who doesn't even participate in the hockey eps anymore because of his work contract with ESPN.

Greg was one of the original hosts of Puck Soup along with Dave Lozo. Dave eventually left to purse other career opportunities, and I hope things have worked out for him.

But I have to confess that I have sorely missed his presence as well as the camaraderie and interplay between him and Greg.

So the reason I have not yet opted to save myself nine-dollars-and-change is because I have been listening to the very old/beginning/first episodes of Puck Soup with these two zany dudes.

They make me laugh out loud. And their hockey predictions with eight years of hindsight are also amusing.

Dave on the left, Greg on the right.

* * * * *

Another thing I've gotten into is watching The Hoof GP on YouTube. Sonshine introduced me to the Hoof GP while he was here, and now I'm hooked.

The Hoof GP is a Scottish hoof trimmer who practices his trade in beautiful Southwest Scotland.

Watching him trim the hooves of (mostly) dairy cows is calming and also very interesting. His love and care for the animals is always evident and I now find myself feeling for these animals as well.

Two of his wife's brothers also work with him and it's enjoyable to watch the interplay between the three of them.

Anyway, it's worth checking out. :0)

* * * * *

And that, my friends, is that for now. I hope you're all well.

I'll be back in two weeks' time.

Take care.

 

Monday, May 27, 2024

Sonshine Is Coming Home!!

 

Image courtesy depositphotos.com.

I finally got the confirmation that Sonshine can and will be coming for a visit. He'll be here the week of my birthday and, with any luck, the Stanley Cup Playoffs will have come and gone and I'll be dragging my boy to downtown Dallas for a parade. :0)

* * * * *

Speaking of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round Two has come and gone since last we chatted. And the Stars are still playing hockey. WHOOO! They're currently in the middle of the Western Conference Final.

DD and I attended the watch party of Round 2, Game 6, where our boys in Victory Green had to win the game twice... and I know you're asking "What does that even mean, Jen?"

It means we scored in the first overtime but the goal was disallowed and we had to keep playing. We made it to second overtime and were able to score / win. (FYI, overtime in the playoffs is sudden death.)

And we bought tickets to Round 3, Game 2 while driving home that night, lol...

By the time you're reading this, we'll have attended that game, and we'll play Round 3, Game 3 the night this posts.

We're 1-1 in the series so far. :0) LETS GO STARS!!!

* * * * *

So DD and I saw Hamilton last week and I gotta say... Great performance by the cast. It wasn't Lin-Manuel Miranda and Company, but it was as good as could be expected. I got a magnet to remember the occasion by, and it's basically that star in the image above, just with the gold and the black reversed.

Now, for a performance in a fancy-schmancy opera house, there was an interesting array of modes of dress. From summer shorts & tee shirts to dressy dresses and sports coats and everything in between, everything was represented. And more power to y'all.

Having not previously attended a performance there, we picked seats we thought would be a good mix of affordable and that provided a good view of the stage. We didn't pick great--it's always a learning curve, isn't it? If I sat back comfortably in my seat, I was unable to see about 1/3 if the stage at an angle as we were seated along the left side of the opera house on the 4th level. Next time, we need to be more centrally located.

As a result I had to sit with a few contortions and it wasn't comfortable by any stretch. My back, which already has issues, was not a happy camper. Live and learn.

* * * * *

Okay, friends...that's all for this edition. Catch you in two weeks. Hope you're having a lovely Memorial Day Weekend.

 

Monday, May 13, 2024

Stanley Cup Playoffs ~ Round Two

 

So let's start with the Stars...it took seven nail-biting games against a tough opponent to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That was a week and a half ago.

Now they're playing an even tougher opponent in the Colorado Avalanche... The Avs had a week+ of rest. The Stars had none. There's always the conversation of "rest versus rust" when a team has significant time off between playoff rounds... 

Now I don't know which way the pundits are leaning as far as that question goes because I'm losing faith in the so called experts for a variety of reasons.

Anywho, my boys in Victory Green played Round One, Game Seven on a Sunday, played Round Two, Game One on the following Tuesday, which they promptly lost. *sigh* Then they won Round Two, Game Two (so a split at home!) Then they flew to Denver (the mile-high city, dontcha know) and curb-stomped the Avs in their own barn.

So we're three games deep and the Stars are leading the series 2-1.

* * * * *

[there should be a picture here, but I forgot to have someone take one--argh!]

In happier news, I got see my Brown-Eyed Girl and her soulmate this past weekend. Soulmate's niece graduated from TCU so on Friday, we were invited to dinner with soulmate's family. And it was treat to finally meet his mother and two sisters. Our kids have been together (with a short hiatus) for close to a decade at this point.

And this past Sunday/Mother's Day, they came and stayed overnight at the house before flying home today.

* * * * *

And in equally happy news, it looks as though Sonshine will be able to come for a visit after all. He's supposed to call me on his day off and we're going to book his flight.

It's a been a few years--I need a new picture of me and my sonshine. :0)

*

And that is that for this edition of Jen's blog. Have a great week! Catch you in two...

 

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.

 

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Life is a Highway...

 

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

Have you seen Hamilton? The Broadway production now showing on Disney+...

DD loves the production, and I've gotten suckered into watching a few scenes now and then, but had never sat and watched the whole thing start to finish.

Until a couple of weeks ago. I'd been reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill again and in one chapter he discusses the Stock Market crash of 1929 and its cause, so I did a Google search on that, and then somewhere in conjunction with this mini research jaunt, I read that, while we learn how important Thomas Jefferson is in our history, Alexander Hamilton played a crucial albeit more background role in the forming of our nation. Which led me to sitting and watching Hamilton from start to finish.

And isn't Lin-Manuel Miranda amazing too? He wrote the book, wrote the score, and played Hamilton himself in the original production!

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

And then, wouldn't you know, DD learned that Hamilton is coming to Dallas and will be performed at the Winspear Opera House--guess who's going? :0) We have tickets and a parking pass. Now, sadly, Lin-Manuel Miranda is not performing in this particular production, but it ought to be a fantastic watch anyway.

* * * * *

Back to Doing...

Last post I reported that the to-doing had tapered off, and so it had. BUT! I've been really working hard to get back to getting things done despite the changes in my schedule and routine.

I also have motivation--a friend of mine is coming to visit and she's a pretty meticulous housekeeper. And while I can't get the whole house to a level of clean that's I'd prefer, there are some rooms (guest room, anyone?) that I can definitely make nice. 

So I am doing again while trying to build up strength and stamina.

* * * * *

The bursitis I experienced last year seems to be a thing of the past, thank goodness. The Hinge Health physical therapy regimen has worked wonders and I'm super pleased with its efficacy. If you have Blue Cross Blue Shield, I highly recommend it. There are several areas (hips only being one) to choose from.

I've also added yoga back to the mix. I alternate my Hinge Health routine with the yoga and the yoga has added a new level of challenge. And it feels good.

The next thing to conquer is the bad eating habits we've fallen into once again.

* * * * *

And after four and a half years, I've finally seen my dear friend N in person once again. We met for lunch this past Saturday, and it was so lovely so sit and chat and catch up.

So good to see you, N!!

* * * * *

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Started reading The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel and it's super interesting. He talks not about psychology mumbo jumbo, but about what drives people to make the decisions they do about money. He's divided it up into twenty items / chapter, and there are a couple of them where I felt like he was speaking directly to me... *Jen makes notes to not forget those points.*

As I said, very a interesting read and I highly recommend it.

* * * * *

And that's all I have for this edition. Have a super week.

Catch you later!