Jaye's Musings

Well, here again for another New Year post of looking back at missed opportunities and lack of progress and making optimistic promises to myself (mainly) that will nonetheless fall by the wayside long before this new year is out.

Yes, that's the kind of mood I'm in.

( Last year's TLDR -- where I clearly had more to get off my chest than I thought )
My escape has been TV and being entertained with minimal effort from me. Recently, I've been rewatching "Once Upon a Time", which I haven't done since it first aired, and I've also enjoyed "The Boys" which is so messed up, it really appeals to me and I'm about halfway through "The Witcher" which I am loving. I tried "American Gods" as I liked (most) of the book and I like Ian McShane, but I just couldn't get into it, far too much style over substance for me.

So, with all that the thing I love doing -- writing -- has suffered tremendously. Even when I haven't been working or helping husband out with sorting his sister's estate or preparing for the Holidays myself, I've had very little to no brain power at all left for writing, either my standalone stuff or my collaborative writing...to which I have already apologized to my writing partner for. Indeed looking at my word counts for November and December, they are a very disappointing 3,800 and 1,200 respectively. I do admit I just completely gave up and didn't even bother for December.

Now for 2020, I hope to turn that around (although I haven't had much of a chance to get moving on that yet). My head is getting back into the mindset that it needs to be in, and I am in the processing of rereading some of our threads to just refresh my memory on things. So, beginning today, writing will be happening again! I'm also treating myself to a new laptop. My old one is almost 10 years old(!) and though it still works is slow and doesn't hold a charge. I do like my Chromebook, but it does have its limitations as well, one being that I don't care to save all my writing on Google Docs.

I also want to focus on doing more crafting. I have a couple of sewing projects I need to do and I really want to get better at crocheting -- I can do basic stitching but that's about it. And even knitting. My mum always tried to teach me when I was a kid, and I just couldn't get the hang of it, perhaps I can now. There is a fabric/yarn store near me that holds classes and perhaps one day they will have one on a day I'm not working! My health as well will be given more thought to, losing weight and getting some issues taken care of or at least managed.

Okay, so to summarize: More writing both RP and my own stuff, especially the everlasting novel! And to do more crafting stuffs

x-posted to LJ & DW

Okay, so I'm a few days late, but that is thanks to the oldest visiting us from Cali and sucking up our limited data allowance, so the last few days of December internet was switched off. And the first couple of days of January have been busy.

It's the Yearly Round Up!

So, I didn't surprise myself when I said last year that I would fall behind in trying to post weekly updates. Once again, for 2014, I will make that attempt and hopefully succeed better. I think I will due to some things that I'm planning to do and because this year will be far less of an upheaval than 2013.

( Looking back and looking ahead )
So that's the plan...let's see how it goes, huh?

So it's been ages since I've posted anything here, and even longer for something that wasn't a meme or birthday wish. So, I thought I need to start posting something more worthwhile more regularly, just to occasionally remind people that I'm still alive round these parts.

I was thinking of just doing a huge update post, but that's rather daunting both for me and for the flist. So, I'll give the briefest on what's been going on in the past few months, with a handful of pics to boot.

-- Back in November, we took a trip to Rome, and I totally loved it...right down to the taxi driver taking us along the Via Appia to come into the city.

-- Hubby deployed in January, and he's still gone.

-- I made and uploaded a new mood theme featuring my favourites.

-- I started working on the novel...which ground to a halt for needed research, and I'm trying to get back into again.

-- I had a visit from one of my oldest friends, gmnoonie and as I was showing her around Trier, I went flying down some steps and sprained my ankle pretty badly. So, her first time in Germany and her tour guide has her leg propped up. But we did get to see "The King's Speech*" in Luxembourg.

-- Then over my son's Spring Break, we took a trip to the UK, and after having an all too brief visit with gmnoonie, we spent a few days in North Wales, where I had a great time doing some research for Mark's novel. It was really good to get a real feel for the landscape. We also went to Portmeirion, also known as The Village in the '60s show "The Prisoner"

( Have some photos )

Future plans are meeting up with franzi1981 on Saturday for a day of fun in Cologne!! And in June, me and the kiddo are heading to Edinburgh and then driving down England, in a very indirect route, until I eventually reach my mum's house. Stops will include Alnwick Castle (aka Hogwarts), Vindolanda Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall, Lake District, Blackpool, and York.

Then the hubby should be home!

[*] Will be making a post of some recent films I've seen here soon, as well. Gotta keep the momentum going!