Menu

Subscribe

Dear Diary

A 3796-post collection

Sdrawkcab

So let's recap:

  • I forgot to post yesterday's Instant on Tumblr
  • Nobody noticed
  • I spent so much energy fetching the ingredients for the proposed noms that I had zero energy to actually make said noms
  • I had trouble going to sleep last night
  • I had trouble staying asleep last night
  • I woke up tired
  • And the process of making myself make those noms meant that I missed out on most of my morning activity. Including my daily walk and dog-annoying.

I have learned:

  • If you try to put an entire, punctured, butternut pumpkin in the microwave for twenty minutes, one of your little darlings will demand a nuked breakfast
  • And also the microwave will have a quiet mental breakdown and slip into its error display
  • Nuking an entire butternut pumpkin takes longer than you think it would. Especially on a morning where entropy seems to be having the most fun.

I'm out of spoons, I've just had a coffee, and I've still got to organise all these firkin nom ingredients into actual potentially delicious food.

There's a spate of bills happening this pay cycle, so I'm kind'a glad I got myself an official-type watering can. No more busting my thumbs with containers designed for kitchen use only. I can lug up to nine litres of Dihydrogen Monoxide up to the garden and give my tiny lettuces a treat.

The only problem with growing my own food is I have no idea what weeds look like. So I might be getting a bumper crop of cobblers' pegs along with the tomatoes. I'll find out when the fruit happens, I guess.

The mint, however, is coming back like Revenge of the Undead Bride of the Corpse's Monster IV. One out of four planted parsley plants has survived, and I'm pretty certain one of the garlic chives I think I'm growing is actually just grass. If I could retain more information about plants, I could be certain. But I need a cheat sheet. Or that robot that stabs unwelcome sprouts into an early demise.

This would be an IDEAL day to start the ball rolling on my mental health plan... but because bills are happening, I have to wait for a little while longer. Until we get paid again in early November.

When I will be on tenterhooks because I'm also waiting for word from that nice, potential agent. I've emotionally learned that early reply = "Sorry, but we think you(r book) sucks." So maximum anxiety = I need HELP! So... theoretically... I should be going out and doing that thing.

Hahaha who am I kidding? I'll find a way to procrastinate about this until firkin JANUARY.

MONEY!

Beloved got paid, yesterday, which means I have money in the bank today. Which means that I can go out and get the life essentials, like almond milk, tub fruit, and ingredients for some adjusted noms.

The recipe originally hails from this tumblr post but I've done some twiddling.

I've replaced the sugar with Stevia, and the peanuts with almonds, and will probably remove as much of the salt as I can get away with by default. Since you can't get salted,

Read more »

Good news, everyone!

I got the short list back from the lovely people at AR&E, agent-finders at large.

I also got a very nice letter saying I should try all of them at once, just for the ego boost. I'm sorry, Beverly, but all the ego boosting in the world is not worth one atom of being rude.

Agents and writers alike tell you every day that simultaneous submissions, especially lying about it by omission, is beyond nasty. Just. No. The letter says

Read more »

Broken 'flow'

I get used to doing things a certain way. I get up, wee, weigh myself [89.3kilos. The first time I've been below 90 since age 20!], water the garden, rouse the kids, shower, and get on with keeping everyone in line.

Then I do my blog, Instant Story, and any other writing that I want or have to do.

But when things screw that up, it really screws up.

Yesterday, I assumed that I'd done my Instant. Why? Because yesterday was

Read more »

Fun times ahead

I've been trying to transfer my music files into #myphonebygoogle, with varying degrees of success. Our current, dropbox model has hit a snag, in that the phone must be active in order to download.

Google Pixel has a maximum activation period of half an hour. There is no 'never' option and no assumption that a user is clever enough to hook the phone up to a power source whilst that shit is going on.

I mean, come on, google. We were smart

Read more »

I am frustrate

On the continuing saga of New Phone Wat Dis(aka #myphonebygoogle), I have finally combatted the hassle of getting my music data onto my actual phone. The caveat being that the file manager in question will also play random shit that's content for games. We'll work around that when the time comes.

And speaking of workarounds... I did some 3D drafting for Bitzer's new hip handle, this morning. And once done, it should have been an easy matter to transfer those files

Read more »

#myphonebygoogle

I love that Google is cheeky enough to bring out a bigger, brighter, better phone than the iPhone7.

And I have to confess that setting up new apps to supplant the old ones I'm used to is a pain in the arse.

But the biggest pain in the arse is music. Porting ALL my music from iTunes is like unto a labour of Hercules. And it's not just because I own something like five weeks' worth of music.

No, it's because Apple

Read more »

Google Pixel!

So I'm a long-time Apple nerd, all the way back to the late eighties when I got my first Mac Classic.

But that time is past.

Basically because Apple repeatedly drops the ball by coming out with substandard crap and trying to market it as what the people want. If the people move, en masse, to a better product, then the companies will see what the people really want.

And better yet, I'm getting it for free because Telstra has an upgrade-your-phone

Read more »

Nothing to see here

It's hard to be entertaining when there's nothing to bitch about. Things are kind of okay.

I finally chatted with the counsellor people and got some useful advice to going forward with the whole mental care thing. As a result of having all that stress no longer important, my current energy levels are low.

Discoveries this week: Food is expensive. Especially the stuff that only diabetics are allowed to eat. Especially the recommended fish like salmon and tuna. We need to learn

Read more »

Glorb: It's what's for breakfast

So I usually call soup-and-bread-mush 'glorb' and is one of my very many horrible food choices.

But I've come up with a healthy one.

Two Weet Bix, one snack-sized tub of fruit, and enough almond milk to turn it all into moosh. Voila. Brekkie Glorb. At 995 kilojoules and whole grain goodness, it's the best start to the day that I can manage.

...and then I go and make my heinously over-sugared coffee...

But I am looking after myself. I even have

Read more »

Unexpected inconvenience

Today's sideways happenings are the direct result of a pupil-free day in both Chaos and Mayhem's schools. We found out about this via the radio because I never have the time to read the school newsletter.

Mayhem's school was empty of kids. Chaos' school was empty of kids. So long half an hour of our precious time, hello my little darlings having party time all over the house.

At least we got a walk in, this morning.

The local ants have decided

Read more »

Things done, things to do, things in waiting...

Checklists have this way of growing and mutating if you're not watching them.

Like:

  • [X] Hat repaired
  • [X] Chaos' bodysuit futzed with
  • [X] Makeup organised (more or less)

But still to do is:

  • [ ] Garden watering system
  • [ ] Unmuck the kitchen gizmo's cupboard
  • [ ] Fix the heart rig
  • [ ] Chaos' chest gem (entire)

The last of these includes doing the wiring and batteries, printing the case, and arranging a way to attach it to Chaos' chest without visible means of support.

We have a fun weekend

Read more »

Maybe today...

I didn't get to half of what I wanted to get done. Part of my brain was really thirsting to do some Minecraft, I guess. Procrastination helps the mind re-set and lets it rest between emergencies, and therefore it is a good thing. In moderation.

I'm making myself get to all those little side-projects, today. All those tiny five-minute tasks that end up taking two hours and all the patience you have to spare. Sooner started, sooner done, and all that associated

Read more »

...sigh

Beloved stayed up later than they should have, last night. As a result, I've had my first sideways morning for a majority of a week.

BUT... the house is not in chaos, I have plans to tidy up one of my piles, and I have other plans to do some minor fixes for costume parts for Halloween.

What I really have to do is hurry up with this blog, today's Instant, and the thousand words I usually do on Fridays so that

Read more »

Anti-entropy

The house is starting to look firkin fantastic. The kitchen countertops only need a little bit done, the bathroom's gorgeous. We start our day with the beds being made.

Today, I'm talking with the school dental van about braces for Miss Chaos. Something that's happening in TWENTY MINUTES.

Yikes.

I'm also doing some minor and major futzing to get Chaos' costume done. This is going to include some shopping at Jaycar later on. The dollar shop light I got only does red.

Read more »