#ROW80 Round 3 2016 Final Check-in

And here we are at the end, sniff! I think I did pretty well, considering the challenges that sprang up. I’ve been fighting exhaustion, and I sprained my knee, which slowed down my exercise. But apart from that, I’m pretty happy with what I got done.

Here is the final rundown:

~Finish and submit TDP short story by July 15th deadline (I’m in the home stretch now on the rough draft, so I *should* be able to do this.) <–DONE! Actually, the deadline was extended several times, but we are on track now. Everything that could be done by now has been done.
~Do All the Things related to anthology release (TDB later) <–DONE, to the extent that I could do it.
~Restart Ever Touched and finish by end of round (32k left to go) <–NOT DONE, but so close! I’m at 22k of 32k today.
~Read-through of Fireborn <–DONE!
~Reinstate Covenant/8 minutes a day writing 2 days per week <–NOT DONE! I don’t think I have it in me to do this right now. Maybe next round.
~Drink one glass of water 5x per week <–DONE!
~Exercise 3x per week <–DONE, then knee sprain, then I never quite got back into the swing.
~Experiment more with digital infrared <–DONE!
~Take more pictures! <–DONE!
~Keep up with review books (I’m on 4 ARC review teams) <–KINDA SORTA. Not perfectly, but I’m managing.
~Complete 2 author interviews <–DONE!

Chocolate consumption: I think we all know how I did there. Lots of chocolate-y goodness the entire round.

#ROW80 Check-in Sept. 18th

So close to end of the round! Holy crap!

I’ve still been fighting exhaustion. I’ve been getting enough sleep, I think, but the fibro makes it hard. Really hard. And I’ve been stressed out about finishing Ever Touched. I haven’t been able to get the amount of work done on it that I’d hoped, and it’s too late to catch up.So I’ll have to start the revision early, and hope I can make it up later. Not the ideal situation. 😦

I was also in a minor fibro flare earlier this week, so I was forced to rest and get to bed early. I’m feeling a bit better now.

Sooooo, here’s the rundown:

Ever Touched – up to 106k now. Wrote 5k since the last check-in. Gonna hit it hard this week.

Short story – Got comments back from one approver. She made some valid points and catches, and I will need to give this some thought. It’s due back Oct. 1st, so I have a bit of time (still need the second approver’s comments, however). Also need to make comments on the 1st approver’s story. That’s tomorrow’s task. (We revised our publication date to Nov. 15th, so our deadlines got shifted again).

Covenant – Nada. But seriously, I need to work on this.

Exercise – I believe I housewalked twice this week.

Reviews – Started new deadlined ARC. Still working through the others.

Water – Mostly every day.

Secret project – Nada.

Chocolate consumption: Chocolate birthday cake, gluten-free brownies, WW chocolate caramels, WW sundaes, chocolate marshmallow cookies.

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in Sept. 11th

A moment of silence to remember 9/11.

Okay, let’s get right to it. I’ve been dealing with exhaustion again. And migraines. So I haven’t made as much progress as I’d like.

Here’s the rundown:

Short story – Done and ready to submit.

Ever Touched – Had to rip 3k out b/c the twist was not working. Wrote 1,432 words since last check-in — just over the minimum to finish by the end of the month. Would like to start having 1k days again. Hit 101k again last night.

Covenant – Nada, but thought about it. No energy. 😦

Water – Mostly every day.

Exercise – Yes, twice this week.

Secret project – Nada.

Reviews – Still working on getting the one book read. Need to focus.

Office organization – Got the filing cabinet! Forgot about the folder frames, which my wonderful hubby picked up for me this morning and installed. Now, all I need to do is transfer some files from the packed-to-the-gills one and figure out what else to throw away. It’s coming along.

Darkroom – Would have loved to get in there yesterday, but it just wasn’t in the cards. Too tired. Had a migraine.

Chocolate consumption: Gluten-free brownies, WW chocolate caramels, French Silk pie, WW Ultimate chocolate sandwiches, chocolate-marshmallow cookies. I think that’s it. We’re having Boston creme donuts today for dessert.

#ROW80 Check-in Sept.4th

It’s been awhile. Hubby and I went camping last weekend, so I skipped Sunday’s check-in. I had a hell of a time sleeping while there because my knee hurt pretty badly. It’s better now, so I’m assuming I must have been lying wrong. But still…2 days no sleep sucked. (And it rained). But it was a nice trip overall.

So here’s the rundown:

Short stories – Wrote and submitted my October short to TDP; finally finished revising my longish 18k short story for the antho today. Still need to do another pass + editing. It’s due Sept. 10. I should make it.

Ever Touched – Up to 101k. Making slow progress. I really need to hit it hard this month so I can finish it and have 2 months to revise.

Covenant – Nada

Water – Mostly last week, twice this week.

Exercise – Nothing deliberate, but walked a lot at the campground. My goal for this weekend is MORE HOUSEWALKING.

Secret project – Nothing.

Author interviews – Sent in #2 last week.

Reviews – Have slowed down a bit. Need to finish the ones without a deadline (3).

Office organization – We’re picking up the filing cabinet today!

Chocolate consumption – Chocolate marshmallow cookies (heavenly!), chocolate caramel thingies, WW brownies, WW chocolate pastries, WW sundaes, ultimate chocolate ice cream sandwiches…hubby and I are getting ice cream today so I think I’ll have some form of chocolate there, too. Went a little nuts….

#ROW80 Check-in August 21st

I almost typed “July 21st.” What the heck. Apparently, my brain is back in July somewhere! And August is almost over! Yikes!

First things first. My knee is almost 100% better. I’m still getting twinges, like when the hubby and I went shopping at Menard’s today, but overall it is almost perfect. I’m not wrapping it, icing it, or taking any pain pills anymore. I’ve been sleeping through the night. I call this a big win! Obviously, I still need to be careful, and I won’t be using the exercise bike anymore. So I’ve decided to do walking/housewalking instead!

Here’s the rundown:

Ever Touched – Hit 100k a few days ago. 😉 Wrote just under 1000 words since the last check-in. Been working on the short story, but have also been trying to sneak in my quota of 400 words as much as I can. According to Pacemaker, I’m almost halfway to my goal!

Office organization – Not an official Round 3 goal, but I’m putting it here anyway. Hubby and I are getting a second file cabinet b/c my old one is stuffed to the gills and I literally have files lying around that need a home (this is even after paring them down). W had to special order it. I also got two big storage tubs so I can put all the stuff that’s just everywhere on my floor into them so it looks better. We may need a third. I need to go through one final pile and see if I can get rid of anything there.

Pirouette/Death Dancer – This was recently rejected by the publisher I submitted to back in January. It was a bit of a long shot, so I’m okay with it. However, after some tweaks, it might be a good indie project maybe. I’m not sure I want to pursue traditional publishing for it now. Haven’t completely decided, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about.

Covenant – Nope. Too tired.

Exercise – Started housewalking yesterday! I combined it with my Pomodoro breaks, so I walked for 5 minutes 3x. I’m hoping to make this a daily thing.

Short story – Which is now called Enslaved. Making good progress on the revision. I’m over 1/3 done.

Secret project – Nothing.

Author interviews – Finishing #2 today

Reviews – I’m reading a boxed set that I started quite awhile ago but never finished.

Water – Every day!

I’m planning on reading over my first finished novel ever, The Sacrifice, which got twisted a bit and turned into Fey Touched. But I did not use the core story, and have had plans to do something with it in the future. So I put the original file on my Kindle Fire and when I have some free time, I’ll read it over so I can make notes on the plot. I’m thinking it might be a good standalone and if I got the plot down, I could probably write it pretty quickly (she says hopefully). Of course, this is for when I have less projects competing for my attention.

Chocolate consumption: WW sundaes, ultimate chocolate ice cream sandwiches, pastry crisps, mini brownies, and these chocolate-covered marshmallow cookies from Aldi we bought on Friday. OMG they are sooooooo good! Also my usual chocolate-caramel thingies.

 

#ROW80 Check-in August 14th

Oh, boy. Another week down! Where are they going? I swear it was just August 1st!

Okay, so progress has still been pretty slow due to the knee issue. I’ve been to ER who said it was a sprain (no kidding!) and gave me painkillers. Saw my doctor who said it was a sprain of the medial collateral ligament (that would be the ligament that is on the right side of your knee looking down at it) and he suggested we wait a few weeks to see if it heals on its own before doing anything. I agree, b/c I do not want to get an MRI or incur any more bills if it’s just going to heal but take awhile to do it. If things aren’t even a little bit improved, then it’s MRI and orthopedic time. He says there could be a tear. :cries:

So, been doing the icing/anti-inflammatory/painkiller/wrapping regimen and…no improvement. Been having trouble sleeping, so I’m taking the one painkiller before bed. I’m also trying to elevate it when I’m home and when I’m sleeping. I am hoping it’s just taking its time. I do to need this right now.

The thing I’m most focused on is my short story. I got my crits back, and there are a lot of changes that need to be made. All valid points, and I agree with them. What’s funny is that another writer and I wrote our stories very close to each other, but never talked about our stories, so we had no way of knowing what the other was writing! We’re working toward making them different enough so the collection is more well-rounded.

So that’s happening. Tomorrow I’ll be working on that.

Here’s the rundown on the rest:

Ever Touched – 1,528 words written since last check-in (I had no idea it was that many!), and I’m less than 500 words away from 100k. 🙂

Covenant – Nada

Exercise – Nada, until this knee thing is resolved

Water – Every day but one.

Reviews – Will be posting a review for one book on Monday. Need to start another book asap.

Secret project – Nada

Chocolate consumption: WW Sundaes, WW pastry thingies, WW chocolate caramels, Ultimate chocolate sandwiches, cookies ‘n’ cream ice cream. and WW chocolate brownies.

 

 

#ROW80 Check-in July 27th

Here we are again. I’ve had a slow start. Still recovering from vacation, and going back to work. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, actually. So I got some things done, but others I am still working on.

Here’s the rundown:

Ever Touched – 1,401 words written since last check-in, up to 92k.

Short story (Princess Sun) – Final edit done and submitted for approvals.

Water – 3x this week so far.

Exercise – 1 time, on the bike. Had some knee pain last night, so I opted to skip today. Will start back up again tomorrow, maybe for less time.

Covenant – Nada.

Reviews – Started another book for review, the one with the deadline. About 60% done. Received another ARC today, also with a deadline. I will be starting that one very soon.

Secret project – Nothing done on this yet. Still simmering.

Chocolate consumption: Chocolate-chocolate chip zucchini bread (homemade!), WW sundaes, WW chocolate ice cream sandwiches, WW chocolate-caramel thingies.

#ROW80 Check-in July 17th

I have finally been able to sit down and do a proper ROW80 post since the round started. I have been busy finishing (and then revising) the short story for TDP. It is officially done. I do need to do some clean up and proofreading still.

Due to Real Life, our deadline has been changed to July 24th. So I have a bit of a breather. Hubby and I are leaving for our yearly week-long camping trip this afternoon. We are going to Metamora, MI, about an hour from where we live. He’s been there before but I haven’t so this should be fun. 🙂

So how have I been doing with my goals? Not too well. I think I will be able to settle in and get things moving after the camping trip is over. I’ve spent so much time packing, and we had a family birthday party last weekend, and I just haven’t been thinking about much except getting everything done…except my goals. Le sigh.

So here’s the rundown:

Short story – Finished. Needs another pass + proofreading. I hope to do some (or all) while on vacation.

Ever Touched – Wrote 1, 829 words.

Water – Two times this week. A bit short of my goal.

Exercise – Zero. Bad Erin, no cookie!

Covenant/8 mins a day – Nada. I hope to restart after vacation.

Pictures/Digital infrared – I am bringing three cameras on the trip with me, so there will be pictures!

Fireborn – I got it on my Kindle Fire, so if I have the time (and energy), I’ll try to start the read-through while on vacay.

Review books – Just posted 2 reviews. I have another book I am starting soon (and has a deadline) and 3 more in the hopper, and one coming in late July. I’m keeping up, but barely.

Author interviews – Started on #1, but haven’t finished yet. That one is due in August, and #2 is due in September.

Chocolate consumption: Hersey’s chocolate cake from my mother-in-law’s birthday, so good! WW ultimate chocolate sandwiches, WW caramels, WW Sundaes, Chips Ahoy Chocolate-chip/Oreo filling cookies.We have a package of Chips Ahoy White Fudge chocolate chip cookies that we’ll be trying at camping, and of course, s’mores!