Skip to main content

Odds and ends

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.13.2006

I want to start with prayer:

Lord God, I lift up Wintervision to you. Be with all the teens preparing to go to the retreat, and let your spirit move in each of them to draw them closer to you. You've planned every cabin and cabin leader. Give them all a great time and a powerful experience with you.

eHarlequin.com

I am amazed and deliriously happy with Harlequin's customer service. This time, I ordered 7 books from eHarlequin.com but only received 6 books in the box. I called their 888 number and got a busy signal, but then I called again in about 20 minutes and got a live person. After giving her my account number and the missing title, she checked to see if the book was in stock and put in a request to send it to me asap. She also said that if I got an Out of Stock card, to call customer service again. Now is that premium service or what?

Bible in 90 Days: day 5. The Israelites are at Mt. Sinai.

Writing: Yesterday, I got everything done on my Winners List except one thing. Got some characterization done last night, and hope to get more done today. I'm still behind in my Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors class, but I got another lesson done today.

I've been reading NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM! by Chris Baty, who started NaNoWriMo. It's been very encouraging and inspiring, even though I don't think I'd ever try to do a novel in a month. However, it's very motivating for me to try to write faster.

It takes a writer, on average, about 55 hours to pound out 50,000 words (about 900 words an hour). I should be writing books faster than I do! I think it's a matter of discipline.

Diet: Went to PT today and had a late lunch of fish sticks, 500 calories. During the afternoon, I snacked on celery sticks and peanut butter, about 400 calories. Hopefully, I'll eat a well-proportioned meal at dinner--gotta remember to eat lots of vegetables.

I've been drinking my tea without Splenda, but with soymilk. It's really nice! I still prefer it to be sweet, but without sweetener isn't so bad. Let's see if the absence of artificial sweeteners helps my diet. I heard it increases insulin secretion even though it doesn't add calories.

Update: I'm totally ashamed to confess I had three slices of pizza and half a cinnamon pie. I totally need to get on the exercise bike tomorrow. Good thing I went to PT today--I rode about 10 minutes on the bike and spent 30 minutes doing weights.

Comments

Hye girl,
I'm there with you on the writing speed and dieting. Thanks for posting all that. It helps keep me moving in the right direction too. :-)
Unknown said…
Hmmm.....I'm the oddball so I won't comment, I don't want to get popped upside my head by you and D! LOL

But keep on truckin', girl...that's all any of us can do!
Unknown said…
I see a trend. I'd write faster if I ate less. Hard to type with one hand. I'm in the same boat. Gotta lose my "Christmas 10."
Ronie Kendig said…
Heya, Camy! 900 words an hour? I've never timed myself. Wonder how many I do in an hour. Hmmmm.....
Lynette Sowell said…
Yep. Watching my portions, etc.
Yep. Writing up a storm.
BUT. I have a prayer request. My Alphasmart's infrared detector won't "detect" right now. Please pray I can figure out how to get it fixed. I have a deadline in about 2 weeks, and I'd rather use my Alphasmart in my comfy chair instead of the office chair. Thanks!! :)

Popular Posts

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Writing Goals for 2007

Captain’s Log, Supplemental I considered cheating on my goals for this year, but decided I was being a wimp. So here they are: Here are the goals required by my contract: Book 3 in the series marketing info sheet due March 15th Book 3 manuscript due June 1st Book 1 substantive/line edits due sometime in Jan/Feb Book 1 galleys due sometime after that Book 2 macro edits due sometime in Spring? Book 2 substantive/line edits due, I’m guessing in Summer. Book 3 macro edits due sometime in October, I’m guessing Dang, laid out like that, looks like I’ll be busy. Here are my personal writing goals: Long-term goals: --Complete two manuscripts and a novella by December 31st, 2007 (I have to write the two manuscripts, but I’m trying to push myself and write a third project. I chose a novella since it’s easier than a full novel.) Short-term goals: --Write a short story this year (I keep putting it off because I’m such a perfectionist about it! I think I’ve got to get just the right plot, etc. bef...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Romantic Suspense: Necessary Proof (Sonoma series #4.1, novella) Click here to buy the FREE ebook on all retailers Alex Villa became a Christian in prison, and because of his efforts to help stop a gang producing meth in Sonoma, he has been set up for the death of a cop. Can computer expert Jane Lawton find the evidence that will prove his innocence before the gang eliminates them both? Fantasy short stories: Pixies in a Garden in Kyoto There were pixies in the garden. Since she was in Kyoto, she was certain they were not called pixies, but she didn't know what they would be called in Japanese, and they certainly looked like what she imagined pixies would look like. The King’s Daughter The trees in the King's garden were full of colored pixie lights. The...