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

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...

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...

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

A Wallflower’s Slip of the Tongue – Free Regency eBook

If you enjoy Regency romance with wit, awkward ballroom encounters, and a heroine who can’t quite keep her thoughts to herself, you’ll love Lissa and the Spy . This free Christian Regency romantic suspense novella is the perfect entry point into my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series. Get it free when you join my newsletter (details below). Miss Lissa Gardinier survived her last London Season by pretending to be as inoffensive as possible. But at this ball, she lets her true thoughts slip yet again . And this time, they involve an unfortunately named spaniel. Excerpt Last year during that first dance with Mr. Collingworth, upon seeing him excitedly discuss his dog breeding, she had been encouraged to also speak without restraint. So she had voiced her exact thoughts rather than hiding behind a vapid facade. “Why in the world would you name a dog Lickspittle Furrybottom?” At Mr. Collingworth’s startled look, Lissa realized that she’d said that out loud now , in this dance with him. “… Not...