Wow, it's been a month since my last post, since the Great Purse Snatching of 2008 at Philly Flavors. Yes, I can laugh about it now. :) It cost a lot of money and time, but things are mostly straightened out, and there are certainly many worse things in the world, like the situation in Myanmar or the horrible story in Austria which I can't go into detail about here, or I'll end up throwing up. So thank you all for your support.

I haven't posted because there isn't really anything new to report. I still don't have a job (although I've been lucky enough to find some contract work to tide me over for the moment), bills keep coming, I haven't finished my latest writing projects, ad nauseum.

But you know what? I'm happy. I loathe this cold weather that forced me to wear a sweater in the middle of May, but I'm happy! My allergies are wreaking havoc on my system, but I'm happy. Go figure. Friends are reaching out in different ways, I'm remembering more to appreciate the little things, and just relax and enjoy.

I'm still having trouble sleeping properly, but I think a large part of that is due to my allergies. When you can't really breathe due to clogged nasal passages, it's hard to rest, but at least that will pass.

I do plan on writing an entry about belonging soon, though. I just have to finish getting my thoughts together.

And I am writing. That makes me incredibly happy. It's been a struggle. I suffer with the typical writer's insecurity, with the thought that I'm not writing quickly enough, with the notion that whatever I write sucks, and that no one cares whether I write or not, so why bother? But I'm still bothering, and that's huge. All my online people (including grayrose76, m_stiefvater, brennayovanoff, and everflame) as well as my real-time people, like vash137 and lots of others who aren't on LiveJournal have been wonderful about keeping me going and offering love and support.

So I'm finishing up the first draft of the story previously known as "Chromovore" and will then get back to my novel. I've been told if I don't finish, I will be sorry. So I guess I'd better finish, eh?

I've been reading a lot of manuscripts, too, and I love, love, love that people both allow me this secret sneak peek of works in progress and that they trust my judgment as a critiquer. I'm very honored. And I can say that I will so happy to have my own copy of m_stiefvater's Lament and Ballad and squirrel_monkey's latest, once they come out. (And squirrel_monkey will be coming to speak to my writers' group in June! I'm so excited. :) )

Oh, and my order of Tiffany Trent's books is finally on its way from Amazon! Took long enough. I can't wait to sink my teeth into the next three Hallowmere volumes. . .

And this past weekend was great. I scratched my eye on Friday, which was scary, so aryasura and I went to the optometrist, but she said the eye had healed overnight. She did tell me, though, that the oil glands around my eyes are clogged, so my eyes dry out too quickly. To counter that, I need to wash the rims of my eyelids and my eyelashes twice daily with a solution of diluted baby shampoo and eat lots of walnuts (for their Omega-3s). (Just in case this happens to any of you.)

Then Ed and I had a yummy lunch in which I ate too much--oof!--and wandered over to Tbar, this tea place I like a lot and had been meaning to show him for months. Who was there but vash137? So we sat with her, drank super yummy white tea, and chatted about lots of things.

Ed and I went home, where he napped, and I read. Then our friend Mark came over, and we had dinner, and I got tipsy. They thought it was funny, silly boys. :)

And yesterday, I wrote and read. It was cold and grey outside, so that was the best way to spend the day. Once Ed got home from working on his car, we went grocery shopping, and he made me spaghetti for dinner while I watched Animation Domination. Happy days!

In case I don't feel the urge to post again for awhile, happy early birthday to rumdiculous! Your package will be on its way come Tuesday.

Love to everyone!