Late Night Faints, Solvang and Writing

Our best friends came out for the weekend and of course it was fabulous.... until I fainted. Yeah, that happened. I didn't even realize I did it. Next thing I know, Emory was gently brushing my shoulder and telling me I had another episode. That's what we call it because it's not dainty. 

Up until then, we watched Drunk History. I wish this was a thing when I was in school. I might would have remembered names a little better. I might remember dates and scenarios too. It's freaking hilarious. 

We went to Solvang after our best friends left. We took our little buddy with us because it was a little late notice to drop him off at the communes (yep two different communes). We did drop by the Port commune to pick up some boat gear for the Oxnard commune. At the Oxnard stop which was closer to our destination, we let Mozart run around their beautiful yard. We just missed the kiddos there because the children went off to another adventure for the week. We filled up on water and then AWAY we go. 

Solvang is always such a fun place to be. We got a hotel that was right smack in the middle of everything. We tried our luck taking Mozart out for breakfast. Again, this is a very pet friendly location so very few places will state "no pets" but there is tons of places to eat on patios that allow the four legged kiddos to sit and just relax. Mozart was not one to relax. 

I called my mom and she laughed and said, "Now you know what it's like to have a two year old on vacation. It's all about them." It was! I was constantly worried about Mozart having a good time, being bored, etc. I wish we'd brought his blanket, but he slept on the bed between us. Thank Goddess, Emory got a king mattress. Though honestly, we would fit on a queen, because that's what we have at home. 

The weather there was chilly. Not as chilly as Oxnard, but still pretty cold. I ended up in a coat and changed my shorts into jeans. 

Next time we take a break, we're thinking about heading to Santa Barbara. It's right next to Solvang. Emory wants to try the salt meditation rooms and I think it would be relaxing to give it a go. I don't know what else is down there, but I've seen some pretty neat little restaurants. I'll have to look up more about it. 

Writing Update:

Depressed. Pissed. 

Just found out that AI scraped the website I write on so yeah, that's frustrating. I never gave permission to train AI on my writing style. I write like I breathe. My heart beats into the words I write. My blood stains the pages. I feel like someone took a copy of spirit. 

I seriously hope that my writing ruins the works that are made off my blood and sweat. I hope there are tons of "em dashes" and "ellipsis" Ug! I'm so annoyed. Wishful thinking. 

I don't think too many writers are happy about this. A lot of talk is going around about locking stories so only people with accounts can read it. I haven't locked my stories because I feel like anyone should have a chance to read, but even I am considering locking my work to registered users only. 

I spoke with Crazy Cousin Nik because he uses the same website for his stories as I do. He joined an RP group that checks your writing for AI as well. We both agree that the fun of RPing is that you come up with a story with another writer. I wouldn't RP with someone who uses AI. Why? What's the point? Change my mind! I beg you! 

I just glad I'm not in this alone. Tons of artists are dealing with this. 

Doggy Dental, Merlin's Hut and Writing

 Mozart had his very last dental cleaning. We're not going to make him do this again. He's a senior man and he's having a hard time just coming out of it. The procedure was a little late and the medications must have done a number on him because he was pretty out of it for hours and hours into the next day. The doctor said he would cry and he has been. It's so sad. So we've been holding him and just rubbing his back and tummy.

Mozart and Me (snapchat)

We've been trying to clean some. It's not an easy task. I see things that can be put away, but instead, I'm writing up a storm. The problem is, I live like Merlin's little hut in The Sword and the Stone (Disney cartoon 1963). I'm cramped with books and tea pots and everything else that just speaks to me. Everything has a little bit of magic... a story that just whispers their very existence. How am I supposed to get rid of all these stories? 

Sue said we'd start with the closet. I did get rid of a few empty wine bottles that I really loved, but I guess I really wasn't going to do anything with them. I got rid of a little doll. Who knows, maybe if I downsize enough, I can actually move with my moon sister across seas... Dude, I'd really miss the communes, but America... what are we doing here? Medications are going up. Groceries are going up. Social Security is disappearing. Yeah, what are we doing?

We went to the grocery store and they had IHOP coffee for $2.99 a bag. It was called "chocolate pancake" so I bought two bags. Can't beat the price. I also got blueberry coffee. Blueberry coffee and cherry coffee are so tasty. Watch, that's what will be in my suitcase when we move, just coffee. 😂

I just read an article stating that in California, someone figured out how to change the voices on the crosswalks to fake voices mocking Musk and Zuckerberg. I sent a copy of that article to Steven because he's a bit of a genius. He probably has a pretty high IQ because he's always been a tinker. Anyways, I WISH I could have heard that crosswalk message because that's bloody hilarious.

Writing Update:

Untitled Omega/Alpha: I got up to chapter 4 on the first draft and it went okay, but it needs so much work so I started draft 2 and yeah, I'm stuck on chapter 2. 1,780 words for this chapter. My goal is 3000 and I'm a little stuck on if my two apex alphas should get along or not. Right now, the obvious solution is that they need to get used to each other. 

C. :  Working on chapter 11. I'm at 2,989 words. I'm trying to keep it about 3,000 ish but not into the 4,000. I do write really long chapters which I'm trying to watch on because I don't know how popular long chapters are. 

F.C. working on chapter 6 for this. I'm trying so hard to keep this light and fluffy. My brain isn't light and fluffy. It's gothic. I like my stories dark. 

Cotton Candy Grapes, Rock Candy and Writing

We went to the grocery store and though I said I wasn't going to pay for any extras, I saw cotton candy grapes for $3.99 lbs. (which is pretty cheap for cotton candy grapes that are usually much higher in price) It was measured so its one pound exactly. So we did it. I know... save all the money I can for the possible next great depression. My family (great grandparents) made it through the first one so I know we can too, but living in California makes it a little hard. With the super bad fires, rent out here has gone up a lot. 

I am still drinking my pot of coffee. I have some food in my fridge. I have a strong support group. The commune has space for us to come back if we need to, though more people will be moving in and with kiddos. The community there is getting big.

I'm supposed to be downsizing, but I've been writing up a storm. My best friend told me, "Life's for living, not for cleaning" but I'm pretty sure she has a very clean house. 

Sue and I had a wonderful day together. We went to visit Carrie the hairdresser and then we went to Dollar Tree to look at Easter things for the commune children. She found a couple really cute, cheap baskets, got some bubbles, plastic eggs to put a little cash in and a few extras. 

I found rock candy for Emory. He loves those and they came in a pack with 4 sticks for $1.25 so I bought him four packages. I should have just gotten the whole box... but he's really trying to watch his candy intake. If I was a good wife, I wouldn't have gotten it for him at all, but it's his favorite candy and I'm an enabler. 

We went out for lunch and drank ice tea and talked about everything under the sun. We talked about final wishes, etc. Pretty heavy for lunch, but interesting.

I have one week to clean before my friends come out. Sue said she'd come over to help, but I just don't know what to do with half the stuff I own. She's a minimalist so I have no idea how she's going to feel seeing my lifestyle. 

Just finished watching "The Parenting." It has become one of my favorite horror/comedy movies. I wrote Steven to let him know. I tell him when I like horror movies. Not that he watches horror movies religiously like I do... But he did get me some really cool horror movie stuff and he knows how much I like this type of stuff. 

I just got a text message from Steven who is watching "The Parenting" and he said it triggered his Alexia. 😂 It triggered ours too! But that was only once. Anyways, it's a great movie.

Writing Update:

Untitled Alpha/Omega story: The first draft got up to 4 chapters, about 3,000+ words a chapter, but I felt like it got stale, so now I'm working on draft 2. Chapter 1 is 3,500+ words, and now I'm working on chapter 2. I changed the names of my characters. I have been doing so much medical research for this. 

Got two really good comments on my freebie projects. One person said "Living for the updates." Which couldn't have come at a better time because I seriously thought about ditching the project. The other comment said, "This is getting good. Please update soon." Another great timed comment. 

Tribute Bands, Book Purge and Writing

I just read an article that California is losing a substantial bit of its funding for libraries. I wonder if that means our libraries will close.

I also saw that books are being purged. I wonder what that's going to mean for our reading lists. I really hate this. Time to invest in my own private library. Fahrenheit 451... ?!?!? Anyone else seeing this?

It's kind of funny how people are starting to download the novels they want to keep. I should do that too, but I can't remember the names of the ones I was so in love with that I read years ago.

So I think I'll be giving up on the "extra" things we usually splurge on. After my coffee runs out, I don't think I'll buy any more. It seems like such a luxury now... (I say this and then we found coffee for $6.99 so we bought a few bags). 

We went to Costco and it was utterly crazy. I don't know how much eggs were being sold for (since it's not part of my diet intake) but the Costco staff kept yelling for people to get in line and people were going crazy for them. Emory and I got some chips... extras I know, but we have friends coming to visit and we want to snack! So, Costco gave me mad crazy bad energy. People were acting like the end of the world was coming.

We stocked up on things to cook for the next couple of months. We also got a HUGE 25 pound bag of rice, so we can use it to stretch our food a little farther. We'll mix the rice with everything else, our beans, chili, our stir fry, etc.

We're preparing for the worse. I think everyone is.

Sue had tickets to Abba LA. We went to dinner with a nice size group and then went over to see the show. There was so much dancing... but it wasn't just me, I swear. The whole theater got up to dance. It was so nice to have their company. 

I really needed that small break from reality. 

Writing Update:

Depressed.

Untitled Werewolf: Chapter 2/ 1st draft. I'm picking through this. I think I see a few things that already need changing in chapter 1.

Untitled: F--- or Die. Yeah, I'm writing one of those. I like the setup and I'm up to chapter 4 on this project, but each chapter is about 1,200 words. I want to make it a little longer... obviously. 😂 I think instead of ending it right at the climax... again 😁 I crack myself up, anyways, instead of just ending it, I think I will add the aftermath of having a situation like that. 

I haven't been working on my freebies. I have three books I want to work towards publishing and two freebies that I need to finish. 5 work-in-progress stories in all.