Salt Cave Meditation, Girls Night Celebration and Writing

We finally did the Salt Cave meditation. It was so peaceful. Everything was salt, including the floor. We had to take our shoes and socks off, and at first, walking on the salt was a little difficult because it wasn't fine like sand. It felt a little jagged at first. The guided meditation was beautiful.

There were two sisters and their mom there. They were trying to take a group photo, so I took it for them, and then there was a couple that I think were on a first date. Emory told them I could take their picture too because "she loves taking photos." I do! I'd love to learn how to say, "coffee and photos" in every language one day. That would be my genie wish. Just kidding. But I do love photos and coffee a lot. 

Afterwards, we walked around the area because it was in the center of everything. We ended up getting Indian food, which was fabulous! I love curry, and I forgot the name of the bread that was gluten-free and vegan, but we got that too. We did end up shopping. 

It rained so hard the next day that we were stuck at home. I did finally get to shop at Dollar Tree and found some really cool things. I got a doggie lick mat for Oliver. I almost got a lick mat for Jones, but these are itty-bitty mats, and Jones is a big darling. I also got two new soup bowls for us because I love bowls. Go figure. We have so many mismatched dishes that I should probably want some kind of aesthetic, but I don't really care. I found shower steamers in cartoons from my childhood, and I got one for my cousin and me. 

I want to have a Galentine's Day party next year. I have so much shopping to do to get ready for this. I need to get some spa goodies for the party, and then I need something for the trade portion. Oh, and I found some super great DIY projects. This might be an expensive party, but the last girl party I had was in 2011. 

Writing Update:

I found a few stories from 2011. I am wondering if they are worth editing. I have so many projects already. 

Werewolf Untitled: I'm really stuck. I have so many notes on what needs to be changed, but I don't want to fall into the trap of constant editing and not getting anywhere. I might need to force myself to just write and edit AFTER I have a full draft.

Vampire Titled: Yeah, I'm going to edit this sucker that I wrote years ago. I actually published it as an original story on a site probably around 2007, but I took it down, and I'm editing it now, and it's a mess. Can we say, "show, DON'T tell," and I did the opposite. I info dumped. Each chapter is over 5,000 words, and one chapter is 12,000 words, so that's going to be cut into a few chapters. I think I'd like maybe 3,500 to 4,000 words per chapter. I know the story was pretty intricate, and I don't think it's finished, so we'll see. It's about 68,000+ words right now. Very sexual. I don't know if I should tone it down. I have a binder with reviews that I've kept from back then, and the reviews are good, but I feel sort of weird knowing that years later, I'd look back and see my style is so much clearer now. I put something out that was subpar. This is very guy-centric. I feel like almost everyone in my book is a dude. 😓 I would love to ask my MUCH younger self where I saw the story going. lol.

Vampire Titled 2: I am working my way through this draft that I think looks pretty decent. I have only had to change a few things and it's pretty intricate too. I think I wrote it around 2007 as well, never seen the light of day so it has no readers. 

Alpha/Beta/Omega untitled/maybe titled: I'm feeling worried that I have five chapters of sludge. I don't know if it's worth working on, but I do want to see where my brain takes these characters. 

Black History Month, Wine Pick-up and Writing

This is Black History Month, and I've been reading about some amazing people in history who really should be in the textbooks. Let's talk about Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey. In the 1840s, these enslaved women were experimented on to treat childbirth injuries. They were not given anesthesia when they were treated for a fistula after giving birth. The experiments helped develop techniques that saved lives, but one can only imagine the suffering they went through, and it was barely documented. They never gave consent.

This is real horror. I can't imagine their fear and pain. I will acknowledge these women and always hold a place in my heart for them. They truly are the "Mothers of Modern Gynecology."

I didn't realize until I went to the grocery store with Emory to pick up more coconut whip cream and chocolates, that maybe I ate all the chocolates that he really liked before he got a chance to really eat them. I know this because of the shocked look on his face when I threw the "dark chocolate sticks with crispy rice" bag into the basket. 

Emory: "This is the chocolate I was talking about when I asked you where it was!"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Emory: "You ate all the chocolate! And then you told me there was chocolate in the fridge!"

Me: *realization* "Oh... I'd better grab two bags this time, then."

Sue called and asked if I would go to Solvang to pick up her wine. Well, she didn't have to ask twice. Two communes will be going out of town, so we have pet duties, and so I said, of course. Emory even mentioned that it would be a nice little date for us, and we'd just have lunch in Solvang. 

Writing Update:

B.N.F. I think the title might be a little too long, so I'm rethinking what to name it. Also, I've been editing a draft and realized I might already have an edited copy. I wrote it in 2007, and my writing has changed a lot since then, so I'm going to have to reread it. The High Priestess asked for a copy of it, so I'm going to send it to her. She'll either laugh or cringe. Maybe both. I haven't read the finished draft yet.

Untitled Werewolf: I've had to open a notepad to keep track of everything I need to change when I start working on draft 2. I just need to get this finished so I see where it's going. Yes, outlining just doesn't work for me. I need to just write and then outline. 

I started working on a story that I really have no idea what I'm doing with. It might not be good enough to publish, though this is just a rough first draft. Maybe a little editing will clean up some of the rough patches. 

Old Recipes, Marvel Stage Shows and Writing

Just so we're clear, in this household, we do NOT like Ice or currently the government. We're grouchy about everything happening. My faith in the system has depleted. I'm constantly scared and I feel like we're living on coffee and stress....

Jeffrey said he really liked the banana bread his mother made when he was a kid. I went to his brother and asked if he could find the recipe. It didn't take long to get a picture text back. Wow! The handwriting is a little hard to read. Jeffrey and his mother write almost the same way. 😂

I am going to make this bread for him. Jeffrey comes from a fairly big family, so I'm not sure if this recipe is to feed the whole family, but I plan to follow the recipe exactly. 

I am so bummed because there is a Marvel stage show that I really want to see, but I think it's in London. The bits of the show that they film for Instagram are so awesome. It looks like it's a lot of fun. They said that in a few years, they might be traveling with the show! Yes! Please come to California! Or New York.... I'm a little scared of going to New York. I'm not a people person, hence the profession I picked.

I walked up to Goodwill. The prices are incredibly high, considering they are getting everything to sell for free from people donating. And you can never find the color tags that they list for the day, being only $1.99. I'm thinking they take those tags off the shelf, so there isn't anything to find. 

I found some pretty cool things, but I'm not willing to pay the high price for used items. It was hard walking away. I did find three shirts, 2 for me and 1 for Emory. I thought they were pretty cool. All three shirts were about $5.99, which is still pretty expensive for used items, but I got them. 

The days have been pretty warm here. We had to put the air conditioner on. I'm grateful for so much, but stressed about everything else that I can't control. 

Writing Update:

I deleted about 1,000 words from chapter 2 on a Dom/sub story I am writing. I feel like the story was moving too quickly, but now I have a huge hole in the book. I feel that hole in my spirit, too. I hate holes. Feels like I've dug a ditch and was too lazy to fill it. 

I worked about 500 words each on both F.C. and C. I'm hoping that F.C. isn't moving too quickly and I hope that I'm not jumping too much on C.

Worked a little on chapter 2 on B.N.F. I did add a few hundred words that I wasn't planning to add to this. I'm basically just going over the chapters to see if this is worth editing and posting. I might post it to my patreon once I have it finished. I don't know if it's worth trying to put up on Kindle. 

I'm stuck on one of my chapters for my Alpha/Beta/Omega story. I made it to chapter 5 and I can't tell if I should have more going on than just this. It feels so flat right now like I need something to spice it up.

Wineries, Solvang in Winter and Writing

I debated posting because everything going on right now has me pretty stressed and depressed. I feel like America has lost the plot....

But I will give an update:

I went back to Solvang with Sue. It's a bit of a drive and we stopped in at my favorite bakery that sells vegan/gluten-free items. I got a cookie which was fantastic! They ran out of scones so I couldn't get Emory a scone. I did finally get to wear my new sari. I wore heels which I thought would be difficult to constantly walk in, but that wasn't so bad. 

We went to two wineries to pick up Sue's membership wines. One of the wineries we actually stayed and had a drink at. I love this one so much and it's kind of becoming a second home.... just kidding. I go probably three or four times a year when I get an invitation to get up there. 

I did ask a group of women on a birthday celebration if they wanted a group photo and they really jumped at the offer! I love taking photos of people enjoying these moments. It's like I got to touch that moment by taking a photo for them. I don't know if it's because when it's Emory and me, I sometimes wish I could get someone to just capture a photo for us, so I get it. I just love doing that for people. 

I do realize though, that my Spanish kind of sucks. I say "Tu" when I'm talking to strangers and Sue who is so much better at Spanish than me, said, "you don't know people, so you can't say 'tu'" I guess I better start using ustedes! I think people will give me leeway but I want to do this right so I'm not a jerk.

We went to Solvang for lunch. Yes, we passed through Solvang twice because both wineries are within seconds of the little Dutch town. Did I already mention how much I love Solvang? It's so cute. It has so many sweet and pastry shops, but they aren't vegan or gluten free so I just like to go in and smell the chocolate or sweet breads. 

There are so many birthdays this month! So many commune peeps to speak with! So many vacations that need to be planned though I'm a little nervous about airplanes and deadlines. 

Writing Update:

Posted two chapters onto the site I write for. I think the stories are going great, but I also want to write for myself so I'm working on about a handful of other projects. I'm not sure if I'll be able to streamline them and make them general population instead of the niche I write for. One of those stories is a Dom/sub story that I would love to publish if I can just figure out how to make it a little more general.

I was thinking last night about a story I had an agent for. It didn't go anywhere and I'm glad it didn't because I don't think I was ready for publication at that time. The agent said that sometimes I wrote so beautifully that it blew his mind and sometimes it sounded like something a five year old would have strung together. Yikes! Mania... am I right? 

So I'm actually thinking about finding that story and seeing how bad it is, but do I have room for one more project? I'm already pretty thin on the 12 stories I've been working on last month. I barely touch them before I move on to the next project.