Happy Halloween, Blessed Samhain!

[mamagotcha]

Status:

Physical -- Feeling a bit creakier with the cooler weather moving in (but loving it! Still have open windows at night, but moved all the herbs/plants indoors due to impending frost). Got a series of headaches after a really bad storm hit about a week ago. Threw out my damn neck while (of all things!) washing my hair; have had a resultant stiff neck all week. I used one of the Groupons I got for a new Korean spa and sauna last Friday... it was divine, but their biggest spa pants (that you must wear in the co-ed areas) were really tight on me. Maybe try to get my hands on a white cotton robe I could bring, or just make one? It's a 24-hour facility; I foresee many visits in my future...

Psoriasis -- @#!*&%#$ patches and scalp are breaking out again. Starting steroids once more, dammit. No word from the dermatologist on the status of the UVB wand. Hair is super thin and damaged; I need to do something with it. Sigh.

Movement -- Walking to the park and back with Linc and the dog at least twice and sometimes four times a week. Biking with him a bit, too. Nia teacher is back, yay! So I'm back to doing Nia once a week. The water Zumba was OK, but it was kind of a hassle. I wish they'd just offer Nia a few more times. I think I'm developing another stress fracture on my left foot (I've had one on each foot, and they seem to resolve after a couple of weeks... just not much fun in the meantime).

Family -- The cause of the stress from a few weeks back seems to have have gone away (fingers crossed). Clay's working a Lego show this weekend; could this connection get him more jobs here? That would be awesome. Waiting to hear whether Cord's moving out here in December. Worried about my dad living alone. Bill's grant went in, and he's back to the regular grind (but seems to be enjoying it). Linc is reading and writing more, and wants to play more boardgames like Stratego.

Brainpan -- I'm trying to notice when I'm feeling content, and really taking the time to sink down into that feeling... to somehow mark it, examine it, shape it, enough so that I can try to recreate it when things are feeling not-so-good. I guess it's a form of self-hypnosis, kind of like what I did for Linc's labor. I've only just started this in the last week or so, and so I haven't really had enough occurrences of contentment to settle the impression in my mind enough to return to it reflexively. Not sure where I got this brilliant scheme from, but we'll see where it goes. Generally, I've been feeling stable and on top of things. Been waking up early; need to turn that into productive time (meditation, yoga, laundry, writing) instead of goofing off on the computer. Just need to turn on my Freedom!

Input:

Eating -- The cooler weather is making me want more potatoes, beans, meat, stews, soups, chilies, polenta, risotto, winter squashes, yams, oranges, onions, broccoli, and apples. Bill made a kick-ass apple/cranberry pie for the tea the other week, and it personified exactly what I think fall tastes like. Went to the last Wright College farmers' market for the season, and only one seller showed up; got all the produce listed above, plus leeks and rainbow chard. Made bacon/toasted pecan waffles today, with butter and real maple syrup... terrific! Started drinking caffeinated espresso again. Also we've started drinking red wine maybe two or three times a week, another fall thing for me. Made enchilada "lasagna" (layering corn tortillas instead of noodles and Mexican-style fillings instead of Italian) twice in the last few weeks, it went over with raves (and freezes well for Bill's lunches). Tried braising beef shanks, not exactly transcendent but edible (and definitely improved overnight).

Listening -- Pandora's Halloween holiday channel, NPR, Mozart. Clay wants to go to a Moth recording. Girlyman's gonna be here in December! I'd also love to go see Peter, Paul & Storm, but realistically that one's out of reach (maybe I'll call and see if they need volunteers).

Reading -- Neil Gaiman's "American Gods" and Emma Donoghue's "Room" both grabbed me by the throat this last week (if you haven't read them, I give both a big thumbs-up). Still working through some of the other library nonfiction books mentioned in the last post.

Output:

Writing -- still dithering about NaNoWriMo. If I wake up tomorrow morning with a solid idea, I might jump in.

WisCon -- Fan was hit squarely with a big wad of brown stuff. I'm not really sure this is the group for me... I definitely enjoyed a number of the discussions, but the vitriol is so very ugly. Rethinking WisCon 2011...

NUG -- The mothers' tea went great... eight mamas showed up. The knitting group, not so well... tried a second time, this time only one mama showed. I might try an evening knitting thing. Boys are doing a drama class, but other than that I'm not seeing anyone from this group during the week, and I miss it.

Coalition for Illinois Midwifery -- Spent a number of hours working on it, specifically trying to teach myself a content management system called Mambo. There are problems with access; I'm waiting for passwords to be sent to me before I can move any further. Kinda frustrating... they really kinda begged me to do this, then when I take it on, I don't have the access to do what they need. Oh well. Good news is they seem to have some good momentum for this bill... it might actually get out of the house this fall!

Finances -- Of course, I screwed something up in the transfer between banks. I'm frustrated that I seem to be somehow unconsciously sabotaging our financial situation. Things seem to be stabilizing for the moment. I'm trying to make the most of what we have (ie, baking our own treats instead of buying them, cutting/coloring my own hair, popping popcorn for a Netflix) instead of whinging about feeling deprived because we can't just spontaneously go out for dinner or a movie. In fact, I put the kibosh on a dinner Bill and I planned to go out to last Monday to celebrate his grant being done, because I felt so bad about spending money we didn't have. I felt like the bad guy, raining on his parade. However, I am looking into a part-time position with a local circus arts group... it would be $400/mo., for 10-15 hrs/week. If I could do some of it from home, that would be perfect. I still don't know a whole lot about what they're looking for, though... should know by the end of the week. If it works out, it could make the holiday season a little brighter around here, that's for sure.

SCA -- I've gone to several events in the last few months, and really enjoyed the energy and creativity involved. I'll be going to another event this upcoming Saturday, and maybe another a few weeks after that. Thinking about trying out the scribal stuff (illumination, calligraphy). Also need to sort out a persona and garb... the ren stuff is starting to look really out of place to me.

Braids -- Didn't get the shoot done, didn't buy the ad. We're short on cash right now, so it's just going to have to wait until we get ahead a bit. I'll be braiding at WindyCon and at a homeschooling holiday fair in a few weeks, so maybe that will bring in a few bucks.

Fiber -- Put together the vest, not happy with the length. Going to give it one more go before I just do the finishing work and call it done. Waiting for a response from a seller to get enough fiber for another project. Mostly been working on a set of rainbow striped fingerless mitts for me. Might also make a few felted things for that holiday fair...

RESCU -- Attended a phone meeting last Thursday. Working on my first advocacy case, woohoo! This could definitely be a win-win... I can help folks now, while learning how to help folks for a future birthing advocacy program down the road.

Puzzles -- Worked on one of the Reagle puzzles with Bill while Linc ran around during our visit to Brookfield Zoo last weekend. It was great... we need to do this more often.

Misc. -- Attacked Linc's room the other night... it looks great right now. Finished his costume, he really liked it. Got cheap preview tickets to a Redmoon event for Sunday.

On Deck:

InHome Conference -- Still need to follow up on this.

DASH -- I'm feeling overwhelmed and over my head with this. Trying to foist GC off on another volunteer.

Braids -- Look for cheap and effective holiday advertising venues. Get postcards out to bridal salons in town. Contact ice arenas for competition braiding.

Letters -- I WILL WRITE A LETTER THIS WEEK.

Writing -- NaNoWriMo? Stay tuned...

Beadwork -- I might whip up some earrings for that holiday fair... and maybe some felted beads?

Misc. -- Costumes for Clay & Linc (they're in a local production of "Nightmare Before Christmas"). Geocaching. Thanksgiving. Christmas.

Sheesh. I do go on, don't I?

Comments

[keyne.livejournal.com]

Some of this sounds familiar, especially the financial piece (sigh). Good luck with the Illinois bill.

I've missed talk of RESCU -- what's that about?

[mamagotcha.livejournal.com]

Oh, I might not have explained it. It's a medical advocacy foundation for helping people involved with Renaissance faires (vendors, performers and such, who often do not have insurance) to deal with huge bills that often come with an injury or illness. A bunch of Rennies created it a few years ago, and they have helped hundreds of people deal with situations that otherwise might have been financially devastating. I loved the idea when I heard of it, and even though I'm not officially a vendor any longer, I wanted to help out. So I did a few training calls this morning, and now I'm an official advocate, yay!

Here's the RESCU website, if you want to know more. And thanks for the kind words!

[jillcook.livejournal.com]

I want kickass apple cranberry pie.