Day Off Doings

Today is the first of four days off in a row I finally have to get some things done around the house.

I've managed to get 10 pages done on the rewrite on Blood of a Friend.  This is a good thing since I've been having trouble with writer's block for a few months now.  What is the change?  I'm in love again.

After being apart for almost 13 years, an ex of mine and I are back together.  He's been looking for me for the last 10 years now and when we finally met again almost a month ago, it was as if we'd never been apart.  The feelings I'd had for him back then were still there, and he told me he'd never stopped loving me either.  We'd parted because he'd been a drunken ass and because one of his daughters had conspired with an ex of his to keep us apart.  This same daughter now regrets what she did seeing the lengths her father has gone to to find me again.  He has made me see that my marriage to Jamie is dead, and I've demanded a divorce from Jamie.  Jamie will never change his selfish, self centered ways, and I will never be happy with him.  My new beau, Terry, is a good, hard working man who doesn't drink or do drugs, and he doesn't have a selfish bone in his body - he'll give the shirt right off his back if someone really needed it.

My wall painting project is coming along a little quicker now that I have some time off.  I've put the first coat on the base board and door trim.  I've already done both coats on the window trim.  I need to get some white paint now to finish the door and the wall.  I'm not a professional painter, but I'm doing the best I can with my skills.  I'll take some pictures and post them tomorrow so you can see how far I've gotten on the wall.  I need to start looking at curtain rods and curtains once the wall is fully painted.

Days Off

I know I should have been working on painting my living room, the walls aren't going to paint themselves, but I didn't.  I finished some crocheting projects I'd begun and had become obsessed with and then, I wasted time on Facebook.  I did do some light reading as well.  Still, I have time before work tomorrow when I can get some painting done.  I'm not writing at the moment either - writer's block has become a writer's iron wall, and it's proving to be difficult to overcome.

I'm hoping my four day weekend at the end of this month will prove medicinal in many ways.  Terry, my man friend, is supposed to come up from Galveston to visit me, and we have some fun things planned - some of them we can actually do out in public without being arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior as well as public nudity. :-D  I can't wait to see him. He calls and texts me several times a day practically every day - the man is awesome.  He looked for me for 10 years which says something about how strong his feelings are for me :-)  If he'd found me before I'd left Texas with Jamie, I would have left Jamie for him - he has always meant that much to  me.  When things got rough with Jamie, I'd actually started making plans to find Terry myself and go to wherever he was......   Funny how life works things out when you least expect them to.

Painting Projects and Stuff

Last post, I showed you the before and after photos of my accent wall.  I have another two walls in the living room that need to be painted, but I don't have the main paint yet.  I'm going to do the remaining walls in white with a semi gloss finish and do the trim in the soul chocolate I used for the accent wall.  I have a hall section that will also be white with brown trim.  The kitchen will have the brown trim as well but won't be white.  I am going for a Tuscany feel in that room.  I'll post before and after pictures when I finally get all the painting done.

Meanwhile, I'm still working hard at Lowe's.  I've almost finished getting all my computer training validated not only for my department but also for Tools, Home Decor and Millworks.  I'm self training in those departments since they are neighbors to my department, and we try to help each other out during lunches and breaks.  It's helpful to actually know something about the department you're attempting to assist. :-)  I plan to start self training in Paint after my current training is all done.  I love learning new things, and I eventually want to move into a new department so I can continue to grow and develop in the company.

Wall Project #1

As I promised, here are the pictures of the wall my son and I just repainted - me doing most of the work of course.  The big deal about this is that I've never painted a wall before so I'm pretty proud of what we've done.  My next project is to repaint a second wall in the living room.  This first wall is the accent wall.  I'm not sure if I'll paint the other walls white or a lighter shade of brown/gray I have chosen for my kitchen.
Anyway, here are the pictures:

Before:

In this picture the light from the window makes the urine colored wall look blue.



After:

This picture is a bit blurry so I'll take another later and replace it.  However, you can see how much nicer the new color is over the old one.   This is a Valspar Signature color called Soul Chocolate.

My Wall

It's almost done, and I had to get my son, Joe, to  help me because my step ladder ended up being too short for me to reach the ceiling.  I just need to tidy up some of the edges and then, the wall will be completely painted. :-)  Oh yes, the baseboards need to be done as well, but that won't take long.

I'll be posting before and after pics of the project so you can see what a big change the paint job has made. :-)

I plan to paint the front door and the wall surrounding it next. :-)  Might as well since I have the paint and the desire to do it.

Catching Up -Again

About 8 months or so ago, I decided to call it quits with my husband.  He has shown me he's not going to change even when he gets out of jail so I'm not going to put myself through the stress and emotional pain again.  It was bad enough the first time.  Since that time, I've pretty much resigned myself to spending the rest of my life alone.  My work schedule keeps me from having any kind of real social life - it doesn't help I don't have a car to drive around either.  Then, Fate decided to smile on me and reward me for dealing so well with all the crap I've been through for the past 5 years.

About a week ago, I got an email from a young lady I knew when I dated her dad almost 13 years ago.  He and I dated for about 5 months or so, and we split fairly amicably I thought.  Anyway, she informed me her dad had been searching for me for the past 10 years, and she hooked me up with his phone number.  He and I talked, and he reminded me that we broke up because he'd been a drunken asshole at the time and had ruined my 30th birthday.  Apparently it wasn't that major a deal to me since it took me several days to remember the entire incident and the days following that led to me breaking up with him.  Long story short, he came to visit last weekend, and it was as if we'd never lost track of each other.  Oh we've both aged, but we still look and sound a lot like we did back then - chalk it up to good genes.  :-)  We've decided to give things another try so I'm going to see about getting a divorce from my husband.  Terry, my new beau, knows all about the husband and knows I'm going to get a divorce so he's not worried.

Meanwhile, my writing has suffered.  I haven't done much of anything until tonight. Tonight, I've begun work on rewriting Blood of a Friend.  It's going to take some time since I'm doing almost an entire rewrite, but it's going to be done before the end of the year.

I've also begun repainting the apartment.  I got tired of looking at urine yellow walls in my living room so I got out the chocolate brown paint I'd bought from work a month ago, and I painted an accent wall. I'm going to do the trim in the same brown as well.  I'll post before and after photos of the wall once I'm done with the project.  After I get the accent wall done. I have two more walls to do in the living room.  I might do the kitchen as well. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving.

I'm going to be alone this year, and I don't plan on going out.  I'm going to stay home, watch the game and work on the new choker I've got partially designed in my head.  Don't pity me, please.  I knew I'd be alone this year.  Hubby is still in prison, and I have no way of moving back up to Illinois to be closer to him despite what he wants.  I can't afford to move, and there are no job openings at the Lowe's in the city I need to move to.  I can keep busy, and I won't think about it.  Today will be just another day.

I miss Hubby very much.  Mail runs way too slow when you can't afford to send things priority.  I don't have a phone he can use to call me either so that's out.  :-(  I'll be glad when he gets out, and we get back together again.  Being alone sucks, and our 10th anniversary is coming up soon.

21 Nov 2012

I couldn't think of a good title for this post so I didn't bother.  The date will suffice I'm sure.

I have to work tonight.  It's going to be a mad house because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the next day is Black Friday.  My employer already has sales going on so we may run out of stuff for Black Friday before the day even gets here because the all mighty dollar is more important than anything else. Ah well.

I am still plugging away building up my product line for my own little business.  I have a sale going on that will last until this coming Tuesday.  I'm hoping to move some product, but we'll see.  It's very hard to promote something when you're struggling just to survive personally.

Yes, financially I'm in a mire.  I'm living paycheck to paycheck barely.  I know lots of others are in my shoes so I don't complain a lot.  I just suck it up and drive on.  I don't ask for help from my local welfare office because I feel that people with family and disabilities deserve it more than I do, and I don't want to take valuable resources away from them.  It's why I don't go to the food pantries in my area either.  I'll do without so others may have something.  I have a job at least which is more than I can say for a great many people.

Because of my financial difficulties, I'm going to have to put off getting anything for anyone this year for Christmas and birthdays.  This includes getting the printer and camera I need for my business.  They're just going to have to wait as paying my bills so I have a roof over my head is way more important.

Today's Plans :-)

Hollie came over with her man, and so did our friend, Jan.  We've been getting together to play Dungeons and Dragons once a week for almost a month now, and though we hadn't planned to play, we ended up playing which was fun for all of us.

After the game was ended at a prime stopping point, Jan and Hollie's man went with Hollie and I to a little shop run by a nice lady who actually opened the place just for us despite it being her day off.  The place is called Something4Divas.  The shop has an online site so just google the name :-)  We did a lot of looking around and a little bit of shopping.  Jan is going to bring her mom back, and the shop owner gave Jan her cell so if she needed to open the shop on an off day again, she could make an appointment like I did for Hollie and myself. :-)

I managed to get two necklaces and a bracelet done today, but I only got 2500 words added to Demon.  I'm off work again tomorrow so I'll work on it some more then.

Plans of Mice and Men and Me

mostly me since I have no clue what the men and the mice are doing today.

I have plans to finish a necklace I'm working on.  I plan to add about 5,000 words to Demon in Disguise today.  I also plan on having my friend, Hollie, come over to visit - if her man cooperates.

Hollie is a very dear friend of mine, and though we work together, we don't often get to socialize.  She lives a town over from me.  She's great, and she gives me such great creative inspiration! She's into music big time, and she finds me the best music for my writing playlists. :-)  I also consult with her on gothic jewelry designs.

What are your plans for the day??

Oh yeah, I'm closing in on a printer that I think will suit my needs.  Doing some shopping around to see if I can get a good Black Friday deal. :-)

Hey I'm here again!!

How many days in a row has it been now that I've made a post?? LOL I'm getting better at this blogging thing I guess.  More consistent anyway.

So I added a post to my krafting blog, and I want to mention here as well that I do have an online gift store over on Artfire.com.  It's called Griffin's Gifts.  I've got around a dozen items on there now, and I'll be adding more over the next few days just in time for a small Black Friday sale. :-)  I may hold the sale over until Cyber Monday depending on how well things go, and how much product I have left.  I am only making one of a kind items so please check out what I have because once it's gone, that exact item won't be seen again. :-)

I got myself a bigger laptop finally.  The little notebook from Acer finally died after almost ten years in service.  This one I have is a Samsung.  It's okay for what I need it for, but I really prefer the AMD processors over the Pentiums so not sure how long I'll keep going with this one.  Still, it's better than having nothing at all.

Work is picking up as well so not sure how regular I'll be on here once the holiday season gets into full swing, but I'm going to try my best. :-)

Today in my little world

I got busy helping a neighbor doing some things so I didn't get any of my own projects done. I'm not complaining though because she's a nice old lady with health issues, and she needs help from time to time.  Fiercely independent, I can tell when it bothers her to ask for help of any kind, and I don't begrudge it because she's just so sweet.

Work has been rough physically.  I did a lot of ladder climbing and moving of shop vacs on and off shelves trying to get things sorted out for inventory.  I'm basically the only one in my department doing it since the department manager is gone and not around to give out assignments.  I don't mind doing it because it could cost me my job if we fail inventory.  I have an incentive you see.  The others aren't so bothered by losing their jobs because one is pretty much retired and the other has a second job.  I'm also irritated by a system that isn't efficient and neat so having to hunt for stuff two bays down from where it's being sold makes me waste time and energy best spent doing other things.

I have not done any writing in the last few days, but I am working on making time.  Demon in Disguise is just begging to be released this year. :-)

I'm Back

Yes, I've been gone. I've been busy with work and with life in general.
Finances are in the toilet, and I'm struggling to make ends meet like everyone else in the US of A.
We reelected an imbecile,imho, for president and yet, our two party system is so elitist we can't get any decent people to run as an independent against those big money puts out there.  We need a charismatic leader like Martin Luther King to spearhead a major grass roots upheaval to save our country from the oligarchy it has become.  We are no longer "by the people, for the people".  We are by the rich for the rich.

Prepping is becoming huge.  It's like WWII mentality, stock the bomb shelters before the world comes to an end.  Only we're not prepping for a nuclear holicaust.  We're prepping for the financial collapse of our country.  It's going to be the Great Depression all over again if things don't drastically change.

Congress has gotten so top heavy our taxes aren't enough to pay for everything. Instead of raising taxes, the government needs to start cutting jobs just like every business in the US has had to do to save money.  It's about efficiency!  However, the US government is not about efficiency.  It's about gluttony and power and money.  We do NOT need several agencies overseeing our national defense, that's what the DOD is for! We don't need four layers of peons to get to the people in charge ie. the secretary to the undersecretary to the executive secretary ad nauseum.
Anyway, it's like I'm talking to a brick wall because no matter how much you complain and who you complain to, nobody who can do anything is listening.  Write to your congressman and your representative, why?? They won't do anything.  They're usually just as much a part of the problem as the rest of the politicians.

So anyway.... lol

Update Oct. 7 2012

Lots to tell you about since my last post. :-)

My hubby who is currently incarcerated in Southern Illinois has served 10 months of his 21 month sentence for his 4th DUI, and he's now in general population after being moved from Western Illinois to his current location three months ago.  I am eagerly awaiting his release and so is he. :-)

Work is going fine.  I am still regular part time, but I've been getting 30 hours a week for the last month.  This is due to my department being short staffed.  With my eye on the future and the fact they have begun interviewing to staff my department, I put in for a full time position.  I am hoping to be interviewed and know something definitive in the next week or two.

I finished The Crimson Knight.  It is available at Amazon.com in paperback and is available exclusively for the Kindle ereader series at Kindle.com as well as Amazon.com.  I am currently working on a major rewrite of Blood of a Friend and while I had planned on it being finished a released in its new form, it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon.  Darkness With, a poetry collection, is also in the works.  I need to get the cover art done for it and finish some arranging before I submit it for publication.  I plan to publish it in ebook form for the Kindle series as well.

I got a cat.  His name is Samson.  He's a former stray now living the best life he's ever had.  He's an older cat, around 9-10 years of age.  He's litter box trained and very sweet for a cat who lived on the streets.  My guess is he was abandoned after being a house cat during his formative years.  I am currently getting him fattened up since he was all skin and bones.  I feed him plenty of protein and carbs to help him regain muscle mass.  So far he's doing fine.

Check out my blog Krafty Katt to see what I've been doing in that department - I've been quite creative!

Almost there!

The Crimson Knight will be available from Amazon.com again in another few days!
CreateSpace, the site I'm using to publish my work, has greatly streamlined the review process so it doesn't take as long to get things done.  I'm very pleased with the rework of the novel itself and of the cover.  I am hoping everyone who buys it enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Oh yes, I am in the process of getting The Crimson Knight published via Kindle so that it will be available in ebook form.  I am told the process will take a week with the reviews and posting time schedules.  Happily, the market for Kindle books is international so I'll get some foreign exposure that way.

Crimson Knight is complete!

I finally got the rewrite done,and Crimson Knight is now, by industry standards, a novel!

I have sent it to two editors for a once over and then, when they clear it, it'll be sent off to my publisher - along with its new cover - for review.  I'll get sent a blue book for any changes that need to be done once it passes review, and once the changes are made - if any - Crimson Knight will be ready for it's relaunch.

I  hope to hear back from my two editors very soon so I can continue the process towards preparing Crimson Knight for relaunch!

Crimson Knight News - Almost Done!!

That's right, I'm in the home stretch of the rewrite of my first fantasy novel!!  It's almost a full grown novel anyway - I need about 3800 more words to reach the industry standard's bare minimum on word count.  I have two new scenes to add, and I need to rework the final scene since I'm changing the ending a bit.

I plan to have the rewrite done no latter than the 7th so I can have it electronically submitted to the publisher on the 8th.  It takes them a few days to review everything and get back to me to let me know if any formatting changes need to be done.  Once the review is complete, I'll submit to receive the blue book via regular mail and go from there :-)

Oh yes, I've redone the cover art for the book as well.  I thought it deserved it.  I'm hoping it does the trick.

Let me know what you think!

Crimson Knight Update

I've been busy working, but I've also managed to find time to write.
Crimson Knight is growing up. :-)  My word count is currently at 41,000 and rising.  I'm shooting for a final count of around 60,000 since this is the first in a proposed trilogy.
I plan to relaunch Crimson Knight in August with the new word count and with a new cover.  I've decided the current cover is too pedestrian.  I'd love to have the money to commission a professional cover, but that's not in the cards right now.
I have a page on Facebook so please feel free to like it and befriend it:
http://www.facebook.com/griffinbk

I give up for now

I can't seem to get a handle on Blood of an Enemy.  It doesn't want to go where I want it to so, I'm scrapping it for now.  It's aggravating to me not to be able to express in writing what I am seeing in my head.

So, what now?  I have the germ of an idea for a story called Soul Reaver and another I haven't titled yet.  There's also Demon in Disguise that needs to be put on the computer still.  I finally found the other half of the story so I need to get it done.  I have to work the next three days, but I think I can put in some time on it Saturday and Sunday and during my days off.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Farewell to Sanctuary

Before I moved, this was my sanctum - at Diboll's Temple Memorial Library.  I had a great view of the highway via two walls of windows, and it was back in a corner surrounded by bookshelves so I had a sense of privacy and seclusion in which to write/craft/read. *sigh* I'm going to miss that place.