Personal Digest Saturday: November 23 – November 29

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got a nice late sleep. Awesome. Did some blogging and watched Jennifer Paz's livestream where she signed Steven Universe posters, and then later I watched the same thing for Erica Luttrell. (They play Lapis Lazuli and Sapphire on Steven Universe.) After I wrote up their Q&A responses for my fan blog, I finished my personal blog stuff. I had a lot of walking to do after that so I walked to a lecture, while reading, and while practicing music. I read some old comics and submitted queries. And talked to Jeaux on the phone briefly.
  
  
• Sunday I got up early to go out with Jeaux. We saw Wicked in the theater! Then had lunch at Noble Crust and went grocery shopping. We hung out getting our walking done and talking about politics and religion. After he left I got my chores done, updated some lists, recorded a karaoke song, did some applications, and added some new music to my lists.
  
  
• Monday at work was pretty uneventful so I just did maintenance on reminders and updated lists. Did some reading. Listened to some Polos and read the new issues of Multiversus comics (it's based on a video game with a bunch of characters from different properties and it has two Steven Universe characters in it, so I wanted to check it out). I found a lot of ways they messed up writing the SU characters. Ugh. They should have had a consultant. :)
  
  
• Tuesday I edited a letter for the office and did my usual background updating. I managed to get an entire physical photo album processed for my photo project. I did a Polo and made a chocolate silk pie. Did some reading, took a walk, and had a tiny nice nap.
  
  
• Wednesday there was some coordination to do at the office. Then I spent the day posting some eBay listings for Meghan, who had given me some of her husband's old watches to sell. In the evening I made the whipped cream for the chocolate silk pie and decorated it, and then I made a lentil casserole (a real adventure!) and finally my dinner rolls. Cleaned up the kitchen, got tired, and went to sleep early.
  
  
• Thursday I got up and lollygagged around in the morning until it was time for Jeaux to pick me up for Thanksgiving. He took me out to my dad's house in Sarasota, where we met with family and friends and had a lovely dinner that was ordered in from Michael's (mostly). We had some lovely conversation and some good food. Jeaux and I took a walk after dinner and then we came back for dessert, which was also excellent. We left before it got too late, got more walking done when we got to my place, and watched an episode of our silly show. I crashed soon after.
  
  
• Friday I didn't have to go to work but unfortunately I didn't do much with the free time. I mostly just spent it eating leftovers, packing up eBay packages that sold, and reading old stuff. I also made a Polo for Steve but it's malfunctioning again. I guess I'm allowed to have a non-productive day sometimes. I just don't feel that good about it.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I swear this is true: I weighed myself Thanksgiving morning before food and the next day after lots of food, and it was exactly the same. Does that make sense? It does not. I recorded a high of 113.9 and a low of 113.1.
  
• Nutrition stuff: There was a lot of dessert on the last couple days of the week because of Thanksgiving! So that threw the carb balance all out of whack and the protein very low. I don't worry about stuff like that--I make recordings to track habits, not exceptions, and I firmly believe there are lots of occasions to drop the norms! During the rest of the week I was having some trouble getting all my servings of fruit for some reason, but the protein/carb/fat balance was decent. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week, but cut it extremely close a couple days. My low day was Friday at 10,075 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 11,902 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 184.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.

 

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1020: ivy #318: so what.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Lentil casserole

Chocolate Silk Pie

Dinner Rolls

Thanksgiving group

Thanksgiving Group

My Thanksgiving plate

Jeaux with his fabulous pumpkin roll

Chocolate Silk Pie Inside

Pumpkin Roll Inside

Dessert Spread

My Thanksgiving Dessert Plate

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,474 for swankivy (lost 3), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 209 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 805 for swankivy (lost 4), 3,691 for JulieSondra (lost 38--people are still leaving the platform en masse because of Elon). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 643 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,427 (no change). Instagram followers: 279 (no change). Threads followers: 76 (no change). I just joined Bluesky Social (where people are flocking for a post-Twitter life). Bluesky followers: 219 (36 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: November 16 – November 22

Life news this week:

• Saturday I updated some lists, worked on my blogging, did some walking and Poloing people, and wrapped up a package to go out. I also did some applications and ate a potato.
  
  
• Sunday I slept late and I guess I needed it. Did my chores (dishes, trash, laundry) and organized money stuff, made some Polos, and updated more lists. Got very distracted from the things I wanted to do because I got an idea for a short story and had to immediately write the whole thing, so that's where my Sunday went.
  
  
• Monday work involved editing a letter, compiling timesheets, following up on correspondence, and putting some approval stamps on stuff. I attended the streamed Q & A of another Steven Universe event and documented it for my fan blog. Then I worked on converting my new short story to its intended format: it's "found fiction" and needs to be told in realistic looking correspondence, including text messages, forum posts, and handwritten letters. Did some walking, reading, and Polo communication, and had my pants admired by a window salesman. Did some more submissions too. And I closed my mother's estate account today. It felt weird to be "done."
  
  
• Tuesday was full of meetings. I had to go to three of them. And put more approval stamps on things. I spent the rest of the day continuing to make illustrations for my new story. I finally finished making the first draft and offered it to my friends for reading. Got three test reader takers and sent the story to them. Then did my walking and Poloing.
  
  
• Wednesday I put out fires at work and did some data entry. Reviewed some story feedback and did some applications. Went to Saki with Jeaux, dropped by Walgreens, and shopped at Publix. We watched some Colbert shorts and another new episode of What We Do in the Shadows. And we saw a bunny outside on our walk!
  
  
• Thursday I did more data entry--pretty much all I did all day, except for a break where I had to go to the dentist and get my second ever cavity filling (in a hard-to-see spot between some back teeth). Not bad! But the dentist commented "I like your outfit. You look like a fifteen-year-old." What. I wrote my webcomic and went to game night with my friends, and then did some drawings and Poloed my friend Steve.
  
  
• Friday I did my usual reports at work and sent some teaming requests out, and went to a meeting. I cleaned up the house, saw Meghan briefly because she stopped by to pick up and drop off some stuff to sell, and then I worked on my comic, my walking, some reading, and a karaoke song. Fixed some formatting on the new short story and got very cold. It's chilly!

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Not much to report. I recorded a high of 114.3 and a low of 113.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: My green veggie is spinach almost every day. I should really get some variety going. Most of my food is either a) smoothies, b) fruit in yogurt, c) packaged fruit, or d) fake meat (Tofurky, veggie burgers) on a bun. Not a huge variety except for restaurant food. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week, but cut it extremely close a couple days. My low day was Saturday at 10,218 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 12,864 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 124.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "King of Pain" by the Police.

 

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1019: ivy #317: a deep, dark feeling.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

What I was wearing when the dentist said I looked 15 years old

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,477 for swankivy (no change), 679 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 209 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (1 new). Twitter followers: 809 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,729 for JulieSondra (lost 25--people are still leaving the platform en masse because of Elon). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (no change), 642 likes for JulieSondra (2 new), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,427 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 279 (lost 1). Threads followers: 76 (no change). I just joined Bluesky Social (where people are flocking for a post-Twitter life). Bluesky followers: 183 (143 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: November 9 – November 15

Life news this week:

• Saturday I cleaned up the house a bit and put together some collages from some drawings I got from various artists who worked on Steven Universe, and I put some zines in holders for display. Talked to my sister Patricia and we planned out the next time I'm coming to visit her. Then I worked on my blog until Kari came over. We got a pizza and did not watch cartoons--just chatted for a long time about life, politics, art, and relationships. Great night.
  
  
• Sunday I went to band practice and we got some catch-up time during our car rides. We had sushi at our usual place. When I got home I did laundry and trash like usual and took a weird nap. Got mad at a book and had to hustle to get my steps in. Did a little writing.
  
  
• Monday I did some work on a letter at work. After work I did some editing on projects and went to bed early.
  
  
• Tuesday I did some training at work. Then I did a bunch of homework--got some stuff together for the bank appointment for the next day, finally got my first update done for the stuff I've been preparing for my neglected rants, researched some medicines and canceled an appointment, and worked on my story again and was able to fix a plot hole.
  
  
• Wednesday I did some team coordination and other work. I went to my bank appointment and was finally able to send money from the sale of my mom's house to my sisters. On my way home I bought two new plants and planted them in new pots. Read old journal entries, talked to Tony, and went out with Jeaux. We finished watching what was available of What We Do in the Shadows.
  
  
• Thursday I did some data entry. Wrote my next comic storyboard. Went to a dentist appointment and it was super weird. They found a cavity and I have to go back next week. My second ever cavity! (It's a spot between teeth. I can't see it.) Did some Polos and went to Game Night with friends. Only got a little bit of drawing done.
  
  
• Friday I did my usual timesheets and reports at work. Watched an exciting Q&A livestream with some of the Steven Universe crew and wrote up the highlights for my blog. Spent the evening getting my comic done and my steps in.

New Reviews:

• Heiki Eesmaa gave The Invisible Orientation a one-star review on Goodreads.
• raven gave The Invisible Orientation a three-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Lower this week than last week, but still not quite where I want to be. Would like to see that pre-vacation number come back. I recorded a high of 114.0 and a low of 113.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: I've been having issues this week getting three servings of fruits and veggies in! It seems like I always mean to have a juice or a fruit cup before I go to bed and then I fall asleep first! So I've messed that up a couple times, but thanks to my spinach smoothies I'm still usually getting my green veggie in. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week, but cut it extremely close a couple days. My low day was Monday at 10,004 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 15,058 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 62.
  

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1018: ivy #316: noticeable.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,477 for swankivy (no change), 679 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 209 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 811 for swankivy (lost 13), 3,729 for JulieSondra (lost 91--everyone is dumping Twitter because of Elon Musk being nominated to the Trump administration). Facebook: 299 friends for swankivy (1 new--I accepted a request from an old high school bud), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,428 (no change). Instagram followers: 280 (1 new). Threads followers: 76 (1 new). I just joined Bluesky Social (where people are flocking for a post-Twitter life). I now have 40 followers there.

Personal Digest Saturday: November 2 – November 8

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did a little bit of household maintenance and blogging and processing of photos. Talked to my friend Sarah on the phone for a while. Meghan and Adam came over to visit briefly and give me a cool signed Indigo Girls CD in a frame. Finished the blogging after they left.
  
  
• Sunday I had a chill day except that I did maintenance on my water system, did laundry, and took out the trash. I played games, read some discussions online, listened to some old episodes of my podcast, and recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Monday I compiled timesheets and did some reports. Finished reading my friend Ronni's book. Spent a bunch of time putting together a post for a group I was in, and when it posted it was very popular so I got distracted responding to comments.
  
  
• Tuesday I had a couple meetings, cleaned up the house, wrote a book review, and talked to Tony out in the yard. Made a request to get some damaged contact lenses replaced. Hung out on Discord sporadically chatting with my friends about election news. Went to bed feeling gross because I doubt it's any secret I did not want Trump to win but it looked bad almost immediately. Couldn't get to sleep properly even though I took a sleep aid.
  
  
• Wednesday my brain finally let me have a little sleep in the morning, but then in the morning I looked at a few news articles and went to work. Did a few chores, took a nap when I was tired, and went shopping with Jeaux. We had been planning to eat at a certain restaurant and go bowling, but ended up not being able to do either because Jeaux didn't know neither place would have availability when we wanted it. We ended up watching some great episodes of What We Do in the Shadows. Then we went back to my place and read silly things and talked about the future.
  
  
• Thursday I worked on some utilities stuff and some reports, and I glued loose vinyl strips down in my kitchen. Wrote my comic, made a Polo for my sister, met my friends for Game Night but we didn't play any games because we were just chatting about election stuff, and drew some comic frames while chatting. Finally got the bank info to be able to send my sisters money from the sale of my mom's house.
  
  
• Friday I did some interaction with teaming partners and some reports, and made a couple appointments. Drew the rest of my webcomic, practiced some music, caught up on news, and did a few submissions.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Started with a high and then just steadily went down throughout the week, which went hand in hand with the return to my usual eating habits. Glad to see that. I recorded a high of 116.2 and a low of 114.2.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Had no trouble getting my fruits and veggies this week. There was only one day when I was a little low on protein and one day where I had a lot of fat in my diet, but overall it was a very balanced week. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,026 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 14,758 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. Four-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: American Panda by Gloria Chao. I'm on page 40.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Surface Pressure" from Encanto.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1017: dax #151: a different "we".

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,477 for swankivy (9 new), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 208 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 824 for swankivy (lost 5), 3,820 for JulieSondra (lost 54--people are leaving Twitter in droves after the election). Facebook: 298 friends for swankivy (2 new--I accepted a request from someone who likes me on YouTube and made one new friend in a group), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (2 new). Tumblr followers: 2,428 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 279 (2 new). Threads followers: 75 (1 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: October 26 – November 1

Life news this week:

• Saturday was my big Halloween party! I went out before it got too hot and swept my porch down for outdoor loiterers . . . and found a wasp nest had taken up residence under the table. Got rid of it and that was no fun. Also put my outdoor lights back up. I rested a little, printed out my food and drink labels and laid out the party food dishes, and did my blogging. Then I got in the kitchen and got drinks cooling and started making the cider. I was mostly dressed in my Halloween costume when the first guests (Ben and Scott) arrived so I had to finish after they got settled. They helped me put out the rest of the food. Then more people showed up: Meghan, Adam, Dorian, Dare, Cade, Jeaux, Yasmin, Arthur, Michael, and Rachael. We ate a bunch of food, listened to music, talked about politics and nerdy things, and played the card game Joking Hazard. (Jeaux and Michael both brought the same game!) When everyone trickled out with leftovers I cleaned up the kitchen a little and went to bed.
  
  
• Sunday I tried to spend part of the day recuperating--it's been a whirlwind month, with a vacation, a hurricane evacuation, and a week of party prep. I made a Polo for my sister, ate leftovers all day, and got some trash out and dishes done. I took several LONG naps and it was nice. Also put away laundry and vacuumed.
  
  
• Monday I had to edit and send out FOUR letters (more than usual!) and did a little research. Later I wrote my So You Write webcomic and researched what content I want for my next video. Did some laundry and reading. Took more epic naps. Made a doctor's appointment.
  
  
• Tuesday I did some crash research. Drew some comics and filmed/edited/posted a new video. Ate way more leftovers. Did more reading and submitted some stories to magazines.
  
  
• Wednesday I went to the foot doctor. I thought they would want to take my toenail off again but they didn't. They're doing a test so we'll see what it says. I walked to the pool store to buy my water system chlorine. Did some teaming invitations when I got back to work. And sent out some more story submissions and queries. Jeaux arrived after work and we ate at 4 Rivers, shopped, caught up on Colbert, took a walk, and finished off the latest season of Heartstopper.
  
  
• Thursday I edited a letter and followed up on some team arrangements. Wrote my webcomic and posted my other webcomic. Got some trick-or-treat candy and stickers ready but only got a couple trick-or-treaters. Did a Polo for my sister again and went to game night. Too many people were busy so we didn't have enough to play anything and just spent most of the night talking about politics with three people (four when Steve popped in at the end after rehearsal). I got ALL of my webcomic drawings done during game night! Fell asleep early.
  
  
• Friday I had to do timesheets and reports as usual. I later processed my webcomic and posted it. Everything seemed really early. I got my goals and calendars processed and posted them as per usual on the first of the month. Also recorded a karaoke song since I didn't do it on Sunday. I had a lot of time to get my steps in and I also watched some internet videos and ate pie. Got in a Polo to Steve and did some song practice. Played some silly games before bed.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: I'm not sure how one week of eating party leftovers can suddenly destroy what seems like half of the progress I made here. It doesn't seem like it should be possible. Maybe I'm being dramatic? We'll see if this changes after I go back to my usual routine. I recorded a high of 115.4 and a low of 114.7.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Most days I still managed to get the fruits and veggies in, but prioritizing eating my party leftovers pretty much exploded any chance I had of a balanced diet. I was very low on protein this week and very high on fat (I mean, can I count pumpkin pie as a fruit? Haha). I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,109 steps, and my high day was Wednesday at 13,132 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: This Night Is Ours by Ronni Davis. I'm on page 218.
  

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Aqualung" by Jethro Tull.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

 

#1016: adele #250: to be seen.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #119 is out. In this video, I share another perspective on ace inclusion in queer spaces and how the historical perspective on inclusion was less friendly, and why it's unhelpful to determine authentic identity and reason for inclusion based only on how much hate we get.

New photos:

Halloween 2024 Album is up so you can check it out in its entirety if you like! But here are a few favorites.

My baby Garnet costume!

I even got a red contact lens to go with the costume!

Garnet costume! Check out my Gem.

Dare as the emcee from Cabaret

Scott with food!

Adam as a drunken Scotsman and Meghan as a pirate

Jeaux as GIR in the dog suit

Jeaux as GIR with his robot head

Yasmin's amazing plate

Yasmin as Business Clown

Yasmin YES ON 4

Friends laughing at card game

Friends playing games!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,468 for swankivy (7 new), 680 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 207 for Not-So-Giant Women (8 new), 65 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 829 for swankivy (no change), 3,874 for JulieSondra (lost 2). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (1 new--just a friend's new account), 640 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 253 followers for So You Write (no change), 98 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,429 (no change). Instagram followers: 277 (no change). Threads followers: 74 (no change).

October Goals Update

November is HERE! So it's time for my update on how the goals went in October.

1. Health Goals: I resolved to drink more water, eat more fruits and veggies, and walk at least 10,000 steps a day.
2. Personal Project Goals: I resolved to get digital photos sorted and collect memorable bits from Facebook for my essays; resolved to work on writing or editing at least one day a week; resolved to relearn ukulele songs I've forgotten and learn new ones, and keep creating my regular webcomic and video content.
3. Reading Goals: I resolved to read at least twice a week.
4. Relationship and Communication Goals: I resolved to document daily life stuff more, keep up with e-mails and online communication, and make time for friends and family.
5. Other Goals: I wanted to prepare and sell my mom's house, watch some TV shows I'd dropped, and not play time-wasting tames.

Progress Update:

HEALTH GOALS:

Summary: This was easily the strangest month of the year, so I'm not sure I can make sense of the health goals this time. I did kinda surprisingly well staying hydrated and eating my fruits and veggies while I was on vacation, but it got very difficult to maintain reasonable nutrition when I ended up evacuating for the big hurricane and got stranded at Jeaux's apartment when my power was out for most of the week. I then had a Halloween party and ended up focusing on consumption of leftovers more than on balanced nutrition. Nevertheless, this is my calendar of progress:

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary: The photos goal is still on hold--it needs to get in line behind the writing for now. I was not able to write (except for webcomics) this month because of vacation and hurricane evacuation and party prep, but I did manage to get some good submissions in there at the end. I also haven't picked up my goals for ukulele yet. Progress:

READING GOALS: 

Summary: Again, with so much absolutely hectic b.s. going on this month, the only reading I got to do was on the airplane and after I was done with my party. I have not finished any books this month but I did get to start a new one.

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS: 

Summary: I completed some documentation that I will be able to start posting soon! Yay! My e-mail box is at 2 unanswered mails. Social schedule was intense--activities every day with Jeaux while on vacation and while escaping to Georgia and then crashing on his futon when the power was out at my house, and then so much partying and whatnot. I've got more events coming next month but I'm gonna try to take more time for myself in November.

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: After many follow-ups, I was finally able to get the amounts I owed to the probate lawyer cleared, and now we just need to wrap up one form before I can distribute money to my sisters! We each get a nice little chunk of change from the sale of our mom's house and I can't wait to get it to them.

Back-burner projects like my plaster pillar painting are still waiting. I put some of the unsold items from my mom's statues and candy jars up on eBay but no takers so far.

The last appointment I wanted to get for this year is making it to the dentist, but I haven't scheduled it.

Time-wasting now seems to involve searching for silly geography games to relax and reading too many stories about terrible people on Twitter and Reddit. I need some down time but don't want as much as I've been having. I did get one of my TV shows watched while on an Amtrak train with Jeaux, so that scratches that goal off the list! There's one more show I want to watch though.

Will update again next month!