Personal Digest Saturday: June 7 – June 13

Life news this week:

• Saturday began a damn busy and exciting week! I started the day chatting with my dad about getting a set list ready for upcoming band practices. I prepared a list based on our discussion and he sent it to the band, and then I also sent some suggestions for songs that could use harmony from backup singers if anyone wants to learn the parts. After band stuff, I worked on my blog, sent a Polo to my sister about plants, and started cleaning the kitchen. (I've been wanting to do an obsessive deep clean of the whole house for a long time now, but I told myself I'd wait until after I finished writing my novel. Now we're here!) I got halfway done with my epic cleaning before I got too tired. I did a little bit of editing and went to bed.
  
  
• Sunday I picked up where I'd left off on the kitchen and got the other half done. (The oven took a long time.) Also did laundry, took out recycling, and had to sneak my trash into someone else's bin (you're really not supposed to do this) because the City still hasn't replaced my trash bin. Working on it. I got to reorganize my cabinets and everything! Also did DDR (against my better judgment), and closed out the evening learning a new song on ukulele and scanning photos from the box.
  
  
• Monday I had some aches and pains because I worked too hard. That'll teach me! Anyway, I went to work and did some project research, and talked to my pest control guy who is super nice, and then after relaxing a bit I started my ukulele practice, did more cleaning, and did some editing on the book. The cleaning in the living room involved five bookshelves and the music book shelf. I'm doing the kind of cleaning where I take all the stuff off the shelves, dust everything, pull the furniture out from the wall and clean the baseboards and everything, and put it all back fresh. I've only done this intense of a cleaning one other time since I've lived here.
  
  
• Tuesday I edited a letter and took a nap in the middle of the day. Then I finished out the work day normally. I did some ukulele practice, recorded my (very few) lines for the next episode of Sleepy Hollow which were due, and did some exercise with a new aerobics video I'd never done before, and then I went back to cleaning. This time I did one more bookshelf and my epic entertainment center, which made a gigantic mess because there's so much media on it (CDs, VHS tapes, magazines, DVDs, audio tapes, etc.). Finally after I was done I got some editing done.
  
  
• Wednesday I woke up to the news that Steven Universe is getting a spin-off show. MIND BLOWN. (I'd heard the rumors, but there have been rumors for years.) I am very, very excited for Lars of the Stars and I'll be waiting for more news! (I did cry just a little.) It was honestly hard to concentrate on anything after I heard about it! But I got some work done making some lists for a utilities project and dealing with the usual follow-ups and research at work. I did some more laundry and met Jeaux for Mandola's, and we shopped at Target and Publix. We watched the latest Murderbot (arrgh! They're too short!) and he made me watch The Amazing Digital Circus which I absolutely hated so thanks a lot Jeaux. (Haha.) Then we read silly shit to each other and after he left I tried to learn another new ukulele song but figuring out the chords for the song "Change" were giving me trouble for some reason. Rrrgh. I also sent out a query and scanned some more box photos.
  
  
• Thursday I dealt with some utilities stuff at work and after the work day I was going to knock out some more projects but I got distracted by a publisher request for one of my short stories. (I'm pitching a couple longer stories to book publishers as novellas to see if I can get somewhere. This one, after reading a sample, wrote back and asked for the rest. We'll see what happens.) I had to prepare the rest of the story and send it to them. I wrote my webcomic storyboard, went to Game Night with my friends, played DDR nice and late after games, walked around while playing ukulele, recorded a karaoke song, and sent out another short story submission.
  
  
• Friday I worked on timesheets and reports at the office. George the pest control person stopped by again because he messed up his phone and wanted me to send him something I'd sent him before he messed it up, haha. (I did.) He hung out a little and then left and I went back to work. Then I worked on my webcomic, posted it, got my steps in while listening to a music playlist of piano/vocal songs my dad and I are working on, and did some more photo box scanning. Then I worked on ukulele practice in between recording some voice over for a webcomic commercial and doing the first half of the voice over for the next Dracula episode. It was a LOT of lines (I hadn't previewed the script) so I got too tired and went to bed in the middle of it.

New Reviews:

• Milo gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Numbers went down--probably because I have literally been so active and busy, so moving more and sitting/eating less. My sleep schedule has continued to be weird. High weight was 115.7. Low weight was 114.1.
  
  
• Nutrition stuff: Got all my fruits and veggies every day. A couple low protein days and one high-fat day (the restaurant day, of course). My nutrient balance was really good this week--very close to goals. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to play my dance game or aerobics videos every other day. I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Thursday at 10,314 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 11,101 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. I'm just starting.

New singing performances:

This week's song is "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#1048: weaver #165: parent her.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

None.

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,469 for swankivy (lost 1), 682 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 216 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 770 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,496 for JulieSondra (lost 4). Facebook: 292 friends for swankivy (no change), 633 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 249 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,419 (no change). Instagram followers: 281 (no change). Threads followers: 75 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 375 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: May 31 – June 6

Life news this week:

• Saturday began another sleeping-in weekend. I did some processing on my comic, popped in to do some time-sensitive work for my boss, sent a Polo to Meg, posted my comic, worked on blogging, and updated my collection lists. I also played DDR and did some edits on my book.
  
  
• Sunday I slept in again. I started laundry and did dishes, finished reading a book, scanned some photos from the photo boxes I'm still processing, learned a new ukulele song, processed my May goals in my online posts, took a walk, submitted a voice-over audition, and recorded a karaoke song.
  
  
• Monday was busy at work. Had a marketing meeting, did an accounting task for my boss, went to an interview practice (I just ran the interview rehearsal; I'm not on this interview team), and found out we won the contract in District 2. (Hooray!) Sent a Polo to Meg, played ukulele, and worked on my book edit. My trash bin was mysteriously kidnapped. No one knows what happened to it and the City also won't let me order another one.
  
  
• Tuesday I edited a letter at the office and worked on a massive proposal. Had to do some minor utility coordination work. After work, I played ukulele a lot and edited my book a lot. Sent a Polo to Meg and another one to my sister. And also had one nap.
  
  
• Wednesday I was busy with a mail-out to teaming partners and some research for a project. I played DDR and cleaned up the house. My boss called me late in the day and we hashed out a plan for turning in this proposal. I finished my parts and left it in his hands. Jeaux picked me up to go to a new (to us) restaurant called Burger Vault, where I got a veggie burger and fries. We did our shopping, watched the latest Murderbot episode, and watched some videos together. After he left I finished scanning some photos from the photo box, sent out a query, and got in some ukulele practice.
  
  
• Thursday I had to get up at 6:45 AM and help with the proposal, which was due later that day. We also had THREE meetings and two of them were complex and not quick (a marketing meeting, a kick-off meeting, and a scope clarification meeting). In between it all I managed to get the proposal pieced together (even though at one point we had a setback when my boss overwrote a file!) and we turned it in without much time to spare. After work I wrote my storyboard for my webcomic, practiced ukulele, took a nap, went to Game Night with my friends, and played more ukulele. I talked to my sister on Polo, played still MORE ukulele, and submitted a short story.
  
  
• Friday I got up late and worked on my project reports at the office. I arranged some meetings too. Then I played DDR, worked on my comic, and posted it. I practiced ukulele and scanned some more photos from the box. And I relaxed with some reaction videos.

New Reviews:

• Mandi Gregory gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: This week is similar to last week! I got some chips to munch when I get snacky at night (along with carrots!). Haven't seen much of a change, but my sleep schedule has been so weird that I'm not even sure if some of this is owing to taking my scale reading too soon after my last meal. High weight was 116.3. Low weight was 114.9.
  
  
• Nutrition stuff: Got all my fruits and veggies every day. There's an increase in the number of days I am getting high readings for fat versus carbs and protein because I haven't paid enough attention to staggering the days I have higher-fat foods. I am still regularly taking vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to play my dance game every other day. I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Sunday at 10,049 steps, and my high day was Tuesday at 10,859 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver. Five-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Page. I'm just starting.

New singing performances:

This week's song is "Manic Monday" by the Bangles.

Stuff drawn:

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write:

#168: a better story.

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

#1047: ivy #330: interesting after all.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Old and new flowers on gardenia bush!

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,470 for swankivy (lost 2), 682 for JulieSondra (no change), 16 for v & V Vids (no change), 216 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 771 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,500 for JulieSondra (lost 5). Facebook: 292 friends for swankivy (no change), 633 likes for JulieSondra (lost 2), 82 followers for Negative One (no change), 249 followers for So You Write (no change), 100 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,419 (lost 1). Instagram followers: 281 (lost 2). Threads followers: 75 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 373 (7 new).

May 2025 Goals Update

We are on to June 2025! What a great time to review May. Goal check-in!

1. Health Goals: I resolved to continue drinking an appropriate amount of water (around 4 glasses a day), eat 3 servings of fruits and veggies a day and keep my nutrition balanced, and walk at least 10,000 steps a day plus add in an aerobic activity every other day.

2. Personal Project Goals: I resolved to keep working on getting photos sorted as the first stop on a website rebuild; resolved to work on writing three days a week and submissions when I can; resolved to relearn ukulele songs I've forgotten and learn new ones, keep creating my regular webcomic and video content, and get some small voice acting gigs.

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: Get rid of some things in my garage, paint the pillar, keep the house clean, watch some backed up TV shows, and avoid biting my nails.

Progress Update:

HEALTH GOALS:
Summary: I'm pretty impressed that I've been able to do my aerobic dancing (aka DDR) or aerobics videos (aka walking in place while lifting tiny weights) every other day for the entirety of this year, EVEN WHEN I WAS ON VACATION. I feel good, haven't been ill at all, and am eating with a very good balance. I'm disappointed that I haven't gotten the number on the scale to where I want it, but I'm also not doing much to expect to see a change. I get very snacky at night and am trying to find a good solution for it. Right now I have Sun Chips. :) Here is my Health calendar of progress:

(Click these calendars and they will expand so you can actually read them!)

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary: I took a nice break on the writing while I was on vacation toward the beginning of May, and after I caught up when I returned, I jumped headfirst into editing the book I finished writing in April. Once a week each, I'm working on an agent search to get my older work to a new representative and sending short stories to new markets. I do hope to get something published and make some headway with agents this year, but I also really want to pretty up the new novel and get it short enough to be a contender, then connect with a test audience for it. Sometime after I get there, I'd really like to start my other novel later this year, but we'll see how it goes.

Writing Progress:

Photo album scanning is going okay but I slowed down on it after vacation. I have two boxes of photos left to scan and I'm almost done with the first box. As I've been saying, once I get them scanned and sorted, I'll file the physical copies in albums or appropriate boxes, and then I'll try to get them processed onto my site. I've done a LOT less practice this month and I still have 11 songs left to learn to meet my goal. And for voice acting, I got one new role this month (just a bit part add-on in a project I'm already doing), recorded lines for two projects, and went to one exploratory meeting with coached performances to figure out the voices. I'll owe lines on that sometime soon. Here's the Projects Calendar:

READING GOALS: 

Summary: I did a little more consistent reading this month but this is still a little lighter than I expected. It's okay! I'm enjoying reading and reviewing the books I'm listing.

Progress:

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS: 

Summary: Nothing too out of the ordinary except for my California trip, where I spent a week in San Francisco hanging out with my sister. I'm very happy with the social balance in my life. I have no outstanding e-mails (and even managed to process two mails that have been in my box since 2014 and 2017; stuff I e-mailed myself to deal with and never did). The documentation goals have gone unaddressed. It's just not how I process life anymore, I guess, but I'd like to go back to it because it was satisfying. We'll see.

Progress:

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: I still need to sand and paint the plaster pillar that is sitting outside and need to sell some garage items. I still have a TV show I want to watch. I need to catch up on photographing the updated Steven Universe collection. I hope I can dive into the documentation goals soon. Looking forward to seeing how everything lines up this year.