Personal Digest Saturday: January 10 – January 16

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got up late and was very lazy all day. I had a headache for part of the days so I guess that's my excuse. I worked a little on my book and reading some journal entries to support my photo sorting. I made some grilled zucchini and a giant pot of mashed potatoes in the evening. And I did my foot exercises and aerobics. Then Kari came over just to chat and take a walk. My foot was really in bad shape. After she left I did some voice-over recordings for the reboot of an earlier project, did more journal reads, and edited my book.
  
  
• Sunday I got started on my book editing early. I wrote my comic since I need to get started on end-of-week stuff early since I was going out of town for birthday stuff. I started laundry, did my trash takeout, and did my therapy exercises. Did my reading--have been doing well on reading every other day like I resolved to do. Listened to Polos from Meg and Steve while putting away laundry. Experimented with a peanut-butter mug cake to see if the mug cakes I planned for my birthday would work; they did! Did my journal reading for the photo project, worked more on the book edits, recorded some more voice-over for another new project, and edited my book some more. I'm very close to the word count I want.
  
  
• Monday we had no letters to do but I was busy at work. I knocked out a few things early and then had to take a break to go get an MRI. (They want to make sure my ear issues aren't caused by undetected tumors.) I got a big bruise from the contrast IV. Came home and finally got to eat. Then I did my timesheet stuff for work, did some quick updates for data entry and stamped some stuff for my boss, and looked up utilities for a project. Also coordinated a meeting that I wasn't going to. Later I did aerobics, foot therapy exercises, and started drawing comics. I planned some stuff about our upcoming vacation with Meg. Made some Polos for Meg and my friend Ben. Browsed some voice-over auditions but didn't find anything I liked. Edited a chapter of my book.
  
  
• Tuesday I had to get up early to go to my foot therapy appointment. This visit was way better than the last. I got a bunch of new exercises to do and later that day was already having less pain. Even the exercises I'd gotten before were less painful too. Then at work I had to make some forms, do teaming coordination for a proposal, do more data entry updates, and attend a meeting. After, I washed dishes, sent a Polo to Meg, talked to Tony outside when he came to do my lawn, finished the 2001 photo gallery, auditioned for some voice-over roles, and edited a chapter of my book. Also paid bills. Exciting!
  
  
• Wednesday at work I bothered people to send me paper, entered timesheet data, and organized stuff. I started working on 2000's photo log. I did my aerobics and exercises, processed some of my comic, read a bunch of old journals to support the photo placements, scanned some photos I'd missed, and sent in a query.
  
  
• Thursday I went to therapy for my foot again. Not quite as good as the last time but still a good experience. I got to try a couple more exercises I hadn't done before. Then I came home and pretty much spent the whole day working on a proposal. We turned it in on time. Also wrangled some documents for a coworker. I talked a bit to Meg, who closed on her house and got the payout--exciting and scary new chapter in her life. Now she officially lives with her boyfriend. Had to do some pickups for the voice-over lines I submitted on Sunday. Submitted a short story. Did some laundry. PACKED MY SUITCASE for the upcoming trip (which I hate doing). Did dishes. Brought in my plants from outside because we had a really cold night coming! Then I read a book, did journal stuff for photos, edited a chapter of my book, and prepared my webcomic for posting.
  
  
• Friday I had a lot of work to do at the office--a marketing meeting, teaming coordination, and reports. I had to work hard to get everything done before it was time to go out of town--some last-minute tasks around the house and chores and stuff too. And I did my aerobics and stuff before leaving with Jeaux. We ate at IHOP and went out to our rented house in Largo to meet up with our friends. We dropped off our bags and then went out to the grocery store for supplies, and then came back to hang out with friends until bedtime. We have 10 people staying together for my birthday weekend.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I got my three servings of fruits and veggies every day this week. I only met my protein goals three times (the last three days of the week for some reason), and we'll see what I can do as we go forward to get that number up. Still taking vitamins, including the new B vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do aerobics every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week despite that I can't figure out why my new phone doesn't pick up my steps as well. It really is picking up sometimes less than half of my walking and it's really obnoxious. Based on my phone's app, my low day was Saturday at 10,101 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 10,926 steps. And according to my Fitbit, my low day was Saturday at 12,154 steps and my high day was 18,547 steps. See how ridiculously different they are? I don't get it.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I'm on page 202.

New singing performances:

"The One I Love" by R.E.M..

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1079: dax #156: just here.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

My Pearl hair bow matches my Lapis shirt for some reason

Kitty feet?

Everyone at physical therapy liked my kitty feet?

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,435 for swankivy (no change), 678 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: 750 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,404 for JulieSondra (lost 11). Facebook: 291 friends for swankivy (no change), 628 likes for JulieSondra (lost 2), 80 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 followers for So You Write (no change), 103 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,416 (no change). Instagram followers: 297 (4 new). Threads followers: 84 (4 new). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 435 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: January 3 – January 9

Life news this week:

• Saturday was supposed to be a band practice but our guitarist got sick so we ended up having to bail. Dad was already most of the way to my house anyway so we ended up having breakfast together and hanging out. That was nice. I did some work on my blog, took a nap, got up and did more work on the blog, and sent my sister a Polo. Wrote a Tumblr post about my needs for a test audience. Did some reading. Edited In Bloom's first ten chapters. Took a weird late nap. Did some more photo sorting.
  
  
• Sunday I had breakfast and played DDR, then went to the hair salon to get the shortest haircut of my life (with some pink streaks added). I was happier with the cut than the color. It always seems like the color isn't as bright as I expected. I went to the grocery store and home, did laundry and trash, worked on my book and posts, and then Kari came over with pizza. We just chatted and did nothing special. After she left I updated my photo log, practiced band songs, and got tired.
  
  
• Monday I didn't feel like getting up. I had to work on a letter at work and then went out to buy a new phone. Off and on for the rest of the day I was adjusting settings and updating stuff. I took some better photos of my hair with the better camera (and a cute dress!). I sent a Polo to Meg. Later I made zucchini and cut my thumb on my new chopper. Ow. I worked on my photo log and my book. Got shortlisted on a voice-over project.
  
  
• Tuesday I didn't feel like getting up again! At work I bothered people to give me paper, documented a meeting, updated some resumes, and researched a project. I worked on my book, read journal stuff, did aerobics, recorded some voice-over auditions, washed dishes, and did more phone updates. Had to do a bunch of appointment wrangling (Meg's cake, therapy, ear doctor). Did a little cleaning.
  
  
• Wednesday I went in early for my first physical therapy appointment for my foot. We did an evaluation and the therapist thinks I have an inflamed joint. He gave me exercises to do and went through them with me. I don't like them but I'll do them. Then I came home and did project research, data entry for timesheets, and a late letter review. Took a nap, submitted a query, and read a book. Jeaux picked me up and we ate at Applebee's, then grocery shopped and watched Kevin Can F--- Himself. We took a walk. After he left I practiced some music and edited my book and found out I got selected for a voice-over production.
  
  
• Thursday I had a meeting and bothered people about submissions and created an organizational chart. Did my therapy exercises and they were really hard. Ugh. Tried to do DDR but part of the way through the back button broke. Ughhhh. I worked on my photo log, saw Tony in the yard, and listened to the latest episode of the Sleepy Hollow show I'm in. (My character debuted. It was cute.) I submitted a short story and went to Game Night. Opened some toys. Worked on book edits and more photo log organization.
  
  
• Friday I had an ear exam in the morning and contrary to expectations I did not get lost. The doctor appreciated my nerdy symptom chart and ordered an MRI for me for next week so we can make sure my issue isn't caused by tumors or something. I went home, went to work, and dealt with timesheets and reports. It took me a while to get through the work because I was so tired and I needed a nap. Then I had to draw all my comic frames because I didn't do any the day before. I got that done, got all my walking and therapy exercises in, read a book, and crashed earlier than I wanted to.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: Three servings of fruits and veggies have continued great this week. I actually met my protein goals twice this week even though I didn't expect to be able to do that until I'd eaten up my leftovers. Still taking vitamins, including the new B vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do aerobics or DDR every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week, but now that I've gotten a new phone it seems like it is not as good at capturing steps and there's a HUGE discrepancy between what my FitBit says versus what the phone counts. I'm talking like a difference of 6,000 steps. I don't know what the issue is. My low day was Wednesday at 10,009 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 12,706 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I'm on page 167.

New singing performances:

None.

Stuff drawn:

My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1078: weaver #167: guardian angel.

Videos Made: 

None.

New photos:

Before my haircut:

Front

Back

During:

After:

Front

Back

Pictures from the next day (and pink photo shoot!):

My first day at physical therapy:

A whipped cream treat:

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,435 for swankivy (1 new), 678 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: 751 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,415 for JulieSondra (lost 10). Facebook: 291 friends for swankivy (no change), 630 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 80 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 followers for So You Write (no change), 103 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,416 (no change). Instagram followers: 293 (lost one). Threads followers: 80 (lost 1). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 435 (4 new).

Preliminary test reader list for sapphic YA SF?

I'm on the (hopefully) final edit of writing a YA book and wondered if any people still hanging around my blog would be interested in being part of the test reader circle. I thought it might be useful to include some new blood this time instead of just sticking with people who have read my work before.

The book: Currently titled In Bloom, a YA sapphic science fiction book by meeee.

The elevator pitch (longer description below):

The new girl in school is hot, but fifteen-year-old Kamber Valerian isn't supposed to be dating humans (or girls, of course). She's a member of the Kinfolk collective: an endangered species that almost died out 600 years ago when humans colonized their ancestral world. Her culture expects her to settle down with a local Kin boy and fulfill their race's promise to the Goddess, which is a tall order for someone who likes girls; while she treasures her spirituality, Kamber fears she's trapped in a fertility cult, with her path to maturity blocked if she refuses traditional marriage. Is the chance to date Joanne worth rejecting her sacred duties and possibly destroying her relationship with her family?

Notes:

• This is my first third-person novel.
• This is a science fiction story set in the distant future. The worldbuilding for it is very quiet, and I’m worrying that the reveals are a little too as-you-know-bob.
• Lots of dialogue.
• It’s more romantic than I thought it would be—the romance is front and center, and early.
• Its first draft was 200,000 words. It's now down to about 134,000. I'm hoping to hack it down into the high 120s before sending to the test audience.
• I’m not good at naming alien places. Who names a continent “Dry Lace”? It's a translation, screw you.
• The aliens are really humany in this book, but they can't reproduce with humans and do have significantly different biology. I didn't put it in the book but I do think they're distantly related to humans somehow.
• There's no "superpowers" exactly but the aliens do have a couple weird abilities. They can convey heat in special ways (and also therefore make fire) and can communicate with each other, animals, and trees using signals in their breath. It's weird and cool.
• While it's tempting to assume a "colonizers almost wiped us out" storyline would necessarily appropriate Indigenous narratives, the protagonist's framing of it is more closely tied to the Holocaust, which I draw from through my perspective as a Jewish woman.
• I am obsessed with Steven Universe, which has a lot of space lesbians in it. I am also writing about lesbians in space. And yet, it is nothing like Steven Universe.
• Yes there are asexual characters in it, sheesh.

The process:

• You comment or message me expressing interest
• I get your e-mail details
• I send you the first 2 chapters
• You provide thoughts and feedback on the excerpt and let me know if you want the rest of the book
• I include you in the acknowledgments (if you want) when it's published, bam

What I want:

• Positive comments on what jokes, interactions, characterizations, worldbuilding elements etc. you like
• "Sensitivity reader" type comments if you're worried something will be offensive or land poorly in a way I might not have thought of
• Unanswered questions about the world or characters that you think should be answered
• Developmental editing–type commentary if you think it needs it
• Commentary on appropriateness for test audience (re: sexy content, language, language complexity)
• Especially interested in perspectives from sapphic readers who grew up in a conservative or religious family
• Random uncensored thoughts
• Flagging confusing sentences, wording, or vocabulary (do not focus on this unless it really leaps out at you)

What I don't want:

• Proofreading-level comments (please, please don't waste your time with line edits or punctuation suggestions)
• Rewording suggestions based on how you would have written it
• Weird judgmental/bigoted shit about how I shouldn't write gay books (obviously)

Personal Digest Saturday: December 27 – January 2

Life news this week:

• Saturday was the big party day. I got up early and did my aerobics, then got ready for the day and threw in some croissants. Jeaux came over and made potatoes while I arranged cookies. We then coordinated on heating up the breakfast casserole, making green bean casserole, and making air-fried cauliflower. My dad and Connie came and had some appetizers and cider before lunchtime. Our food was a success and they brought chicken and deviled eggs. Everyone enjoyed it! Then we had a gift exchange--I got some awesome stuff from my sisters and Dad & Connie--and we finally managed to have dessert with coffee (Jeaux is not a coffee drinker so he got some milk!). It was a wonderful time seeing them, and then after they left Jeaux stuck around to help me set up for the second party. My friends came over and ate cookies and snacks and we did another gift exchange. It was awesome to see Meghan, Adam, Dare, Yasmin, and Arthur. Most of them stayed late so it was a long day for me! After they left I cleaned up a little so I wouldn't have a ridiculous mess in the morning.
  
  
• Sunday I took it easy and didn't actually clean up the platters and serving trays until later in the day, but I did finally do it. I put the house mostly back in order and vacuumed. Kari came over and we talked about some sad stuff and ate cookies. After she left I attempted blogs and couldn't stay awake (Saturday was definitely a no-go trying to get them up, but I should have been able to get it done Sunday and didn't!). I did update all my lists and thank people for their gifts.
  
  
• Monday I went back to work and did utility stuff and reminders. I finally finished my blogging and chatted with Kirb on Discord. I received my PIX figures! They're so cute. Arthur came over to pick up Yaz's bag that they left here and we hung out a short time. I gave him more cookies. Talked to my house's owner about the A/C issue. Talked to Tony (my lawn guy!) outside and gave him cookies. Did a Polo for Steve. Did some aerobics. Worked on a video for YouTube and subtitled and posted it. Packaged an eBay sale.
  
  
• Tuesday work was slow and I just did some utility stuff and filed some things. I ate leftovers and talked to Kirb again. He got cast in a role for a show I'm already in! So I guess we'll be acting together! Haha. I walked to the post office to drop off the eBay sale (one of Meg's things) and worked on my So You Write comic. Worked on my book a LOT and watched some reactions. Sent a Polo to Meg.
  
  
• Wednesday I was just monitoring some e-mail stuff at work--not much going on, but I was there. The A/C guys arrived and replaced my air conditioning unit. They drank some sodas and ate some cookies I gave them. They were here for a long time but got it replaced. I posted my comic, paid bills, and began working on my epic year-end post with new resolutions on it. Did some aerobics. Ate lots of cookies. I was supposed to go out with Jeaux but he got stuck at work so I spent New Year's Eve not doing anything besides editing my book. I got the last edits done at least! The book is now 134k. It needs to be shorter. Updated some dated sites.
  
  
• Thursday I had the day off and did some update stuff in the morning. Then Jeaux came over and we grocery shopped and got food at 4 Rivers. We hung out watching a TV show called Kevin Can F--- Himself (Jeaux wanted to show it to me) and he taught me some therapy exercises that he knew about that might help my foot which has been bothering me. We opened my Steven Universe toys to see which mystery bag items I got. I got a lot of duplicates. After he left I wrote my webcomic storyboard and sketched some of it while hanging out with some of the usual Game Night friends (but we didn't game). Got to talk to Steve a lot which was amazing since he's been too busy to attend lately. Then I revamped some calendars, did my monthly goals post, did a voice-over audition, sent in a query, wrote some posts, and did some photo sorting. After a long hiatus, my ear mildly misbehaved off and on all day.
  
  
• Friday I went to work. My ear started being full-on annoying, and by the end of the day it was bad enough that I had to jam an earphone in there again, but weirdly it completely went away before bed. I am tracking the pattern but it just seems arbitrary. I did my reports at work, processed some late timesheet stuff, played DDR, got the webcomic done, did therapy exercises, practiced band music, did karaoke, and recorded another voice-over audition. Processed some of my new SU merch into my collection lists. Also did a bunch of appointments: ordered Meg's birthday cake, made a therapy appointment for my foot, and booked a hair appointment.

Health Plan Update:

• Nutrition stuff: I'm happy to say I'm managing to keep the three servings of fruit and veggies going, but I won't be able to get a good balance between carbs/fats/proteins until after I have fewer leftovers in my house. (Obviously I COULD balance it out, but the solution tends to be "eat more protein, even when you don't want to eat" and that is something I very much don't like doing.) I did not meet my protein goals at all this week. Still taking vitamins, including the new B vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I'm continuing to do aerobics every other day. I made my 10,000-step walking goal every day this week. My low day was Sunday at 10,739 steps, and my high day was Saturday at 13,727 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I'm on page 112.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Eternal Flame" by the Bangles. 

Stuff drawn:

My monthly writing webcomic, So You Write:

 

#173: my plan. 

 My weekly fantasy webcomic, Negative One:

   

#1077: adele #262: facilitating solutions.

Videos Made: 

Letters to an Asexual #132 (What not to say while trying to be supportive) is out. In this video, I compile 10 things people say when trying to be supportive to aces that I recommend not saying, and why.

New photos:

Christmas 2025 event photos have their own whole album, but here are some favorites.

Cookie spread

Cookie plate 1

Cookie plate 2

Cookie plate 3

My fruit appetizer

The Christmas lunch

Dad & Connie enjoying cookies

Jeaux enjoying cookies

Dessert selfie attempt

Adam enjoying cookies

Silly people gathered around to watch a phone

Yasmin's plates are always perf

Room of friends

Arthur & Yasmin

One of each cookie!

And a few 2026 photos:

My silly hair

Japanese Steven Universe merch I got as a gift from my sister

Enjoying my DDR pad upgrade from Jeaux

My DDR pad upgrade

Social media counts:

YouTube subscribers: 5,434 for swankivy (lost 2), 678 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: 753 for swankivy (no change), 3,425 for JulieSondra (lost 3). Facebook: 291 friends for swankivy (no change), 630 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 80 followers for Negative One (no change), 245 followers for So You Write (lost 1), 103 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,416 (no change). Instagram followers: 294 (no change). Threads followers: 81 (no change). Bluesky Social. Bluesky followers: 431 (no change).

December Goals Update

We made it to 2026! So here is how December shook out--my last chance to wrap up the promises I made last year.

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 didn't focus on weight at all for the month and that's fine. Protein goals have been under par and I'll work on that in the upcoming year. Water goals have been good. I've mostly kept to the aerobics this month because my foot hurts, and I'm now taking B vitamins in addition to the other vitamins I've been taking. Here is my Health calendar of progress:

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

PERSONAL PROJECT GOALS:

Summary:

EDITING: The book has completed its third edit. It's at 133,000 words. I used an outline to find things to cut, things to summarize/fold into other chapters, and things to shorten. So I lost about 7,000 words. I'd like it to be in the 120,000s before I start asking for a test audience, so I'm going to hit it with one more edit.

SUBMISSIONS: I've kept up submissions of queries and short stories. No news to share.

Writing Progress:

PHOTO PROJECT: I haven't worked on the photo project this month, but I'm diving in in January to knock it out.

UKULELE PRACTICE: Nothing to do--this goal was completed earlier this year and I haven't been keeping up with practice once I learned all the songs for my event.

VOICE ACTING: December saw two new shortlists (one is still active; the other has turned into a past) and several premieres. Episode 2 of a show I'm in has released, and Episode 1 of a new show I'm in has released. The announcements section of my VO site has the poop.

Here's the Projects Calendar:

READING GOALS:

Summary: Again didn't make much time for reading. I have a plan to attack this next year because reading is important to me.

Progress:

RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION GOALS:

Summary: I've been doing Jeaux Day, Game Night, and hanging out with Kari here and there, plus a couple holiday parties and events. I haven't improved on the documentation goals I've had, but again I have a plan moving forward.

Progress:

OTHER GOALS:

Summary: My eBay sales are going pretty well and clearing out some junk in my garage. I'm shocked and amazed to tell you I FINALLY DID THE PILLAR PROJECT and it is now painted a pale metallic green. It's in my back room with a plant on it. I now have just one TV show I need to watch next year. I need to catch up on photographing the updated Steven Universe collection.