Personal Digest Saturday: January 21 – January 27

Life news this week:

• Saturday Meg and I finished frosting our two cakes (7UP cake and chocolate cake), and I did some cleanup and setup for our party. Even had time to take a little nap which was very helpful. Then our guests started arriving. We had a total of 8 people (a couple folks had canceled). We ate our nacho concoctions, played Cards Against Humanity, ate cake, and several people stayed until 3 AM talking. (Adam slept over with Meg in the guestroom but everyone else did eventually leave!) Great birthday party!
  
  
• Sunday I had coffee with Meggie and Adam. After he left we had some leftover snacks for breakfast. She had to head out in the afternoon, and I occupied myself with laundry and cleaning up the house. Then I did my usual karaoke, taking out trash, and folding laundry stuff, plus posting photos from my party.
  
  
• Monday at work I just did some reports and gathered some documents. Also had a doctor's appointment at which it was revealed that I am very healthy. Mom came over in the evening to try some cake and pick up a platter she left at my house. I also fixed her phone. I fell asleep early.
  
  
• Tuesday I had to edit a letter and do some support document work. And I started getting some data for another project. I ate a lot of leftovers and read Twitter too much. And managed to record a video for my channel.
  
  
• Wednesday I made a graphic for a work announcement and entered data. Put away some laundry I'd been procrastinating on. Jeaux came over late. We ate at the outdoor tables at Panera, went grocery shopping, and watched Colbert and Owl House. Another early bedtime too.
  
  
• Thursday I did some more data entry and announcements. Found out on short notice that our band is wanted for a gig next week and after some coordination we accepted. I came up with a set list and worked on my webcomic. Later I played games with my friends online and met Steve's partner Amy who joined us for the first time. After games I processed my video and subtitled it.
  
  
• Friday I did timesheets in the morning and then one of my new coworkers needed something notarized so I met him for lunch. After that I had a LOT of work to do on my reports so I didn't get done until 7 PM. I had to scramble to get the webcomic done and got my steps in afterwards listening to Polos from my sister.

New Reviews:

• Joy gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Lots of leftovers to eat up meant no progress this week. High weight: 122.0. Low weight: 121.0.
  
• Nutrition stuff: It was a super carb-heavy week because I was eating leftovers. There were some vegetables in there and I got through all my spinach and bananas in smoothies, but still until I ran out of cake I had really low protein this week. My doctor visit revealed that my Vitamin D is looking good (was deficient last year) and my cholesterol is good (was approaching high last year). Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,149 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 16,001 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: None.
  
  
• Currently Reading: You Too? by Janet Gurtler. I'm on page 283.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "The Last Unicorn" by America.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0924: "Draw the Line." 

Videos Made:

Letters to an Asexual #99 ("I'm a recovering asexual!") is out. This is #99 of a series in which I read correspondence between me and people who have questions, comments, or--more often--misconceptions about asexuality. In this video, a man explains to me that he is "recovering" from being asexual and becoming more human through masturbation, and that I need to distinguish between masturbating asexuals and non-masturbating asexuals before I'll be taken seriously (I guess).

New photos:

Starry cake!

Me with starry cake!

Nacho bar!

Girls about to party

Friend group!

Cards Against Humanity

Meggie and Adam with cake

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,408 for swankivy (4 new), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 172 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 67 for Tides of Time Band (1 new). Twitter followers: 876 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,488 for JulieSondra 35 new). Hive Social: 26 followers (no change). Post: 2 for juliesondra (no change). Facebook: 297 friends for swankivy (no change), 637 likes for JulieSondra (1 new), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 240 likes for So You Write (no change), 93 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,436 (lost 2). Instagram followers: 257 (2 new).

Personal Digest Saturday: January 14 – January 20

Life news this week:

• Saturday I did my blogging and wrapped up my reading and recommendation for the book I was asked to blurb. Then I cleaned the kitchen, did a long Polo for my sister, and started a drawing as a gift for Meggie.
  
  
• Sunday I got up and jumped right into resuming cleaning the house up. Did laundry, cleaned the game room, cleaned the hallway, cleaned the living room, cleaned the bathroom (including a window screen I've never cleaned because I had to take it out and hose it down outside and it was really hard), and ate five potatoes. Also worked on my 2003 vacations page and Meggie's drawing.
  
  
• Monday I helped my mom with directions to an appointment and she actually got there with my directions so wow, I rock. The letter I'd been working on was discontinued so I just had timesheet stuff and a utility task to do. Then I cleaned, made Polos, and put away laundry. And I finished the vacations pages for 2002, 2001, and 2000. That's everything on record and I'm going to have to do a lot of guessing before continuing the project. And I cleaned my office room.
  
  
• Tuesday was my birthday! I turned 45! I made myself some fancy pancakes in the morning and also had them for lunch. And I cleaned the last two rooms (the two bedrooms). Got nice birthday phone calls from Dad, Mom, and Patricia, plus texts from Lindsay. Mom brought me a margherita pizza from Mandola's and hung out a bit and also gave me some pants. I went to sleep early.
  
  
• Wednesday I updated some projects on a proposal and helped convert a PDF. Worked on Negative One and made Polos and talked to my yard maintenance person Tony. Had Japanese food from the restaurant Osaka with Jeaux. We watched Colbert, took a walk, and read silly things to each other.
  
  
• Thursday I did some project updates at work. Also did a load of laundry and worked on my webcomic. Took a quick nap before Meghan came over. We ate food from Burger 21 and then ran game night from my house. It was a good time. A series of packages came which was Lindsay's extravagant present for me. Meg helped me unwrap the extensively packaged gifts. A lot of boxes to recycle! We went to bed relatively early.
  
  
• Friday I worked a half day, finishing my upcoming project reports in the early afternoon and then Meggie and I ate omelets and went to Target and Publix to get party supplies. When we got home I hung up some lights and we chilled a bit, then worked on our cakes. We made a 7UP cake and then we made pasta for dinner and then we went back to cakes and made a three-layer chocolate cake. Woo! As the cakes were cooling we watched the movie Ratatouille, which I'd never seen.

New Reviews:

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

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Ended up with a lot of extra food this week because of birthday stuff! This is not the week I'm gonna be making my goals, but we'll see what I can get to on the other side of this hill. High weight: 122.0. Low weight: 119.0.
  
• Nutrition stuff: The beginning of the week was a little better than the end when it comes to balancing my diet and getting my nutrients in. But honestly even though my intake was high the balance wasn't super terrible, and I have gotten a lot of vegetables all week. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Saturday at 10,030 steps, and my high day was Tuesday at 14,781 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Ace Notes by Michele Kirichanskaya. Four-star review.
  
  
• Currently Reading: You Too? by Janet Gurtler. I'm on page 246.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "More Than a Feeling" by Boston.

Stuff drawn:

Zoo Universe: Poster doodle for Meggie

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0923: "Unpredictable." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

Button collection update

Birthday Pancakes

Meggie making birthday cake

Making cakes!

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,404 for swankivy (1 new), 677 for JulieSondra (lost 1), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 172 for Not-So-Giant Women (1 new), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 877 for swankivy (1 new), 3,453 for JulieSondra (7 new). Hive Social: 26 followers (no change). Post: 2 for juliesondra (no change). Facebook: 297 friends for swankivy (no change), 636 likes for JulieSondra (lost 1), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 240 likes for So You Write (no change), 93 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,438 (1 new). Instagram followers: 255 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: January 7 – January 13

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got my Not-So-Giant Women latest podcast episode ready to publish, worked on my blogging, outlined the talking points for the recording for the night, and got my steps while walking around practicing music. Then I met with Daria online and we recorded our podcast episodes for "Future Boy Zoltron" and "Last One Out of Beach City." And I finished processing the photo journals for 2010 and 2009.
  
  
• Sunday was band practice. My dad picked me up and the band practiced some songs we're still trying to get under our belts. We tried a place I'd never eaten before called Fresh Kitchen and then I went home. Did my usual laundry and trash routine, sent Polos to Meg, and got steps in while watching reactions on YouTube. And then I got my 2008 photo journal done.
  
  
• Monday I worked on a letter and took a break for a lab appointment to get my blood taken. It went fine but later I had a very bruised arm so that was weird. After work I worked on my 2007 photo journal and did some reading. Did my walking while putting laundry away and talking to Mom. We didn't have game night because we moved it to Thursday for a while so our friend Steve can still attend (he got a gig that happens on Mondays). Didn't feel very good so I went to bed early.
  
  
• Tuesday it got cold! I worked on teaming arrangements and utility letters and coached one of my coworkers. Made some harmony recordings to help the band with a three-part harmony thing we hope to do. Answered some messages and cleaned some of my kitchen while talking to Yasmin on the phone. Worked on my 2006 photo journal entries.
  
  
• Wednesday I had to work on a new proposal so that took up most of the day. Then did some cleaning and photo posting and ukulele practice. Jeaux and I got food at Vallarta's and watched Colbert and took a walk. After he left I practiced ukulele more.
  
  
• Thursday we had a meeting about the job that I'm doing utilities on. Then I worked on reports. I played DDR and then worked on some 2004 photo journals. Also cleaned my kitchen more and listened to Polos. We had our Thursday game night and everyone was there except Dare. Really funny game night! Got some drawing done too.
  
  
• Friday I was busy with a long letter prep and team building and the proposal I got assigned. Then I had to do my upcoming project reports and timesheet stuff. After work I finished my Negative One drawings and my sister had sent me a nice long update on Polo about her Japan trip so I listened to it while getting my steps. I didn't really get anything done on my photo journals but I'm making good progress with the project it seems! And I did some reading.

Interviews, Articles, Mentions:

• On a List Challenges answer by Bookcub, all the asexuality-related books they can think of are listed here (including mine)!

New Reviews:

• Ann gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Tree ❀ gave The Invisible Orientation a five-star review on Goodreads.
  
• Unmondedepapier gave The Invisible Orientation a four-star review on Goodreads (in French).

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Focusing on getting back into better habits. I'm getting there but I did have a lot of exposure to candy this week, and ate a lot of yummy restaurant food on Sunday and Wednesday. High weight: 121.0. Low weight: 120.3.
  
• Nutrition stuff: Had some good salads and watching my protein to make sure I balance everything; much more successful this week than last. But also had too much sugar. Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Tuesday at 10,091 steps, and my high day was Sunday at 10,915 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: You Too? by Janet Gurtler. I'm on page 246.
  
• Currently Reading: Ace Notes by Michele Kirichanskaya. I'm on page 226.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "911" by Cyndi Lauper.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0922: "Ground Rules." 

Videos Made:

Not-So-Giant Women Episode 57: Reformed is out. Join Daria and Ivy as they watch and talk about "Reformed" and cover such topics as Amethyst's long-known insecurities manifesting in her physical form, how Amethyst receives and acts on Garnet's words, how interesting it was to see a conflict between Garnet and Amethyst instead of Amethyst and Pearl, Garnet's self-reflection on her role in affecting Amethyst's insecurity, how the episode might've been different if she'd been searching for the Slinker with Pearl, questions about how the Slinker got into the Temple in the first place, Amethyst's new look, the Crying Breakfast Friends parallels, what Garnet might have meant by calling Amethyst's lopsided form "unsustainable," theories on Garnet's rocket fists and whether having her Gems on her hands is a liability, theories on how Rose's final poofing might have gone, the trope of aliens using complicated vocabulary for no reason, and thoughts on Gem corruption.

New photos:

None.

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,403 for swankivy (no change), 678 for JulieSondra (1 new), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 171 for Not-So-Giant Women (no change), 66 for Tides of Time Band (no change). Twitter followers: 876 for swankivy (lost 2), 3,446 for JulieSondra (13 new). Hive Social: 26 followers (no change). Post: 2 for juliesondra (no change). Facebook: 297 friends for swankivy (1 new, became friends with fellow ace educator/activist Cody), 637 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 240 likes for So You Write (no change), 93 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,437 (no change). Instagram followers: 255 (no change).

Personal Digest Saturday: December 31 – January 6

Life news this week:

• Saturday I got my blogging done and then got my Year-End Wrap-Up done with some resolutions declared and some commentary on the previous year. Posted my webcomic and got my walking in. Made some potato patties to freeze for the next day's events. Also made biscuits and did some meal prep.
  
  
• Sunday New Year's Day and had Lindsay, Jeaux, and Mom over for a yummy breakfast party! Linds helped me make waffles and Jeaux made sausage. We all had a good meal and my mom brought a dump cake. We then hung out drinking coffee and chatting. After everyone left, I did laundry, washed dishes, watched and made Polos, and worked on my 2015 photo journal.
  
  
• Monday I had the day off and really needed it. I worked on the 2014 photo journal and did some reading. Wrote a comic and played games with my friends.
  
  
• Tuesday I went back to work and organized timesheets, read a letter, and tracked marketing efforts. Worked on the 2013 photo journal and read some of two books. Played Dance Dance Revolution for the first time in a while! Made some birthday plans and worked on my wish list.
  
  
• Wednesday I sent in a proposal package and updated everyone's resumes for the new year. And did some Polos. Worked on the 2012 photo journal. Worked on some e-mail. Talked to Tony. Went to Mandola's with Jeaux (very good!) and shopped. It was rainy! We did find a non-rainy bit to go walking though.
  
  
• Thursday I did another edit on a letter, worked on the comic, and worked on my 2011 photo journal and wish list. Got some work done on an episode of Not-So-Giant Women. Practiced music.
  
  
• Friday I helped a co-worker, did some research, looked into some utility stuff, and did some reports. Posted my comic and took a walk while talking to Jeaux. Worked on the 2010 photo journal. Went to sleep early.

Health Plan Update:

• Weight stuff: Again: this is not the time of year I'm expecting to make any progress! I'm not throwing moderation to the wind or anything but there are definitely celebrations (and leftovers) I am not going to be passing up to see a better number on the scale. High weight: 121.0. Low weight: 119.5.
  
  
• Nutrition stuff: More spinach smoothies and better nutrition this week, but I still had a lot of food on New Year's and a lot of extra sugar with my mom's cake (which she left at my house and I have no help eating it). Still consistently taking the vitamins.
  
  
• Activity stuff: I met my walking goal every day this week. My low day was Friday at 10,126 steps, and my high day was Thursday at 12,544 steps.

Books Read: 

• Finished Reading: Nothing this week.
  
  
• Currently Reading: You Too? by Janet Gurtler. I'm on page 231.
  
• Currently Reading: Ace Notes by Michele Kirichanskaya. I'm on page 96.

New singing performances:

This week's karaoke song is "Nightminds" by Missy Higgins.

Stuff drawn:

Webcomic So You Write Issue 139: "Same One." 

Webcomic Negative One Issue 0921: "Unsupervised." 

Videos Made:

None.

New photos:

There's a new 2023 album now.

Here's the New Year's Breakfast:

Social Media Counts: 

YouTube subscribers: 5,403 for swankivy (lost 1), 677 for JulieSondra (no change), 18 for v & V Vids (no change), 171 for Not-So-Giant Women (2 new), 66 for Tides of Time Band (1 new). Twitter followers: 878 for swankivy (lost 1), 3,433 for JulieSondra (28 new). Hive Social: 26 followers (no change). Post: 2 for juliesondra (no change). Facebook: 296 friends for swankivy (no change), 637 likes for JulieSondra (no change), 81 followers for Negative One (no change), 240 likes for So You Write (no change), 93 followers for Not-So-Giant-Women (no change). Tumblr followers: 2,437 (no change). Instagram followers: 255 (1 new).