~~ "She has so many aliases, you'd think she was a spy!" ~~

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Mrf

Mrf. After several days of pleasant productivity, I’m dragging today. I’m just not sleeping well anymore—as soon as something wakes me in the morning, just a little bit, it’s almost impossible for me to get back to sleep. Or I’m possibly coming down with something; right now, it’s hard to tell the difference.

But I can’t be sick! I have so much to do! Such as…
  • …finishing a short story. I wanted to be done with it today so Teresa could crit it before I sent it off, but I didn’t know she’s busy through New Year’s… So technically I have a little leeway, although I shouldn’t really allow myself any, as the story’s due 12/31.
  • …going to our Shire’s Twelfth Night party tonight. We made the coleslaw last night, so we’re good to go there, at least.
  • …hosting overnight guests tonight.
  • …having a writing meeting with a friend tomorrow. (I’ll finish the story then, absolutely.)
  • …cleaning the entire frakking house. Ken will do most of this since I can’t do a lot because of my back. But still. I’ll be rushing about, tidying and whatnot.
  • …buying food and prepping the house and food for our party.
  • …meeting with my trainer for another gym session.
  • …going to a friend’s NYE party (need to make guacamole for that; avocados are ripening on the windowsill as I type).
  • …going on a bike ride on New Year’s morning, culminating with various riders following us home to kick off our New Year’s Day open house.
  • …hanging out with friends, doing some kumihimo, and making chili and rice and corn bread during the open house.
  • …finishing two library books and return them by 1/2/08.

Yeah. That’s all. So no actual time to be sick in there, y’know? If I’m sick, only the last thing on the list is likely to get accomplished….

Wish me luck!

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Currently Reading: Season of the Witch, Natasha Mostert
Lately Listened To: Ken bustling about
Recently Watched: Alias

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Card-a-plethora

A good day so far. After saying farewell to Matt, we pottered about the house for a bit. There’s beef stroganoff in the crockpot, the dishes are done, the guest sheets are in the dryer, and I’ve paid some bills. Ken’s going to go for a bike ride to check out a route for a New Year’s morning ride he’s organizing, and I’m going to hammer away at a short story and maybe also the novel, and walk to the post office and the music shop.

Our holiday cards have finally arrived—again. Apple has managed to screw up the order three times, I’m sad to say… First, they sent us only 50, which meant we were missing 40. To rectify that, they said they’d reorder the missing 40 for free and refund the money for the original 40. Neither of those things happened. So I complained again, and they said they’d send 40 more and refund the rest of it, so in essence it would all be free. They did refund the money…and I just received 90 more cards.

So, seriously. If you want a card, and aren’t on our mailing list, please let me know. I have no idea what to do with 50 extra cards except wallpaper a bathroom!

<>-<>-<>

No errands today—my legs and butt are really stiff and achy from an intense session with the trainer yesterday. Instead, I took a long, hot bath with epsom salts and British bubble bath. :-) Got some work done on the short story, too, and the stroganoff was stellar (if I do say so myself).

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Currently Reading: Season of the Witch, Natasha Mostert
Lately Listened To: holiday playlist
Recently Watched: Hex, various home and garden shows

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Unboxed

Is everyone having a good Boxing Day?

We’ve spent it being highly productive. We’ve scrubbed the kitchen (we had an ant invasion recently and most of our food and dishes have been on the dining room table…), done several loads of laundry, tidied up. Ken hung our new tapestry and fixed a gate latch. I worked out with my trainer. An out-of-state friend will be staying the night, and we’re going out to dinner with Morgana and Brian and Brian’s parents.

Our Christmas Eve was a quiet one, wrapping presents for others and opening our presents (since we spend Christmas Day on the road visiting various family) and soaking in the hot tub. Before all that, though, we went for a wander through the famed lights of the Historic District with Morgana and Brian and Brian’s sister Jeanne. Morgana suggested we carol, and whipped out song books, and we were very well received. People took pictures of us (why? we weren’t dressed up.) and gave us candy canes and applauded madly. Christmas cheer abounded.

Christmas Day was long! We got up early and scooted down to Santa Ana to have brunch and present-opening with Ken’s brother and sister-in-law and mom and the sister-in-law’s parents and brothers, and, of course Ken’s three nephews. I had three Bloody Marys and put together an elaborate Spongebob Squarepants Lego set for the kids. The thing had about a million little parts, too. I so rock.

Then we headed homewards because Ken’s dad’s wife’s son and his wife (ya’ll following that?) live in Moorpark. We had dinner there, exchanged more presents, and I drank a lot of water. :-) Oh, on the way there, Ken drove so I could call my parents and my sisters.

After that we came home, collapsed in the hot tub, and crashed early…

<>-<>-<>

It was a musical sort of holiday this year. Ken gave me Annie Lennox’s Bare and the first Garbage CD, and my sister gave me The Essential Simon & Garfunkel and Ken the latest Queensrÿche, Take Cover (a covers album, including their versions of a song from Jesus Christ Superstar and a classical Italian piece. Awesome!). (Unfortunately, I’d also bought the latter for Ken, because my sister hadn’t reserved it on his wish list, so I didn’t know it was coming.) My other present for Ken—a book on the Italian Renaissance that he saw at Great Western War—takes 4 weeks to deliver, and his other present is still in progress. I felt kinda lame….

My parents gave me a pair of cat earrings and for both of us, our annual ornament (a butterfly this year) and three little houses from a series. We have some David Winter ones, but I think these are another series. One’s a log cabin, which made me a bit homesick, and the other are English cottages. We definitely need to build a shelf for this collection, as they’re taking over the mantle…

Ken’s mom gave us a shower head filter (Oxnard’s water is crappy and probably why my hair always feels so dry) and gave me an herb kit (one of those fabulous pots with all the openings on the sides for the herbs to grow out of). Ken’s brother and sister-and-law gave us tea, cookies, and Various Things That Smell Good. Ken’s dad and wife gave us both slippers (although they have to exchange mine because they mis-guessed the size of my big ol’ feet) and a calendar for Ken.

Christine and I gave each other the same present (see below)! I howled when I opened mine! My trainer gave me some face cream and massage oil (I didn’t expect a present from her—how sweet!). As previously mentioned, Teresa adopted a tiger in my name and Ken’s mom got us a subscription to Vegetarian Times. Hm. I hope I’m not forgetting anything!

We gave Ken’s brother et al a machine that makes slushies and snow cones as well as frozen margaritas and whatnot—fun for the whole family! We gave Ken’s mom a variety of little gifties, including a Frank Lloyd Wright bookmark and a little gift book on quilts. We’re giving his dad a digital picture frame (the one we bought kinda sucks, so we’re returning it and getting another one). I got many of my writerly friends the Writing Muse Fairy. We’ll take my parents out to dinner when we visit in the spring.

What did you all give and get?

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Currently Reading: Season of the Witch, Natasha Mostert
Lately Listened To: Garbage, Queensrÿche
Recently Watched: Hex, various home and garden shows

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Merry Christmas to all, and to all...

In lieu of actual content, I'll leave you this day with my favorite verse of Christmas song, which I adored as a child. (This explains much about me.) I'd completely forgotten about it until we went carolling last night.

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breaths a life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb...


Bwahaha!

Merry Christmas, all!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Hot stories for chilly nights

What is it about the holiday season that inspires romance? Bookstore shelves are always filled with Christmas-themed love stories. Maybe it’s because the holidays are a time for family and loved ones, a time to gather close against the darkness, to share food and gifts and laughter.

I was actually surprised to realize how many winter-themed stories I’ve written. Here are a few that are currently available, if you’re in the mood for something spicy with your eggnog:

“The Queen of Christmas” is the lead story in the new anthology Naughty or Nice. This one was a blast to write, with inspirations from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra house video, the TV show Home Improvement, Martha Stewart, and one of the holiday displays on Christmas Tree Lane (aka the local historic district, a block from our house).

The online magazine Fishnet published the Sophie Mouette story “Bringing Back the Light” last year, and it’s been reprinted in The Mammoth Book of Lesbian Erotica.

You can read “On the Twelfth Day” in He’s On Top.

“Mrs. Claus and the Naughty Elf” appeared in The MILF Anthology, which has a great cover and some fantastic stories!

One of my favorite all-time stories of mine, “Frozen,” is currently enjoying its second reprinting, this time in Best Lesbian Bondage Erotica. It first appeared in Dyke the Halls and was also reprinted in Best Lesbian Erotica 2005.

Teresa and I (as Sophie) also have the novella “Hidden Treasure” in a forthcoming anthology that we’re really excited about (we haven’t received the contract, so I can’t really say any more yet!).

Enjoy!