Disinfected and back in the game

My ear infection finally started clearing up this past weekend. So, yeah, a week and a half of not being able to hear out of one ear, feeling weak and wibbly, and eating like a starving person. The plus side? No pain (thank you, Universe!), no weight gain, and it was a good excuse to lie on the sofa and watch enough shows that our DVR isn’t teetering on the edge of explosion. Although I was starting to feel better by Friday night/Saturday morning, I decided not to risk our friends’ Annual Amazing Awesome Superbowl Party and instead hibernate and continue to recover. We did run a bunch of errands over the weekend, though, and Ken rewired the bathroom light and removed the ugly jury-rigged nonfunctional light fixture thingie along one side of the cabinet.

Apologies again to those of you who follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter, who had to put up with my whinging. The ear infection felt like I was being knocked down before I’d really gotten back on my feet after NY, and then several things happened that made me feel like I was being kicked after I was down. I wouldn’t have reacted as strongly if I hadn’t already felt like shit, but I also managed to not (a) cry in public or (b) lash out and make things worse. Some of it I’ve let go, some of it I’ve smoothed out. And that’s all very good.

Last night we drove down to Hermosa Beach for a friend’s birthday dinner at The Ragin’ Cajun and had a blast. It helped so much to get out and hang out with fun people. Even better? None of that predicted awful rain, which would have made the drive less fun. Also? As we set out, we thought something was wrong with the car, and where were we at that moment? Right next to a Pep Boys. Ken tweaked a few things and all was fine, and we still made it to dinner on time.

And it’s so, so very good to have energy and a brain again. I can still look at the piles of things I have to do and feel overwhelmed, but I can also then take a deep breath, pick the next step on one project, and complete that step. And then move on to the next.

Other Good Stuff That’s Happened:

• I sold a story to Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Fast Girls: Erotica for Women anthology!
• I’ve had to preliminary story acceptances (pending publisher approval)!
• I’m waiting on a contract for another story sale to a magazine!
• I got a short CES assignment and turned it in early.
• I’m in the midst of writing a really fun, sexy story with characters I really like.
• I received the page proofs for Allison’s Wonderland, my very first Harlequin Spice anthology. Even better? I got the proofs for the whole anthology, so I get to read everyone else’s story early! (Look how good I’m am, refraining from saying “Neener neener”!)
• I have a lead on a freelance editing job.
• I met Neil Gaiman! And I was able to figure out something to say to him, which I managed to do without stuttering or throwing up on his shoes.
• We saw Eddie Izzard! Plus, his Twitter feed is live on big screens in the venues he’s playing before the shows, and I got a picture of my tweet. I am such a geek.
• I’m getting caught up on Kingdom Chronicler stuff, so I’ll be up to speed when I step up in June.
• We’ve actually been cooking some decent meals. Ken created a fajita-chicken dish that we had with Spanish rice and corn, and we did a beef roast in the crock pot, and we made some yummy Sloppy Joe’s, too.
• The cats are soft and fuzzy and they purr a lot.
• I was not, in fact, out of either purple or blue file folders, so I can now file a pile of writing stuff.

Okay. Back to work!