Well . . . Here we are.  Well, I’m here.  You’re there.  That’s all I’m willing to be sure of and even then I’m a little iffy.

I genuinely don’t know what to say about this week.  Work was busy, my son had a lot of work to handle, energy was at a minimum, frustration was at a maximum, and tensions ran high everywhere.  There’s nothing else to say about it.  No writing was done because I had no time or energy.  So, my author life is in hibernation until either the Winter Break or I get some breathing room and quiet time during a period off.  So, what else can I talk about?

Last weekend should have been a sign that things were about to go wrong.  The plan was the finish the last 2 ‘Phi Beta’ rival teams.  I woke up Saturday with severe pain in my lower back, which I always get wrong.  It’s really my IBS acting up because I was stressed for too long and didn’t hydrate enough during the week.  So, I had to spend Saturday chugging water, peppermint tea, and resting up.  Laundry was the only thing I was able to fight through the pain to accomplish.  That left me with only Sunday to do writing, which I did a little of since I was at about 70-75%.  I wasn’t at 100% until Monday afternoon.

The plus side of that whole mess is that I managed to get through the worst within 2 days instead of 4-5.  Being stuck in bed, I researched my butt off for anything that would help with this issue.  I read one theory that IBS is caused by the brain sending incorrect signals to nerves in the large intestine, which causes spastic muscle contractions.  This led to me trying to meditate and use my lavender oil mix.  Figured it couldn’t hurt along with some Pepto.  Understanding what was going on inside my body gave me a better idea on what to do, so I’m hoping to get even better at undoing the damage.  Maybe I can get it down to a single day next time.  There will probably be a next time.

Victory aside, it still set me up to be weak and anxious throughout the week.  Had a meeting about my son to discuss how he’s doing in school.  Think he made honor roll or dean’s list again.  He’s doing great in school, but we’re starting the 3rd quarter off on a rough foot.  It’s tough for kids to keep going, especially when you hit this time of the school year.  Weather is miserable here and you have one long break followed by at least a full month of no breaks.  This is on top of already being exhausted from trying to finish the second quarter after a long break.  So, there are signs of burnout that we have to find a way to work around.

I still have 2 April blog posts to set up.  Almost finished them, but my energy failed me around Wednesday evening.  Too much was going on and I figured it was better to sleep early.  I’ll get them done this weekend and start thinking about any topics I can explore in May.  The hand-to-hand stuff worked out, so maybe I can do something similar with melee weapons.  Feels like I’ve done that a bunch though.  Really running out of ideas here and I’m too busy to search for writing subjects.  Maybe I’ll use some quiet time this weekend to figure a few out.

Did I say quiet?  This weekend is going to be busy.  My son has 3 tests to study for and I promised him video game time.  We’re also watching my niece, so we face the challenge of studying while watching a newly mobile 1-year-old.  It shouldn’t be too hard, but it means a lot of juggling.  I’m so tired of juggling, but it’s family and the kids will keep each other occupied.  It’s nice when a 12-year-old can be entertained for hours by a 1-year-old instead of ignoring them. Double-edged sword though because it can make studying more difficult.  Her nap time is when he expects video games too, so I might have to negotiate a bunch.

Next week is going to be more of the same.  Last one before the winter break, so it’s going to be busy.  If I can get writing done then I can.  If I can’t then I’ll save the writing for the break.  It’s only editing ‘Slumberlord Chronicles: Darwin & the Fate Bracelet’, but that’s going to be a challenge.  As I’ve said several times, I need to make sure Darwin is coming out right.  The book came in under 200 pages too, so I might need to build up various scenes.  Hard to tell since Darwin’s difficulty in focusing means events end faster and he wanders off a lot.  Can’t really change that without overhauling his character too, so I may have to accept that aspect of the series.

Nothing much else to say.  Television was watching the first two seasons of ‘Merlin’ when I wasn’t napping.  Going to start in on the new season of ‘Disenchantment’.  Not sure what I’ll choose as my winter break show.  Maybe ‘Assassination Classroom’ or something else that I’ve seen before, but don’t really remember.  I need background noise more than anything else too.

Goals of the week:

1. Make it to winter break.
2. Help son study for 3 tests.
3. Sleep
4. Hydrate
5. Start editing ‘Darwin & the Fate Bracelet’
6. Finish April blog posts
7. Start May blog posts if no time for anything else
8. Buy food
9. Puzzle time to destress