Yesterday was the last day for summer school.  That means I get 11 days before I have to go back for superintendent’s conference day.  There are two of those and then a 3 day weekend before I’m back for the 26-27 school year.  It’ll be like I never left.  Mostly because I really didn’t get a lot of time off.

This week was all about getting to the weekend.  I managed to start chapter 4 of Darwin & the Deadland Queen.  There were two evenings where I thought I could get the other two sections done, but it didn’t work out.  One of them had to go to cleaning and making a list for the upcoming father/son trip.  The other ended up being at the end of a really crazy work and post-work day, so I just collapsed until I had to get up again.  My hope is to finish chapter 4 before leaving for our trip.  It’s possible even though I have to pack, cook, shop, and help my son with a bunch of things.  I can think of two or three days that might give me the time.

I know there are other projects coming up too.  My son gave me his next, and possibly final, Halloween costume idea.  This one will require I figure out how to mold things out of cosplay clay and style a wig.  We’re trying to figure out how to create a zigzag zipper on a jacket too, but I think I have a solution.  The zipper won’t be functional, but it will look the part.  It’s going to be this:

Dr Xeno from Doctor Stone

One project I really want to make progress on is the outline for Coven of the Gray.  I added one chapter synopsis, which is weird to say.  I think this is going to work so much better with each ‘chapter’ have 1-2 coven members.  This will end up being more of a short story style to flush everyone out.  I want to do 13 stories though, but I already have three ‘pairings’.  I wonder if I should have at least one story be without a coven member such as the hero being trapped in their returning memories.  That does horn in on the powers of one enemy though.  Maybe I shouldn’t get hung up on having 13 stories and just make sure everything works out.  10 isn’t a bad number for a collection.

Keep thinking something else happened this week, but it’s really work stuff and the life event.  I should just say that the life event involves custody of my son.  Not going to go into details because it’s complicated, messy, and not something that should be public.  A lot of high emotions from all corners too.  This has actually being going on for months, but kicked up a few notches at the start of the summer.  A big reason I’m so tired and finding it hard to write.  Not only energy, but having the time and space.  We’re going to see how things go this week when I want to write and my son goes to draw.  Really going to depend on how easily we get through everything else.

Let’s see . . . I didn’t have any nocturnal panic attacks this week.  That’s good, but I have no idea why.  It wasn’t like my stress went down, especially with end of summer school stuff and the custody situation.  Wish I had an explanation.  Although, I did wake up having stomach issues a few times.  Maybe that’s the trade-off.  My weight isn’t going down either, so perhaps the fixation on that is countering the typical doom spiraling my mind does when I wake up with a jolt.  Been eating less most days and walking as much as I can with some stationary biking thrown in if I can’t get outside.  Yet, I’m not losing weight.  There’s more going on inside though, so a big part is apparently reducing my stress and getting my body out of ‘fight/flight’.  It’s been there for years, so you can imagine what a mess that’s made beneath the skin.

As I said, we have a father/son trip coming up.  Short one with only two full non-traveling days away, but I can use it.  Going to be the first one with my new car, so I need to remember it’s a smaller gas tank and weaker engine.  My phone is going to act as my GPS and radio too.  Worried that’s going to kill the battery.  Running into a current issue where the phone will stop charging because it heats up too much while I’m running both apps.  I can’t put it in front of a vent either.  So, I might have to keep my phone out of the sun at times, which means out of sight.  Thankfully, I always memorize the main parts of the route and watch for signs.  Might buy a second portable battery to be safe though.

Goals of the week:

1. Rest this weekend.
2. Pack for trip.
3. Work on Darwin & the Deadland Queen.
4. Get haircut.
5. Cook dinners.
6. Start plan for Halloween costume.
7. Work on Coven of the Gray.
8. Sleep in when possible.
9. Lego time.