Radio Show!

Hi again!

So I didn’t think this was going to happen so fast but it’s been a little while in the making. Last Monday I finally caught up with the host of Promenade, a radio show here in Waterloo Region. There were a few bumps along the way of us trying to make our appointed times but we finally managed and it went really well!

So it’s actually going to air tomorrow night already which was a bit of a shock to me.

So it will be on, as you can see, at 8:00 pm Eastern time on 98.5 FM. For those who aren’t close by you can also stream via ckwr.com

We are just talking about my writing, how I got here considering I’m a nurse by day and a few other tidbits!

Give it a listen!

Question…

I’m trying to work hard on editing Tales out of Nursing but seem to be falling short. Between work, pain and fatigue, and packing for the trailer that opens in 11 days I am not getting as far as I’d like to!

Now here’s a question though… because I’m telling some true stories I can’t, obviously, use real names. So, as readers, what do you prefer to read? Initials? Or names? I can change names like Katie to Kim (or any other name though I’m not always that good at choosing names) or refer to the person as K. Or P., etc.

I can’t wait to get this book edited and start the process of putting it out there. Though it’s kind of sad to watch 30 years of life pass me by!

I just wanted to put this out there but now it’s bedtime!

Guess what I’m up to?

It’s been a while since I posted last and though I have thought about posting, actually doing it has been an entirely different story. The reason for that has been mostly due to a lack of time, a lack of words and a connection to my last post.

In my last post I had just found out about slightly worse arthritis in my hands, bones in my wrist that have narrowed slightly in the last year and arthritis in four of seven vertebrae in my neck. What I didn’t talk about much, at the time, was the difficulties I have had just sitting upright without resting my head/neck and the pain that causes. That means that computer work has become a bit of an issue as well not only for my neck but also my hands and typing.

Three weeks after I saw the doctor (two weeks after my last post) I went to work on Monday morning with a very sore left hand… the majority of my issues had been in my right thumb at the base near the wrist. This pain was all the knuckles across the base of my fingers. Of course, as I do, I carried on with my day as best I could. Late in the day I actually looked at my hand and realized that my first two knuckles at the base of my first two fingers were non-existent. There was so much swelling that setting my hand down flat made them disappear.

Tomorrow will be four weeks since that started and it hasn’t let up. I went to the doctor again this past Tuesday and he ordered more blood tests.

In the interim, before I hear from him, I have made a new friend in Poland who, like me, is a huge Phantom of the Opera fan and was interested in reading my 2007 novel, Let the Dream Begin. I didn’t realize initially that I hadn’t published it on Amazon so I told her that I would do that. Then I couldn’t find the 5×8 formatted copy in my files anywhere so I had to alter it and do all the edits. Then I got to the end and realized that I had missed something so I finally took the time to write what I felt was missing. Today I spent the afternoon working and not only have I now created the new, updated novel on Amazon but I also recreated a brand new copy on Lulu!

Let me know what you think:

My neck is now killing me having done extra time at the computer today but I feel great that I was able to accomplish this! I’ll keep you posted!

Family Day!

Tags

amwriting, arthritis, Life, pain, projects, writer, Writing

Well, it’s almost over but I vowed I was going to get a post up. Today I had the chance to sleep in but that didn’t work very well. I want to say it was a lazy day but it wasn’t. It was a physically lazy day but my brain feels tired from overworking. I’ve also been sick since Thursday night… we won’t discuss the source!

The first thing I did this morning was sit down with my three working notebooks and went through them as I sat with a stack of blank lined 3-hole paper in front of me. I was going to flesh out the four projects that I know I’ve had in my mind for these last months. I decided to dive in to each notebook and pulled the pages out while heading fresh lined paper with the title of the project and then putting the pulled pages in behind.

It turns out I was wrong with the four outstanding projects. It’s SIX! I barely have time for four projects and now there are two more than I thought! That doesn’t include all the articles I’d like to write!

After I did that I was planning on maybe fleshing out each of the ideas a bit more but I then got into my Tales out of Nursing project that is currently in editing stages and edited a bunch of those pages instead.

Now I’m very tired. I’m feeling better today than I was yesterday but today I felt stuffier than I did yesterday. But you know what it’s like trying to sleep with that extra stuffiness.

Back to work in the morning and I’m definitely not prepared. When I have an extra day like today I just want it to continue. I want the ability to keep it all going. I certainly don’t get a lot of time like this to jump in with both feet and immerse myself in my writing while watching movies that I’ve seen over and over before with the cats asleep next to me.

Of course writing that much today has had an impact on my hands as well. I visited my doctor this week and had some x-rays done. I have a little bit more deterioration in my right hand compared to last year. This year we also had a look at my neck and I have arthritis C2-C5 with some narrowing at two of those joints. Guess that explains all the pain I’ve had in my neck for the last few years. The one good thing is I now know I’m not making it up and I know it’s soft tissue.

This news hasn’t necessarily been taken well, as you can imagine. Well, how would you feel if given the same? Anyway, as my right hand aches, it’s time for me to wish you all well again and I hope to get back into a bit of a routine.

My Secret Project… revealed

So in May I will be celebrating (not sure that’s the right word but…) 30 years since I graduated Nursing school. Leading up to this I have thought about ways of sharing some stories that I have told and retold over the years. Moments, conversations, losses, psychotherapy… just anything that I have connected to and carried with me.

My hope is that medical professional readers can nod their heads and the non-medical readers can take some knowledge away but also understand the types of things we do… and, sometimes, put up with!

It’s not going to be very long, but it’s been fun revisiting some of those stories and finally documenting much of it for the first time ever!

As I do this, though, I have been looking for ways to leave the profession like so many others. No matter where a nurse works, it gets exhausting. Hospital work can be even more exhausting but no matter what, it’s that you’re always thinking, you’re always at someone’s beck and call and it gets hard to keep your chin up and, often, I find myself smiling and nodding (a contribution from a friend of mine… she knows who she is) and I also find myself sighing a lot!

So I will continue to edit Tales Out of Nursing but here’s a sneak peak at what I thought would make a great cover… don’t forget I’m mostly writing this from the perspective of family practice where we become parts of families and we celebrate weddings and births and we mourn losses. I didn’t know how, exactly, to depict all of that in a photo so I pulled together representations of those.

2023 is a wrap…

This year has been more depressing than most with some obvious highlights. I think my biggest letdown was a number of potential job changes that fizzled out in puffs of smoke leaving me smoldering and asking myself what I did wrong?

There were obvious great points… I finished and published the last two novels of my trilogy. I’ve started thinking about a mystery for book four of my Mysteries of the Past series and I did have a slightly more fruitful book sale in July. I was also invited to a retirement savings event where the financial planner handed out my books as thank you gifts!

Of course the trailer is in there except that it was the summer that wasn’t which hugely decreased beach time as I dressed in capris or leggings far more frequently than I want to admit.

Now, on the flip-side of that, we are, so far, having the winter that wasn’t so I can get on board with the summer that wasn’t.

I also got my new vehicle two weeks ago and that’s been exciting and fun plus we can’t forget about the Christmas party two weeks ago where we kicked our heels up… for one song only because the DJ guy, I don’t think, had a single slow song or Christmas song in his entire repertoire. Something has to be taught to these so-called hot-shots.

Otherwise, it’s been same old. Fall out of bed in the morning, drag my sorry, tired a** out the door. Run around like a chicken with my head cut off and come home so exhausted I don’t even feel like eating let alone writing!

I have been dreaming about my business idea that I’ve had for years and years and I’d love to try to put together a business plan for it but then I don’t know where I’d set it up! If I were to set it up here my summers are history unless there’s someone extremely reliable to run it so I can get away to the trailer. And it deters me from moving away from here. If I set it up where I want to go then it would not only be cheaper but I’d be where I want to go. BUT the audience would be smaller. And I have no way of really doing down and dirty market research on this particular idea and renting any kind of commercial space costs too much.

So I’m stuck in this holding pattern. The only other option is to try to open an online version of it with the promise to expand but it would be nowhere close to the same thing!

Well, it doesn’t matter. Here’s hoping that 2024 is significantly more uplifting than 2023 has been!

Cheers!

Christmas Greetings…

or Happy Holidays to those who celebrate other holidays!

Can you believe I am on day three of only four days off? I can’t. I have my days so mixed up that I’m worried I might not end up at work on Wednesday morning! The holidays aren’t exactly ideal days to get rest and relaxation though because there’s too much going on!

Anyway, for all of my readers, I am looking at expanding my Mysteries of the Past series. I’m thinking about writing book four and possibly bridge the main story into a book five. Of course that will take lots of planning and organization but it will bring back a good number of the characters from book three.

So those are my plans! I’m very excited to get started but I guess Christmas isn’t the greatest time to try to find time to do that!

All the best to all of you. May you find the magic of the season!

Everything is soooo stressful!

Tags

Christmas, faith, family, gratitude, illustrations, Life, personal, storybook, stress, Writing

Work felt like it took HOURS this week… oh wait, it did! Lol! But outside that time I have had very little energy to do anything! Wednesday afternoon I was able to leave work early. To split the difference for a decent paycheque I stayed until about 1:45 and did some things around the office that need time with no distractions and got a lot accomplished in a short time! I’ll do the same this Wednesday but I think the one before Christmas I will take off.

I came home early thinking of things I was going to do and ended up not doing anything!

Yesterday I had to go to the chiropractor and get my nails done and then go pick up my new phone since UPS just sucks! Anyway, I was also supposed to get groceries and I desperately need to go to the dollar store but I ended up baling on the latter two and used Instacart for my groceries. That felt really good!

I did manage to write one of my children’s stories, finally. I think I might have to study up on that though because I want it to be a series called The Adventures of Benji and Blue but I think the introductory book is still a little too short! I don’t have anyone to illustrate it either and no funds to hire someone. So it might end there but I can at least try and I’m writing, no matter what!

I’ve also done something else since I wrote last but, for now, I will hold off until it arrives!

There are good things… I just have to continually remind myself to continue having gratitude and faith! I’ve been slipping in both those areas a LOT lately.

Merry SIXTEEN days ’til Christmas!

A WEEK!

I haven’t written in a WEEK! Can you believe it?

It’s been a stressful week… and not at work, well, mostly, which is a huge surprise to you and me alike! Not to say it wasn’t busy on Tuesday and Thursday and not to say I wasn’t stressing in those moments but stuff has been happening!

Monday I woke after sleeping really well all night only to feel exhausted and even a little light-headed. I missed a few hints on Tuesday but Wednesday morning when I woke with a giant cold sore on my bottom lip… yeah, I figured it out.

So this week has basically been about working and doing nothing because I just haven’t had the energy to do so as I fight this unpleasant virus.

Tuesday I did feel very uneasy, like there was something going on that I didn’t know about. That’s a long story for another time.

Anyway, with everything in chaos in my house all the time I decided, since a different tree was put up in my living room, to put my tree up in my room. Since baby kitty Tigger ruined my 6-foot tree 6 years ago before my surgery I have had a 5-foot tree so it won’t take up a ton of space. I put that up yesterday but I still have to do lights and decorations.

So I’m off to do a few things this morning even though I woke with a headache.

That time of year…

I find myself very contemplative at this time of year as Christmas approaches and it’s the anniversary of my surgery… 6 years ago.

And I wanted so much more after that and I still do. I know WHERE to find it… I just don’t know HOW to find it because I don’t have the money to do what I need to do to get WHERE I need to be. It’s always about that isn’t it?

Then there are the HOURS of writing I have ahead of me and NO energy to do any of it, at all.

I’m exhausted and burnt out. I have so many wishes but very few are coming true these days. I’d love to open A Thousand Words… my pipe dream… one that I don’t ever see coming true in my lifetime.

I make lists and I can only accomplish so much. At the moment I write this I could put my head down and fall asleep listening to White Christmas.

On that note I will return to listening to a beautiful song but I will also mention that it’s time to decorate my tree, which is up, it’s just the time and energy to get stuff out.

Now I will go, for now.