My sun sign is Capricorn, the sea-goat. Yup, I’m throwing astrology in here because it’s fun and my horoscope for all of September was scary-accurate. True to my sign, I like to work and get shit done. I’m disciplined; I make my bed every single morning, which gives me a sense of accomplishment and tidies the room in one fell swoop. If I know I have to do something, like making the bed, cleaning the bathroom, or doing laundry, I’d rather get it done right away than procrastinate. I enjoy having as much time to rest and play as possible. I must say that this mindset is a complete 180 from when I was in college and spending all-nighters finishing photography projects and essays…in my defense, 17 credits a semester is hard to juggle when all your project due dates fall at the same time!

The Road So Far

Since returning from our summer vacation, it’s been hard to roll back into the regular day-job working routine. Work has been chaotic and full of back-to-back big changes with our company direction, internal process, and staff. It’s overwhelming to deal with, especially this September, but I’ve been focusing on personal life to nurse the stress. I can’t exactly say that personal life is any less chaotic, but it’s way more fun!

After a visit in August with my counselor, telling her about everything going on in my life, she said, “Wow! That is a LOT! I’ve never met anyone like you that takes on so much.” 😅 Guess I’m just insane. But seriously I agree with her, life is a lot. I’ve been extremely focused on my book with my Beta readers, wrapping up final edits, and beginning the query process (more on that in the later section of this post). Emotionally, a lot of my friends had a rough time in August and I was giving extra support to them wherever I could. They all seem to be doing better just in time for me to focus on my own emotional roller coaster this past month (thanks to work).

Mid-September we were able to kick off a weekend getaway to New York City. One of my good friends from KU has lived there for about 8 years and I’ve been promising to visit her. The timing perfectly coincided with her birthday and we had a blast! I wish I could travel there more often. It’s hard when friends all go their separate ways. It feels a little lonely but the reunions, when they happen, are the best! NYC was overshadowed a bit by work and Eric’s back issues. Nonetheless, we enjoyed seeing the Fotografiska Museum, The Met Art Museum, and Madison Square Park. And to top it all off, we were able to meet up with six of my online gaming friends from Final Fantasy XIV MMO! Three of the live in NYC, another in Philly, and the other two in Connecticut. We’ve all been playing together for nearly 7 years and have never seen each other in person. It was a blast! We ate Dominican sushi and hung out in Central Park. Hopefully, we’ll see each other again soon and rotate which states we go visit each other in. I’ve posted one of our group photos down below! Shout outs and love to y’all!

Back at home we’re now in flux with several big expenditures: a puppy deposit, estate planning, asset protection, tree trimming, and we just received an estimate to finish the fence in our backyard. 🥴 Holy crap is wood expensive…$$$! On top of all that, Eric and I are now engaged!

We’re getting married on 10.28.2022 in New Orleans, LA. September flew by thankfully, probably because I was heads down into wedding planning. My OCD and anxiety are high. I’ve booked all the major items such as the wedding venue, florist, photographer, live-painter, and hotel block. I’m still working on a few other things like the cake and officiant. My dress is in-progress with The Wedding Seamstress, a local Colorado designer, and my dear friend Andrea Li Designs is working with me on a custom pair of earrings. I’m SO excited! I’ve selected a local Colorado confectionery for our guest favors and purchased my shoes, reception dress, and headpiece. So I’m pretty much done except for the wedding playlist. WHEW. Thankfully, Eric is in charge of that since he’s the DJ. He’s been a rock for me. He has been very supportive about the wedding vision and I’m conscious about having his input. I want us to have blast and the two of us to drive off into the New Orleans sunset to live happily-ever-after 💘

What I’ve Been Writing

Beta reading for The Tower wrapped up in early July and I finished the final edits for it by the end of July. As I said my previous post, I am in wading into the waters of querying while trying not to drown in low self-esteem! The Tower has received 5 rejections so far out of 27 queries. I’m awaiting feedback from the rest. I reached my goal of completing queries for half of my agent list.

Returning to The Red String of Fate has given me a much needed creative reset. I’m motivated and I’m enjoying re-reading what I have. I plan on joining the next meeting for a critique group that I have had one session with so far. They meet twice a month so I hope attend the next 3 meetings before December holidays.

What Else?

I’ve been obsessed with listening to music by Halsey. I’ve had her album, Badlands, for a long time, but for some reason I’m struck by her right now and it’s inspiring!

TV show highlights have been Ted Lasso and Only Murders in the Building. These shows are phenomenal!

We have an apple and peach tree that exploded with fruit this year! Eric made a delicious apple pie, made all the better by our own fruit! The peaches were not quite ready by labor day weekend, but we were able to grab them the following week. I’m in heaven. They’re so juicy and flavorful! It’s nice to know we won’t have to buy apples or peaches really. Although, I suppose that depends on our spring precipitation. When we first moved in, last year, there was no harvest. We think the squirrel ate most of the peaches and the former house renters probably took the apples.

Three Favorite Reads

Next

My goal is to continue self-editing for The Red String of Fate and finish that by end of October. I need to get my butt in gear for that, it will be a hard stretch since I’m only on the third chapter…I will NOT be participating in NaNoWriMo this year because Final Fantasy XIV MMO drops their latest expansion, Endwalker, the second week of November and all I want to do is relax and play video games that month aside from family time.

Last quarter I said I would attend Maggie’s critique group and I have successfully attended one meeting, but I haven’t made it to any others. I need to prioritize time for it 2 Tuesdays out of the month for the last meeting in October and the 2 in November. I obviously don’t have a good feel for the group since I’ve attended a single session so more to come on that by Q1 next year. Fingers crossed.

Again, thanks for reading. Check your horoscopes and enjoy them if they’re anything like mine! Have a happy Halloween and Dia de los Muertos!