Sunday, September 30, 2012

September goals progress

Time for the monthly progress report:


  1. I worked a little on my story. Not as much as I should have, but some. I like where the story is. I am aware of my weaknesses. Now I need to buckle down and finish so I can move on. I've started thinking about a new story to write during this year's NaNoWriMo in November. I'm excited. This year's story isn't a fantasy piece. I'll be writing in the real world. 
  2. I finished a draft of our play! There were major problems with the penultimate scene, but I've even rewritten that and fixed what I knew was wrong. I've sure this will need revising, but I'm happy with where it's at right now. Chris needs to go through it and help with action. He's already pointed out a line that was unintentionally creepy, so I fixed that.
  3. I've read 30 books toward my goal of 40. I'm 75% of the way to my goal, 75% of the way through the year. Right on track. I think next year I'll lower my goal a little. Even though it looks like I can do 40, I almost feel like I'm reading just to meet the goal sometimes. (Usually I just get lost in the book, but ones that take a bit longer to read... I feel pressure to finish them quickly.)
  4. The fall season at the IU Cinema is fantastic. This month we saw Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, with Herzog in attendance, no less; Treasure of the Sierra Madre; and Two Years at Sea, an experimental film. Fitzcarraldo was interesting - a little long and slow, but interesting. For the record, I liked the ending. The whole point was about bringing opera to the town, and he did. Two Years at Sea wasn't really our cup of tea, but it's good to get out of our comfort zone and try something different.
  5. We didn't get to any of the state parks this month. Between weather, other commitments and a surprise visit to the grandparents, it just didn't happen.
  6. Running. What can I say about running? I read a book this month about interval training. While I have no desire to run a half marathon, the principles in the book can still be applied to my own running. And I did try to implement them once my leg felt better and I recovered from a cold. I had my best run (2 minutes jogging, 1 minute walking). Then I had a couple of bad runs trying to keep to that schedule. I was trying to time it so I would hit the hill at a walk, but that backfired on me. I decided to change my interval to 1:1... and then I got hit with another cold and it rained all week. I haven't had a chance to get back out and run. Honestly, I still don't like running, so running when I don't feel good or when the weather is crappy is just enough incentive to give it up, so I take those days off. If the weather holds out, I should be able to get back into the swing of things this Tuesday.
All in all, not a bad month. I feel like I'm getting back in the groove now that the boys are in school. Of course, I'm also looking forward another 2 years, making plans for grad school, which means I should pick up a GRE study/practice book because I'll need to take the GRE and apply to grad school next year if I want to start in 2014. It never ends, does it?

Friday, September 28, 2012

A good night's sleep

"Are you tired at school?"

"Yes."

"What should we do about that? Do you need to go to bed earlier?"

"Yes."

"What time would you like to go to bed? Bedtime is usually 8. What about 7:30?"

"Yes, 7:30."

So we moved bedtime to 7:30. And the boys both go right to sleep.

And they usually still sleep until 7 when the radio turns on. But then we had a morning when they were up around 6. We sent them back to bed, but they played in their room rather than go back to sleep. Wil had another rough day at school.

"Did you get up too early this morning?"

"Yes. I was too tired at school."

"What can we do to help you get enough sleep? Would you like a clock like at Grandma's?"

"Uh huh. I can read the numbers."

So we put a digital clock in their room. They aren't supposed to get out of bed until they see a 7. That's the rule at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It seems to be working.

And that extra half hour of kid-free time in the evening? Precious.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

What September 11 means to me

My Twitter and FaceBook feeds have been full of lovely remembrances of September 11, 2001. Today is the 11 year anniversary. 

It was a shocking day and things did change a lot afterward. 

But this post isn't about all that. Too many people have said all the things I could think of to say, often much more eloquently than I could.

To me, September 11 is a little more personal.

My grandparents, Gus and Lucille, on their wedding day.
September 11, 1948. Gus Caponi and Lucille Simpson got married, joining a boisterous Sicilian family and a Scots-Irish clan.
Caponi family, 1941
Simpson family, 1947
My grandpa died in March of 1998, just a few months before their 50th wedding anniversary. Grandma died in August of 2002. 

For me, September 11 has always been their anniversary. It's a day for me to remember two very special people.
 
Gus and Lucille, 1995