Hey all!

So, there's sort of been an unofficial hiatus since, uh, May. I managed to get something up for May and June, but didn't have any luck in July.

Now I am going to officially declare hiatus (though, oddly, today I feel like writing something).

Why? Because any time now - or the end of this month - I am going to have baby #2 and will therefore be kind of busy. Hopefully I'll be able to do stuff sporadically once I get used to things, but that will depend on the new one's temperament, and how #1 reacts once #2 is actually here.

As you may have noticed, I haven't been around much. The writing ennui kicked in full force, and writing gaming summaries seems to be draining away creativity - or just plain draining.

Last night was Day Two of our Olympic experience. We had tickets for women's hockey Prelim - Switzerland vs. Slovakia.

Instead of taking the transit all the way across town, which is a 2 hour trip normally, who knows how long with extra Olympic folks, we drove to my grandmother's and parked there, then took the bus. This was extra awesome as we got to have a visit, and also Hubby got to work for a half day (which is good because he just started a new job and doesn't have days off yet).

Today was Day One of our Olympic experience, also known as "The Olympics vs. the 4 year old". Today it went well... until the last 30 mins of the bus ride/walk home.

It will get up, honestly it will! I was hoping to have this week's The Shadows of Sicily up tonight, and I may still manage it, but we just got a new computer so now I am having to wait while it installs my writing program before I can make any progress.

Ok, folks, I am taking a break this week. A combination of writer's ennui - where I am bored of writing and bored of everything I write - coupled with trying to arrange birthday parties, yes multiple, for my little monkey & bake the requisite goodies means my energy is low and my time even lower.

I will get a little done on The Shadows of Sicily, enough to change the teaser at least.

After fighting with The Shadows of Sicily | Chapter 13: Decentius Takes a Meeting - Part 4 all week and having it go round in circles without any plot, I've finally managed to finagle something out of it. Of course, it's not the meeting I meant him to have, and I really don't want to spend a whole 'nother chapter trying to do that meeting. So that should be next week. Provided the muses are kind.

If you've read The Shadows of Sicily | Chapter 13: Decentius Takes a Meeting - Part 3 before today, you need to go read it again. It's been edited. Like, majorly edited. As in - the beginning is changed & 400 words longer and the fight is not with some random Romans. Now it is what it wanted to be in the first place but I was afraid to put now. I thought it was too soon, too anticlimatic, too... whatever.

So, how was your holiday? I'm still recovering from mine.

We had 4 extra people in our house, which only has 3 bedrooms and a den. My sister crashed on the floor in my MonkeyGirl's room, my Folks in the computer room. My sister-in-law crashed on the hide-a-bed in mom-in-law's suite downstairs. A very full house.

We had family stuff, at other people's houses, on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. It was nice to visit folks, and the MonkeyGirl did well, given she's the only kid around when we go to those things.

To all you hectic holiday wrangling folks - Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays & may you survive for another.

The very first Storybook Corner holiday story is up. A Very GURD Yule is available to all to read from now (actually, midnight this morning) until midnight the morning of the 27th (PST, if you're wondering). After that it will be hidden to all but members.

There's an audio version, too, and as I soon as I figure out where it's been posted, I'll put the link here.