What day is it??

No, I didn't mean that as the prompt to post a picture of a camel and announce it's "Hump Day".

I meant... what day is it?

The end of a semester and approach of Winter Break and Christmas and New Year (and my oldest son's birthday) mean I'm constantly wondering what day it is, because each day is an intricate dance involving juggling and time travel. Teleportation would be good, too. My sons keep talking about it, but still haven't invented it yet. Come on, guys!

My Google Calendar gets a workout. I put everything in it and then go moment by moment and day by day.

Yesterday, for example: (* indicates things that aren't part of my usual schedule)

Normal school morning, Oldest rode bike to school, middle got a ride to his classes, I drove youngest.

*Check out possible meeting site for RWA chapter.

Usual Tuesday "day off" chores including sorting at least 3 weeks' worth of laundry (I got behind on Tuesdays, OK? Nanowrimo eats up that time) while watching a movie on DVD. Editing. Chores.

*Go to dollar store to return some stuff, find out they don't do refunds, only exchanges. Round up exactly the right number of new items, including some present-decorating items.

Pick up youngest at school.

*Go to pottery place to pick up the things youngest painted there a couple of weeks ago.

*Go to Barnes and Noble to wrap packages in return for donations to Friends of the Library. For five hours. Call husband in the middle to come get daughter.

*Pick up middle child who is still at his friend's house and not doing his math homework. Talk to him for 10 minutes, which is all I've seen of him since I left the house at 8 AM.

*Return home at 9:45 PM.

*Knock on oldest's door to learn about his schedule, since I haven't seen him since 7:20 AM.

Get ready for bed.

Read until calmed and exhausted. About half an hour this time...

This morning:
Starts out as normal school morning. Oldest leaves on bike.
*Youngest has a headache. Her face is warm. She has a temperature of about 99.7. Not going anywhere. I call the school. Cancel plans to meet homeschool friends for coffee. Have supervisor come here instead. Fingers crossed it's mild and leaves soon and it's just a reaction to Monday's flu shot.

Though the illness does help with juggling youngest's after school choir practice: she's not going. I do hope she's better tomorrow because that's when the choir concert is!

And it's supposed to rain tomorrow (YAY!), so we're juggling getting oldest to and from school. (BOO!)

That's pretty much how this week looks, but every day is a different heap of stuff. It will culminate Monday evening, when I have two things at the same time.

Where is Hermione's time-turner when I need it?

And I ask again: What Day Is It??

On old language, on old customs, and on fleek

I so wanted to say my heroine was a "deer in the headlights" when the king looked at her. But she's a 17th century young lady. No headlights. (I mean other than *snerk* sophomoric humor. I said HEADLIGHTS!)

And I very nearly said they were "going full steam ahead" the other day. Yeah.... no.

Some days, I have to think about it.

Should I say "subconscious"? (No.)

How do I describe a panic attack? (By the symptoms. This section needs work, because I think she sounds more like she has asthma. And it's my work in progress, so I haven't figured out exactly what caused her to have panic attacks.)

Did they have chiropractors in the 17th century? (No. But I have a midwife teach stretches when the surgeons and physicians fail my character.)

How about opium? (It was just starting to appear as a medicine.)

And coffee? Tea? (Mostly the wealthy. Mme de Sévigné liked coffee with lots of milk and sugar. She also liked it weak, then chewed the grounds in the bottom. URG.)

AND CHOCOLATE??? (Also for the wealthy. As a drink and closely associated with coffee. Louis XIV brewed up his own in his rooms.)

And if you think that scientists can't agree on if coffee, tea, and chocolate are good for you nowadays, you should see the difference in opinions of the 17th century. I've been flipping through Orientalism in Early Modern France, by Ina Baghdiantz McCabe on Google books as I wait for it to come through Link+ at the library. Coffee's the best thing in the world! It's going to kill you! It makes you strong! It makes you weak!

So anyway, I am trying to keep to old expressions. I'm sure there are errors in the age of words that I use. I know my language is 20th/21st century, besides not being French. Heck, even my French expressions aren't necessarily period-correct. A French-speaking friend asked my if they would really have said "putain de merde" (and no, I won't translate), and I honestly had no idea. They were probably saying something much much worse. No one says "OK" and I have never even considered describing someone, no matter how prettily their hair stuck up, as "on fleek."

Though this guy is definitely on fleek.

NaNoWriMo is OVER

And I WIN!!!!

A month ago, I wrote a blog for someone else and then used it here and in my RWA chapter newsletter about How To Win (and how not to freak out).

And, since I'm awesome, I managed to win. New to me this year: I actually wrote EVERY day. There were days with about 500 words, but that meant I sat down and did it, in spite of everything. There were some really rocking days with over 3000 words.

Well, I wrote every day up until I validated on the 27th.

Because I had the galley copy of Honorable Officer in my inbox smoldering at me, waiting for its read through. Yes, Jean-Louis, I'm coming for you, my tall, blond, and handsome hunk of honor and intensity. *phew* And there's this guy who's his aide-de-camp and is about the smartest guy in any room. I adore Fourbier. And he finds someone to love, too. Bonus love story!

The best part of NaNoWriMo is the camaraderie: the commiseration and the joy.

I have a friend who finished on the 30th by writing 9000+ words just that day, in spite of working full time. And  friend's daughter, who's about 15 finally confessed that the reason she hadn't done her homework all month was because she was writing and had just won with 50K words. I love writing, but I'm not half as dedicated as those two.

So anyway, off to do read my galleys with an eagle eye. Or... eagles see better long-distance, right? What looks at things super close up? Hmmm...