I was ill the mon/wed of new years week. We had a quiet evening at home and got to watch it snow in Tucson.

Work has been nuts, crafting is progressing for Crown and Estrella and I came down with what I thought was a sinus infection that ended up being a migraine from hell. Now I get to track my headaches for the doc and see if we see a pattern. le sigh.

I did manage to read the first book of 2015 which was "Cat Bearing Gifts" by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. I had picked it up at the library and made the wrong decision to pick up a book in the middle of a series. It was okay. Interesting world but probably, even if I had strarted at the beginning not really a book series I want to continue.

The books at the end of 2014, I finished Frost Burned which made 25 books for the year and I'm sure at least 10-15 books worth of fan fiction. My average story I'm reading now easily tops 100k words.

I've yet to make it to the gym (see migraine) but I'm sure that things will be weirdo for a bit but loosing some weight will probably help with the head situation.

But I'm alive and feeling better today than I have in a bit.

So I finished #16 a while back with was Broken Homes. Then I went on a JD Robb kick since the boy and I have been hitting the library.

I've read now:
#17 Treachery in Death
#18 New York to Dallas
#19 Celebrity in Death
#20 Delusion in Death

#21 is in progress which is Concealed in Death.

I need to check with the library if I read Calculated in Death or not....cause I read the description of the book and its not familiar.


Also been on a fan fiction kick some more and when I get a chance I'll pull links of things that are finished for reading.

To say things have been busy is an understatement. Mel was in Korea for a week. Work has been demanding. I'm broaching into sewing things I've never done. I almost puked on a bike ride and other adventures. Benton has been doing okay. We are having ups and downs but I think things are better and he's all of a sudden outgrown his underwear and pjs and quickly growing out of all of his shirts. Sighs.

Saw a few movies with friends including Hercules and Guardians of the Galaxy. Both awesome and fun.

On the book front I've been reading a lot too.

#12 was Susan Cooper's Victory - very cool story.
#13 was Treachery in Death by JD Robb. I'm hitting the library with Benton so I'm getting some for me too.
#14 was New York to Dallas by JD Robb
#15 is going to be Celebrity in Death which I will start tonight.

On the fan fic realm.
The Guilded Age Which is steampunk avengers. Way fun. This is the first part of multiple planned but this work is finished.

Girl, Compromised is an origin of Black Widow that has been awesome. Seriously, awesome. Awaiting more.

Like a Cruel Mistress Woos which is a Steve coming to terms with himself and its rough, raw and just plain miserable but so well written I keep impatiently awaiting updates.

Another post will be all cosplay related.

I think I have a journal post on my other computer that I never finished or started or something. The last few weeks have been nothing but working very long hours and being so brain drained all I want to do is read something not technical, preferrably fluffy and well written. My cosplay stuff is coming along but not at the pace I wanted but at least progress has been made. lferion helped me pattern out a 1950s dress and we will turn the dress into Hawkeye dress that will be lovely for tooling around the convention with scribe_ari in her Ironman dress and I will get the planned Star Wars dress too. I'm currently in the middle of making a crinoline for the dresses and need to eff with my sewing machine to make it not sew well so I can use it machine baste. I'm not going to hand baste 17.5 yards of tool...nope.

Other things going on...my ears are still not better and a return to the doctor showed more fluid build up. We are trying a whole new variety of painkillers and allergy meds to see if we can get the inflammation down in my head to allow my eustatian tubes to drain so I can hear clearly. Its partially working but man I hate taking so many pills.

Book reading I finished Green Boy which was #11 for the year and am now in Victory also by Susan Cooper. I think after this I will get back into the Honor-verse and pick up a few other books from Seanan Macguire. I have been reading entirely too much fan fic but seriously, my brain is goo by the time I get home. I have processed so much eningeering paperwork of late that speaking is almost hard at the end of the day. I almost cried at knit night when Vicky (owner of Grandma's) wanted me to tech something out when I was just DONE for the day. But the goals are in sight with work and we've been doing good and will most probably hit our deadlines. Also got some good compliments on things at my mid year review but again have to really work on the soft skills and stop being the "scary engineer" and be the "likeable soon to be manager engineer". Sighs. Being passionate about something and not scary people is hard for me...sighs.

Other weird things and maybe its my way of coping is I have story ideas from stuff I wrote in HIGH SCHOOL that keeps hitting my head. It also keeps reminding me of the co-writer of some of that and I keep getting daily reminders of them and its weird. Guys been dead a long time now and why there are still reminders its weird. Probably the need for my creative mind to get back into gear but I'm scared to see what I blow the dust off of...I'm not even sure I have soft copy of that any more on media I can read. Will have to check the floppies. Just weird.

My mother has now planned her funeral and was not creeped out that I want to have diamonds made with some of her ashes. Since the technology became available I've been interested...was glad she thought that was neat too.

Benton is basically potty trained now and refusing to wear a pull up at night. He's even gotten up in the middle of the night to poop which is something. Its really nice I have to say. Additionally he's also liking to take showers versus baths which is easy to do. Plus with my ear, not having to bend down like that is good. He's doing okay at school and is napping almost regularly there which is nice but we can't get him to do it at home. Oh well. He's growing again it seems and you see the huge difference since a few months ago. We went to court night at the park last week and people couldn't believe how all he was.

Mel's birthday was a few weeks ago and we had a household/scriptorium party for him full of games and food and fun. It was all ages and it was a very good time. We also had a nice time at brennabe and Don's wedding reception. Benton made me draw TMNT drawings for him to color as a gift. My first fan art!

Other than that I've been knitting a bit and working on a blanket for Anya's boy and have plans for Theresa's new baby's toy too. Just not enough time it seems.

We also got a new bed over the weekend. Its a Serta Icomfort memory foam mattress and OMG comfy. I've stopped having to use extra pillows for my legs...so nice. Its also way thicker than the old futon was so I'm probably going to have to shop for new sheet soon.

I have not been able to get back to the gym due to the ears...I get dizzy when I bend weird and I almost passed out last time I tried so taking it easy but watching what I'm eating pretty closely to good results. I did manage to get in a bike ride that is promising for me and I had no issues with dizziness there so that was good. The Road Boars are going to be trying to do Saturday rides for the next while which will be good. I need to get back in the saddle more and having a planned activity with people is good. Solo when its hot and way to early to be up on a weekend is not fun.

So, this week is lots of work and hopefully finishing my crinoline and getting the two dresses sewn and down to finish work so the following weekend we can pattern out my Kabuki kimono and be good. Then it will be working on the Victorian. Oof and the accessories. Lots to do.

Fanfic recommendations:

Bond-verse : Ordinary Numbers

Sherlock specifically Mystrade Fic:
1) Human Remains. A very slow build fic with angst and you really need to be caught up on the show. Which I finally did. WIP.

2) 365 Days of Mystrade. Two writers basically doing a fic a day..mostly a disjointed in time verse and really fun. WIP.

Plus I've been reading other stuff and as that finishes I'll post here.

Random Access Info…..
I keep meaning to get back to this and post but things have been weird. I’ve been making it back to the gym more than not but the last week or so I’ve been dealing with a horrible stuffed up ear. It was so bad that the week before last I got dizzy at the gym and had to sit down and stop my work out. I was woozy and hit an asthma attack. No fun. The weekend was kind of a bust for me getting anything done and I loafed around and read fan fic. Bleah. But over last weekend (Memorial Day) I was productive and managed to 1) go shopping with ickaimp and elinor_dear for cosplay items for my interpretation of Pre-Changes Molly Carpenter. It was an epic amount of shopping and fun. We hit Goodwills and I found some awesome stuff. Elinor and Icka both found neat things too. To complete my outfit I need to find fishnets in my size (hello shopping at Hydra Downtown) and split my wigs to make them. Oh, and order my fake piercings which I will do today.

So, on the fan fic front I will recommend the following:
1) The Man on the Bridge
I think this is very close to what may happen in future Captain America Stuff. Its some Cap/Bucky slash but that is pretty secondary honestly. Its epic.
2) The Hollow Crown
Imagine that Tom Hiddleston could Channel Loki cause he’s played him. Epic adventure ensues to rescue Loki from a bad God clutches. Funny and just well, neato concept.

3) Tower of Glass Houses
Clint/Tony which is weird in a way but the writing is really well done. All of the characters are acting in cannon pretty well and the writing is very well done.

4) You’re My End of the Line.
Another take on the Bucky/Steve Story and the programming that has to be broken on Bucky. Wow, epic feels, PTSD dealing etc. Its really believable and everyone is well written.

5) The ‘Run-Verse
This is fluffy and believable in a weird way. Darcy (from Thor) is Tony Stark’s secret daughter. Yeah, I know sounds completely improbable but this completely fits.

6) I’m still looking for the fic that Darcy is Secretly Phil Coulson’s daughter and that Coulson got hit with the Super Soldier Serum with Tony, Clint and Clint’s bro as kids….its epic and good. And the Avengers eff with Spiderman. Nope that is #3! Again, awesome!

I’ve also been reading books at lot. I finished #5 – My Mother She Killed Me, My Father he Ate Me which was retelling of old, creepy and disturbing or new fairytales. Yeah, I won’t be reading that again. A few were good but most were squicky and just made me realize we are evil people deep down. #6 was Jenny Lawson’s Let’s Pretend This Never Happened . I know I read something between #6 and my current reading binge…but can’t remember what is it for the life of me. I’ll have to look at my discard pile.
But I have also read the first two books in the Rivers of London Series by Ben Aaronovitch which are Midnight Riot and Moon over SoHo and I’m almost done with Whispers Underground. (Books of the year #7-#9) They all deal with Peter Grant who is a young Constable with the London Police and how he stumbles onto magic and gets to be the apprentice to the last Wizard (as far as the government knew) of England since WWII. It’s a fantastic world and Peter is a great character and the magic is really neato and not easy to learn.
But I just finished a two day reading binge of Jim Butcher’s Skin Game which is the 15th Dresden Files book. Wow, its good, fast paced and Harry is finally learning things and where he fits in the World. There is a ton of fan service in the book and I’m very pleased with it.

Other than books I’ve been trying to get the house in order. One weekend I cleaned my studio, the next weekend I cleaned the bathrooms and this weekend will be sewing the chemise and bustle for my Victorian Baroness Cosplay. Ari helped me get the bustle pattern set and now its time to sew once I figure out if I have a ruffle foot for one of my machines which I’m pretty sure that I do.

Other than that I have a few SCA projects planned and more calligraphy than I can shake a stick at to do. Our scribble goal is to not have a single scroll without text on it in the case. It’s a large goal but I think we can do it.