Like sands through the hourglass

So this weekend, Rand and I went to PA for my cousin’s graduation party. I made him a gift, in addition to a bit of cash, of course. 😉

graduation

This, along with a couple of other new items, have been posted in  my etsy shop, although it’s probably a bit late to get any sales on it now! I also made some new bookmarks, posted to flickr, that will be posted in the shop this week. (Oh, and last week, I got a pretty new banner for my shop courtesy of etsy seller the photospot. I think it looks great!)

In addition to the graduation party, Rand and I were able to hang out with my friend Anita, who lives on the west coast. She happened to be in town visiting her parents, so yay!

anita and me

Before we left for PA, Rand and I noticed that the stuff in our refrigerator wasn’t really as cold as it should be. I turned up the temp a couple of notches, and we decided to wait until we got back to worry about it.

Sure enough, there was no improvement when we got back. We did a little bit of research, and determined that it wasn’t worth trying to have it repaired. This morning, Rand went into work a bit late so that we could go to Sears and look for a new one. It’ll be delivered tomorrow. (It’s a Kenmore, in white…nothing fancy. Because our space is limited, we didn’t really have a whole lot of options. The new one is much better than what we have, and is Energy Star rated.) In the meantime, everything perishable is either in the freezer, which is still pretty much working (not 100%, but enough), or in coolers.

So today, other than dealing with that, I’ve been cleaning up the kitchen, reading submissions for Toasted Cheese, taking care of some stuff Rand and I are selling on Amazon, and getting my car inspected. The inspection wouldn’t have been bad, but my check engine light was on, and so I had to pay for the diagnostic so they could figure out how to get it to shut off…but still, relatively painless. I’m good for another year, by which point we will probably have gotten a new car.

Hmmm…was that all? The excitement of my life knows no bounds…

Dead of Winter contest open

Dead of Winter
The 2008 contest is now OPEN.

Dead of Winter is a fiction contest (any genre) for stories with supernatural elements or themes. Ideally, stories should be set in autumn or winter. The most original, most haunting stories will be chosen for publication.

Details, including specific theme and length, are announced November 1.

The deadline for submissions is December 21.

Entries are blind-judged by Baker & Billiard. Decisions are final. Winners are announced January 31.

Winning stories are published in the March issue of Toasted Cheese. Winners receive Amazon gift certificates: $20 for first, $15 for second, $10 for third.

Stories submitted to the 8th Annual Dead of Winter contest (December 2008) should follow one* of the following themes:

* Alaska
* Alternative Santa
* Blood River Bridge
* Ventriloquist

The word limit is 4,500 words.

The contest opens on November 1, 2008 and the deadline for submission is December 21, 2008. E-mail entries to dow2008@toasted-cheese.com. Your subject line must read: Dead of Winter Contest Entry.

Post any questions you have about the contest in our DOW thread at the forums. Please do not post any part of your entry in the thread.

You may post your work for feedback at one of the critique forums but please title your post “DOW entry for feedback” or similar so that the judges don’t read it.

Be sure to (1) set your story in winter (2) write using supernatural elements or motifs (make our spines tingle, make us hesitate to turn out the lights, etc.) and (3) use one* of the themes provided.

*You are welcome to use more than one of the themes in your story (for example, you could write a story about a ventriloquist and set it in Alaska) but you must use at least one of them and make it strong enough so that we know which theme you’re focusing on.

Only ONE entry PER AUTHOR, not one entry per theme.

OMG so much to do

Gah.

Where’s the vacation part of this week? Hmmm? Sigh. Here’s what’s on my to-do list:

1. Write TC article due tomorrow (this is pretty much done, but may need some tweaks…)

2. Work on invitations (I’ve done a little bit. the reply cards are gonna be a nightmare, b/c the printer doesn’t seem to want to print them straight)

3. Work on getting a final for-real guest list including all necessary contact info.

4. Grade a bunch of papers (*weep*)

5. Get together w/my little b/c it’s her birthday this week.

6. Plan lessons and gather materials for next week.

7. Go to two yoga classes, b/c I missed last week.

8. Get a mani/pedi.

9. Wash springy-summery clothes I took out of storage.

10. Play with iPod.

11. Walk every day.

I’ve about given up hope of ever catching up on the blog posts I meant to write…but I have uploaded photos!

That’s all for now. Happy Monday!

Technical difficulties

Toasted Cheese is down.

We’re not quite sure what’s going on (it’s a problem with the host), but we’re hoping for a resolution soon.

2007 Dead of Winter contest now open!

The 7th Annual Dead of Winter Writing Contest is now open.

Dead of Winter is a fiction contest (any genre) for stories with supernatural elements or themes. This year’s theme is: Urban Legend.

Deadline for entries is December 21, 2007.

Full contest rules.

Best websites for writers!

Toasted Cheese has once again been named one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Websites for Writers. Whoo!

😀

TC Spring writing contest

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Grrrrr! Clear your calendars! It’s time for the Spring Three Cheers and Tiger Writing Contest!

The 3 Cheers contest challenges you to write a complete short story in just 48 hours. The spring contest has a mystery theme. This year’s contest opens at 5PM ET Friday, March 23 with the topic and word limit posted at Just the Place for a Snark.

Full Contest Rules.

UPOP

I finished reading Eden’s new novel today. It’s brilliant, and it made me cry, just like her first novel. 😉

I wish I could have taken a photo of myself weeping as I finished reading it. That would have been pretty cool…