My week:
1. Survived the 7 year old boy's birthday party last Saturday. It wasn't a big party (it never is - he really prefers just a few friends over). There was much light-saber dueling with new gifts and playing inside and out for five glorious hours. There was also cake and the whole jungle/African savanna theme went over very well.
2. Sunday involved some cleaning, although many of the decorations were left up as the actually birthday was not until Thursday (the 16th). (I should say Sunday involved a ton of cleaning because those kids collectively trashed my house.) (This was part of the birthday fun though so I'm not complaining.)
3. Reviewed two books for Booklist - one on Iran and one natural history title. Both were fantastic and as soon as the reviews come out I will post a lot more about them.
4. Started reading a new book for Booklist on an Iraqi artist. Already my heart is being ripped apart.
5. Finished my column for November - all graphic novels. I also separately reviewed Race to the Polar Sea which I hope goes up next month at Bookslut also.
6. Just realized I still have to write my "Cool Read" review on the DK encyclopedia One Million Things for November. It's awesome. I'll do that tomorrow.
7. Many emails to many people and still many more to write. This week I start contacting authors who might want to join in the Blog the Vote event on November 3rd.
8. Finished up my interview with Ellen Datlow for the WBBT. (Which is the week of November 17th in case you wondered.)
9. For those of you following my mention of how the credit crisis was personally affecting me, we got our loan. Now I don't have to worry about having a twin-turbine aircraft parked in my front yard because we weren't able to rebuild the engines. (Not that this would happen, but you know what I mean.) (The 7 year old would have LOVED for this to happen though.)
10. Had quality time with Quickbooks getting the real job up to date accounting-wise. How come the checking account never balances the first time through? Is this like the dryer eating socks? What is the deal????
11. The checking account did balance, finally. Also paid the IRS for the monthly payroll taxes, talked to the insurance company about the mysterious increase in our health insurance (just the way it is they told me), ordered a refill of syringes for my son from the pharmacy in Bellevue which ships supplies to us because the insurance company only covers supplies bought from some special wholesale type pharmacy and then when the syringes didn't show up I rushed out to buy a box here locally as we needed them NOW and called the Bellevue pharmacy to find out what the deal was and discovered that they were out of his size so they just didn't fill my request. They did have them when I called though (hmmmm) and sent two boxes as I originally requested which showed up on Friday. I should note though that the emergency box will not be covered because it was purchased at a local pharmacy and not an approved one. Bellevue is the closest approved one.) Goodbye $35. (And yes, this is just at typical week of health care fun.)
12. I watched the debate and spent two hours arguing with one of my best friends about who should be president. I keep promising myself I will not be sucked further into this blasted election and yet.....it keeps sucking me in. Three more weeks to go and we all finally don't have to think about it anymore.
13. Read half of Joan Aiken's The Serial Garden. This is wonderful, absolutely wonderful. It's a magical version of The Penderwicks (or the The Saturdays - you get the idea.) I'll be reviewing it in my December column.
14. Spent Thursday baking cupcakes, redecorating the bits that had been undecorated, wrapping gifts and then seeing them unwrapped, installing new computer games and having dinner with in-laws. I also talked to my brother about Christmas gifts (I'm buying my niece a little three-wheeled scooter) and funding for our father's scholarship which always seems to surprise him even though it happens at the same time every year. (Which reminds me that I need to call on that on Monday.)
15. Oops - forgot staying up half the night Wednesday as the birthday boy struggled to breathe through the mother of all colds (courtesy his friends from Saturday). Much nose blowing and coughing on his birthday. No Soo Bakh Do as I felt it best to spare those poor mothers the spreading of this infection to their kids. He didn't eat anything but he played the hell out of Lego Batman. A good birthday.
16. More nose blowing on Friday but well enough for guitar lesson where he learned Jingle Bells. I am sure I will hear it ten thousand times in the next two months.
17. Finished tearing apart Chapter 1 of the AK Flying Novel (not the memoir which was rejected for the fourth time this week - enough said on that). (I remain Optimistic!!!) This Chapter 1 is not the original Chapter 1 but works much better. This weekend I need to type in all the corrections and see how it reads which I think will be much much better than before.
18. We bought a color printer because ours died - just spontaneously for no reason stopped working. The great grandparents would like pictures of the 7 year old before he is 8 so much printing will commence tomorrow.
19. I don't have a 19.
A busy week, a productive week, an almost back on track week. I also bought two Christmas gifts for the boy (huzzah!), and mailed out many ARCs to many Guys Lit Wire contributors. (Book rate so don't expect them any time soon.) Literary news and reviews will return shortly; thanks for being patient (and indulging me on this most unliterary post!)
