My Writing Process

I’m currently working on another writing project (Yay! All will be revealed later!)and I thought I’d share my writing process with you.

I generally write in the afternoons but sometimes I change that to the morning. The morning is usually me reading email, perusing the Web while I have breakfast, writing in my journal, and catching up on the news (although not nearly as much news as I used to read—this is a good thing!). This is also usually when I write blog posts.

I work on big writing projects in the afternoon, and I use pomodoros to do this. I usually write for 1-2 hours (that’s 2-4 pomodoros) and then I’m done for the day. I don’t have word goals, I have time goals.

I work on a rough draft until it’s “done”, in the sense that I’ve reached the end of the story I was trying to tell. I do not re-read at all during this stage. I might read the last few lines of what I wrote the day before, in order to get back into the groove of my train of thought, but that’s as much as I’ll do.

The second phase is the LET IT SIT phase. I like to let big projects (like books) sit for at least a month, so I can let it coalesce and I can get appropriate distance from the project. After a month (at least!), I head into the third phase, which is revising. During revising, I’m pretty critical, but I don’t delete anything; I keep a document called “scrap”, where I’ll place sections that I’ve cut. (I don’t delete them because I might want them later!) Revising is generally a slower process than writing because I’m being more critical and I’m trying to shape the document into something cohesive, as opposed to the “word vomit” of the first phase.

After revising, we hit the second Let It Sit phase. This is also about a month. At the end of this phase, I have choices. I can either ask a writer friend to look at what I’ve done so far and offer feedback, or I can do another round of revising before I offer it to someone else to read.

These are my basic steps. What happens after step five is fungible. I might let it sit again, I might think about submitting it somewhere, I might do a lot of things. But the first five stages always happen.

So there you go—my writing process! Questions? Drop them in the comment box below and I’ll answer them.

Travel Tips: How I Travel With All My Medication and Medical Stuff!

I don’t leave home without my pink InPen, obviously. :)

A lot of people assume I am a “bad packer” because I always have to check a bag—I can’t do any trip with just carry-ons. That’s not because I bring a lot of stuff for fun—it’s because I have so much medical stuff to pack! Traveling is easier now that it was pre-transplant because I don’t have to bring machines with me, like my aerosol machine and nebulizers, and all the parts that go with that. But I still have quite a few things that I have to take with me, so I thought I’d give you my tips and strategies in case you ever need them.

The first thing is my big bag of meds. I probably started doing this about 10 years ago. I keep all of my medications (except my vitamins) in a large zip top bag. (I use one of these). That way I can just grab the bag and go (this was actually done in case of random hospital admits. My parents would be able to just grab one bag and take it to the hospital without wondering if something was left behind.) When I travel, I do put my supplements and vitamins in here, as long as they fit. If the bottles don’t fit, I just put them in plastic bags. The reason I take the bottles along is in case I need a refill or something happens (always be prepared!), I have the pharmacy bottle and people can see exactly what I take. It’s also good in case I get stuck somewhere longer than I had planned; this way I have all my meds with me at all times.

Once I’m at my destination, I don’t have to carry my meds around with me, because they’re morning and evening meds, so I just take them with breakfast and whenever before bedtime is at my destination. (In Denver, I took them whenever we got back from my sister’s house.)

The big bag of meds on my insanely covered kitchen table!

Second is my insulin and other diabetes things.

I always carry in my purse my glucose meter (just in case my continuous glucose monitor has a hiccup) ,as well as backup insulin (both types), pen needles, and my emergency glucagon kit (this is “emergency glucose”, basically.) I keep all of these things in one of these pouches and that pouch always lives in my purse. I also try to remember to keep candy in this pouch in case I need it. I make sure my glucose monitor has lancets and plenty of (non-expired!) test strips. I will also keep two cartridges of short acting insulin for my inPen in there when I travel, so if I had to reload it when I’m out I can do it easily. (The inPen is the pink item in the top picture.)

Here’s what goes in the blue pouch: Pen needles, backup insulins, emergency glucose (in the red case) and my glucose meter. There are more pen needles inside.

For traveling, I have to bring more insulin. I take two kinds: short acting (right before meals) and “intermediate acting” that lasts for about 10-12 hours. These live in the refrigerator until I need them. When I travel, I take the supply I need and put them in one of these pouches* (do you see a trend here with pouches?) These pouches are great because you don’t need ice or ice packs! They work with cold water and keep insulin cold for up to 45 hours. These are fabulous and they come in tons of sizes!

So what I do is prep the pouch the night before and then stick my insulin in there. I pack waaaayyyy too much insulin—I’m getting better about that!—but I’d rather have too much than not enough. It stays in a refrigerator once I get to my destination (if you don’t have a fridge, you can use the pouch—there are instructions for continual cooling included) and then I prep the pouch again the night before I leave. When I get home, the insulin that I took with me is first in line to get used at home, so that way there’s no issues with waste or things not being cold. (My insulin can be used at room temperature as well, as in, it’s not “bad” if it’s at room temperature. I just use it first. But not all types are like this, so check yours!)

The other things I pack are: keto urine test strips, and a backup continuous glucose monitor, in case the one I’m wearing comes loose or gets accidentally removed. I also pack alcohol wipes. I put the monitor and the alcohol wipes in their own plastic bag and hopefully I won’t need to use this, but better safe than sorry!

The third thing I pack is candy or something that will raise my blood glucose if I need it. This is usually candy or a non-diet drink (like regular Gatorade that I’ll pick up at the airport if I’m flying). If I’m staying with someone I usually ask them to get me regular orange juice just in case I need it. (Or really any kind of juice, orange juice is my current favorite.) For the trip to Denver I put a few boxes of Sour Patch Kids in my luggage and in my carry on backpack, and picked up some additional candy and Gatorade at the airport. (This is also useful for taking my meds, since some of them are really nasty if taken with plain water! Steroid, looking at you.)

You can see, this is quite a bit of stuff; it all goes in my carry-on, which also holds my makeup and anything else I don’t want to risk being lost (like jewelry) and my chargers, which I need for my phone, but also my cochlear implant charger. My extra CI battery goes in my eyeglasses case, which is also in my carryon, as well as my contacts. (I have two CI batteries; one that is the backup and one that’s being used. I try to rotate them daily so they don’t wear out quickly. A battery can last up to 24 hours when fully charged.) In case you’re wondering, I use an LL Bean backpack as my carry-on, because it has lots of compartments and it’s extremely sturdy.

And that is all the medical stuff I pack! Whew! I really find that the pouches are great in keeping my organized, so I highly recommend those. I don’t use any pill boxes because I can remember what I need to take and for me it’s easier to just dole out the meds individually each day. This is my system, and it might not work for you, but I hope that some of these times are helpful!

Colorado Travel Notes

Time for a travel post!

Here I’ll be talking about places we stayed, ate at, and visited while we were in the Littleton area. I hope it’s useful for you if you go visit!

Stayed

Marriott Courtyard Denver Southwest/ Littleton

We really liked this hotel for a lot of reasons. It’s close to my sister’s place, located right off the “main drag” of Littleton (Santa Fe Dr.) , and they had a great restaurant! They also have a little pantry where you can buy drinks, snacks, and small toiletries. This was really useful in helping us sty hydrated, and also for me in keeping my blood sugar levels up! There’s also a fire pit and a swimming pool. The rooms were very comfortable and had couches and a desk, as well as coffee/tea making supplies and a refrigerator.

View from my room

EAT

Toast I’m a HUGE fan of Toast so I was glad we got to go eat here during this visit! They have an amazing array of choices, from their famous French Toast to pancakes, sandwiches, and all sorts of other great lunch and breakfast goodies.

I got the Berries and Cream French toast, as well as a side of bacon.

in-Tea: Located in Downtown Little, this adorable tea salon offers a huge variety of teas, as well as bakery items and sandwiches, and beer and cocktails! I had a fabulous time in here and bought two types of tea to take home—they also have an online shop and will ship to you!

So much tea!

My order: Iced English Tea—their special Earl Grey blend + half and half+ honey (and a refill is standing ready!)

There are a ton of places to sit, from cozy nooks like this one to regular tables and outdoor seating!

Tavern Littleton is located two blocks down from In-Tea (downtown Littleton is adorable and has tons of places to eat and shop). Tavern is a sports bar, and they have fabulous chips and salsa and burgers. I’d been here twice on my first trip to Colorado and I was happy to visit again. (And they have a parking lot behind the restaurant, bonus!)

Breckenridge Brewery: This is where we had lunch before Maddie’s baptism. It’s really a campus, like the website says; the restaurant is on the right as you drive in, and the brewery, which is open for tours, is on the left. The restaurant is great—they’ll even give you free tastings at a bar when you walk in!—and they sell the brewery’s products as well as branded merchandise.

memento mori at the brewery!

Maddie clearly enjoyed it.

It’s very kid friendly and allows dogs, so this is a popular place, for good reason. There’s an extensive menu and everyone who worked there was very friendly. I’d love to go back! (And maybe drink some more of their Palisade Peach!)

(For those of you worried about me consuming alcohol: I had a taste of it, and a few others, at the tasting bar. :) I didn’t actually have a whole glass. My meds don’t play nicely with alcohol, but I am allowed to have some a few times a year! So, yes, I could’ve had a beer if I had wanted it.)

Rice sushi and bistro (delivery) : Mel and Jason (and my dad) really like sushi, and mom and I love Chinese/Asian food, so this was a great choice for us. We ordered it in on our last night there and it was delicious!

Dirt Coffee: Mel and I had coffee here, and it’s Mel’s favorite coffee place. It has a unique mission:

Located in Historic Downtown Littleton, DIRT is a local, women-run social enterprise with the mission to bring you quality crafted Huckleberry coffee, food, and drink while training, employing & empowering neurodivergent individuals through workforce development programming.

Sounds good to me—and they had great coffee! Mel and I both had the lavender lattes. (And I got a sticker that says “ableism is trash”, which I greatly enjoy)

Outside of Dirt—they have a lawn with seating, porch seating, and indoor seating, as well as water bowls for dogs!

Snooze: Another lunch/breakfast place like Toast, Snooze is a chain that’s expanding across the country but so far I only get to eat it in Colorado! It’s another great place where I had shrimp and grits and fruit for breakfast, along with their great house coffee.

Shop

Tattered Cover (at Aspen Grove) : One of the best independent bookstores in the country, Tattered Cover is always worth a visit when in Colorado!

Aspen Grove: This is an open-air mall/shopping center in Littleton that has stores and restaurants. We visited here briefly. Rice Sushi and Tattered Cover are both here, as well as a Chik-Fil-A.

Meeting Miss Maddie

My parents and I just got back from Colorado, where we finally got to meet Miss Maddie!

Let me tell you, it was a lot of love.

She smiles. A lot.

She ponders which key to hit!

I know I have a really large bias here, being her aunt and all, but I have to say that Maddie is just precious. She’s so alert! You can almost see the wheels turning in her head when she’s trying to figure something out (like rolling over—so close!). When she met us for the first time, you could tell she thought we were familiar, but here we were in person, not in a little screen!

Maddie checking us out for the first time.

I am so glad we were able to go visit, and also glad that things like FAceTime are available. I honestly don’t know how people did it back in the day. Think about the beginning of Little House on the Prairie. Caroline and Charles’ parents never saw Grace. They never saw their children and grand-children again after they left. Of course they had letters, but that’s not the same. At least I can see and talk to Maddie and she can talk to me! (And my sister and brother-in-law, of course!) It makes distance somewhat more bearable.

Madeleine was baptized on Saturday at their parish:

And she was a very good girl through it, even if she did have a bottle right before Mass started and um, spit some of that back up before we got to the font. :) But it was OK she was a champ during the actual baptism itself. She didn’t seem to like the baptismal garment very much, although it was very pretty! She kept tugging at it.

Maddie also has a very cute habit of only wearing one sock/one shoe and getting rid of the others. It’s very Cinderella. (As you can see in the photo at the top of the post.) Apparently she only needs one sock or one shoe, the other foot can go bare, it’s fine.

She also likes to feed herself!

I got this, Aunt Em.

But feeding her and reading to her is awfully fun.

And she is, indeed, my little sunshine.

I will definitely miss being greeted like this

And I’ll miss seeing my sister and brother in law every day.
And cuddling Maddie.

And playing on the floor.

I’m not sure when the next time we’ll see them will be. I hope it’s soon.

Until then, I’ll just keep looking at the pictures my sister sends, and sending her cute clothes and books. :)

Maddie: Four months!

May the Fourth Be With You!

Maddie is four months old today! And she’s being baptized on Saturday! Yayyyy! (Her baptism outfit is so cute. I can’t wait to show you.)

Here’s the monthly update:

LIKES/SKILLS:

Cooing and laughing! She likes to talk!

Two teeth are coming in

rolls front to back and almost back to front

loves tummy time (this is a change from HATING TUMMY TIME!)

Holds her own bottle!

Fishy is her new buddy

Fishy

her chews life rosary!

Caterpillar chair (this thing is AWESOME)

front facing stroller

Duke, their dog (she smiles/laughs whenever she sees him!)

She LOVES being sung to and tries to sing back!

Loves reading, especially Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Looking in the mirror and smiling when she sees hreself

Outdoor swing!

“The Olympics”—mat time. I call it “Maddie Disneyland”:

Find the baby!

Hates:

Putting her arms in sleeves!

Being hungry (I feel ya, Maddie)

When you don’t let her hold the bottle…..but then she gets mad when it falls out of her mouth!

Monthly photos:

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months!