Update

I have been feeling so overwhelmed for the last few months. So much has been going on, most of it out of my control, and I’ve just retreated into Netflix to cope.


Three months ago, my husband and I had to put Scout-the-dog to sleep. He very suddenly started having neurological issues.  At first, a round of meds took care of it.  Then the symptoms came back, stronger and within 24 hours we had to make the decision. I am very grateful both I and my husband were able to be there with Scout-the-dog in his final moments. We’d only had him for about four years, but he was our first shared pet, both of our first dog, and he was a very important member of our pack.


Much sooner than we expected, the universe put another dog in our path. We met our neighbor’s foster dog JackJack. We both instantly fell in love and a month later we welcomed him into our pack. Scout-the-dog was an elderly and sick dog when we got him.  We made him as comfortable as we could while we had him.  But he was more cat than a dog. He just wanted to be held and loved.

JackJack is all dog and still a bit of a puppy. We were told he was 1-2 years old when we got him, but now that we’ve had him for almost two months, I can tell you this guy is way closer to 1 than 2. As we speak, he is having an epic battle with a piece of cardboard and having the time of his little life.

Switching from a complacent old man dog to a practical puppy definitely has its learning curve. Nothing is safe: not books, not shoes, not napkins, not coasters, not even carpet. He’s in a weekly training class, but the stress and 6 am wake up calls have put us through a few new-parent-meltdowns. We adore JackJack- as a matter of fact, his stocking is already hung by the chimney with care and his special Christmas Tree ornament has already been purchased- but he’s more work than we were prepared for.


On top of our new pack member, I also sent out my first two professional book queries. I honestly was expecting two rejections. As an aspiring writer, I know rejections are a huge part of the industry. But- here’s the crazy part- I got ONE rejection and ONE acceptance!


First time out of the gate!


I was contacted by another writer who had a Stargate SG-1 book idea. At first, he just wanted to run ideas and questions by me (he found me because of my work on GateWorld) and that spiraled into an offer to co-write the novel. After we submitted our co-written idea, I also submitted my solo pitch. My solo was rejected, but the co-written one got accepted.


The truth is, I’m really proud of my rejection. The publisher sent me a very detailed response with lots of praise for my work. Basically, what it boiled down to was there wasn’t enough conflict. It wasn’t what they were looking for. BUT- they liked my prose and my dialogue and complimented my characterization.  They also left the door open for me to resubmit. I’m sure this will be one of the kindest rejections I ever receive.


Moreover, because of my husband’s work schedule, we are hosting Christmas Eve for his family and Christmas Day for mine this year. I am already knee-deep in preparation. We’re slowly decorating the house- yes, it’s not even Thanksgiving and we’re already started. With JackJack being so young and inclined to distraction- we’re slowly introducing him to having a tree inside the house for the next two months.  


We’re about to have our house crammed full of 12 people and 4 kids for Christmas Eve. Since we don’t have any kids, we don’t have a lot around for them to do, so we’re trying to plan to keep them entertained. We got the stuff to make Gingerbread Houses, play soccer, and make s’mores if the weather is nice and we’re setting up our media room with Disney+ and video games if the weather is bad. Luckily, catering is the traditional meal for Christmas Eve.


Christmas Day, however, will be a bit more cooking intensive. Our traditional meal is lasagna (no- we’re not Italian) and since my family is driving all the way out here to us, we’re doing the cooking. Two lasagnas (one meat, one vegetarian), dessert, salad, bread, and mulled wine for Christmas day- after hosting the night before.


And then, of course, there’s work. It’s the busiest time of year for retail so we’re off to the races already there. And we’re short-staffed (two full-time workers are on leave). Plus, three members of the staff we do have are still in training so that eats up a lot of my time which means there’s never enough hours in the day and we can’t do overtime. I will say, at least I work somewhere with no extended hours for the holidays (including Black Friday). Hell, we’re even closing early one night so everyone can go to the company Christmas Party. How many retail places do that?


Did I mention that my father-in-law may be moving in with us soon? This means we have to clean out what is currently our storage room, fix the guest bathroom shower, and just get prepared to have a third person living in our house.


The To-Do Lists are plentiful, and time is not.


Merry Christmas, I guess?