This weekend was the first in quite awhile where we've had a chance to relax and do as little as possible. I caught up on the vast TiVo backlog, watching a bunch of movies including The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Easy Rider, For a Few Dollars More, The Notebook (this was a new one out on cable On-Demand that Carrie was keen on seeing), and Mad Max, all of which were very good. I'd seen Mad Max before, but it was so long ago I could barely remember it.

We did some yard work on Saturday, and went out to dinner at a nice place called Govnors Public House in Lake in the Hills, sampling their brews and feasting on prime rib, fish n' chips, and a sinful chocolate dessert. We had a hard time picking something from the menu thanks to the huge selection, so we'll have to pay them another visit :)

While my family was here, we seriously slipped in the exercise routine, and didn't get much exercise other than walking. Starting Monday though, it was back to the weights, and onto the treadmill to work off some of those extra pounds. It was pretty hard going, but by the end of the week it got a bit easier, especially with Indiana Jones movies running on the portable DVD player.

The wireless card I'd ordered earlier in the week arrived over the weekend, so now I'm all set for Wiscon :) It'll save me from having to lug my ancient laptop downstairs, where they typically have the wired access points. Yay, Wiscon!

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As for my writing, I finally got back into it last Sunday, taking part in a collaborative effort on the critique group. It seems to be going pretty well so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the tale turns out. It certainly has its share of fiendish twists and turns :) I'm having so much fun with that, I decided to start up another one today. I'll probably also resurrect another collab effort I stalled on last year.

I was a bit down about a form rejection letter I got the other day. After brooding on that for a few hours, I printed out a fresh copy and sent it off to another market. My problem is that I write so little that I tend to get my hopes up too high for the few pieces I do send out. If I can keep a little busier with new stories maybe that'll be less of a problem.

Over the next week I'm planning on drawing up a writing to-do list, one of the items of which will be to finally polish off some older stories I've either never sent out, or had abandoned after they'd done the rounds. In addition to the collaborative efforts, I've also got notes for a bunch of new stories I'd like to write.

Now I just need to find a way to juggle all that with other matters which will become more pressing in the next few weeks!

2005 Stats:

2005 Word count:	16,432
Stories written:	2
Total submissions:	7
Total acceptances:	0
Total rejections:	5
Waiting for response:	3
Books read:	7
Fiction Mags/Chapbooks read:	7
Audiobooks:	11

What I'm Reading:
Black Seas of Infinity, H.P. Lovecraft (SFBC collection)
Classic Tales of Ghosts and Vampires, Various (audiobook)
Locus December '04, January '05