Now that's more like it -- just finished up editing and revising the first 1/3 of the Sixteen Miles novel, and I'm slowly convincing myself it's not a steaming pile of dog doo. I added a third point-of-view character in my last go-round on this book (when was that? earlier this year?), and that's made all the difference. I'm enjoying it quite a bit now, and seeing all those little plotlines start to converge is a nice thing.

I'm also once scene away from finishing a brand-new short story. I haven't written a new story in over a year, so this is a big deal for me. Drafting this story has been a lot of fun. It all started with a sentence Patrick sent me a while back: "She was broken by dawn." I've been knocking out scenes on the story off and on, and earlier this week I figured out how it was gonna end. Not bad for no outline or no map at all for how the story would progress. So thanks, Patrick!

On the spider-bit dog front, Whit is slowly recovering -- his wounds on his neck are almost healed, but he still has to wear the accursed lampshade a few days more. And the hotspots he gave himself on his inner leg (because he couldn't itch his wounds on his neck as they healed) are mostly healed as well. Whew. We'll be glad to get our dog back, and I know he'll be glad to have his peripheral vision back.

And the day job is going well too. I'm finally getting caught up on all the various processes and tools we use to write our books (I'm an "Information Developer," which is a fancy term for a Tech Writer, at a software company). I'm just glad I get to wear shorts and flip-flops to work! And they have video games and free coffee and soda! But alas, no snacks. Probably a good thing...

Lizzie is at week 30 with little Mitch, and the baby has been entertaining us nightly with his in-the-womb dancing and fidgeting. He had a big ol' time last night, moving around -- I believe it's getting a bit tight in there for him now.

And starting this week, Drew's off to preschool three mornings a week, so he's finally going to see his buddies again and get himself on a good schedule as well (it's been a challenging month or two with the potty-training, which he's almost mastered, and then we'll get him moved out of his crib at last, into his new bed).

So yeah, lots going on at the Jasper house. No wonder I'm zonking out each night around 9:30 instead of getting any reading done... Later!