tag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670brumeierbrumeierbrumeier2024-03-01T23:51:31Ztag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:146790February Recap & FIC2024-03-01T23:51:31Z2024-03-01T23:51:31Zpublic6February was a pretty chill month. <br /><br />My boy started filling out applications and sending emails and had an initial interview at the local Stewart’s gas station and convenience store. When he does eventually get a job, it will be his very first one. I had some friends who insisted he should be working as soon as he was sixteen, but I wasn’t in favor of that. He’s going to have to work for the rest of his life, why start so early? I thought it was more important that he enjoy as many years of not having financial responsibilities as possible.<br /><br />In feline news, Barry continues to express her dislike for Porch Cat with hissing and growling. And Porchy continues to instigate by chasing her around the apartment. I can’t even begin to tell you how sick I am of listening to growling. But sometimes they manage to coexist peacefully, just never in very close proximity. Porchy continues to be a sweetie, though sometimes annoying when he wants to go out every five minutes.<br /><br />But look how cute he is!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146790.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was mostly non-existent. I was too busy with other projects. But I did create some posters and things for work, and messed around with some fanart for one of the fics I was working on. Of course, I couldn’t let the whole month go by without scrapping something.<br /><br />I created 2 scrapbook layouts in February, both for an album I’m putting together about funny things my boy said when he was little. Here’s one of them: <br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146790.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was really good last month! The main goal was to write something for <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://romancingmcshep.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://romancingmcshep.dreamwidth.org/'><b>romancingmcshep</b></a></span>, and that proved the most difficult thing I tackled. My brain, which insisted this fic had to be a first meeting fic and nothing else, didn’t help. With <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nagi_schwarz</b></a></span>’s help, I was able to get past that.<br /><br />I also participated in <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://small-fandoms.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://small-fandoms.dreamwidth.org/'><b>small_fandoms</b></a></span> which ran a Drabblethon all month, and <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/'><b>comment_fic</b></a></span> because Nagi hosted for two weeks. Very much distractions from the deadline fic, but what can I say? The muse wanted to play.<br /><br />Here are the 9 new fannish pieces I posted in February:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146790.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=146790" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:146560January Recap & FIC2024-02-01T14:47:31Z2024-02-01T14:47:31Zpublic12The big news of January is that Porch Cat moved in! He’d still been keeping his distance from me, but then one day my boy coaxed him closer and was able to pet him. Instant change! He started meowing at the outside door, he wanted pets from everyone, and the very next night he was inside the apartment.<br /><br />He’s a very chill gentleman, which is nice because Barry has been a hissing, growling spaz since she gained a new brother. He chirps and meows a lot, and he’s very gentle and sweet. He went to the vet at the end of the month, where he got his immunizations, and some ear drops for an infection. The vet estimates he’s about two years old. Since he still likes to go outside a couple times a day, we got Mr. Porch a collar with his name and my phone number on it. He only wears it when he’s out on the town. (And last night came back in without it, so there’ll have to be a search.)<br /><br />Isn’t he cute?<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146560.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Otherwise, it was a very chill month. I’ve been testing out new recipes on my boy, with varied success. I had my second shingles shot. Our weather waffled between fifty degrees and ten below zero, same with rain and snow. And I completed my third re-watch of <i>Midsomer Murders</i>. Oh, and yesterday my boy got his diploma in the mail! I was so excited! (I’d bought the cap and tassel months ago in preparation.)<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146560.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I also participated in <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://snowflake-challenge.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://snowflake-challenge.dreamwidth.org/'><b>snowflake_challenge</b></a></span>, which was a lot of fun. I enjoyed sharing my particular flavor of fannishness. You can see my entries here on my journal if you’re interested.<br /><br />Scrapbooking was pretty good. I tackled mostly older pics, though Porch Cat did get a two-page spread. I’m starting to feel the itch to get back to the photo scanning and organizing thing, but I’m trying to forestall that until I finish a couple challenge fics because it’s a big time suck.<br /><br />I created 8 scrapbook layouts in January and here’s one of them: <br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146560.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing wasn’t bad. I had a couple great days where I wrote well over 2k each day. I was focused on my <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://romancingmcshep.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://romancingmcshep.dreamwidth.org/'><b>romancingmcshep</b></a></span> fic, which I made good progress on, and a Sentinel AU I’ve been playing around with since August, but I did find time for a few other little fics.<br /><br />Here are the 32 new fannish pieces I posted in January:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/146560.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=146560" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:1421662023 Recap & FIC2024-01-01T19:08:51Z2024-01-01T19:10:54Zpublic4Another year down, and way too fast. Feel free to slow down a little, universe.<br /><br />The year started with loss – my mother-in-law, who’d been on dialysis and very sick since 2020 – and the losses kept coming. My very healthy sister-in-law passed away unexpectedly in her sleep, and my cousin’s son, who I never got the chance to meet, died of a previously unsuspected heart condition at the age of 15, just days before Christmas.<br /><br />The year ended with my boy finding out he’d passed his last semester of classes and is now a college graduate! We got the news on the 31st and I’m so proud of him! It wasn’t an easy road, and there were a few times I had to talk him off the metaphorical ledge, but he got there in the end. Which means 2024 will be the year of My Boy’s First Job. Stay tuned for that! LOL!<br /><br />One of the more interesting things I acquired in 2023 is a stray cat. My boy first noticed him when he was home for Thanksgiving, and insisted we start feeding him, so I put a food dish out on the porch. That began my relationship with Porch Cat. For a while he was a complete phantom, but then I had actual sightings. Before Christmas, I put a spare cat bed on the porch as well, inside a cardboard box. He’s using that as well. But he continues to run from me, no matter what I do. <br /><br />Here's my best picture of Porch Cat, taken with a good zoom lens:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/142166.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Here’s my year by the numbers:</b><br /><br />Scrapbook layouts completed: 114<br /><br />I covered the gamut of scrapbooking topics this past year, from family heritage pages to holiday pages to pages about silly text conversations between me and my boy. No memory too big or too small. (And no, we won’t be looking to see how much money I spent on digital scrapbooking supplies. LOL!)<br /><br />I did 9 layouts in December and here’s one of them: <br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/142166.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />On the whole, writing was good in 2023. Check it out:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/142166.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing in December was good, if not a bit stressful. I finished up the Sentinel ficlets for the Secret Santa drabble challenge, which all posted anonymously in December before author reveals on Christmas. I also managed to get my SGA Secret Santa fic done on time (barely!), and a holiday fic for my friend <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nagi_schwarz</b></a></span>.<br /><br />We’ll see what the new year brings in terms of writing inspiration. (WIPs. So many I’d like to finish. So many.)<br /><br />Here are the 13 new fannish pieces I posted in December:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/142166.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=142166" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:141149November Recap & FIC2023-12-01T23:05:07Z2023-12-01T23:05:07Zpublic4November was a busy month. Daily posts to keep up with at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/'><b>ushobwri</b></a></span>, a goal to write every day, and all the RL stuff of working and celebrating Thanksgiving. I might just take a break from everything but work today. ::grins::<br /><br />The big excitement at my job last month was an unplanned evacuation. Whenever my compatriot in the main office and the principal are both out at the same time, the assistant principal and I suffer. This time, an overwhelming smell of propane had us evacuating across the street to the storage units. We called the fire department, and then had to call each of our ten districts to please come and pick up their kids. It was chaotic, but we got lucky in that the weather was mild and dry, since we were outside for a good two hours. <br /><br />No leak was found on school property, so we never found out where the smell was coming from. I don’t have a picture from that day, so enjoy this 2021 pic of me in my Safety Response Team vest.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/141149.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Of course, the best part of the month was having my boy home for Thanksgiving. We spent six days together, which included a visit to the dentist to find out why my boy is having mouth pain. (Wisdom tooth, which will have to come out in January.) <br /><br />Thanksgiving itself was very chill. I watched the parade, during which I video chatted with my brother and had a lengthy phone chat with my sister, and my boy and I ate a huge turkey dinner. As per our family tradition, after dinner we watched Laurel & Hardy’s <i>March of the Wooden Soldiers</i>, which for me officially ushers in the Christmas season.<br /><br />In scrapbooking news, I was so focused on writing that I only got two layouts done for the month. But I did get some cute new kits thanks to Black Friday sales, so hopefully next month there’ll be more pages to be had.<br /><br />Here’s one of the layouts I did:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/141149.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was plentiful. I wrote every day of the month, though some days the wordcount was under 100 and rarely was it over 1k. I made a little progress on my Secret Santa fic, but when I got stuck, I picked up a drabble challenge in a different fandom and wrote ficlets for it. (They’ll be posted anonymously throughout the month, with reveals on the 25th.)<br /><br />Here are the 2 new fannish pieces I posted in November:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/141149.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=141149" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:140971October Recap & FIC2023-11-01T21:56:04Z2023-11-01T21:56:04Zpublic8October was an up and down month. We had temps in the 80s, but also the first dusting of snow. I had to travel out to Oneonta for a follow-up with the podiatrist (half hour trip for a five-minute appointment), but got Jersey Mike’s while I was out there (I’m obsessed with those subs). I had to travel to Milford for work (an hour trip), but got to drive my first hybrid vehicle (it’s one of the fleet vehicles at work).<br /><br />There wasn’t one weekend where I left the house except for groceries, and I loved it. In my lounge clothes all day, no bra, no worries. Yes, I spend every Sunday doing my additional duties for work, but I can have movies going while I do that.<br /><br />Best day at work was absolutely Halloween. We had a pumpkin decorating contest, and the elementary kids went trick-or-treating after their little costume parade. Each department/classroom chose a Disney film to dress up as. The Main Office, where I work, did Finding Nemo. Here’s a pic of me as Bruce the Shark (not Baby Shark, not a dolphin, and absolutely not a narwhal). ::grins::<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140971.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />In scrapbooking news, I was able to participate in Digital Scrapbooking Day at the beginning of the month. (Scrappers also get National Scrapbooking Day in May, in case you were wondering.) And thanks to some handy templates, I busted out nine layouts for October, on a variety of random topics. <br /><br />Here’s one of the layouts I did (which makes me feel so old):<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140971.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was strong the first half of the month, and a bit more scattered the second half. But overall, it was a solid month and I really have no complaints. I wrote way more days than I didn’t and managed to finish a few things. I was hoping to have a fic for Halloween, but that didn’t happen. I’m okay with it. I’m trying to care less about stuff like that.<br /><br />Here are the 3 new fannish pieces I posted in October:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140971.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=140971" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:140400September Recap & FIC2023-10-01T16:03:27Z2023-10-01T16:03:27Zpublic4After a summer of canceled plans and not a lot going on, my boy and I rallied and went to Scottish Games on Labor Day weekend, right before he went back to college. It was only an hour away, which meant a day trip, and it was nice weather for a change. (Too nice. I got a nice sunburn.) I must admit, I got a bit emotional during the opening ceremonies, when the bands all played. It had been too long.<br /><br /><b>Sidebar:</b> I was a regular visitor at the annual Celtic Fest that used to be held locally. From 1993 to about 2009, I was there for bagpipes and caber tossing and live bands and especially the mass march of bands down the mountain. Sadly, they don’t hold that particular festival anymore and I really, really miss it.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140400.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My boy made his successful return to college. He has the same room as last year, new suitemates, and the same ‘I don’t want to be here’ attitude. Hopefully this will be his last semester and then he’ll have an associate’s degree. ::fingers crossed::<br /><br />In work news, holy moly, school has been insane! I don’t recall personally feeling so hectic and overwhelmed this time last year, but that’s where I am. Plus there’s been another instance of me not being included in decisions that directly affect the work I do. Thanks to menopausal hormones, I’ve had more than one day where people were lucky they didn’t get stabbed. <br /><br />In health news, I had a procedure at the end of the month to deal with an ingrown toenail. I was told a couple of horror stories about it, but it wasn’t that bad. Hopefully this will fix the issues I was having. If not, I have a great podiatrist. I’ll spare you the pictures. ::grins::<br /><br />My scrapbooking focus last month, for the most part, was on some of the old family pics I’ve been scanning. Hoping to bust out a lot more pages next month, particularly on Digital Scrapbooking Day. ::fingers crossed:: I created 8 new layouts for September, and this is one of them:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140400.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was a struggle all month. In part because I was focused more on scanning and sorting photos, and playing around on Ancestry with my family tree, but also because my stress levels have been very high lately and that’s made it difficult to focus.<br /><br />To try and help myself, I smashed three challenges into one fic, and that’s all I worked on when the words were coming. And I had to work right up to the last second to get this one fic finished. I’m hoping October will be a better writing month.<br /><br />Here is the 1 new fannish piece I posted in September:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140400.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=140400" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:140199August Recap & FIC2023-09-01T22:39:19Z2023-09-01T22:39:19Zpublic6It was a pretty chill month overall. My child support issue finally got resolved, which was helpful in restocking groceries. My boy and I still weren’t able to do anything particularly fun – he opted out of going to the county fair – but we’ll just have to make up for that next summer.<br /><br />Meanwhile, we’re getting him ready to head back to college this weekend. Hopefully this will be my boy’s final semester and then he’ll be graduating. ::fingers crossed:: He didn’t want any new clothes or sneakers, but he did get a haircut. The gal who cut his hair used to do our family’s hair way back in the day, so it was cool to get to work with her again.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140199.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />The big project that battled with the writing was my ongoing job of scanning my pictures. I pop in and out of it from time to time, but right now it’s very hot. I’m making digital copies of all my pictures and getting rid of the albums (because there are a million of them). It’s fun looking back at so many memories. Like this cutie pie pic of my boy from nineteen years ago:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140199.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />It was also the last quiet month at work before the kids come back. My principal and I have been going gangbusters on bulletin boards, of which we seem to have way too many. I’m in a good spot to start the new school year, I think. All my files and spreadsheets and whatnot are ready to go. <br /><br />Scrapbooking was pretty minimal last month, just a handful of layouts. Most were dealing with older pics. I did buy a few cool templates I haven’t tried out yet but hope to get to soon. I created 7 new layouts for August, and this is one of them:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140199.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was up and down. Of the three fics I posted, one was an original piece and the other was for a fandom so small there are only five fics in it and four are mine. ::shrugs:: I did a ton of research for a solarpunk fic for the <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://whatif-au.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://whatif-au.dreamwidth.org/'><b>whatif_au</b></a></span> challenge, and did some cool worldbuilding, but I had no story to tell there. So I switched up to a steampunk story that I’m pretty excited about, but probably won’t finish by the end of next month.<br /><br />I also did some fanart for one of the monthly challenges I participate in. I’d started a fic and was really excited about it, and then it fizzled on me as so many of them do. I’m hoping to get back to it because I have so much of it written already.<br /><br />Here are the 4 new fannish pieces I posted in August:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/140199.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=140199" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:139923July Recap & FIC2023-08-01T19:15:17Z2023-08-01T19:15:17Zpublic12July was hot and wet in all the worst ways. We had a lot of rain, which did nothing to relieve the heat and humidity. My apartment, which has no AC, was consistently hovering around 80 degrees even with fans and the swamp cooler on. We didn’t get a break until two days ago, when the heat subsided and I could finally turn off the fans. I went through my whole collection of tank tops, I can tell you that.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139923.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />It was a busy month at work. All the carpeted offices got new carpet installed. At one point the guys were working around me, running their loud machines. The new carpet is nice, but much lighter and I fear it’s going to get really grubby. Also, they took down my Covid plexi and now I feel so exposed. LOL! Our metal roof is being replaced at the same time, and we just had the parking lot resealed.<br /><br />I started my new extra job last month, too. Claims auditing, for which I’m getting a little stipend. I have to do it after hours, so it’s become my weekend work. Easy but time consuming.<br /><br />Big news of July: my boy turned 20! The celebration was pretty small, just the two of us and his girlfriend, who stayed with us that whole week. His birthday dinner was Chinese food, and the gf made him from scratch chocolate brownie batter cupcakes. (His annual birthday cheesecake is hanging out in the freezer for now.) I made him monkey bread for his birthday breakfast, and then we had a second one out at the Breakfast Club restaurant my friend owns the following Saturday.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139923.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was pretty good last month, if more than a bit scattered. Whatever caught my eye, whether I was looking through my own pictures or looking at other people’s layouts for inspiration, is what I went with. I created 14 new layouts for July, and this is one of them:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139923.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I started and faltered on a lot of writing projects last month. My focus continues to be poor. My overall numbers aren’t bad, though, because <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nagi_schwarz</b></a></span> hosted over at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/'><b>comment_fic</b></a></span>. One of these days I’ll be able to write the fics I want to write in the time frame I have to write them. One of these days!<br /><br />Here are the 11 new fics I posted in July:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139923.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=139923" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:13965413th Fic-A-Versary2023-07-16T18:47:59Z2023-07-16T18:47:59Zpublic10Lucky number thirteen!<br /><br />On this date thirteen years ago, I posted my very first piece of fanfiction on FF.net. I’d been reading fic for a while – Trixie Belden fanfic, mostly – and then I got sucked into both <i>Alice</i> (the Syfy miniseries from 2009) and Tim Burton’s <i>Alice in Wonderland</i> (2010). Hatters for days! LOL!<br /><br />I wrote and posted <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/3853249">Alice at the End</a> in the Alice fandom, a missing scene from the end of the movie. It was so nerve-wracking, putting that out there on the web for anyone to read! But the response was positive, and so I wrote more. And more.<br /><br />Eventually I left Alice and moved on to slashier fare in Sentinel, Hawaii Five-0, and my soulmate fandom, Stargate Atlantis. I now have 903 posted fics on AO3, two communities on DW (<span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/'><b>ushobwri</b></a></span> and <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://whatif-au.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://whatif-au.dreamwidth.org/'><b>whatif_au</b></a></span>), and a slew of writing friends.<br /><br />My love of fandom encouraged me to travel to two Stargate conventions, where I got to meet some of my friends in person. It’s widened my pool of like-minded friends (none of my RL friends are writers or particularly fannish) exponentially, and I’ve met some of them in person as well.<br /><br />Fandom has brought so much to my life. When I was writing original fic, I almost never finished anything. Now I have a huge catalog of completed stories, and the good feeling that comes from being someone who writes things other people enjoy reading.<br /><br />So, on my 13th fic-a-versary, I want to say thank you to everyone who encourages my writing – my friends, my betas, my readers. You’ve followed me on some strange fic journeys over the years and I appreciate every single one of you!<br /><br />Please enjoy this new Stargate Atlantis AU fic: <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/48633427">The Heart of Atlantis</a> (John Sheppard/Rodney McKay + Laura Cadman)<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=139654" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:139237June Recap & FIC2023-07-01T14:05:37Z2023-07-01T14:06:08Zpublic4June was such a busy month for me. I work in a school, so everything was a scramble to get ready for Moving Up day for the elementary kids, and graduation for the seniors, and the end of year party we have for all staff and students. Exhausting!<br /><br />I also accepted new duties at work, but only because I’ll get paid a stipend and I’m desperate for money right now. I’ll be doing claims auditing and, because I’m getting a stipend, it’ll be after hours. The good news is I can do it from home, in my jammies.<br /><br />In food news, my boy and I decided to make this the Summer of the Meatball. We only ever have them with pasta, so we thought it might be fun to branch out. We started with Swedish, and those were a big success. Next we tried Hawaiian and, while they were good, they weren’t great. That’s a recipe that’ll need some tweaking. Here are the Swedish:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139237.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />June weather was so weird. We started off with terrible air quality because of the Canadian wildfires – there were two days where the air was a sickly yellow color. We had to keep all our students indoors.<br /><br />And then came the rain. And more rain. Every day…rain. We had one day with three separate hailstorms. Such a soggy month. I’m hoping July will be a little better, since I have Ren Fest plans that require me to be outdoors for an entire day.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139237.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I didn’t get to the Flag Day parade this year, even though it’s one of my faves. It was too wet and rainy for me. Instead, I scrapbooked eight prior Flag Day parades. Watching my boy grow on the pages was really fun. I did 16 layouts total, and here’s one of them:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139237.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was fairly scattered. I was working on several projects simultaneously, so progress on each was slow as a result. But I did manage to fill a few challenges, thanks to <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/'><b>squidgiepdx</b></a></span> hosting over at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://comment-fic.dreamwidth.org/'><b>comment_fic</b></a></span>. I didn’t get everything done I wanted to this month, but what can you do?<br /><br />Here are the 12 new fics I posted in June:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/139237.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=139237" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:136074May Recap & FIC2023-06-01T23:55:20Z2023-06-01T23:55:20Zpublic6May was occupied in part by moving my boy back home for the summer after he completed his second year of college. (An online summer class, one more semester, and then he’ll have a two-year degree. Woo!) I made two trips, so we didn’t have to worry about overstuffing the car with all his stuff.<br /><br />It’s nice having him back home, except for the part where I’m back to sharing a bathroom with a bathroom hog. On the other hand, he enjoys making meatballs, so sometimes I don’t have to do all the cooking. Win!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/136074.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I also spent way too much time at the car dealership. My AC quit on me, and I spent almost three hours waiting for a diagnostic (and an oil change). Then I had to go back when the part came in for another three hour stay in the waiting room. We kept going back and forth on whether or not replacing the part was covered. It was not enjoyable, but in the end I didn’t have to pay for the fix. Yay!<br /><br />The big excitement of the month was getting to be a chaperone for one of our occupational classes. We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, which is a city I love even when it’s terrible. It was nice to get away from my desk for a day and see some really cool stuff. When I bust out the fanny pack, it’s always good times! LOL!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/136074.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was really good last month, in part because the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend I spent doing nothing but scrapbooking. I made 16 layouts in May, and this one is my fave: <br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/136074.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing wasn’t quite as footloose and fancy free in May as it had been in April. I tried to focus in on challenge fics, but random bunnies popped up and RL stuff took up my time, and in the end I didn’t do either of the challenge fics I’d planned on. ::headdesk:: Oh, well. What’s a girl to do? <br /><br />And in a bit of random happenstance, it was brought to my attention that I had an old Primeval fic hanging out on fanfic.net that had never transitioned over to AO3. I have since remedied that. I like having all my fic in one place.<br /><br />Here are the 4 new fics and 1 old fic I posted in May:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/136074.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=136074" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:135914April Recap & FIC2023-05-01T21:31:43Z2023-05-01T21:31:43Zpublic33The big news of April is that this gal turned the big 5-0. I have a lot of mixed emotions about that. I feel like the best part of my life is over, and now all I have to look forward to is old-age health problems. I know this isn’t true, but it <i>feels</i> true.<br /><br />It was a pretty good birthday, though. My boy called me right at midnight on the actual day, and my mom called me at 12:30am as she always does, because that was the time I was actually born. I got some nice gifts, lots of birthday greetings, but somehow failed to have any cake.<br /><br />The best part of the birthday was spending the weekend up north with my boy. I got a room at the Holiday Inn Express, and he stayed over with me to get a break from the dorm. His girl joined us for lunch and pool times, and then my boy and I had a lovely dinner date at Texas Roadhouse.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135914.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My birthday weekend was also Easter weekend, so I brought my boy some candy and a new book for his collection. And his girl’s birthday was on Easter, so I brought her some candy and a gift card. Candy for everyone!<br /><br />My boy and I made use of the hotel’s breakfast buffet, and then hit up Walmart to get him supplies before he got settled back in at school and I headed home. I treated myself to a leg of lamb for Easter dinner, which I hadn’t made in a long time. (My boy doesn’t care for it.) It was so yummy!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135914.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I started getting back in the scrapbooking groove. I put together 13 layouts and compiled some information with others in mind. Lots of thanks to my mom, who constantly has me sending her pics and asking, “Tell me the story.”<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135914.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing continued to be good in April, my best so far this year, actually. I filled some challenges, and set my fic brain to three projects, two of which are fairly lengthy and don’t need to be completed until the end of May. So naturally, I decided to wrap up and/or add installments to older series in typical Bru procrastination fashion. Future Bru is going to be really pissed. <br /><br />Here are the 8 new fics I posted in April:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135914.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=135914" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:135490March Recap & FIC2023-04-01T15:44:20Z2023-04-01T15:44:20Zpublic6March was a pretty good month overall. My boy was home for a week for his spring break, during which we did very little. It was nice just spending some time together. We didn’t get any pictures together, but he did graciously allow me to take a pic of him post-haircut. And this is the face I got:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135490.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Mother-in-law’s house is up for sale, with most of her worldly possessions still inside because there are a billion of them. I picked up her car, which will be my boy’s once all the paperwork is squared away. I drove it up to my school for the Auto kids to look over. Runs okay, but boy is it loud. It also smells like a heavy smoker used to own it, which is absolutely true, and it’s just as full of junk as the house.<br /><br />I ended the month working with my boy’s school to figure out his graduation plan (he needs 18 more credits), dealing with support services regarding my ongoing struggle to get child support for the last three months, and getting stuck in the middle of my boy and his girlfriend as they go through relationship turmoil (spoiler: I am not a counselor).<br /><br />Scrapbooking was minimal – just two layouts. A two-page spread from when my boy was little, and the first page I’ve done about MIL since she passed:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135490.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing went pretty well last month. Star Trek continues to eat my brain, so I was plugging away at three different fics for my new fusion ‘verse, two of which I finished. I also posted the self-indulgent fic I was working on when no other words would come in February.<br /><br />Here are the 5 new fics I posted in March:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135490.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=135490" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:135388February Recap & FIC2023-03-01T13:43:29Z2023-03-01T13:43:29Zpublic21<b>Warning: Discussion of death in the family</b><br /><br />February was a rough month, friends. Not gonna lie. My mother-in-law passed away somewhat unexpectedly. I say ‘somewhat’ because she’d been very sick for the last three years – dialysis three days a week, frequent hospital visits, rare blood disease, COPD, and on and on. But still, she was just going about her regular day when she died. It happened so quickly none of us were able to be with her when she passed.<br /><br />This was especially difficult for my boy, who hadn’t yet lost someone he was so close to. Luckily, his girlfriend was with him when I broke the news, so he wasn’t alone. He came home from college for the viewing, and he had to deal with another issue – seeing his father after almost four years of no contact.<br /><br />It was a fraught time. But we got through it together, and my boy got the chance to say goodbye to his grandmother. And maybe make a little peace with his father.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135388.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Understandably, my productivity for the month was all over the place. I did four scrapbook pages at the start of the month, but couldn’t make myself do any others. I think because I want to do some layouts about my MIL but I’m not quite ready yet.<br /><br />Here’s one of the layouts I did:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135388.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was also a bit dodgy. I had a firm plan for the month, with two challenges I wanted to participate in. But after my MIL passed, I was having a hard time focusing in. So many of my words for the month went to a self-indulgent WIP not attached to any challenges at all.<br /><br />Still, I was able to manage some last-minute challenge fills. Here are the 5 new fics I posted in February:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/135388.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=135388" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:134936Happy IFD23!2023-02-15T05:19:58Z2023-02-15T05:19:58Zpublic0It's <a href="https://www.transformativeworks.org/what-were-doing-for-ifd2023/">International Fanworks Day</a>, everyone! (And I'm staying up way too late to post this. Sorry, future zombie self!)<br /><br />This year's focus is on crossovers and fusions, and I wrote a little thing. I hope you enjoy it!<br /><br /><b>Title:</b> <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/45065461">The Fate of the Lost City</a> <br /><b>Author:</b> <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/'><b>brumeier</b></a></span><br /><b>Fandom(s):</b> Nancy Drew/Stargate Atlantis<br /><b>Pairing(s):</b> John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, past John Sheppard/Nancy Drew<br /><b>Warning(s):</b> Exes who are still friends, angst over getting Atlantis back home<br /><br /><b>Summary:</b> A lot of dignitaries and VIPs have been visiting Atlantis since declassification, but John didn't expect his ex-wife to be one of them.<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=134936" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:134902January Recap & FIC2023-02-01T13:35:59Z2023-02-01T13:35:59Zpublic13January was a pretty chill month overall. Spent a lot of quality time with my boy during his school break, which was really nice. Even more exciting to me was how much book reading he did, not a usual thing for him. In fact, he liked his <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> graphic novel so much he asked for more. I bought him a fancy, leatherbound copy of all HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu books, and he’s been working his way right through it.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/134902.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I surprised him with a special edition of <i>The Hobbit</i>, which was delivered to school his first week back. I’ll ride this book train as far as I can! LOL!<br /><br />The rest of the month was pretty chill. I got my boy back to school on the one day we didn’t have bad winter weather, which was nice. His first day back at college turned into a snowday. (I had one, too.) I’m getting back into the swing of living alone.<br /><br />Also, if anyone wants a cat that wakes you up at 4am with a sharp claw, and is otherwise disrespectful, I have just the one. She’s the literal worst, honestly, but having her around keeps me from talking to myself like a crazy person. It’s okay to be a crazy cat lady, right? Right??<br /><br />I made up for zero scrapbooking in December by completing 17 layouts last month. Heavy on birthdays, for some reason, of which there are 9 layouts. I was lucky to have some journal entries I could use to remind me about events, since my memory on its own isn’t great. Here’s one of the layouts I did:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/134902.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />January was a great writing month! Words and ideas were flowing! I was able to complete a bingo for hurt/comfort bingo, which is always a yay for me, and even participated in a sexytimes challenge, and that’s not something I write much of these days. Overall, really pleased with how writing went last month.<br /><br />Here are the 6 new fics I posted in January:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/134902.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=134902" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:133896December Recap & FIC2023-01-01T18:57:49Z2023-01-01T18:57:49Zpublic5December is always a busy month for me. There’s all the holiday prep – decorating, cards, cookies, shopping, wrapping – plus my big writing exchange for the year and lots of work activities to prepare. Not to mention watching Christmas movies. (I got in 70 before New Year’s!)<br /><br />Notable Moments: I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, which I suspected was why my feet hurt all the time. I had a snow day thanks to Winter Storm Diaz. I met my boy’s girlfriend’s dad when he came to pick her up the day before Christmas Eve. We had a potluck at work that consisted solely of different types of dip.<br /><br />We had three Christmases – one with my boy’s girlfriend, one with me and my boy, and one with my mother-in-law. Gifts were plentiful. Probably the coolest thing I received was something my mother made. It’s a framed scrabble board, where all the words are about me. Such a cool idea!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133896.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />And of course I got some fannish gifts. From my boy, Eddie Munson (Stranger Things) t-shirt and stickers. From <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nagi_schwarz</b></a></span>, a Stargate necklace. My online/fannish friends were also kind enough to send me cards. Thank you so much, <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://aome.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://aome.dreamwidth.org/'><b>aome</b></a></span>, <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://smallhobbit.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://smallhobbit.dreamwidth.org/'><b>smallhobbit</b></a></span>, and <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://taste-is-sweet.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://taste-is-sweet.dreamwidth.org/'><b>taste_is_sweet</b></a></span>!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133896.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />The real highlight of the month for me is all the time I’ve been spending with my boy since he’s been home from school. Usually, he lives in his room and only comes out in search of food or bathroom breaks. But this time, he’s been hanging out in the living room with me. We’ve watched a lot of movies together, we cooked dinner together one night (he loves making meatballs), and he’s been reading actual books, which is very unusual and so great for me to see. He’s never been a big reader.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133896.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was completely non-existent this month. Usually, I’m busting out a pile of Christmas layouts in December, but I was so focused on writing that I didn’t do a single page. Oh, well. I’ll just have to do extra this month, right?<br /><br />December was a much better writing month than November was. The big goal I had was to complete my Secret Santa on time, and I did. The rest was just gravy. As usual, I had a bunch of Christmas fics I wanted to write and never got the chance to.<br /><br />Here are the 4 new fics I posted in December:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133896.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas, and are entering into the new year healthy and as happy as possible. I’m thankful for all of you, and look forward to all the great fannish things we’re going to do in 2023!<br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=133896" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:133393All My Christmas Fics2022-12-23T05:34:33Z2022-12-23T05:34:33Zpublic2For my own bookkeeping needs, and perhaps some general interest, I thought I'd compile all my Christmas fics in one spot. I've broken them out by fandom. Let's get started!<br /><br /><br /><br /><b>Alice (2010)</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Crossovers</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Hawaii Five-0</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Marvel Cinematic Universe</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>The Sentinel</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___5" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid5">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___5" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Stargate Atlantis</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___6" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid6">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___6" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><b>Trixie Belden Mysteries/The Three Investigators</b><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___7" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133393.html#cutid7">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___7" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=133393" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:133316November Recap & FIC2022-12-02T00:02:36Z2022-12-02T00:02:36Zpublic6November was a pretty good month, all things considered.<br /><br />I spent a week in Florida, which was glorious. The weather was perfect, I didn’t have to do anything but relax, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I went down to surprise my mom for her 70th birthday, and she had no idea until she came outside and saw me in the driveway. <br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133316.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I took the train from New York to Florida, and it was the first time I traveled by coach instead of getting a little room. And also the last time, because it wasn’t great. I barely slept because I just couldn’t get comfortable, and the shared bathroom was gross. Still, traveling by train is much less stressful for me than flying. And I did have time to read four whole books.<br /><br />My boy was home for Thanksgiving (after a flat tire snafu that had me calling a tow truck to get his girlfriend's car to Walmart), and it was nice getting to spend a few days with him one-on-one. We had a little chicken dinner on the actual day, and then a huge feast at my MIL’s on Saturday. No-one went hungry. I was able to finally watch the parade on my TV and spent a lot of time on the phone with my little sister (she’s 12 and lives several states away) because she likes to watch the parade with me.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133316.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was mostly non-existent this month. I did one page, and that was created yesterday so I could have something to share here, and also a quick album for my MIL for Christmas (a selection of her poems). I’ll probably be more productive this month, because Christmas layouts are my faves and I just got some cute new papers. ::grins::<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133316.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />November was my worst writing month of the year (so far). I attribute some of this to being away from home for a week, and my mom not giving me much downtime to work on fic, but also because I was staying active on the <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/'><b>ushobwri</b></a></span> comm, where we had daily posts last month. And really, getting my head in the writing game has been challenging lately.<br /><br />This month I need to finish my Secret Santa exchange fic. I’d like to write a holiday fic in addition to that, but who knows if that’ll happen.<br /><br />Here are the 2 new fics I posted in November:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133316.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=133316" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:133015October Recap & FIC2022-11-01T12:47:43Z2022-11-01T12:47:43Zpublic12The big news of the month is that, after eight years of separation, I finally got divorced! I’m not sure why I dragged my feet so long on this, except that I was feeling guilty because getting divorced meant taking my ex off my health insurance. Which wouldn’t be a big deal under other circumstances, but he went through cancer treatments a few years ago (and my insurance is really, really good and he didn’t have to pay anything) and I guess that was on my mind. But! He’s officially not my problem anymore.<br /><br />This news was overshadowed by me being felled by covid just days later. First time I’ve gotten it, and man. It was not fun. I didn’t have body aches, but I couldn’t swallow for several days, and the cough is still trying to kill me. I was out of work for a week and still don’t feel quite like myself.<br /><br />It’s very likely I caught the covid while I was out and about. I traveled to Binghamton to visit with my college BFF, who recently had major surgery. I also got to visit with <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png' alt='[personal profile] ' width='17' height='17' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://nagi-schwarz.dreamwidth.org/'><b>nagi_schwarz</b></a></span> and her daughter at the pumpkin farm, which was a lot of fun. We had the best weather for it! That night, my BFF and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show being put on by a local community theater, and I’m thinking that’s where the virus got me. There were a lot of people there. But the show was hilarious, and I have no regrets.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133015.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Halloween was mostly good. At work a group of us dressed up like Minions, so that was fun. And our two elementary special ed classes did a costume parade and went around trick-or-treating, and they were super cute. But when I got home from work, I found my kitchen flooded thanks to a leak from two floors up. Bah. More of a trick than a treat, to be sure.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133015.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was so slow there almost was none. I was doing a lot of writing at the beginning of the month, and then I was too sick to do anything. Normally this is my month to get caught up on Halloween/Autumn layouts. Oh, well. <br /><br />I created 2 new layouts in October, including this one:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133015.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was a bit more focused, as there were fics I wanted to write for Monster Fest at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png' alt='[community profile] ' width='16' height='16' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' /></a><a href='https://ushobwri.dreamwidth.org/'><b>ushobwri</b></a></span>. I didn’t get everything written that I wanted to (covid brain), but I’m pleased with what I did put out.<br /><br />Here are the 6 new fics I posted in October:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/133015.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=133015" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:132797September Recap & FIC2022-10-01T17:04:44Z2022-10-01T17:04:44Zpublic10September was a busy month at Casa Brumeier. <br /><br />I got my boy moved back into college for his second and final year. He had a little bit of a meltdown when we got there, because he has a second suitemate that was a last-minute addition he wasn’t told about, and also because his new room had a funky smell. But we cleaned everything, got his furniture moved around, and I spent way too much money at Walmart getting him fully supplied with everything from toilet paper to paper plates.<br /><br />Luckily his girlfriend, with whom he recently celebrated his one-year dating anniversary, was also on hand to help out and keep him from going too far off the rails.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132797.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />I also unexpectedly got a new car! My lease was coming due in November and they wanted me to come in sooner rather than later because of problems keeping cars in stock. I went from a 2016 Nissan Rogue to a 2019 Nissan Rogue. But this one has a remote starter and a heated steering wheel. I’m cruising in luxury, friends! LOL! Of course, it's already been customized with vinyl stickers. Letterkenny for me (allegedly) and a Berzerk symbol for my boy (I think it's from a manga?). Hey, I need all the help I can get finding my car in a Walmart parking lot!<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132797.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />The car wasn’t the only new thing I got last month. I also finally got the Alice in Wonderland tattoo I’d been planning for a while. My boy’s girlfriend designed it for me, and I finally had the money to go and get it done. I’m now back to being balanced as far as tattoo placement (new one is on right leg), so I’m good for a while. My boy wants to get matching ink with me at some point, but that’s still in the early planning stages. <br /><br />If you’d like to see my other tattoos, you can find them <a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/tag/tattoos">here</a>.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132797.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Scrapbooking was slow. I have lots of ideas for pages but lack the motivation to do much. I did make sure to document my son’s return to college, so I’m at least keeping up with school pages. I need to finish up plans for my mom’s birthday book, so I can get it printed up in time.<br /><br />I created 9 new layouts in September, and here’s one of them:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132797.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Writing was unfocussed and sluggish for most of the month. And then I had a gangbusters weekend where I was able to finish three writing projects. Woo! I had to withhold food and TV to motivate myself, which is more hardcore than usual, but I can’t argue with the results.<br /><br />Hopefully I can get back on track this month and write more regularly.<br /><br />Here are the 2 new fics I posted in September:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___5" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132797.html#cutid5">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___5" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=132797" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:132290August Recap & FIC2022-09-01T22:03:19Z2022-09-01T22:03:19Zpublic6You should know this about me: I’m normally a person who sticks close to home. I don’t like driving, and with gas prices being what they are, I’m not keen on using more gas than is strictly necessary. Does that mean shopping at the local, more expensive grocery store than driving the thirty minutes to Walmart? Yes.<br /><br />But in August forces conspired against me and I spent a LOT of time making that thirty-minute trip. I had a dental appointment, an ophthalmologist appointment (I’m having optical migraines, yay), a mammogram, and a hair appointment. My boy had a doctor appointment. And he started gaming in Warhammer, so there were trips out for him to get some practice playing with his new ork army. The downside of living rural is that stuff tends to be so far away. My boy is so happy with the gaming, though. So happy! (And no, he doesn’t drive even though he’s 19. Inconvenient, I know.)<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132290.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />While he gamed, I went to the movies for the first time in three years. I saw Brad Pitt in Bullet Train, which was gory but endlessly hilarious and awesome, and Diane Keaton in Mack & Rita, which was cute but didn’t reach its full potential.<br /><br />Another new thing my boy did last month was go to his first concert. His girlfriend got free tickets to see My Chemical Romance up in Albany, so they trekked up there for the show. My boy isn’t a big MCR fan, but he had fun. (My first concert was Milli Vanilli, ha!)<br /><br />Scrapbooking was light again last month, because I was writing a lot more. But they were mostly all double-page layouts. I also had a lengthy video chat with my brother, during which I asked him questions about his Navy service, which I’d been wanting to document. I created 9 layouts for the month (plus a couple bulletin board posters for work), including this one:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132290.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My head felt crammed full of words for most of the month, though I wasn’t always successful in extracting them. I got a few new bunnies, some of which I wrote and others which I took notes on.<br /><br />Here are the 5 new fics I posted in August:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/132290.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=132290" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:131887July Recap & FIC2022-08-01T12:42:29Z2022-08-01T12:42:29Zpublic10July was an outdoorsy month for me (meaning I spent time outside on two separate occasions). The first was a trip to Minekill Falls when my boy and I were showing his girlfriend our old stomping grounds. When he was little, we used to walk to the Falls from our apartment. I am woefully out of shape, so we only did the lookout instead of walking all the way to the base of the falls.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131887.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />The other outside trip was to the Renaissance Festival in Sterling. I haven’t been since my boy was six. We got a VRBO rental on the Seneca River, and it was gorgeous! It was a basement apartment, and the backyard was the river. Lovely.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131887.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />In other news, my mother-in-law was in and out of the hospital a couple of times. Her health continues to be bad, but there’s nothing much to be done about it. I experienced a weird migraine aura thing, where it was like I had a kaleidoscope in front of one eye and was having trouble seeing what was on my computer monitor. I went home and took a nap, and the eye thing had stopped when I woke up, but that whole side of my face felt weak the rest of the night. Never had that happen before. So weird.<br /><br />Scrapbooking was fairly light last month and covered a variety of subjects. I’ve been doing a lot of scraplifting lately – getting inspiration for layouts from other people’s pages. Does this mean my scrappy muse is being lazy? Probably. ::grins:: I created 10 layouts for the month, including this one:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131887.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My writing muse was back in force, though there wasn’t much focus behind it. I had a lot of words spread around a lot of different projects. Some of the posted fics were from hosting at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif' alt='[livejournal.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/'><b>comment_fic</b></a></span>. I also signed up for the new round of <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif' alt='[livejournal.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='http://hc-bingo.livejournal.com/'><b>hc_bingo</b></a></span>.<br /><br />Here are the 10 new fics I posted in July:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131887.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=131887" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:131646June Recap & FIC2022-07-01T13:21:59Z2022-07-01T13:21:59Zpublic4The month started with attending my college reunion. My 25th was supposed to take place in 2020 and was understandably canceled. It was canceled again the following year. So this year they opened it up to all graduates. My BFF and former college roommate Anne convinced me to go. <br /><br />We shared a room at the nearby casino and didn’t pay for any of the on-site activities. Instead, we hung out with our friends, walked around campus feeling continuously confused by all the changes, and ate a hugely overpriced steak dinner at the casino. I had such a good time, and I’m glad Anne talked me into going.<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131646.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My social battery was mostly used up at the reunion, so I passed on a work party even though it was also a retirement party for several of my co-workers. But I did attend a high school hangout at my friend Donna’s house. Only one of our three friends was able to make it, but we still had fun. There was a lot a food, we looked at my school scrapbook, and I even dug out the binder of notes my bestie and I passed in class all those years ago. Those were a fun read! (Yes, I save everything.)<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131646.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Most of the rest of the month was fairly chill. My boy and I binged the new season of Stranger Things (the final two eps drop today and I’m both excited and anxious about watching them). I started my 3rd (I think) rewatch of <i>Midsomer Murders</i>, one of my comfort series, after finishing a rewatch of <i>Inspector Lewis</i>. And I rescheduled my mammogram because of the gas prices.<br /><br />The school year ended on a dodgy note. The interim principal was booed at graduation. We lost about ten staff (teachers, aides, counselors) either to retirement, or them getting better jobs elsewhere because my organization is the lowest paying educational institution in the area. Hopefully the new principal, who was our assistant principal this year, will be able to right the ship and get us on a more even course.<br /><br />Scrapbooking was good last month. After my college reunion, I was inspired to create several college-related layouts (even though I already have several college scrapbook albums). I created 13 layouts for the month, including this one:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131646.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />Halfway through the month, my muse returned from his bender and the words started to flow again. Most of my posted fics were from Lonely Prompts Week at <span style='white-space: nowrap;'><a href='http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/profile'><img src='https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif' alt='[livejournal.com profile] ' style='vertical-align: text-bottom; border: 0; padding-right: 1px;' width='16' height='16'/></a><a href='http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/'><b>comment_fic</b></a></span>, which helped me get back in the writing groove. Just in time for hosting there the last week of the month.<br /><br />Here are the 10 new fics I posted in June:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___4" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131646.html#cutid4">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___4" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=131646" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> commentstag:dreamwidth.org,2015-05-25:2410670:131561May Recap & FIC2022-06-01T13:12:22Z2022-06-01T13:12:22Zpublic4May brought warmer temps, and my boy back from college. I made two trips up to his school, once on Mother’s Day weekend to pick up a load of stuff, and again the week after to get the rest of it. (He drove back with his girlfriend, so I brought my MIL for company.) I don’t think my boy expected to feel a little sad about leaving, since he’s never been all that keen on being there. But he’s one year away from getting an Associate’s degree, if I can keep him on track.<br /><br />Here we are on Mother’s Day:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___1" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131561.html#cutid1">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___1" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />My boy’s girlfriend stays with us three days a week. Every week. I wasn’t expecting that, and it’s a hit to my grocery bill because she eats a lot more than my no-appetite son. And for some reason she can’t take a shower unless my boy sits in the bathroom and talks to her, which is a little weird. She’s nice, though, and my boy is so happy when she’s here.<br /><br />Most of the month was pretty chill. The crazy high gas prices kept me as close to home as possible, even though I do need to venture out at some point to get things I can’t get locally. (Looking at you, bagels.) I did more organizing and took another step closer to finally being a divorcee. <br /><br />Scrapbooking was good last month. Lots of variety in subject matter, with some help on the heritage stuff from my mom and my aunt. I created 23 layouts. Here’s one of the funny pages:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___2" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131561.html#cutid2">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___2" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br />It was another month of fighting for words and turning down new challenges so that I could get some other projects done. I did get one of the fics finished that I’ve been working on for a while, but the other one I had planned for the month got more complicated, so I did a ficlet for the challenge instead. Overall, I wish I’d found more words, but I also didn’t mind having less stress this past month.<br /><br />Here are the 2 new fics I posted in May:<br /><br /><span class="cut-wrapper"><span style="display: none;" id="span-cuttag___3" class="cuttag"></span><b class="cut-open">( </b><b class="cut-text"><a href="https://brumeier.dreamwidth.org/131561.html#cutid3">Read more...</a></b><b class="cut-close"> )</b></span><div style="display: none;" id="div-cuttag___3" aria-live="assertive"></div><br /><br /><img src="https://www.dreamwidth.org/tools/commentcount?user=brumeier&ditemid=131561" width="30" height="12" alt="comment count unavailable" style="vertical-align: middle;"/> comments