I am now on indefinite maternity leave!


By "leave", I mean I'm shutting down ordering at most of my sites, delegating projects, and automating as much as possible. The amazing customer service that people have come to expect from this one-woman show... is not going to be so amazing, and I'm not going to feel bad about it. I may reply to emails, if you need to cash out your credits, or want to order something I happen to have in stock, or need some kind of project help. I may also not check my email for a week or two at a time, or not have the spoons to deal with your request immediately. I may help one person and not another (this is not a reflection of favoritism, I promise). Basically, I reserve the right to be incredibly flaky.

By "indefinite", I mean I'll be back in business whenever I like - perhaps in May, perhaps in August, maybe in October. Chances are good that I will phase back into things - picking up various projects and catching up on emails as I feel ready for them, taking on more projects gradually as I figure out how to deal with my new life order.

And by "maternity," I mean BABY!

*ahem*


Status and points of contact

( Details behind the cut... )

Important Disclaimer

I reserve the right to blog and not be "back". I reserve the right to post photos and not be back. I reserve the right to write and do artwork for myself, and share it, and not be back. I reserve the right to do a sudden madcap programming update and not be back. Appearing in social media, including commenting on posts or 'liking' things does not obligate me to resume my crazy-mad work schedule, answer emails, or conduct business in any fashion. In general, business will resume when I'm ready for it, and I will announce in no uncertain terms when that time is. Don't be fooled by any gushy enthusiasm, rambling, comments, or random blathering, in the meantime.



PS: No, Elsa is not here yet. I will update this post when she is, never fear.

ETA: Elsa was born Feb 28th, weighing 7 lb 11 oz, 22" long, and is perfect (according to her mother) in every way.

I have a guest post over at Shared Story Worlds on the topic of content management: http://sharedstoryworlds.com/2012/05/ssw-content-navigation-and-management/

Enjoy!

No nap yesterday, but it was WORTH it. Details later, after the long weekend, probably with pictures.

(Also, note to self - dub this Ferengi week in the self-histories... many pivotal acquisitions!)

I hesitate to say it 'out loud,' but I think Guppy is getting better about sleeping during the night. A few times I've gotten up to early fussing signs, checked her diaper and told her to go back to sleep... and she has! She had an exciting day yesterday, but we still managed a few excellent naps and a nice long block of sleep early in the night for Mom. Still need a nap today.

Another picture with bear:


She actually looks smaller in this one than the last one, but I think that's just comparative propped-up-ed-ness - she's not sitting yet, though she is starting to roll side-to-side (not over!). I'm quite sure she hasn't shrunk. She is definitely improving her fine motor skillz, and is able to hang onto a toy for more than just a quick grab, and wrap her fingers around things much more easily now, as well as deliberately move things to her mouth.

Have some new artwork! In honor of Sea Monster week at Torn World:



Much to do, I'm just flicking now...

Oof! Tough couple of days. I'm pretty sure Elsa decided to start teething last week - she started drooling like a moat monster and stuffing anything available into her mouth to chew on, waking up at night a LOT and by Friday was a terribly, terribly unhappy child who would be comforted by nothing. She didn't particularly like having her mouth looked at, but I thought I could see a white gum-lurker on the bottom. Saturday, however, the drool receded, and by Sunday she was hardly drooling at all, though her mood took another day to bounce back completely. She seems smiles and play again today, and we got good sleep last night. My sister says the nephews did teething in spurts - a day or two of unhappiness, followed by a week or so of no progress, followed by more teething symptoms, a break, etc... until the tooth finally decided to do its business.

I'm a bit behind on sleep at the moment, and quite behind on everything else. I do have a new poem up at Torn World: Serpent Skin. This poem is shared free for the rest of May as part of Sea Serpent Month, and is thereafter available for sponsorship of $5 (TW or EMG credits eligible). (Remember that there's a comment contest this month! Any reader may participate!)

PA artists - there are two submitted descriptions available to work on! Check the lilypad!

Still on track for a Sketch Fest at the end of June!

I owe many comments and emails and such... shall try to get caught up soon. After this nap...

I'm wishing this photo had come out in better focus... it is so perfectly 'woe is me.'



( +2 )

I am so SO not ready for you to be teething, Elsa...

I have new artwork up over at Torn World! Today's newly public story is courtesy of Edward Cammarota, and is It's the Little Things. This fun little rage by Olarali follows On Rails and Railplay, and gives a little more information about why Bai showed up at the theatre alone that night... even if it does beg yet more questions.

Sleep last night was patchy - Elsa has apparently forgotten about the raising-by-wolves threat. I plan to nap as much as possible today. Like... now, while she is.

Have a picture from this morning:

FIVE hours of sleep in a row! To be fair, I woke up at 3.5 hours, realized there wasn't a peep from the cradle, said 'hallelujah!' in my head and went back to sleep, but still... FIVE hours in a row where I didn't have to budge from my bed. I think Guppy took that threat of leaving her out for the wolves to raise seriously.

Bread is made, laundry is a consideration... but Guppy's napping at the moment, so I'd like to get some writing in.

And speaking of writing, my next newly-public (thanks to haunted_blood!) story to highlight is Railcrossing. This story is WAY outside of my normal comfort zone and I'm a little shy about spotlighting it... it's easily the most erotic, graphic thing I've written. I... ah... hope I did it right? Because it is rated 'adult,' it can only be viewed by logged-in readers. The Rails plot does not require this story - this is what happens after the tasteful fade-to-black at the end of Railchange. If you'd prefer to leave it to your imagination, you won't miss any plotpoints. (That's one of the lovely things about the structure at Torn World, you can write a story at a general rating, but interject optional scenes of a completely different rating whenever you like, without having to change the rating of the whole collection.)

And on a COMPLETELY different note:

Last night's sleep was AWESOME... right up until about 4:30, when Elsa decided that talking was preferable to sleep. "Ah aaaaAAAiiiIIII. EeeeeeeehaaaaaaAAAAA. Eh? OOooooAAAAwwwwaaaaaa eh uh." (I'm bored. It's dark and I can't see my hands. Mom? I'm booooOOOOOred Mom, come on.)

I cuddled her to sleep and woke up with a vicious headache, which Jake helped rub out of my shoulders.

She let me get another half hour or so of sleep after he'd left for work, then got bored again. So, we played, I folded laundry ("These are Mom's pants! They don't fit Elsa!") and snapped a few photos.


She's trying very hard to figure out the musical bird...

I've got another load of laundry to put in, then it's down to some writing today, where momming allows - either some backstory (Kativa/Kether/Tolnam), some North-Meets-South plot-moving things, or some Rails (I'm gleefully anticipating the next several sections. *grins*). And speaking of Rails...

Today's newly public story is Railchange, thanks to haunted_blood. Get a look at some of the workings of the carnal guild in this little confection of fashion, flattery and flirtation as Ressa dresses up to meet Yeff for their first date. (And did you see the delicious portrait Cris Griffin did of him? Go drool!)

Finished another poem for Muse Fusion before stopping for the day - a shaped free-verse that was a lot of fun to put together. That brings me to three sketches (one VERY rough and one in COLOR!) and one poem. Not too shabby!

In very exciting news, ALL of my stories at Torn World have been sponsored and are now visible free for all readers. A huge thank you to the sponsors who've made this possible. I will highlight a few at a time, rather than dump them all on you at once, and will start with Grandma Monster, a satellite story for the Rails collection. Ressa brings gossip to a retired warsailor... and gets a little of her own in return. It is also a look at how news travels in the Empire, and at some of the strange gender rules of the area.

I also vacuumed, and played with Guppy and took two short naps with her, and ate copious amounts of food and watched an episode of My Little Pony (FIM). An adorable show - I can see why people have been raving about it. It also makes me quite nostalgic for the MLPs I used to play with as a girl... I wonder if I still have any out in the connex box. I think I kept one of them for sentimental reasons. In fact, my Very First fanfiction was MLP. I didn't have any media to go off at that time, just a list of the names in the JC Penny's Wish Book. I think I was 6 or 7. It has an illustration on the cover and was a rather dense tome (for a 6 or 7 year old) of hand-written pages. The pacing was really bad, the dialogue was awful and I can't even remember if there was a plot. I'll have to dig it up and subject you to it.

I know you guys are only here for the cute baby pictures, so here you are!



Now, in the spirit of knowing how to have a good time, I'm going to dig a hairball out of the shower drain and pay medical bills.