The Muses Asylum

Holiday wish list cross post

2009-12-02T16:26:56Z

Here's what I posted to the holiday wishes community, but just in case it gets sticky in moderation for awhile I wanted to go ahead and post it here:

We have four kids: 12 year old twin boys, 9 year old daughter (princess) & a 15 month old baby boy. I am filling this list out in hopes that someone will see it and make Christmas possible for the kids, from the stockings, to the gifts, and even a holiday dinner, things my husband and I can't provide, as we are having a hard enough time keeping our heat on and rent paid. So here is hoping that there are some Angels. Heros. Santas out there that will bless/adopt our family. Things are looking up though...its looking like things will be easier as we come into the new year, but the holidays are making this month a little difficult.

1. amzn.com/w/28URNSO6KSPZH amzn.com/w/2AURHZ2SIM9V3 Amazon wishlist, anything from this.
2. Gift Cards to any big box stores, like Wal-mart, Target (we are in the Rochester NY area, so no West Coast only stores, they won't help)
3. Gift Cards for 'Gifts' B&N or ToysRus, etc.
4. Tinkerbell Items for my Daughter (she really loves Tinkerbell and all the fairies)
5. WoW (World of Warcraft) Game time cards for the twins so they can play their favorite game.
6. WoW TCG (Trading card game) cards: Scourge war is the latest one out, but any would be great
7. Gift of any kind for the kids (ages 12y twins boys, 9y princess girl, 15m baby boy)
8. Play cars for the baby, he is really into anything that Vrooms right now & his fav movie is cars, so any cars appropriate for toddlers.
9. Christmas Cards w/ stickers or something: Addressed to the kids personally. (email me for our address & names)
10. Holiday Dinner or the ability to purchase such.

Aileene Clinton
10 Duke St
Rochester, NY 14609
aileene25@hotmail.com (this is linked to our paypal as well)

I suck at this once a week thing lol Pics at end

2009-11-25T10:58:37Z

I really do, I think I am going to change it to once I month...I seem to be managing that at least lol. Part of the last two months have been taken up with NaNo (which I am failing beautifully at, but I am doing better than previous years) and secondly we ended up with a lovely visitor for a few weeks, I sent out an email about it, but not everyone here is on it, so I'll update you...Dun Dun Dun:

We had H1N1 otherwise known as the swine-flu and let me tell ya....it sucks bad. Thankfully none of our pregnant family members around here got it.

(unfortunately a friend of ours did and they lost their baby, they live in another state though and didn't get it from us, but still...my heart aches for them. She had some pretty bad complications before and after the miscarriage due to the flu, from what I understand it wasn't pretty and now she isn't doing to well mentally...not that I blame her at all. IF ever a person had a reason to embrace mental breakdown I would say this would qualify)

I have been doing better at my personal breakdown points though. I am currently on Valium & Serequel and between the two of them I am able to keep my attacks (panic) under control w/o turning into the drooling blob on the couch. I talked to my doctor about my fear of adding yet another medication (especially one with addictive properties) to my daily intake and he told me that he had no real fear of my being addicted because of my paranoia of it. He said that in his lifetime of practice he's just seen people who through circumstance were born to be on medications like Valium on a regular basis and I am one of those...not sure whether I feel reassured or insulted, but he's a good doctor and he is slowly bringing me back to my sane self.

I have officially been dx (diagnosed) with IC: Interstitial Cystitis www.ichelp.org/ there is the website if anyone is interested. The test they did SUCKED!!! (3 cath inserts and removals, one with saline, one with a potassium solution that burned like acid, which is what told them I had it, then the third was a 'rescue' solution with lidocaine in it to numb my bladder. (I recommend asking for the general anesthesia test where they stick a camera in your bladder to look...at least you won't feel the horrible acid burning *shivers* thinking about it)

Basically it means my bladder wall has been so damaged, or damaged in a way that it has stopped repairing itself like its supposed to, leaving me with ulcer like things in my bladder, making it feel like a bladder infection is raging (w/o the burning potty time...trying to keep TMI down to a minimum lol)

I don't have it terribly bad, or at least the pain from it isn't as bad as some, but that could be because with the endometriosis (and how bad I have THAT) my pain threshold is pretty high or the endo pain could be covering it up. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endometriosis and www.endometriosis.org/ I am feeling the need to link since I have been getting some emails about interest in some of the stuff I talked about in the past here.

What else, Damien is still walking/running and he can now sign please, more and eat...though when he signs please it isn't the little round motion on his chest, but a full body/belly/chest circular rub...very emphatic lol.

Not sure if I posted here, but the club where Elliott coaches fencing was sold to a new owner and despite promises out not having pay change our pay dropped by 2k...yes two thousand dollars...so we have spent the last couple months in absolute financial shock and are only able to keep certain amenities because we paid for them a year or more in advance when we moved in July. We also have a two year unbreakable lease, so our rent takes more than half our pay...so PANIC mode full on for that, but I figure that is a 'normal' panic and we're trying to look at alternative ways to bring in money...nothing is coming up really, but we are working on it.

This post may not stay up too long, because I am going to try and join the wish community again this year as we will be having all the kids for the holidays and we can't even afford a regular dinner, let alone a holiday one or presents...why does it seem to get worse every year. I always think 'well at least things will be better next year' and then WHAM! we get blindsided.

Well I will stop that right there before this turns into a complete pity post, when I just wanted to give a general update and show a picture of my little lion cub:

And this is where I will sign off, hopefully these pictures are large enough for you to see the cut little lion, but blurry enough not to see how bad I look lol.

Take care all,
--Aileene
p.s. Like I said above this will probably be replaced with the wishlist post sooner rather than later, I am hoping not to tell my kiddos that Santa couldn't make it this year :(

NaNoWriMo

2009-10-02T20:31:38Z

So I will be doing NaNoWriMo this year. In the past, since I have joined, I haven't really done much beyond lurk on the boards and get a feel for the organization and the participants. Since joining though I have always donated to them, partly because of the great information available on their site but also because of the programs they support.

This year, as with many people, our budget leaves us no room to donate. So I have joined their new (or at least new to me, as I haven't noticed it in past years) sponsorship program. I am hoping through friends, family and everyone that I might be able to accumulate a donation (or donations lol).

I am excited to be able to actually jump in and participate. I have made myself a promise that I will attend at least one of the 'real' world events. (giving me a reason to get out of the house) So I believe over all that NaNo will be good for me this year.

Take Care everyone,
--Aileene
www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage

Critiques: Random Thoughts

2009-09-30T18:35:26Z

You know what I’ve discovered about critiquing?

I have found it almost impossible to say something bad about a story/outfit/idea etc without being able to balance it with something good.

Now this doesn’t mean that knowing someone gives them a ‘free pass’ on a truthful critiquing (and I am going to keep this story/book based since that is where my critique/comments tend to end up).

What this does mean is that I give it a thorough going over and I mark out the spelling, grammar (not my strong suit, but I try) as well as anything technical that doesn’t jibe well.

After doing this I go back and read the story, only marking/highlighting anything that pulls me out of the scene that is being set. Then I read it again, turning my brain off and jumping feet first into the story. At the end of the third (and sometimes fourth read through) I mark out what I liked, what struck me and pulled me further in…what kept me reading and wanting more, as well as what had the opposite effect.

Then I write this all up and send it back to the writer, hoping I did well enough that they are happy to use me as a ‘beta reader’ again in the future. Hoping that I was honest with them without hurting them.

I don’t know how well I do, but I strive for ‘kind, compassionate’ honesty over harsh and cruel vitriol that in the end manages the same criticism/edits.

I guess the point of this post is to ask…How do you approach requests for reviewing? Especially when you know the person, whether in real life or simply through the online community?
--Aileene

p.s. I want to point out, in case it wasn’t clear, that I never lie in my critiques or reviews and I never skip something just to make the critique easier on me. I read and ‘beta’ read to the best of my ability, I just try to couch anything outside of spelling/grammar in kinder terms than ‘god that sucks’ because I don’t believe that helps the writer solve/change/reevaluate what they wrote.

And to be honest here, I have never beta read anything that has brought that kind of reaction (the same can’t be said for some published books that I have had the dubious pleasure of paying for and reading lol)

p.p.s I needed a post that moved out of the 'woe is me' category and back into why I started this journal in the first place: connections to people and writing :) Plus I have been thinking about this for awhile.

p.p.p.s Not that you guys care or anything :P but I will have some new pictures of my walking, talking, one year old baby to post up soon...one year old, how do I freeze time again?

Host Club

2009-05-22T22:01:15Z

Ok, for everyone who reads this journal who doesn't watch (or have an interest in) I will save you the trouble of slogging through this post, as it is mostly in reference to all things fan-like. :)

SO for everyone else; I am happy...though sick and Damien is his usual angelic devilish self. I will post more on him another day.

NOW:

Okay Em, I have finally begun to watch the Ouran Host Club anime and your were completely right, I am hooked. I am currently on episode 10 and if I didn't have to do things (you know, like feed and care for my child lol) I would totally be glued to finishing it tonight.

SO for when I am done watching this, any one have any other suggestions for anime, cartoon, series...anything? Even though with taking care of Damien, because of my health I am still bed bound most of the time and am always on the look out for ways to pass the time. So anything I can watch/read on my laptop or movies to rent or books to buy are always welcome suggestions.

I am also, slowly, getting back into reading fanfic. I've finally caught up on 'Stupid Cupid' and am dying to see what happens next, but completely happy to wait until you're ready to post.

Hopefully soon I will get back in to the swing of WRITING and not just reading, there are a few things I have notes on that I need to finish up...if anyone still reads me lol.

Take Care all,
--Aileene

OMG...She lives

2009-05-15T16:06:44Z

Hello to all my friends...hello...hello...hello. Hmm, what's with the echo in here?

Well finally after so many months, things are finally down to a routine that gives me a bit more time to write, read...bathe lol.

Damien grows by leaps and bounds, but he still has the cutest little stumpy legs, just like the twins did. He is pulling himself up and is rather confused as to why he can't just 'walk' where ever he wishes to go without learning about balance.

He doesn't believe in gravity either, which means we are constantly hearing 'BONK' and then 'ROARRRRR' he doesn't cry as he hits his head or falls down/over...runs into something, he yells because obviously someone pushed/hit him.

Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment. They are a few months old, from his 5th and 6th month (can you believe he's 8 months now?)

He now has two little teeth on the bottom. I am also on facebook now if anyone wants my name there, just ask :)

Take care all,

Aileene

More Pics, less text...because I'm lazy

2008-12-21T11:04:02Z

I know I am biased, but he is the cutest dang thing in the world lol.
Here is a very merry Christmas to all on my flist, because the way things are going I am not going to have a chance to stop back by before then.

--Aileene

My little monster

2008-11-23T18:01:51Z

Well I did promise you all pictures :) Here they are, a couple anyway.
These were obviously taken last month and he has grown a bit since then, but I need to download those pictures onto my laptop.

He is convinced that we were put on this planet to torture him. Damien kept looked looking at us all night with a long suffering expression after we put him in the costume.

Damien is now smiling and gurgling in his little baby sounds, he a very happy baby over all and he sleeps quite well.

We have fallen to that most disastrous of parental brain, where the majority of our conversation revolves around what is (or more lately poor guy) or is not in his diaper, but he puts up with us quite well.

I will say that this child has the worst gas you have ever seen (erm...smelled) he's positively toxic, even though he isn't even on solids. Who knew breast milk and soy formula could produce that intoxicating scent he exudes. I swear he could be used in biological warfare, Elliott says that I don't have to worry about mace if I get mugged I just need to hold up pooh bug and squish his tummy a little lol.

I hope everyone is doing well, I haven't had much of a chance to read through posts here, but I miss you all bunches.

--Aileene