atthequillsmercy

Workout Roundup: My mouth hurts…

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I have been getting more steps in and walking more, but this fuckery I’ve been through about my tooth is… Fucking typical for me at this point. I had been complaining about pain, I was told the tooth was in an odd place to do anything about it, then I needed a root canal, then the endodontist told me the tooth is cracked in half, and he can’t do a root canal. It has to be extracted. I’m very lucky my job was willing to accommodate me and that I had sick time left to get that done tomorrow.

Getting back on the treadmill feels nostalgic at this point. It feels great to be moving and my knee is almost back to normal. I’d still like to keep walking for the time being. Even the weather has been good enough to walk outside if I wear a good enough hoodie. I didn’t track those… I probably should have.

I managed to snag an avocado before my kid got to it and made open BLTs with homemade fries. Yes, I made some for him, too. Very good choices. My Itaki meals have made their regular appearances, of course. Overall, the scale has been moving in the right direction again. I don’t think the food had much to do with it, it’s all about the fact that I’m moving more and burning more calories. It’d be great if I can have a run of good luck to counteract the fact the first quarter of this year has been a shitshow. I’ll take any win I can get.

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Late WIP “Wednesday” and Other Assorted Nonsense

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Althought things have been less cursed, I still need to catch up from all the absolute fuckery I’ve had to deal with. I forgot to update yesterday, so you’re getting it today.

I am very, VERY slowly easing back into working out. The desk peddler has been doing well enough that I got on the treadmill today for a brisk 30 minute walk. Nothing too intense and my knee felt fine. At least I can be active again.

Ive been doing the most random shit with my food. It’s basically “What’s in the house and will it taste good together?” I’m spending less on food when I can. I love how I mangled the egg in one picture and nailed it in the other… Eh, it tasted good either way.

Anyways, on to writing news:

  • Long Smut: 15,597 words
  • Short Smut: 2,695 words (6 prompts published)
  • Dewey: 15,778 words

I’m not hitting my daily goals but I am making progress on publishing those short stories. I am making some sales with the Read an E-Book Week event going on. While of course it’s mostly the free ones that are selling, I am SO glad to see something other than the smutty stories actually selling. Yes, I wrote those to make money faster, but it’s nice to see my regular work getting some love. If you have picked up any of my work, I can’t tell you how grateful I am!! The sale lasts till the Saturday the 7th. There’s still time to snatch some up if you want!

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Smashwords Read and Ebook Week!

It’s Smashwords Read and Ebook week and my books are on sale! Please click the link and check them out. Some are even free! Sale Dates: March 1 – March 7, 2026

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Workout Catch-Up: Still Healing

 

I’m still sticking to the desk peddler because my knee isn’t 100%. Some days are better than others, but I realized it’s worse if I spend too long sitting. Tell ya the truth, I’m annoyed that my knee still hurts. I’d like to get back to my normal levels of activity or heck, run even more than I was before I took a break. I mean, peddling is better for my joints anyway… I still miss it.

With the Saxenda, I am eating less. My weight hasn’t gone down. I’m not giving up, though. I’ve done this before, and I’ll do it again. As for the food, that beef pho is way too salty to use with the soy sauce I used to marinate the meat. And for ME to say something is too salty is dangerous. That salad seems a bit random, but as I am on a No Spend Month, I haven’t been ordering food. I make do with whatever’s in the house, and if I’m ever tempted to order food, I check my budgeting app and my cumulative debt erases the temptation. It’s just as well. I like to cook and I like to think I make good food.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 5, by Kazune Kawahara

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

The closing of the school festival is a fireworks show, an ideal setting for Sae to confess her feelings.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say if you’re familiar with this genre at all and you’ve read through this series so far, (spoilers) that you know they’ve both had feelings for each other the whole time, right? So, with everything out in the open, where do we go from here? Will there be more drama, will we have more flashbacks to their past, or will we just bask in their awkward cuteness? I dunno about the flashbacks but it’s all sweet enough either way to enjoy this volume and look forward to the next. 4 out of 5.

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Today’s Workout: It’s gonna take more work…

Since my knee isn’t back to 100%, I decided to take it very, VERY easy and stick with the desk peddler and only do 30 minutes. I tell ya, my thighs sure didn’t remember doing this. That’s a good thing. I want my body to get used to workouts again. Until I can walk without feeling my knee twinge, this is what I’ll have to be doing.

I’ve been experimenting with some meals again. I tried some marinated chicken thigh in Japanese cabbage, ground chicken in my Itaki lunches, and using arugula instead of spinach in that pasta dish I like to make. I’m on the lowest dose of Saxenda for now. My weight did go back up to 216, and I’m not happy about that. I can’t be helped, though, since I could barely walk, much less go for a run. My nails are almost completely back to normal, and despite the fact I’m certain my blood work will be shitty since I couldn’t do any cardio, I don’t think I’m doing too badly for someone who wrenched a knee. So far, this month has been far less cursed than last month. I’m sure I’ll be able to make up for it.

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WIP Wednesday: Gettin’ Crafty!

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Since my writing progress has mostly been outlining, editing, and publishing, I don’t have much in the way of word counts. I’ve been working on another one of my goals: Stashbusting.

I’m still working on that really big blanket for my bed (which is why I don’t care if that stain is on it) and a scarf to put up in my shop. I plan to put a fluffy, gray border on that once it’s long enough. It’s easy to do while I’m waiting for Draft2Digital to finish uploading all my stuff to publish, or in between the people going in and out of my house for the repairs. The rest of this week is back to writing since I’m completely caught up with publishing the stories I have finished. It may look like I’m spreading myself thin with doing all these income-producing activities all at once: The blog, needlework, and writing… And you are correct. I am exhausted, but I am desperate. Paying for all this has drained away my savings, and I’m too proud to borrow money. So, I’m busting my ass to make the money myself. I have a bunch of overtime coming up at work, my knee is feeling better, so I can do things on the desk bike, and I outlined a bunch more prompts to work on. I can’t count on my home insurance company not to screw me over. I’ll sleep when I’m out of debt.

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Lenni Reviews: “A Star Brighter than the Sun” Vol. 4, by Kazune Kawahara

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*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Sae decides to confess to Koki at the school festival, but it all goes wrong, and Koki ends up comforting another girl.

This dragged, going back and forth with trying to find the right moment to confess while prepping for the school festival, and we’re no closer to that by the end of the volume. It felt like we were just circling, and that could have been summed up in a couple of pages, not an entire volume. I’m not a fan of stretching out something like this so long, and I don’t feel like the story moved forward. I feel meh about the whole volume. 3 out of 5.

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Happy Birthday to me!

I turned 45 today! And while I need February to enter slowly with its hands up to show me it’s not as much of a threat as January, I did treat myself to delicious food I haven’t had in a long time. After this, I’m doing a no-spend month while I recover financially from all the stuff going on with the house. If it’s not bills or groceries (or book covers, cause that’s an investment), I’m not buying it.

As for how 45 is going to go, I would like to get healthier. All the stress has been hell on my sleeping patterns, my skin, my weight… In a way, I’m almost glad I have a root canal tomorrow because I am going to make sure my body is taken care of from here on out. And it’s not to be skinny or whatever, it’s to age strong. One of my biggest fears is a lack of autonomy. Not that I want to climb Everest at 6o; I just want to be able to still be self-sufficient. Once the weather turns, I’ll be going outside more – even if fuckwits jeer at me when I run – drinking less booze, and I’m back on my Saxenda at the lowest dose. I’ll also be trying to update the blog more. It’s gonna be interesting, and I hope fulfilling over the next few months. Wish me luck!

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WIP Wednesday: At least its fixable?

This is all the stuff that’s been going on at home. All the moldy gross stuff is out and as soon as the old pipes are replaced, the contractors will come in and fix everything up. I am absolutely of the mindset of “God is testing me and I did NOT study.” I am consoling myself with the fact that once this stuff is fixed, I won’t have a ticking timebomb in my basement. But, enough complaining. Here are the numbers:

  1. Longer Smut: 14,118
  2. Short Smut Prompts: 406 (5 prompts complete, 4 published)
  3. Dewey: 15,699

I took time out for editing to release the short smut as often as I can (no more than once a week). I can’t write and edit at the same time, sadly. I’ve taken advantage of a sale at bookcovers.com for these to save some money since that’s my biggest expense when it comes to self-publishing. I self edit, so any mistakes you see are totally on me. I try not to drive myself crazy editing those since they’re not my passion projects. I also try not to take any low reviews on that stuff to heart, either. 

I have another long day of repairs coming up and hopefully things will be back to normal for a bit. It’s hard to be creative when you’re in constant fight or flight mode.

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