What’s Up Wednesday—Birthday Edition

Thirty-four years ago today, I opened my eyes to the world in West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh at 11:21 at night. I was two weeks past my estimated due date, and decided to come naturally to avoid the C-section planned for the 19th. I always thought I’d have my own children well before this age, but God knows better than I what my destiny is. Writing is my method of being fruitful and multiplying, and better a satisfied spinster than feeling obliged to marry a walking DSM just so I can take pride in saying I married my first and only boyfriend and sexual partner.

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly hop/meme with four simple headings. Anyone can write a post and add the link to Jaime’s blog.

What I’m Writing

I need to start working on the interview questions for the two guest blogs I promised DiversifYA awhile ago. I’m going to be speaking about what it’s like to be from a poor/working-class background, and what it’s like to be part Slovakian-American. Hopefully they’ll be able to be posted early in the new year.

I’m up to about 542,000 words in my WIP, still Chapter 69. Really hoping I’ll be able to finish off within 600,000 words, but if not, I’ll consider publishing it in installments—Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV plus the Epilogue. Unlike the first and second books, here each Part is almost like its own self-contained story, with a focus on different characters and storylines. While it’s absolutely always been intended as one complex, continuous story set from 1933-48, here there wouldn’t seem to be a huge loss of momentum and continuity if it were read as a separated four-volume story.

I loved the scene I recently wrote, featuring Lyuba’s longtime enemy Anastasiya. The best part was that Anastasiya found herself baited by all three of her major nemeses—Katrin’s little sister Viktoriya, Katrin’s butler Mr. Rhodes, and Dagnija, Anastasiya’s second in command and alternate designer at the salon. These three have always known how to put this delusional, vain hypocrite in her place, often while getting in some choice jabs drawing humorous attention to her many character flaws.

Anastasiya is about to be even more scandalised by how one of the guests at the graduation lunch honoring Katrin’s twins Mireena and Milena, Lyuba’s baby halfbrother Osyenka and stepniece Zhenyushka, and Ivan’s much-younger cousin Vasilisa is Katrin’s longtime maid Mrs. Samson. The restaurant is run by Lyuba’s stepsister Vera and her husband Vsevolod, and they have no problem letting an African-American in their establishment. Katrin has always treated her maid not only like her equal, but her friend. She’s done a lot for Katrin’s five girls as they’ve grown up, and it seems only right for her to be one of the servants invited to the lunch.

What I’m Reading

Not really much. I’ve been out of the habit of pleasure reading for the last few months.

What Inspires Me

Another year older, one year less of relatively decent fertility. I’ve really made my peace with the fact that I may end up being a single mom by choice after all, and only having one child (unless my longtime recurring dream of having quadruplets comes true, which I really hope it doesn’t). Not everyone is meant to marry or have children in this lifetime. That’s harder for some people to accept, but I’m really okay with it.

I really believe, based on all the dreams I’ve had over the years, that I’ll one day finally have my little Samuel William, but I may not have him with a husband. Men very rarely are interested in me as more than a buddy, one of the guys. If it’s meant to happen again in this lifetime, it happens. It would be nice to have a partner who doesn’t have to be begged and pleaded to kiss me, who actually knows how to do it well, and who understands the importance of passionate, spontaneous sex, but it won’t be the worst thing in the world if I remain alone. My ex obviously chose his Harpy mommy, his dysfunctional Soviet family, and enabling all his various disorders over marrying me. I’m better than that.

What Else I’ve Been Up To

I made my second recipe from Vegan on the Cheap, baked ziti. This was my first time using nutritional yeast, which I found in the amazingly gigantic bulk section of the Honest Weight Food Co-op. I’m crunchy within reason (perhaps chewy is a good descriptor), and love how buying bulk saves money and the environment, as well as supporting a great local business. I’m hoping to get some reusable cloth bulk bags for produce, mushrooms, grains, granola, nutritional yeast, dried fruits, and so much more.

I also made granola bars from this recipe, sans raisins and substituting honey for agave. Making your own granola bars saves lots of money, along with the packaging. They’re also much healthier.

Also made chocolate peanut butter cup fudge. My version is vegan but for the peanut butter cups, which are milk chocolate.