Four Month Bucket List: Three Months Down, One Measly Month Left

Well, argh. Another month gone, and I haven’t even won the Pulitzer I was sure I had in the bag. But surely I’ve done better on my Bucket List, right? I could hardly do worse than I did last month, which witnessed a little event I like to call the Plant Killathon.

Personal

1. Stop biting my fingernails.

Grade: C. I cut them all off. That’s one way to deal with this, right?

2. Go on a date with my DH every month.

Grade: F. This one’s necessarily going to be either an A or F, and–well, Mr. R and I didn’t go on a date this month. We both Worked instead. And watched a lot of Pawn Stars. Which I suppose will do in the short term, but we’ll have to do better in September. Maybe I can get him to take me to a wonderful restaurant (read: anything that serves noodles) when Season for Temptation releases.

3. Get all my photos into albums and my digital photos backed up onto DVD.

Grade:  A. This is done, at least until I have to empty the camera again. I can hardly believe it.

4. Keep our plants alive.

Grade: A. August was rather evil here in the flat middle of the U.S. There was no rain, and a string of cruel 100+ temperatures that pushed us over the record for Hottest Year Ever. (Not an honor I sought to be a part of.) Yet all the vulnerable plants had already died in July, contributing to last month’s bad grade but giving me a chance for redemption this month. Mr. R and I salvaged the grade by replanting everything that had died, and even buying a new tree. Mother Nature, that cantankerous old dear, dropped us down to the 80s for Labor Day, which has made things much more bearable.

Professional

1. Plan a blog tour.

Grade: C. Here’s a shocker: the blog tour for Season for Temptation is beginning in TWO WEEKS. I KNOW. Over the past month, I’ve made a few more arrangements, but now it’s time to put up the schedule (it’ll be on the Home and News pages) and start writing those guest posts. Since I haven’t done any of that, I get a gentleman’s C for the month. However, next month I can count on an A, since the tour will already be underway by the time Season releases on October 4.

2. Read a history or research book every month.

Grade: A.  Last month I fussed at myself for sticking to the letter of the law, but not the spirit. This past month, I read an early copy of Sarah Wendell’s Everything I Know about Love, I Learned from Romance Novels, which is very extremely the spirit of the law. You might recognize Sarah’s name from the fantastic romance review/news site Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, or from the cover of Beyond Heaving Bosoms, which is not only an excellent overview of the romance genre, but also a book that made me laugh so hard, Mr. R had to read it himself to see what all the fuss was about. (The answer lies in the Magic Hoo Hoo. Not literally.) Sarah’s new book, which we shall call EIKAL for short because that is what she does, is a study of life and love lessons that come from romance novels. It’s a laugh-quietly-to-yourself-while-saying-wow-that-is-so-amazingly-true-and-wise kind of book. It’s funny and–sorry, Sarah, I have to say it–deeply insightful. EIKAL will be in bookstores on October 4, and I really recommend tracking it down.

3. Set a sustainable page/word count goal and meet it every week.

Grade:  C. I did finish a draft this past month, which was hooray-worthy.  Then the aforementioned Working took over, and several days passed in which I did no writing at all and became a hollow, cranky, caffeine-filled shell. The long weekend helped me squish in a little more balance, so here’s hoping I’m back on track with the writing. Ulp, but I have to write posts for the Season for Temptation blog tour, too. Do those count?

4. Get my TBR pile from three towers down to one.

Grade: C+, I think. 33 books in the TBR, which is down a miniscule amount from last month’s 34. What can I say? There were lots of great releases this summer. I’m enjoying Victoria Dahl’s new contemporary trilogy, starting with Good Girls Don’t; then there were new releases from Tessa Dare and Maggie Robinson (which reminds me: check out the September contest for a chance to win Maggie’s newest!), an essential catch-up on Miranda Neville’s luscious Burgundy Club series, and a slew of other finds. To which I say: GREAT. A shelf crammed with fantastic books is a beautiful sight. I’m quite ok with this Bucket List item.

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How was your Labor Day weekend? Have you made any goals for fall?