patting myself on the back!

folks, what i'm about to do here is leading by example. the thing is, a lot of people are waaaay to hard on themselves a lot of the time -- which can be productive, i guess -- but then they turn around and don't even look at their accomplishments to say, "hey! i did pretty good there!"

so get ready for me telling myself exactly that. even though probably my accomplishments aren't all that big a deal, even to me.

ready? here we go!

first up ... my book! scarily enough, i started that sucker back in 2013. 2013!!! and i wrote a whole 11 chapters in the next 9 years. but this year i've written three whole chapters already, and it only took me a month! i'm totally whomping on my average here.

next up ... my obsession with beating my post count each and every year! i really killed it last year, over 30 more posts than the year before. when i started off 2026, i was like, welp, this may be the year i end my streak. and sure, maybe it will be. but so far, i'm totally on track to squeak by. i'm averaging about 6 posts a month, and if i do that the next three months, plus throw in a couple bonus posts, i'll hit 80 by december 31 and just barely make my goal.

next after that ... i've totally been browbeating my boyfriend into more sex. it's for his own good, i swear! he spends sooo much time lately biting his nails over whether he's giving me enough attention in general (which he totally is) and, less generally and more specifically, in bed. now it bothers me only the little bittiest of little bits that we haven't gotten it on all that much the last few years ... mostly because (as i keep reminding him) even when he and i aren't getting down to it all that often, i do have six girlfriends living in the house with me, and some of them are pretty dang insatiable. so i get plenty (which he also does, because he's got seven girlfriends compared to me only having six). but he still manages to beat himself up about not paying enough prurient attention to the longest term girlfriend (me), and i don't think that's healthy for him or for our relationship, so i badgered him into promising we'd do at least something once a week. and so far, it's going great!

also, in case you haven't been reading our d&d and dragonbane adventures, i've been playing up a storm in those, and my characters are fricking hilarious.

is any of this like painting the sistine chapel or building the great pyramids? no. but i'm doing stuff. and a lot of it i'm doing pretty darned well!

probably you've got some stuff like that too, so let yourself know it, all right?

xoxo,
claire