If you are regular reader of this blog, you'll notice I haven't been posting a lot. Not much to say, to be honest, since I'm focusing on working on the different projects I have looming over me. It got a bit complicated since I didn't have a laptop for all of December and a large hunk of November, not to mention a death in the family and two rounds of plague. Looking back, 2012 was not a good year for me when it comes to writing and programming. I wrote a lot, but it didn't feel like I made much forward progress. I had only one thing published, a gratis story for a fund raiser for diabetes, and that's it. I did post Casting Call, but I can't say it was a resounding success. There were high points and low, but I can't even say it was a "building" year.

The biggest project was my serial. I've hit 442k words over the last 70 weeks and managed to keep a steady stream of 6k words a week up to this point. I burned out three times over the year, but managed to make double posts to keep up with the one week a chapter average. If we use comments and conversations as a measure, I had 913 comments on 66 chapters. I also had someone do a full-size, watercolor painting of the main character for one of the chapters. I'm still pretty excited about that. The serial also sucked out pretty much all my time for the year. I started and finished a novel set in the same world as FOTS. I'm pretty proud of it and I'm planning on submitting it to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest later this month. Otherwise, it is going through a few rounds of edit and then being set aside until I can afford to get it edited.

I wrote only seven stories this year, five were commissions and one was Casting Call. Normally, I've written a lot more at this point, but the stories just didn't come. When it comes to just writing, the process of putting words down on the computer, I had probably one of the most productive years ever. This is the first time I've ever written over half a million words. One thing was hammered in pretty hard this year: writing output doesn't correlate to much. This last year, I also stopped most commissions. Commissions have pretty much been the only income I got from writing, but it was erratic and I felt it was limiting me. I also helped a small publishing company for the better part of a year creating books for the Amazon bookstore. Unfortunately, they were sold to another company and I was pretty much told that I won't be doing that anymore. I did get a pretty nice build system for creating ebooks for PDF, EPUB, and Mobi out of it, so I don't consider it a loss. I honestly don't know what 2013 is going to be. I have a few projects that are still being finished (BAM, a commission, and the serial), but otherwise, I'm pretty much at a loss. At the moment, I'm just going to focus on the three things that need to get done and see how the year turns out.

I still remember lying awake on Christmas Eve as a kid, my mind racing with visions of presents and reindeer on the roof. Now, as a parent, I see the same wide-eyed struggle, and honestly, I’m not immune either. Between the anticipation bubbling over, late-night wrapping sessions, too many cookies, and screens glowing past bedtime, Christmas Eve turns into a sleep disaster for the whole family. The travel exhaustion doesn’t help either. But I’ve learned that with the right approach, mixing a little science, some festive rituals, and realistic expectations, we can all drift off more peacefully, even on the most magical night of the year. Why It’s Hard to Fall Asleep on Christmas Eve? Christmas Eve hits us with a perfect storm of sleep disruptors. The excitement and anticipation spike our cortisol levels, keeping our brains buzzing when they should be winding down. Our routines go out the window; we’re traveling, eating dinner at odd hours, staying up later than usual, and navigating houseguests.

Then there’s the overstimulation: holiday desserts loaded with GlycoCares Blood Sugar Guideblood sugar balance, back-to-back Christmas movies, and kids glued to their devices. Kids struggle with sensory overload and visions of Santa, while we adults battle a different monster: stress from last-minute wrapping, hosting duties, and [Redirect-302] that mental checklist that won’t quit. How to Fall Asleep on Christmas Eve? At any age, eight or eighty, falling asleep on Christmas Eve requires intentional wind-down strategies. These science-backed techniques work for the whole family, helping everyone transition from holiday chaos to restful sleep. Start your evening wind-down at least an hour before bed. Dim the lights, draw a warm bath, slip into cozy pajamas, and play soft instrumental music. This signals your brain that it’s time to shift gears. A consistent routine, even on special nights, helps your body recognize sleep cues and naturally produce melatonin. Move holiday movie marathons to earlier in the evening. The blue light from screens suppresses melatonin production, making it harder to feel sleepy.