Frustration and Injury

I know the blog has been a bit soap heavy lately. I've been more than a little obsessed these past few weeks, to be honest. Introducing the year's new lines at Con Kasterborous has become a tradition for me, and it starts three weeks from today. I've spent virtually all of my waking time at home either designing, manufacturing, or packaging soaps.

My booth at Con Kasterborous last year.

I finally finished yesterday. Well, I finished the manufacturing the soaps at least. I still have perfumes and lotions to go for most of the fragrances, new and old.

I'm still working on Right of Succession, and I have been speaking with the owner of Visual 3D about the cover. Now that production for Contented Comfort is slowing down, I will be going back to finishing up the rewrites on the last 5000 or so words of Right of Succession. The first thirty-three chapters are edited, formatted, proofed, and ready to upload, so I am hopeful I may finish and have the proofs back by the time Con Kasterborous rolls around.

I'd hoped to have a case of paperbacks to carry with me, but it's been slower going than I'd originally estimated.

The problem is two fold. First off, I was completely unprepared for my first political season as a traffic manager. The whole past month and a half I've come home from my day job with my brains fried and barely able to stay awake without a near constant caffeine drip. Then I had to go and re-rip the abdominal muscle I ripped setting up for Hilltop Arts in 2012.

Note to self: always make sure a box is actually empty before you treat it like it is. You never know when you mistake one loaded with twenty-five pounds of soap for one that's only full of air.

This means I'm on anti-inflamitories, not allowed to lift anything over five or so pounds for the next couple months, and frequently find myself having to sit or lay down to relieve strain and pressure against the tear. Thank goodness for a husband who is willing to help out! It's slowed things up considerably, and I'm frustrated by that. But I understand ignoring qualified medical advice and just pushing through would only make things worse and likely land me on the surgical table.