I arrived home last week, and I’ve been sort of flailing my way through life since then. I’m not being very productive, but after this vacation… I’m allowing myself some downtime.

So here’s what I’ve been up to:

• Sleep. Jetlag means I’ve been sleeping–and not sleeping–at the weirdest hours, and I’m only just starting to recover from that.
• Pokémon. Don’t judge me. It’s a very, very good game to play when you don’t have the brain cells for anything more complicated.
• Reading–though not as much as I’d like. A lot of pre-orders arrived while I was on vacation, and I bought a number of books in the US, which means that the to-read pile I so diligently shrank is getting bloated again.
• Souvenirs. I’m kind of a souvenir fiend. I love searching for the perfect gift, and I had practically a suitcase full of ‘em by the time I came home. It’s been great handing out presents to people and watching their reactions. So far, so good!
• Delicious food. Being back home means I get to have all the things I’ve been missing out on while on vacation. Boerenkool FTW!
• Setting ~life events~ into motion. I’m looking into getting my own place, which means I also have to figure out my finances to see how feasible it is. So far, so good.
• I’m applying for a course in Dutch Sign Language. I know the alphabet, but that’s it–I’ve been wanting to study more for years but never got around to it. If all goes well, it’ll start in September.
• Finally went to a doctor about my hearing issues. Those of you who have spent any amount of time around me IRL will know my right ear is significantly screwed up, and it’s been extra bad this week. They couldn’t find anything when I had it looked at five or six years ago, but maybe a different doctor/approach will get more results.
• Lastly, on the writing front: I finished editing one novel and sent it out, am waiting on responses to another novel, and am tentatively poking at ideas for my next novel. I have tons in different genres and styles–the trick is in figuring out which one to work on.

Phew.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to scrape together enough mental energy soon to put together a proper blog post. After seven weeks of running about every single day, I’m more than a little exhausted.

It was so, so worth it, though.

Good to be back!