This is my last pitch for this as I'm going to try and get my ticket/tokens this weekend. But if you ever wanted to know what you should get me for my birthday (February 12) it's this! $9.50 to my Stargate Con fund!

Guest List:
Richard Dean Anderson
David Nykl
Connor Trinneer
Dan Shea
Christopher Judge
Ben Browder
David Blue
Claudia Black
Gigi Edgley (Sydney Only)

Holy crap guys. I'm at $554.12 already! Which leaves 395.88 to go. But OMG awesome and thank you!

Now that Yuletide has been revealed I can say which stories I wrote!

My original story for slowascent:
The True Memoirs of Anthony Blunt.
Cambridge Spies
Anthony Blunt, Guy Burgess (with mentions of Julian Bell)
PG/Gen, 2307 words
I loved this prompt. She wanted Anthony and Guy, and as I have a hard time slashing them, I wrote a gen-recollection. Inspired partially by her dear author letter and her love of the sin of pride, and in part by the actual -- rather apologist -- memoirs of Anthony's that were made public earlier this past year. I couldn't have done it without misspeacock and moonlight69 who were brilliant betas and helped me with the worst of my bad habits.

Whilst I didn't pick up a pinch-hit this year (first time!) I did decide to write two more stories for people who's original writers defaulted.

Epilogue
Sanctuary
Will Zimmerman, Henry Foss
PG/Gen, 1642 words
I agree with many that Sanctuary doesn't get near enough fandom love. This is a piece set after the events of 2.03, just the two guys trying to deal with what's happened, and not particularly well. I couldn't have done this without the encouragement of Ames and the #Yuletide chat.

Only Just Ordinary
Sanctuary
Nikola Tesla, Helen Magnus
PG/Gen with hints of something else, 1640 words
When Ames came up on the Yuletide Pinch Hit list I HAD to do this, even though it wasn't assigned to me. Flashing from the past to the present it shows Nikola and Helen's relationship, something that has always intrigued me, and apparently Ames as well. Unbetad because it was minutes before the archive closed.

So there we go. My fic writing adventures in Yuletide this past year.

I did join getyourwordsout in order to try and encourage myself to write more in the next year. Woohoo!

The past few years have felt rough. I've toasted each New Year's Eve with the simple wish that the coming year wouldn't be as fucked as the preceding one had been. For the first half of 2009, I was convinced the gods were still laughing at me, as once again, things seemed worse, rather than better.

And then my perspective evolved. Even before I made this list, I realized that 2009 has been the best year of my life. Not only have I had amazing experiences that have made me a better and happier person now, but I have also seen the lid blown off of so many imagined limitations for the future.

Here's a quick look at what 2009 has meant for me.

- My Grandma Hope, the last member of the Madden side of the family, passed away.
I had to say goodbye to someone I loved very much - and I had to deal with the guilt of having not made time for her in the past few years. At the same time, I had the opportunity to get to know my Aunt Jude, who is an incredible woman. And I got the kick in the gut reminder I needed to cherish the people I love.

- I celebrated 5 years clean and sober.
Pretty self-explanatory, of course. But I gleefully declared that I was five, and then threw a small party filled with crayons and coloring books, courtesy of my sister blueashke, and a decorate your own cupcake station.

- I quit smoking.
What, so soon? I know, I know - no excuse for this one being so overdue. I just finally felt ready. It's been almost four and a half months, without one "cheat," as my friend LouAnn would call it. The first three days were a bitch, but once my body finished detoxing from the nicotine, it simply became a show of stubbornness, which gradually evolved into a habit. I honestly don't even miss it anymore. And I smell better.

- I graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English.
A college career begun half-assedly in 2000 is finally concluded in 2009, after two and a half years of year-round classes online while working full time. I don't know how I managed a 4.0 on top of everything else, but I suspect is has to do with my perfectionist tendencies and my deep-seated need for validation. Whatever the reason, it can't hurt my resume, right?

- I learned to love sushi.
This is more than just a literal step. Food was just one of the areas in my life in which I had boxed myself in to familiarity. I started judging food by its taste - and became willing to taste almost everything.

- I considered leaving my comfort zone.
This year, I finally realized that although I love California, and could happily live my whole life here, I want to see other places. I don't want to live here *just* because I never had a reason to leave. Grad school on the East Coast? A writing sabbatical in Alaska? Why the hell not?

Overall, this year has been an exercise in finding my sky again. I had so many ideas about what I couldn't or wouldn't do - and those ideas had choked the life out of my possibilities. If I didn't even have the courage to taste a piece of raw fish, how could I chase my dreams or find my truth when the stakes were higher?

So for 2010, my motto is: Why not? My goal: to focus on my life experience, and my self-improvement. And to take risks.

I don't want to live my life in fear of raw fish.

Title: Life Flashes
Fandom: Spooks
Rating: G
Word Count: 1102
Characters: Jo Portman, Adam Carter, Ros Myers, Zaf Younis
Written For fenna_girl
Notes: Spoilers through season 8. References to character death. Thank you Viv for the beta.

( Don't you have somewhere to be? )

Happy birthday to my most favorite shoes ever!



Disco Ball Shoes, tomorrow you turn TWO!

We have had some good times these last two years, Disco Ball Shoes, and I hope we have at least another year together. I will always remember the day we met, when I spotted your shiny, glittery tops poking out from a box on the Payless rack. You're about 1/2 a size too large, but I've learned to adapt. You don't really match anything I own, but make any casual outfit a little special. Thank you, Disco Ball Shoes, for being so freakin' awesome.

The sea lions have disappeared!

D:

Every year there's a Christmas party made up of a large group of friends here. Most of know each other through our medieval society and very often the parties are themed. This year our party was held on a lovingly restored 1902 coal-fired steamship, the Waratah.

Appropriately it was a steampunk party.

( For the Queen! )

For those who are interested, the full set is here