Is It Time To Panic Yet?

Currently, I am only halfway to where I need to be at this point in the month. I don't even want to know what my word count is going to be by the end of today...

A Learning Process

Well, it's over. My seventh year of insanity has ended.

Here are a few things I've learned along the road to writing 50,000 words:

• My husband's noise-canceling headphones are uber awesome for when I need to focus. I dedicate this win to them. Unfortunately, the Man won't let me wear them during the day.
• I cannot spell "restaurant" correctly the first time through. (Including just now...even when I was thinking about it.) What did writers do before spell check and whiteout?
• Planning a Christmas party for 300 people is not fun when I've got a word count to meet. Then again, it's not all that fun at any other time, either. I just hope we don't run out of food. Or that I make children cry. Again.
• My kids are perfectly fine eating cold cereal for three meals a day. But I have to make sure at least one of those is a high-fiber brand.
• Usually when writing, my muse comes in the form of an iTunes mix and copious amounts of hot chocolate. This year, my only muse was Gerard Butler in Phantom of the Opera. This is possible the only reason I'm sad to see the month end.

Now that I'm not spending most of my day writing or researching so I can write more, maybe now I can get around to doing the laundry, come up with some meaningful blog posts, and reconnect with my neglected kiddos. Or I could just put on the Man's headphones and have Gerry Butler sing to me until the kids are in college.

Gotta Post Something

Have I really disappeared for an entire week?? Geesh. Well, you aren't the only ones who noticed.

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

The upstairs hallway was nearly impassable from all the various piles of clothes. And Boo was getting rather creative with her outfits at school...hey, when I'm wearing pajama pants and t-shirts daily, I don't make a lot of laundry. Active children and husband? Different story.

The writing is progressing. I don't totally hate my characters yet this year. And I haven't been bursting into tears while simultaneously smashing my head into a wall, trying to figure out what to do next. I'm reading blogs instead of doing that...

Any ideas on how to uncover the previously unknown Big Bad Guy? No? I'm so screwed. *sigh*

Writer's Block Sucks

So I'm slogging through National Novel Writing Month and I've run smack dab into a brick wall. I think I might have bruised my knee. Got nothing for my novel. I hate Week Two.

In the midst of my agony, I have a little something for you. Here's a video I found while goofing off researching:

And just because YouTube is so much more fun than slamming my head repeatedly against the keyboard...

Then there's the classic NaNoWriMo song from a little while back. But I already posted about that one. I think it's my favorite.

And if anyone has any ideas on how to turn a suspicious, arrogant sheriff into the good guy, I'd be interested in hearing it!

NaNoWriMo 2009

Can't post...all my words are used up...

Maybe this video will help explain what I've done for the past SIX Novembers (because I'm crazy).

Oh, and one more thing:

Because along with being crazy?

I am awesome.

Grumbly Randomness

I've been grumpy lately (just ask my family). It's never a good idea to post on your blog when you're feeling grumpy, unless, of course, you intend to offend scores of readers in the process. Not like I have scores of readers but you get the idea.

Here are a couple open letters that I didn't post:

• Letter to the kids who thought it would be cool to toss around a football in the church. And not in the gym! In the RELIEF SOCIETY ROOM!!
• Letter to whoever wrote the lyrics and music to the latest song that's burning a hole in my head. I don't even like the singer!
• Letter to the makers of my hyper-defective smoke alarm that insists on declaring the house ablaze whenever I use my oven.

Let's all agree that my deleting these posts was for the best.

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And I'm a crazy person for the sixth year in a row. Heck, most of you already know that, right? I'm participating in National Novel Writing Month for the sixth straight year. I'm working on the last third of the book I did in 2008 and then I rewriting another book I started in March. The first one is a twisted tale of werewolves and demon possession. The second is a light-hearted, fluffy LDS romance. And I tell ya, it is not even possible to work on both of them in the same day. I wrote one chapter for the werewolves, had nothing left in me, so I switched over to the cuteness of my LDS character. I then wrote possibly the darkest chapter in that entire book. And? I'm not quite where I need to be with word count! ARRRRGGGGG!!!!

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This past weekend I nearly killed myself, quite literally. I had another ward activity on Friday night (for which I only got one negative comment - and that was from someone who won the cook off!). Then Saturday, I had Boo's 7th birthday party. I wish I had been in a better mood for the festivities...but Boo and her friends had a fantastic time so it was very much worth it. Well, except for the part when one of the moms, knowing I'm a cake decorator, asked to see the cake. I was rather embarrassed to show her how I had completely coped out. Hey, you try decorating nine cakes after investing your entire heart and soul (and the other half of your brain) into an event for 300 people.

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So with all the insanity lately, I think I deserve something nice and relaxing...like this:


Annette from The Lion's Tale is giving one away AND I WANT IT!! It's a massaging footrest from Accent Furniture. So don't go over there and read her blog. Don't comment to enter to win. And don't fall in love with her clever, witty wordiness. I'm telling ya...just don't do it!

My Memoir

I was tagged by Rachel, the Pink Basement Dweller.

Here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

My life in 6 words:

I write, bake, hide from kids.

(Sorry it's not a great image...I tried finding the original but had no luck.)

Here are the people that I have tagged:
Amanda (because she couldn't do the last tag, has to do this one!),
Kristie (because even though she said she posted the last tag, I never saw it and while I'm not exactly calling her a liar...I think her pants might be a little on fire),
Jo at Tangled Me ('cuz I think she would have an interesting one),
Brillig from T'was Brillig ('cuz she needs to post more so I have something to read),
Summer at MacFamily (for making me cry with her blog post about the professor with cancer).

TGIO and TGIF!

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!
I'm done!
Come and gaze upon the loveliness that is 50,000 words. So pretty.

Some of the things that I have learned recently but haven't had time to blog about:

1. The Man's genes are more dominant that mine.
2. Sleep deprivation and too much sugar do not a feasible plot make.
3. I used to think that I didn't have very many friends. After making my Christmas shopping list, I've decided that I have far too many.
4. Red icing is hazardous to white plastic mixing bowls.
5. It's amazing how creative one can be with outfits when one has not done laundry for nearly an entire month.
6. Fleece tied blankets are so very, very comfy.

I promise to resume my regularly scheduled blogging in the days to come but please, I need to catch up on my sleep! (and my laundry)

Confession Time

Okay, I haven't been as good at this whole writing thing as I probably should be...
Instead of getting in some good word count this weekend, we put up the Christmas tree (the fake one), did some shopping with the Co-ed, invited friends over for dinner, and then played the Wii some more. I wish I could claim that some of my best work is done under pressure. I am running short of inspiration on how to fill in some of my plot holes. Anyone have any good ideas?

And then this morning, instead of getting on the computer and writing like a mad woman, I did this.

This is probably the first time I've made red icing and not gone completely insane trying to get it to go from hot pink to red. There's this really cool lady who does some awesome stuff and she liked my cakes. So we're trading: I make her a cake, she gives me gorgeous jewelry. Keep an eye out for more cakes for her next weekend!

Of course, that's all depends on whether or not I've killed myself trying to finish my book...

Times Flies When You're Wasting It

Soooo...whatcha doin'?

Me? Oh, I'm just putting off writing on my book because I am completely out of ideas. I got nothing. Decided to update my blog instead. Wheeee!

And now for some randomness:

1. What do you think of the new look? I was just messing around (read: stalling) and thought it was time for a change.
   
2. Tonight, I went to a quilting class and a friend asked me why I was dressed up (I have on a skirt and my favorite high heel boots). My answer? "It's laundry day and I washed all my jeans."
   
3. If you haven't been to Sonic lately, it's time! I hadn't been for ages. Da Boo got a free "Wacky Pack" coupon from their birthday club so we used it today while running errands. You can get any soda and add all sorts of flavors to it! I got a diet Dr Pepper, then added vanilla and cherry. Heaven!
   
4. My book is getting kinda dull. I might have to kill someone in order to make it more interesting...
   
5. I seriously need to trim my toenails. I about sliced off the Man's foot the other night.
   
6. So back to my book...because I am obsessive...I already know what I'd like on the cover. There's this perfect scene just down the street, waiting for me to take a picture of it . Today, I was heading that direction and was thinking "Hey! Carpe Diem!" So I grabbed the camera. Batteries were dead.

Smile, You're on NaNo!

This is from Will Write for Chocolate.

Noveling continues! I realized that none of my main characters had children so last night I elevated a minor character who is a SAHM with a baby. Found myself putting a lot of my own experiences into her...

Dreamweaver

**Posts are going to be a little scarce during November due to National Novel Writing Month. This is the fourth time I've participated and the first time I've gone into it almost completely cold. Usually I have pages of notes and lots of ideas. This time? Nada. I've had some inspiration, though, and am already over 11,000 words. That's not a bad start! Just hope I can keep it going.**

I've always had very vivid dreams. They are a good source of material for my stories, too. But every now and then, I have a dream that is a little too real.

When we were still newlyweds, I had a dream that the Man was flirting with another girl, right in front of me, trying to make me jealous. I was so mad at him, that I almost punched him when I woke up! He was more than a little confused.

Even now, I will still have dreams like that. Just recently, I had a dream where, for some unknown reason, the Man and I were no longer married. We were seeing each other only to hand off the kids (which, by the way, we had several, da Boo and the Boy remaining the same age they are now...that was odd). There was a lot of tension between us and I felt tremendously hurt. When I woke up after that dream, I went through the whole day convinced that the Man was mad at me, simply because he had been angry in the dream.

Perhaps it's because I am a very emotional person that my dreams are so full of strong feelings. I don't necessarily think that these dreams are a true reflection of how I am feeling towards the Man or how I think he's feeling toward me. But then again, I also lack self-esteem so maybe this is how my insecurities manifest. And I do occasionally have good dreams, where I wake up giggling.

Next post, I'll tell you about the nightmare that scared me for an entire year after I had it. But in the meantime, tell me some of your dreams.

A Little Something

I'm still not feeling that great (AND it's Day 4 of NaNoWriMo and I haven't even broken 1,000 words!) so I'm just posting the cake picture here.

See those silver canisters on my counter? I have a set of four. Love 'em! But my mom got a big kick out of what I keep in them. The two biggest have white sugar and flour. The two smaller have powdered sugar and chocolate chips. Hey, it's what I use the most!