NaBloPoMo (9) and (10)

Monday--my earliest memory?  Now that's a hard one.  I think it was first time I remember really getting in trouble from my dad.  I was three and Mom had made us eggs for breakfast...scrambled for me.  I proceeded to dump a ton of salt on my eggs and I really caught it from Dad.  I think he made me eat them too.  Well, maybe not all of them, but I learned my lesson.

Tuesday--my first friend?  Gosh, that takes me back.  I think my first friend was a boy named Stephen Powers.  We became friends at a very young age, when our families lived in the same apartment complex, we were probably 4 or 5.  I remember we were quite inseparable and when we were 5, we used to say that we were going to get married someday.  We managed to stay close, even after his family moved to a different state.  Sadly though, the last time I saw him was when we were junior high age.  We lost touch after that.  My mom and I have talked about wishing we could find them, but we haven't had any luck on social networking sites.  Maybe someday....

NaBloPoMo (7) and (8)

Yes, I did it again...missed yesterday's post. =O(  And I forgot the weekend is free writing and I have absolutely nothing creative to say.  Oh well, here goes...

Saturday--Saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today (American version) and I was very impressed. The book was in my top ten of favorite reads from last year and I found the film to be very close to the book.  I had already seen the Swedish version of the film before ever reading the book and I liked the actress who played Lisbeth so I was concerned that the actress in the American version wouldn't be as good.  Well, I was wrong.  She was terrific! I firmly believe that the character of Lisbeth Salander is one of the best female characters ever written so I want her to be portrayed honestly and accurately.  David Fincher really did an excellent job with the film.  Of course, the story is awesome and the movie is incredibly atmospheric.  I highly recommend it.

Sunday--Took down the Christmas decorations and the tree today.  Time to get my house in shape...one of the many new years' resolutions! We're having my son's 9th birthday party here next Sunday and I want everything to look nice.  I finally got most of my books put in shelves before Christmas (fiction), but I need more bookshelves.  I have a ton of fiction books still stacked in front of the (full) shelves and I need shelves for the books in my bedroom (non-fiction, etc.)  Just watching for deals on second hand ones on Craigslist.  Fingers crossed! It is nice to have my books finally out of boxes. =O)

NaBloPoMo (5) and (6)

Here I go again...missing daily blogs.  *slaps own hand*  Stop it!

Thursday:  The hardest part about a beginning...well...is actually beginning.  Of course, I'm speaking from a procrastinator's point of view.  For instance, I've been saying for years upon years upon years that I was going to write my novel, but never started it (until this past November).  So, what was so hard about beginning?  I think in this case I was just scared.  Afraid of failure.  Will it be good enough?  Can I actually do this?  Sometimes it takes a crazy notion, like NaNoWriMo, to get a person to take that first step and that's what happened to me.  Sure, I may not have finished, but the point is that I began.

Friday:  I do not wish that the start of the year was in a different season.  Number one, Winter is my favorite season.  I just love the cold.  Plus, I really couldn't imagine the new year starting anywhere else, but after the most wonderful time of year...Christmas.  For many, Spring is a season of renewal, but I always look at Winter and January as a time of renewal and new beginnings.  I wouldn't change that for the world.

ROW80 Check-In 1/4/12

Since I didn't get my official goals post up on Monday, I'm using this check-in to do that.  My schedule is so out of whack right now.  I have so many irons in the fire and I need to figure out how I'm going to fit it all in along with the writing.

My main writing goal is going to be:

--five pages per day, five days a week

Plus:

--daily journaling...which I'm already doing with NaBloPoMo, but I also want to jump back in with The One Minute Writer.

But what I'm first going to work on this week is a little planning with the WIP.  I think there is a reason I stalled at 600+ words during NaNoWriMo (besides the time issue).  I have a good beginning and I already pretty much know the outcome and I have an idea about the middle, but I want to hone it a bit.

NaBloPoMo (3) and (4)

Only the third day in January yesterday and I already missed a post. =O(  Not getting things off to a good start at all.  So, I'm combining my Tuesday and Wednesday posts.

Tuesday:  My favorite start of the year tradition, as I mentioned in my post on Monday, is going over to my grandparents' house on New Year's day for brunch.  We have the black-eyed peas for good luck in the new year, along with hog jowl, turnip greens, and cornbread.  Yes, very southern! My other favorite tradition is, oddly enough, coming up with my new year's resolutions.  I used to really research things and make a really set plan, but as I've grown older and become busier in my life, it usually consists of a one day marathon planning session.  However, it's tradition for me and I really don't see myself ever stopping.

Wednesday:  I'm not really superstitious, so I'm not superstitious about beginnings.  However, I do always try to start out on the right foot when I embark on anything.  That usually involves planning and I tend to take it to the extreme.  I tend to over plan at times or I put too much thought into every move.  That's why when I began my novel in November, I stalled rather quickly because I just don't think I had enough planning under my belt.  I have the beginning and I already know the outcome (or ending), but it's the details in between that have me thinking I need a bit more of a plan.  However, I'm not talking a structured outline or anything like that.  Just a little more research (it's historical fiction) and some notes here and there.  After all, I'm the girl who, in college, wrote the paper first and did the outline last.  LOL! Hey, it worked for me and I usually received As on all my papers.

Happy Wednesday!

NaBloPoMo (2)

What did I do on New Year's Day?  Let me see...I tried to get my sons and my husband up to go with me over to my grandfather's for my family's annual New Year's Day meal...I ended up going by myself.  This is a very southern tradition and the fare consists of hog jowl (very much like bacon, but thick and yummy), black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and cornbread.  The superstitious believe that if you don't eat this meal before noon on the day, you won't have good luck in the new year.  I didn't make it.  Oh well.  Some years I've eaten the meal in time and others I haven't so it hasn't ever seemed to make much difference.  I'm not quite sure how superstitious I am.  I guess if I really was, I would have made sure I got there in time.  Needless to say, the food was great and so was the company! I ended up staying over there for a few hours, having a nice talk with my cousins.

The rest of the day, I spent blogging and trying to catch up on some stuff.  Which is what I'm going to go do right now.  I really must choose which reading challenges I'll be doing this year.

See you tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo (1)

It's another new year so I guess I'll quickly talk about my goals for 2012...

• continue with my eating plan that helped me to lose 40 lbs in 2011
• add exercise, along with eating plan, to continue weight loss and to get in shape
• work on novel 5 pages a day, 5 days a week
• daily journaling
• read more books from my own shelves, including more non-fiction
• stop swearing

I'm doing Change Write Now, which is going to help me with getting healthy, the journaling, and the swearing. =O)

The ROW80 writing challenge will help me with the writing goals. 

Various reading challenges will help me with the reading goals.

 Accountability is the key!

Happy New Year!