NaBloPoMo-Day 2

Tell us about your father....

Not many are lucky enough to have a dad like mine.  When we were little, Dad had no problem taking me and my sister places.  He wasn't one of those dads that couldn't 'handle' the kids on his own.  My dad liked spending time as a family.  Whether it meant playing games, going on family trips, or just going to the movies, Dad always made it fun...and funny.  I really remember Dad making us laugh a lot.  I think the most important thing about my dad was that he was always there when we needed him and we could talk to him about anything.  The same holds true to this day.   Dad is always there when I need him.  A better father I could not have asked for.

NaBloPoMo--Day 1 and ROW80 Check-In

Tell us about your mother....

No one has a better mom than me.  Of course, I'm biased.  Truly though, I only have good memories of times with my mom.  When my sister and I were growing up, Mom was always there with a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on.  I had a mom who really spent time with me and never seemed bothered or distracted. Don't get me wrong.  We had our ups and downs, especially when I hit those bitchy puberty years that all girls seem to go through.  God bless her (and, as I look back, thank God I have boys...LOL)! When I became an adult, Mom became more like my best friend.  When I moved away, I missed her so much, we talked on the phone many times during the week and we visited each other as often as we could.  When she moved here when my second son was born, it was like a dream come true.  There's nothing like having a mom and a bestie all rolled into one.  Not only is she a wonderful mother, she's a loving and thoughtful grandmother to my sons and they simply adore her.  So there you have it.  Now you know why my mom is better. ;O)

ROW80


Yes, yes...I know.  I have been missing in action with ROW80. *hangs head*  I really have no excuse.  I just seem to be in epic fail mode.  I think I took on too much at the beginning of the year.  There are always such high hopes with a new year...and a bit of 'rose-colored glasses' optimism.  Now, the reality has hit me.  I've realized that I am buried under a pile of review books for my book blogs.  I'm talking, "will I ever dig myself out?" buried.  I've also figured out that my new eating habits that I did so well developing last year (and subsequently lost 40 lbs) have fallen by the wayside since Christmas.  I mean, every single day hasn't been a total miss, but I've had many days of evil eating self.  Plus, I meant to really start exercising, but so far that has been, well....meh.  Other realizations, let's see...NaBloPoMo January, once you get behind, you may as well forget it.  And the novel, oh the novel. I'm stalled.  I can't even bring myself to take it out.  And did I mention the house guest from hell?  I need not say more.  Oh yeah, one more thing.  The swearing...oh the swearing.  It seems the more frustrated I get (see all of the above), the more I swear.  Potty mouth.  Where's the soap?  And forgot to mention that I hosted a week long read-a-thon last week.  Yeah, I know....

So, what to do, what to do?

• review books--I have changed my review policy on both my book blogs stating I am no longer accepting review requests until I get out from under this backlog
• eating/exercise--I am still participating in Change Write Now and checking in with my team daily and keeping track of points is helping me to stay a bit accountable, but I haven't done as well as I should and I hate to make my team suffer for it.
• NaBloPoMo February--yes, let me give this one more shot.
• oust the house guest
• swearing--maybe if I come up with some creative substitutes? 

What am I going to do about the writing?  Well, I'm hoping the daily journaling will loosen things up a bit.  But I really feel like I didn't do enough research for the novel.  I began during NaNoWriMo and it was so damn rushed (don't we know).  So, I'm going to do a little reading and research before I embark once again.  There's a read-a-thon this weekend and I think I'll have some research and writing books as part of my reading list.  I'm thinking Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg and What Life was Like in Medieval Times and probably some others.  I'm hoping to be ready to take the novel out again by mid to late February.  I know this isn't really a clear, tangible goal, but it's all I've got right now.  I hope my plan works.  I'll probably have to come back here every day and read this post for motivation.

I hope other ROW80-ers have been doing much better than me. =O)

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!