NANOWRIMO

I can't believe that national writer's month is already coming up again. Last year I participated and wrote over 50,000 words in one month. This year I plan on doing things a little different.
It has been a hard year for my writing. It started off with a bang. In February I went to LTUE and got to meet several cool authors. I had a private (well Aly came with me) meeting with Orson Scott Card to discuss the first few pages of my NANOWRIMO story. I spent March and April sending out queries on AND THE SKY FULL OF STARS, and In June I went up to Bosie to see an agent who had requested a partial on the same book. Then I began to get sick and it seemed as if everything just flew out the window. I stopped writing, querying, thinking...Well you get the point.
So here I am, 1 year from NANOWRIMO and not a lot to show for my writing.
The good news is that I am feeling better. The thyroid is under control as well as the diabetes. I have more energy and my characters have popped out of nowhere and started talking to me again. I am even considering going to some writing conferences. The Bad news is...with the remodeling of a home, packing up the old one, and catching up on life that stopped while I was sick, finding time to write is near impossible. But I want to do NANO....just in my own way.
So, I will not be starting with a new story, but one that is outlined in my head and researched. NANOWRIMO encourages you to write a novel from scratch and then use December to edit. I will be starting from Chapter One, but have a lot of things worked out already. So here is a challenge for any of you who want to do Nano, (basically write 50,000 words in November), but don't want to start with a fresh story. Do Nano my way. I will be posting ideas for rewards you can give yourself and ideas throughout November to help you make your goal. If you need someplace to report to you can do it here, and if you finish and really really really want a certificate, I am sure I can come up with something! So just because you don't want to start a story from scratch, don't let that make you give up on the real NANO goal....50,000 words in one month. Oh, and we can also make goals for anyone who is done with a novel, but wanting to polish it, anyone who just wants to make an outline, anyone who wants to spend the month researching. Let me know what your goal is. Together we can get all those novels out of us and onto the shelves!

What is a girl to do?

I love TO-DO lists. In fact, I usually thrive on them. A whole schedule written down mapping out my day. I have even gone as far as assigning a time slot to each thing on my TO-DO list before. Sometimes I tell my kids I am not an octopus, but even as I joke, I still try to be one. But now? Now with having to deal with two homes, one that needs to be kept clean and packed, one that needs to be ripped apart and refinished; three kids, two who have home work, one that wants to do school the entire time the girls are gone, all three who need mommy play time and cuddle time (and a have a mommy that needs that too); the intense desire to write as creative thoughts that have been absent for so long, now seem to be flooding my mind; wanting to edit at least two friends stories that are sitting in my large email pile waiting for me to read them; the email pile itself; having to put together and figure out Halloween costumes; wanting to have Christmas shopping finished before Thanksgiving like I always try to do; knowing that D is going to be going out of town for a bit; and life in general, I don't know if I dare write all these things down. I am afraid that I will see there is not enough time in the day. I am afraid I need to be at least two octopodes. I'm afraid I need help!
And I know I did just write them down, but with no real specifics, with no real intention of looking at that list again for fear of what might jump out from it and bite me. So, I just am wondering, because I am not superficial enough to think that I am the only woman out there with way to much to do, how do you do it? How do you accomplish everything you need to and want to without going mental? How do you stretch the day to meet all of your demands? And what do you do if you can't? I am sinking in my own TO-DO list and calling on you to tell me: WHAT IS A GIRL TO DO?

What is the issue?

This is going to be a political blog entry. I have keep quiet for a long time because I truly believe that in America it is not only our right to vote, but our right to be free to vote as we feel. The upcoming election has brought many points out. I am not going to say that any of the candidates are perfect. They are not. But sometimes it comes down to what is important. I am not Catholic, but I think that this video which I saw on my friend Tristi's blog says something important to people of all faiths and religions. I don't want to start a fight with this. You can disagree with me, but please do so in a manner that is clean and tasteful. The thing I want to accomplish by posting this is not to tell you who to vote for, but to ask you that before you vote at least make a prayerful decision. I know that when we ask our Heavenly Father in humble prayer, having faith in Christ, our prayers will be answered. I have made my decision through prayer and hope that everyone will do so to be at peace with the candidate you feel is the best choice for your own beliefs. My friend said an interesting thing. If you vote for something, it is like saying you believe in it. So no matter whose name you check on November 4th, just make sure you are doing what you believe in, and not just voting to Rock the vote.

NEW HOUSE

Well we are officially homeowners. In fact, right now I am sitting on the floor of my new house (we have no furniture yet) blogging, and watching D chip out the tile in the downstairs bathroom. Our plans for the future include: new paint, new carpet, new tile (which the previous owners kindly left enough for us to use), raingutters adn then we will move in. I am thinking about a month. Yay!

I'm not pregnant, I'm just fat.

It doesn't help a person's self esteem much when their MIL informs them that people have been asking when you are due. Especially when you have had the last two months I have. First off I gained 12 pounds in one month, went to the doctor, found out my thyroid had stopped working and I have diabetes. Had to go on meds and begin to count cabs like crazy. Then there was the hormonal depression and anxiety that comes from said problems. Then the next month I lost 9 pounds. So now I get to add to that that I am not just fat like I thought I was, I am fat enough that people think I am having a baby! Oh vey! That just bites. I guess I better increase those sit ups and push ups. And until and if I ever stop being the fatter of the two pigs just remember, I am not pregnant, I'm just fat! (Thank Heavens, I don't think I could throw another kid into my messed up equation right now).

FOUR YEARS OF BOOK CLUB

This month marks four years since the book club I am in first met and organized. October will be four years since our first book was read and discussed. It has been so fun. We have a great group of women in the club that I have enjoyed getting to know. We meet once a month to talk, eat, and have a break from kids. And yes, we even discuss the book! Here is a list of the books we have done. The my pick books are ones that I picked to read (we take turns hosting the club at our houses and choosing the book). I tried to pick a favorite book for each year, though it was not easy as you will be able to tell by this list we have read some great books.

October 2004 These is my words by Nancy Turner
November 2004 A town like Alice by Nevil Shute my pick
Jan 2005 Cain River by Lalita Tademy
February 2005 Reunion by Fred Uhlman first year favorite
March 2005 The Giver by Lois Lowry
April 2005……….. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
May 2005………… The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
June 2005………… Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier………………..my pick
July 2005…………. Bold Spirit by Linda Lawrence Hunt
August 2005……… Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand
September 2005.…. Dark Angel by Robert Kirby
October 2005…….. Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
November 2005….. Pope Joan by Donna Cross
January 2006…..… The Family Nobody Wanted by Helen Doss
February 2006…… Phantom by Susan Kay…………………………Second year Favorite
March 2006……… The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
April 2006……….. Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
May 2006………… Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card……………….my pick
June 2006………… Before the Dawn…by Carol Warburton
July 2006………… Galileo’s Daughter by Dava Sobel
August 2006……… Alisha: My Story by Alicia Appleman Jurman
September 2006….. Eve and the Choice made in Eden by Beverly Campbell
October 2006…….. Before Women had Wings by Connie May Fowler
November 2006.. The Only Alien on the Planet by Kristen Randall...Third Year Favorite
January 2007……… Ingathering by Zenna Henderson……………………..….my pick
February 2007…….. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
March 2007……… The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards
April 2007………… I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
May 2007………… Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
June 2007………… The Curious Incident of the Dog and the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
July 2007…………. Things not Seen…by Andrew Clements
August 2007……… Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
September 2007…… Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
October 2007……… Freakenomics by Levitt and Dubner
November 2007…… The Book Thief by Markus Zusak……………Fourth Year Favorite
January 2008……… Moloka’i…by Alan Brennert
February 2008…….. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
March 2008…….…. Secret Life of Bees by Susan Monk Kidd
April 2008………… Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper
May 2008…………. Escape by Carolyn Jessop
June 2008………… The Eight by Katherine Neville…………………………..my pick
July 2008………… The Authurian Omen by GG Vandagriff
August 2008……… Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
September 2008….. Rachel and Leah by Orson Scott Card
October 2008…….. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The best thing about our book club is we have a unique group of women and so each months pick is something different. It has really opened me to a world of books I may not have read other wise. Browse through this list and see if maybe there is something you might like as well. So thank you girls for four great years! Here is to many more.

GO SEE THE FLYBOYS

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the movies with my mom and my sister while D watched the kids. Fortunately, we saw an amazingly good show. Unfortunately it was only playing at 3:45 pm or 10 pm. We opted for the later so the kids would be in bed and although I was tired the next day, it was well worth the money and the time. The movie was called THE FLYBOYS and it happened to be directed by the brother of a friend of mine from high school. My friend, Jason, also helped produce this fantastic film. There are so many reasons you should see this show. For an independent film, it has amazing action and filming. The flight sequences are amazing (and I am not just saying that because I am a pilots wife). The scenery is beautiful(they filmed it in Southern Utah. You have to love red rock country). The acting is good, the story fun, and I also really liked the musical score.
The show is about two boys who after an attempt to ditch a group of bullies, end up at the local airport. Being boys, they are sneaking around looking at planes and get caught in the luggage compartment of a plane that belongs to a mob boss. It is fun to watch how they overcome this sticky situation, but the real heart of story, in my opinion, is the relationships. First between the friends, and then the relationship between the mob boss and his brother (played by Stephen Baldwin).
This movie which has won several awards at film festivals across the nation made me laugh, cry, and come away knowing I had seen a fun show. The writing was well done, and it really made me wonder why the theaters are ripping it off by only showing it at inconvenient times. It should be playing all times and for many weeks to come. In fact the other people at the late showing were seeing it a second time because they liked it so much. It is a must see, so go out and watch it. If we support good independent films, then maybe we will get the chance to see more of them!
Viewers guide:
Limited bad language at the start of the movie by the bully.
One scene of half a behind (the boys mooning the bully)
Very mild violence
I probably will take my kids to see it, but I would suggest adults go first and decide for yourself. It was not offensive at all to me.