Shopping, November, and Ripped Jeans

"No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, no fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds--November!" ~ Thomas Hood


It's cold here! Cold and blowy and November.

I heard my first Christmas song of the season on the radio today. It didn't please me.

Three pair of my jeans have either developed, or are in the process of developing, holes in the knees.

Soon I will be shopping. Not for jeans--heavens no!--not for those! *shuddering* No, I'm making up the Christmas list and circling sale ads. Shopping and I typically don't get along. I am not looking forward to this.

On a good note, I've been doing yoga for a few weeks. I love it! I've practiced it off and on for about sixteen years. Never gets old!

What's going on with you?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!

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November: A Time to be Thankful

November is the perfect time to be mindful of our blessings. We don't have to wait until Thanksgiving to tally the good. We can be thankful all month long!

This week I'm thankful for the grand finale of autumn colors. Leaves are heading to the ground quickly here. I'm not looking forward to gray and brown branches against a gray or white sky. Winter lacks color, so I'll enjoy the gorgeous harvest hues while I can.

I'm also grateful for my own office. The sun streams in through two large corner windows. My L-shaped desk is just the right size for  me to spread my notes out. Someday I'll add a comfy chair and ottoman to my space, but for now, it's perfect.

My silly dog adds to my life. She's playing with a toothpaste cap and barking at my daughter's closed door. Sophie loves that room and hates to see it closed.

I started a new book this week! First drafts are always fun! It usually takes me a while to build up my daily word count because my first three chapters are where I'm finding my way. I'm so thankful to be able to pour this story out!

Sometimes I take my health for granted. What a blessing to have a healthy family. Been working out all week and trying to eat better, too. Halloween candy still lurks, though, so you do the math. :)

Most of all, I'm thankful for my family and my faith. Every morning I spend time with God. And every morning He gives me the strength I need. I'll never be perfect, but I'll always be saved.

What are you thankful for this week?

Have a great weekend!

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The Pressure Cooker of November

I blinked and almost missed it. November!

How did November, that crazy pressure cooker of a month, fly by so quickly?

I didn't participate in NaNoWriMo this year, but I did set a goal of adding 40,000 words to my current manuscript. I'm on track to meet that goal. Yay!

Goals I'm not on track to meet? Just about everything else!

Yes, I still have Halloween decorations up. No, shopping isn't even close to being done for Christmas. In fact, I just started. Christmas cards? Haven't bought 'em.

To make matters worse, I keep thinking I should be making the most of Cyber Week, where Christmas shoppers supposedly find great deals on the Internet for gifts. The whole thing confuses me. I go to a site, say Target.com, and I don't really know which toys are deals and which aren't. Some sites, like Old Navy, offer a blanket discount on your purchase. Too bad the items I'm interested in are sold out.

No matter. I'll shop eventually. The tree will go up with all its lights and bulbs this weekend. And I'll break down and buy some Christmas cards at some point.

November is busy, and it's easy to feel like I'm not getting anything done, but when Christmas rolls around, I know I'll somehow have shopped for all the gifts, the house will twinkle with pretty decorations, and my manuscript will be tucked away, all written, ready to be revised in the new year.

That's the nice thing about pressure cookers--they gets things cooked quickly!

How are you doing on your goals?

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

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November: A Month of Preparation

I love November's energy. The air is brisk, the leaves are almost all blown away, and as the month winds down, the first Christmas light displays twinkle. Magical. For me, November screams preparation. Of course there are the upcoming holidays, but I also prepare to meet my final writing goals of the year.



Some years are better than others. This summer, I realized I would have to drop one book I planned to write due to time constraints. Other than that, I'm on track to meet all of my 2009 writing goals. What a great feeling!

Last month, I started getting cagey. My goals were slipping away. I didn't know how I'd meet them by the end of the year. I decided I needed a motto. Maybe even a theme song. Hey, it worked for Rocky, right? What is my motto, you ask?

Dream Big.

I believe if I'm going to dream big, I have to do big things. To kick off my new motto, I wrote triple and quadruple my daily word count every day last week to finish my first draft. I'm not going to do this all the time--my head still hurts thinking about it!--but I needed a jump start, a break from my routine.

For all of you participating in NaNo this month--I salute and applaud you! You can do it! Just think how terrific you're going to feel when December first rolls around and you have 50,000 words written? Imagine!

What goals would you love to accomplish by December 31? Do you need a motto to help you achieve them? I want to hear about it!

Join me all month as we discuss preparation: to write a first draft, to revise, to submit our work, and preparation for our writing career. We have two months left of 2009--let's make them count!

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