So... life

Okay, so I was doing really well on that blogging thing. Then things happened and I stopped. If it helps to know, I've been go-go-going for the last three-ish months. So what I am going to do is a day early addition of the Friday 10 to catch you up on my life and my writing.

1. So first off, as I spent a lot of time talking about back in October, I participated in NaNoWriMo. And I won. I got a bit over 50K on November 30th which was a stretch because a lot of the drama that happened. I was very happy that I was able to concentrate on getting a lot done even though life was kicking me in the behind. I have a good "start" going and I have been trying to follow my outline, which I keep changing a lot of. But I am getting somewhere and I am very happy about that.

2. I had planned on getting this novel done before the conference in April. If I really push it I probably can do that, my problem will be is that it will still be in need of a lot of revision, chopping and organizing so it works as a novel. I'm glad now that I didn't sign up for a pitch because I honestly don't think it will be at that stage of readiness. I'm still excited for the conference and keep checking the website for any updates to the speakers and classes! I cannot wait until they publish the brochure so I know what I am going to want to check out. One thing that I am good at in my everyday life that doesn't always seem to roll over to my writing life is that I am a major planner. So I like to know what I am doing when so I want to see those brochures to get planned! Also, since I am going to be driving back and forth every day, than it will definitely be something I want to make sure things get off to a good start.

3. One of the biggest changes of my life happened in November. It was something that we had been planning on happening for quite a few months, but it was a big adjustment that I wasn't quite as prepared for as I was hoping. My three step daughters moved down on a permanent basis. So I took on a new hat to juggle during my daily life: Full Time Mom. It is a hat that I have always loved during their visitations, and I am learning that hat has a lot more corners to navigate when you have children with you full time. One of the biggest difference is that we used to have them during their vacays at school, which means I never experienced the homework, waking up early to get to school life. It was a change. A somewhat hard one for everyone involved because of the fact that they had to enroll in a new school in the middle of the year. Since they got here right before Thanksgiving, they actually ended up getting a little breathing room before jumping in to school. And oh my goodness is the enrollment process for mid-year dramatic! So much paper work, so much drama. I've learned that having kids full time also means I need about 36 hours to a day to get everything done. Which, obviously, will not ever happen.

4. The next thing that really threw me in a loop was the fact that we decided to move. Going from a part time five member family to a full time five member family meant we really needed to get more space so everything was comfortable. So we spent a lot of weeks talking over what we planned to do. We found a place that we loved and realized it would be too far out where we wanted to enroll the girls in school, not too mention was in high demand. Then we found a place in the school district that we wanted the girls in and found out that it was just as wonderful the first one, though a little more tight to the budget. So, over Christmas and New Years we moved. Oh my goodness does that suck. Not only are you trying to do it in winter weather, but trying to celebrate a happy holidays with family during it all made time very short for getting things finished. I ended up turning in our keys to our old apartment at the very last minute, covered in grime from cleaning and rushing into the office so I could get them turned in on time. I even paid people to clean and clear junk which I never thought I would do but I just ran out of time even though I was right there helping beside them.

5. Along the same lines of moving there has been a lot of adjustment to a new life. For all five of us. The girls are still adjusting to a new lifestyle here with us and have been trying to catch up on school, instead of being a vacation lifestyle that they have always been used to they now have to get used to a life where there is school, chores and rules that they weren't really held to before hand. Like I mentioned before, I've had to adjust my mindset to the refurbished mom hat I have put on and the fact that full time mom means less time for writing which kind of saddens me. Then we are adjusting to a new house with new creaks and noises, new attitudes and designs. Bigger and better which sometimes we all forget.

6. Packing and unpacking. I have moved more in the last five-ish years than I have my whole life. My parents still live in the house they brought me to from the hospital after I was born. I never moved in my childhood. The first time I moved was from their home to my boyfriend-now-husband's home in Denver. It was a big move. The last few years has been a lot of upgrading our household to fit our family since a lot of things have changed since we first moved here. I hate moving. We are staying in this apartment until we get a house. I never want to pack or unpack again. That is the worst part. Oh and I love how it always starts as "I'm going to make sure all of these boxes are organized and labelled by room!" to "Oh my god, I don't think I have enough boxes, lets just fill them up and we'll go through them later." The first option probably would have made the unpacking easier, but I ran out of boxes and time and sanity.

7. Let's go back to writing. I've learned to take whatever spare moment I have to write. There may not be a lot of time, but I do get a few hundred words down each day. I know that isn't a lot right now, but we are still at the point of settling into a new place so my days off have been filled with a lot of busywork. Once things get settled, unless I have things I need to get done. My days off on Mondays are going to be devoted to writing and hopefully that will allow for bigger chunks of words getting written during those days. And of course I will still be focusing on getting whatever words I can during the rest of the week too.

8. About my story itself. There are things that I had originally written and planned on writing that I am questioning now. And it's not a matter of whether it is important for the story, it's more that it's not important for this story. Aislynn's story has grown to something different. I found myself, during NaNoWriMo, letting her story just flow out instead of planning, which allowed for a lot of words to come out, but it also called for a lot of changes. Because of that and everything else happening, I did take a lot of December off to really focus on where I wanted to take this story. Hopefully it goes somewhere where I want it to. Oh and my oldest daughter started reading it and liked it. And I one a 25 page critique on Christmas which was exciting so I can't wait to see what that person thought of them. She is a blogger at Victim of Writing and her name is Tiffany. She's very nice!

9. So, work. I have been trying to apply for a wonderful position at work and keep twiddling my thumbs. I really want this position, but I don't know if I meet the qualifications. Wish me luck.

10. I have learned to survive on many cups of coffee. It allows for less sleep and more time to get things done. Which is sad, but its been working. I may need to wean off of the coffee and switch to teas. Teas have always been more calming and settling than there to give me a buzz.

Yes, those last two were lame, but I ran out of ideas. I'm gonna try and write up some other posts later today. Hope all is well!