The Third Trimester!

I am twenty-nine weeks today, a week into the third trimester. I'm getting more tired and my exercise routines are gradually shrinking as the list of exercises available to me dwindles. I can see why it is so difficult to work out when you are carrying extra weight. I've only gained fifteen pounds as expected with pregnancy and boy howdy, can I feel it!

But I continue marching on, trying to get at least some sort of exercise each day, even if it is only parking at the back of the store lot and walking (slowly, to make sure I don't lose my balance and slip on the ice.) I continue to eat as healthy as I can, though I still dream of doughnuts after all this time.

I did the gestational diabetes test and had no adverse affects from it. I expected my heart to race, but perhaps the exercise I did that afternoon and the protein that I ate for lunch helped my body process it quickly. My baby did not seem to be affected by it either, but he is such an active little boy to begin with. :)

My lab report came back within normal limits, and I can't express how relieved I was to hear I didn't have to do the three-hour test, nor did I have to worry about declining and having to test my blood sugar all the time. So it ended up being a good choice for me, especially since they had a version without the red food dye in it. No migraines, very helpful.

The weather here has been fairly abnormal, though if you were to ask fifty Alaskans what normal weather is here, you'd get fifty different answers. But even with that knowledge, the fact that it has snowed once a month since the winter season started is very odd. And then that snow gets melted away or blown away. People are taking photos of their bare lawns and temperature gauges showing forty degrees or more. And then we watch the national news and see southern states getting buried up to their ears in snow and ice, frozen stiff with negative temperatures. Oh, so that's where our winter went.

Yesterday was one of the warmer days, and very sunny to boot. It was the day I felt the shift from winter towards spring. I feel that shift every year, but it seemed pretty early this year. I think it usually happens in March. I actually went out without a scarf and hat, without warming up my car, without feeling like I immediately wanted to go back inside the warm house. I have my homemade organic hot chocolate and have to turn off the house heater before it's halfway consumed.

I have some interesting prospects developing in my writing career, including the possibility of a regular gig writing for a local magazine. I sent in some examples of my writing today in hopes that they like it. I have also received a couple of rejections, but I have set my sights higher this year, concentrating on professional-paying markets first, so that is to be expected.

I am working on a submission to a fairytale anthology as well as possible articles for the local magazine. I plan on returning to the complete rewrite of my novel after the fairytale is finished and sent off. I continue to exchange handwritten letters with my closest friends in other states, as it seems to oil the gears of my writing machinery.

I look forward to getting out and about with my husband and our baby boy this summer. Hubby has been interacting with the little one in my belly. Yesterday he patted the area where his feet and bottom have been hanging out and got a whole bunch of kicks and wiggles in response. I pretended to glare at him and said, "You woke him up." But inside I was smiling and oh, so happy to see the joy on my hubby's face.

I am loving this year so far. I pray that the stupid amounts of happiness I have been feeling spreads to as many people as I can touch.

Okay, done with the sappiness. On with the adventures!

Shall We Try This Again?

So it's been a little while since my last blog post because on September 1st, I received my first, what the baby forums call, BFP (Big Fat Positive) pregnancy test. I did another one about a week later just because I was rather bored that day and wanted to see if it looked any different. It was such a strong positive, the pregnancy line pulled color from the negative line.

I already knew I was pregnant long before I took the first test. I felt a shift which must have been conception day and I felt different thereafter. This pregnancy is so much stronger than the last one. I was extremely bloated during weeks four and five, I already couldn't fit my jeans. And my trips to the bathroom, previously frequent from my water intake as a fitness instructor, doubled.

And then week six hit. Extreme nausea, crazy food aversions, intense sense of smell, disappearing appetite, and insane amounts of fatigue.

While I was not doing the traditional praying to the porcelain gods, I was shocked with how different and how bad I felt. It was like having a horrible flu that wouldn't go away. I was used to being sick for only a few days and being able to sleep most of it off.

This didn't go away for two weeks.

I had to step off our rather rigid Paleo diet (no cereal, pasta, or bread in the house at all) just to find something that sounded edible. I got organic cereals, organic granola bars, canned ravioli and boxed mac and cheese, seed and nut bread. I ate organic sorbets and ice cream, and drank real ginger ale and sparkling fruit juices. The gas was tremendous, but the bubbles helped my irritable tummy. My midwife mentioned that carbs are easier to digest, and someone like me probably needed more carbs anyway. Carrots were the one veggie I was able to nibble on regularly.

I was amazed at how dramatically my digestion slowed. That is typical, but I had only just quit my teaching job in July (before learning I was pregnant), so I was still used to being hungry all the time. I have to nibble now, eat smaller meals or I get all blocked up.

By the eighth week, the nausea diminished and some of my energy started to creep back in. I still have to sit down during a round of dish washing, but I'm exercising more often once again.

And then I realized just how tired I got. My concentration had completely deserted me. I always thought I'd deal with the first trimester by writing and reading a lot during that time.

It didn't happen.

I'd sit down to write and end up just staring at the computer doing nothing. Not even surfing the net. I'd try to read a book and just end up reading the same paragraph over and over without understanding a single word. And even with all this, naps rarely happened. I started watching TV and DVDs with alarming frequency. My Facebook visits began to increase in short-attention-span-theatre style. I started referring to my baby as the Parasite because it felt like I was being drained from within.

I am so happy to report that I'm feeling almost "normal," my appetite is returning, and I have more energy to take the dogs for walks and do a few yoga routines at home. We had our first ultrasound at ten weeks (more on that later), and I am now heading towards the end of the first trimester at eleven weeks. I am now calling my baby our little Cinnabon in the oven. Gradually working back toward a Paleo-based diet, with a few cheats here and there. (Hello, flour tortillas.) I'm even in the Christmas show at the theatre this year, and I did a song for the annual fundraiser (gods, the cheesecake was heavenly.)

There is so much to write about, but I think I'll finish this entry with this: the end of my first trimester, and the associated nausea and fatigue, is perfectly timed for Nanowrimo next month. I can use it to get back on the writing track. I want to get back to Write 1 Sub 1 as well. I count my blessings that I am not one of those who will be sick through the whole nine months. I am grateful for my appetite and for my ability to exercise again.

Now I can only hope that my Nanowrimo idea is a good one. :)

The Big Exciting (and Disappointing) News

So, once again it has been more than a month since my last post. But the month of June was quite jam packed. Before I get to that adventure, I promised I'd tell about something else that happened during the run of the Marvelous Wonderettes.

On March 17 I did a pregnancy test and it came out positive!

I knew I was really pregnant because my period is as regular as a stopped clock. I was two days late and feeling very strange down there. Went to my doctor for confirmation, bringing my husband and my calendar with my menstruation tracking on it. We both had lots of questions, as you could imagine. Our biggest worry is that the baby be healthy despite our "advanced" ages.

Anyway, she told me I was about five weeks and we set an appointment for some blood tests, which came back pretty normal for pregnancy.

My parents had no idea that we were even thinking about having a kid. And technically, we don't call it "trying." We call it "no longer preventing." If we have a kid, great. If not, we like our lives the way they are, too. I have no intention of doing fertility drugs, ovulation tests, timing sex, or any of that stuff a lot of people do when trying to conceive. It'll happen the natural old fashioned way or not.

So I decided to mail the positive pregnancy test to my parents as a "late" birthday present for my mum. (See what I did there? Hee hee hee.)

I got to see her reaction through Skype. Well, half her reaction. I could see one eye because she was too close to the camera. But that eye got huge all of a sudden.

The package arrived and surprised my parents on March 31. I guess I was around seven or maybe eight weeks by then. Since my parents got their gift, I decided to start telling people that I was expecting.

By the way, I did tell my fellow Marvelous Wonderettes before that day. I spilled the news during our limo ride in costume on the way to our opening night performance. My friend Sarah already knew, having deduced from something I said during one of the appearances we made prior, but I wanted all of them to know in case I started behaving weird, like not eating all the junk I'm known to love.

Anyway, the day after my parents found out was April Fools. I went to teach my Group Power class that morning. One of the participants said something to the effect of, "If I hear one more person say they're pregnant or engaged, I'm going to punch them!"

I laughed and said, "Yeah, I was going to announce that I'm pregnant, but I realized that if I told everyone today, no one would believe me."

The room went quiet as this sunk in. Alicia, one of my fellow instructors, said, "Hold it. Are you pregnant? For real? Are you just playing with us?"

I smiled and said, "Yes, I'm pregnant for real. No joke. I really am."

General pandemonium as people squealed and congratulated.

And then Mother Nature played her April Fool joke on me: that night I started miscarrying.

It was like a bloody floodgate opened. My doc scheduled another blood test and sure enough, my progesterone count had dropped. The lady who took my blood seemed sadder about it than I was. In fact, she was so sorrowful I almost started crying. But I realized that it wasn't my emotion making me that way, it was hers. So even though she said, "It's okay to cry," I did not.

It seemed crazy to me that, as people found out that I'd miscarried, their reactions were far more emotional and sad than my own. We live in an area that has many deeply religious folks, and I imagine that might have something to do with it. They considered it a life lost, as if I'd already had the baby.

I guess it didn't really bother me that much because I knew it was a distinct possibility. I'm thirty-eight years old, spent decades on the pill, and have never been pregnant before. If I didn't have a miscarriage first time out, I would have been shocked.

Also, seven weeks was hardly long enough to process the information. I hadn't been thinking of baby names or college funds, clothes or food, or anything. I hadn't really even considered whether it would be a boy or a girl. As soon as I knew for sure I was pregnant, suddenly I wasn't.

I trust my body. It has worked so well for me over the years I have no reason not to. And I trust whoever or whatever is in charge of running the Universe. If this is on my life's agenda, it will happen.

But it sure was strange, feeling like I needed to comfort other people when I was the one who had the miscarriage.

My doc prescribed me a medication, the name of which slips my mind now. A common one that goes inside the vagina and "finishes off" the miscarriage. I think mine was pretty close to done at that point because I didn't have all the horrors that other women have described using that stuff. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was just a really late, really heavy and clotted period that lasted more than a week.

And so now things are back to normal for my body. And life goes on as it always had.

There are a few changes on the near horizon, though. These changes would be beneficial if I got pregnant again. I'll be talking about those in a future post.

Next up: The Great Alcan Highway Adventure!

Finally Stepping Off the Crazy Train: The Marvelous Wonderettes

It has been about four and a half months since my last blog post. This is my first blog post of 2014, apparently. I didn't realize it until just a day ago when an old friend found me through this blog and I thought, "I wrote in January at least, right?"

Uh, no. And now it's the middle of May. Yikes.

So I think I will be writing down the events in a few blog posts so they don't come off as one long winded, crazy-quilt, splatter mess of words. Which they might anyway, so who cares, right?

This blog post features the main car of the crazy train, the one I spent most of my time traveling in: The Marvelous Wonderettes.

I've been doing theatre since I was about seventeen years old. I remember making my high school choir teacher mad because I had to miss the Christmas concert due to being in "Jeanette Isabella," Theatre El Dorado's Christmas show that year. I'm surprised she didn't flunk me.

I was doing back-to-back shows during those younger years. Sometimes performing, then doing backstage stuff when I was too young for parts in other shows. I was a stage mangler, excuse me, manager, props mistress, stage hand, yadda yadda. I did everything. "Godspell" was probably the toughest show because we were on stage most of the time, but it was a cast of about nine or ten individuals. Sometimes you sang lead, sometimes you sang backup, sometimes you didn't sing at all. Sometimes you got to sit down and rest, there weren't any costume changes or scene changes (well, except for the odd costume pieces we put on while onstage). Not a lot of strange hair or makeup needed doing.

The Marvelous Wonderettes was so much more exhausting!

I hadn't done a show since March of last year, when I was asked to take a few vacated roles in "The Sting." I didn't have much hope in getting into the Wonderettes because there were only four parts, and the first act was the senior prom, which meant the four girls were around eighteen years old.

Everyone else was apparently sure I'd get in. I guess maybe I pass for younger than what I see in the mirror every day. I definitely know I have the energy of a teenager. And I still have the teenage skin problems as well. (Which they said would go away in my twenties. They LIED!)

I was shocked when I got the part of Missy. But it also made sense. She would be the one that seems a little older because she's the "director." She tells everyone what to do, where to go, what song is next, chastises the other girls for not doing things right, and so on.

The rehearsals started in mid-January. And it was like rolling a snowball down a hill: it got bigger and bigger and faster and faster.

I soon realized a few freaky facts.

One, there were only four of us carrying the entire show.

Two, there were no costume changes or scene changes of any kind, except during intermission. So no moments to go backstage and check in with the script or refresh lines. Or get a drink. (Except a quick swig of water from the tiny punch glasses on the prom refreshment table.) Or go to the restroom. (The stage "restrooms" weren't real.) In fact, my character never left the stage once she was on it.

Three, with the exception of one song (which was a solo of mine), all four of us performed in every single number of the show.

Four, it soon dawned on me that in the first act, my bossy character's lines usually led into each part of the scene.

This is the freaky fact that scared me the most. I realized that if I swapped my lines or skipped any of them, we could end up jumping ten pages of script or missing several songs.

Bring on the performance nightmares!

I don't think I got much sleep the month of March. Every time I called for a line during rehearsal was a tiny moment of terror.

And four part harmony is not easy when there is no one else sharing your part. You're trying to listen to each other and remember your own stuff as well. The "Mr. Sandman" we did in Treble Choir in high school was a cakewalk compared to the Wonderettes' "Mr. Sandman."

So all in all, this was a huge amount of work for four girls to take on. We also did a slew of appearances at different rotary club meetings, chambers of commerce, and what have you. Some in costume and some not.

We really didn't get any down time before the show or during intermission either. I personally had two hair pieces, a curly one for the first act (1958) and a big bump for the second act (1968). I had hairpieces because my fine hair would not have handled the teasing needed for the second act in particular. One girl had to have a tattoo drawn on her arm between acts, another had to get into a pregnant belly before changing costumes, we all had to change our makeup to match the time period. When we got to the theatre, it was go-go-go until the show was over.

And even with all that exhaustion, it was still fabulous amounts of fun.

People loved the show. They sang along, swayed back and forth, couples smiled at each other when they heard songs they recognized. We even had a few people come up and tell us they were Class of '58 for real!

Every night we would pick someone out in the audience to refer to as "Ms. McPherson." The audience got to vote for their prom queen every night. The real winner was fixed, but it was fun to see who won the audience over each night. I actually won once, which I never thought would happen because I was the one bossing the audience around and telling them to turn off their phones. Betty Jean got a lot of sympathy votes and won most nights.

We also would pull a man up on stage to be "Mr. Lee." My character had a crush on this teacher in the first act, and then "marries" him on stage during the second act. Luckily all our Mr. Lees were good sports and got a kick out of it. They were usually someone related to or known well by some member of our cast, crew, or band. And our own director was Mr. Lee for the final show and didn't even see it coming. Heeheehee.

One night a lady that we picked to be Ms. McPherson just didn't cooperate at all. I don't know if it was because she didn't want to stand out, didn't really understand what was going on, or maybe she was frozen in fear. I was worried we had ruined the show for her, but she said afterward that she enjoyed it. I hope that was true.

The show ran for four weekends. Several sicknesses made the rounds through all four of us, I had allergies on video night (and I cringe every time I hear my voice crack on that video), and we were all tired to the point of dragging. But the four of us went out karaoke-ing one night and pretended to get in a lot of trouble, taking pictures of us in handcuffs and what not.

We got lots of memorabilia from our director, like mugs and a picture book. Lots of M&Ms, veggies, and fruits were consumed during rehearsals. I made bears with matching lollipops for each of the girls in their individual colors, and gave chocolate moose pops to everyone else in the crew and band. We made a shadow box of memories for the director and made him cry (again.) The four of us got to ride in style to opening night in a limousine in costume, which was definitely a bonding moment when I spilled my big news (more on that in another post.)

It was a big, huge, amazing, marvelous experience that I am so proud to have been a part of. I made some new friends, got closer to those I was already friends with, and got to play a character almost twenty years my junior. I'm quite positive that's the last time I'll be a teenager on stage.

Now if only my teenage skin problems would go away ...

Review of 2013: The Speediest Year Yet

Tomorrow is the last day of 2013. Looking back at my blog, I realized that with this post, that makes four blog posts for the entire year.

I think this year zoomed by a lot faster than previous years. Like I've heard it said, once you're over the hill, you begin to pick up speed. ;)

All in all, it was a fairly mediocre year, but still a vast improvement over last year. The worst part is missing my fur babies, Dusty and Asuka. They've been gone a year now, and I'm still struggling with feelings of sadness and guilt, though I know we did everything we could. I occasionally make donations to some of the local cat rescues in their memory to help me deal. At least I can speak of good memories without automatically bursting into sobs now.

The highest point would be our adoption of Dexter (now full grown and goofier than ever), and his sweet and loving relationships with us and his best kitty pal Daisy. Other high points include more recent events, such as some achievements of my husband in his job, my performances with Cantora Arctica, and getting asked to sing in next month's production of "The Dixie Swim Club." I had a story accepted a few weeks ago, one that has been hanging in submission purgatory for a very long time. It will be my first reprint; it was the first story I ever had published.

My writing has been very poor, not really any better than last year. Again I only wrote about 1500 words for Nanowrimo (bad story idea that went absolutely nowhere and I didn't have the time or energy to try and rescue it, or start again.) I've hardly written anything for the last six months. I'm not sure why I struggle with it so much, but I have a hard time balancing the things I want to do with the things I have to do (and a lot of those things happen to be time and energy vampires, like practicing routines).

I have no resolutions, because they are always the same, which means it makes no difference if I start tomorrow or next month or next year. So if I really want to change certain things, I have to want it more than I do.

Some things to look forward to next year: we're trying the Mud Factor 5k obstacle run in June. Also we'll be purchasing a truck and camper from my parents, which will make vacationing much more fun and avoiding airport security possible. I'll be trying out for The Marvelous Wonderettes, but if I don't make it in the show, I'll join the Cantora Arctica choir again for their spring semester.

In the meantime, I'll be writing, playing guitar, maybe starting craft projects again. And spending less time wasting my brain on iPad games like Candy Crush Saga. (Why, oh, why did I ever start playing that time vampire of a game?!)

Wait, that almost sounded like New Year's resolutions after all ...

Happy New Year! Many blessings to you and yours!

2012 in Review

Looking back at blog entries and Facebook posts, I came to a grim realization:

2012 sucked big time.

There were a couple of high points, only one of which was really big. The big one was my husband's promotion, so much earlier than we expected it to be. The other high points: visiting my family in April (slightly marred by the TSA abuse), and selling one of my stories to the Ravaged anthology.

But sitting here, I remember exactly a year ago we brought Asuka home from the vet after her leg amputation. I am still grateful for the year we got to have with her following that event, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't color the rest of the year. Everything just went downhill from there.

I still ache when I think of my precious fur babies in heaven. I still have dreams about them, still go through pictures of them, still cry every once in a while. I think my strong emotions have drawn Daisy closer to me, as she seems to feel the need to protect me. She often curls up under the covers with me or stretches out along my back. I had a strange dream last night where she turned into a bird, but I didn't know it was her. She'd land on my fingers or my shoulder. Then Asuka pounced, and she turned back into a cat and hissed. Dusty sat nearby and just watched, licking his chops. I can usually interpret dreams pretty well, but I'm not sure what to think of this one.

Anyway, 2013 needs to kick 2012's ass. So I am restarting Write 1 Sub 1 with every intention of surpassing my achievements in 2011. I'll be teaching a lot of classes, which will keep me busy and tired. I think 2013 will definitely go down as a year to remember, and in a much better way.

The world may not have ended this month, but I think the world will change in big ways.

And I want to enjoy the ride.

Happy New Year! May 2013 bring you the granting of many wishes, the realization of many dreams, and the wit and presence to notice. ;) I'm going to look up some story ideas now.

So what's going on with me now?

As usual, I just realized I hadn't posted anything in a little more than a month. That's because my writing habits have gone completely out the window.

I realize it's a lot like exercise. Exercise is so much a part of me now that even if I quit my teaching job, I'd probably still feel the need to exercise just as often. However, if I were to stop for a period of time, say for vacation, I know how hard it would be to get going again. Even harder for someone who hasn't done a lot of exercising to begin with.

As far as writing is concerned, I'm a beginner. It hasn't become habit for me, like exercise has.

I'm in the middle of two stories at this time. And my "Encantado" story will soon be released as part of the Ravaged Anthology from Breathless Press. I got a check in the mail that reflected the royalties from an anthology published last year.

I think that was the kick in the pants I needed to plant these pants back in the chair. At least I have a more comfortable chair to sit in now than I did before.

I'm also considering maybe I need a change of venue. As in, different places to write, rather than this same desk over and over, day in and day out. Thinking of maybe getting addicted to coffee and hanging out in coffee houses.

Except I hate coffee. I guess it will have to be coco and smoothies.

I just have a hard time motivating myself to leave the house these days. When I do, it's to go teach. I love the formats that I teach, and I love the fantastic body I get from teaching all these classes. And the club has been updating the equipment, making the actual teaching more enjoyable.

I'm just so tired. July is the hardest month because I'm learning four new routines, teaching all my own classes, and subbing for a lot of instructors who go on vacation during the summer. At least now all the new releases are done, so I can stop practicing for a month. Sigh.

All that movement means that when I get home, all I want to do is space out in front of the TV, or play a video game that doesn't really involve a lot of thinking. When I sit down to write, I end up staring out the window for fifteen minutes instead, because I can't string any coherent thoughts together.

But this month is almost over. I knew back in May that this was going to be a hard one, and it was.

I just have to remind myself of this in January when everything is dead and boring.

Weird Weather, First 2012 Acceptance, and Tripawed Update!

The weather has been so strange. Tons of snow in December, negative twenty degree temperatures most of January, and now mostly mid thirties and raining this month! Everything is slick and dangerous out there, and the snow has been sliding off the roof in big chunks. The snow is now piled higher than the edge of the deck around the front of the cabin. I'm wondering what the weather has up its sleeve for next month.

On second thought, maybe I don't want to know.

I've received my first acceptance of 2012! It's the second story I wrote this year for Write 1 Sub 1, and It'll be my second publication with this publisher, the first being "Bordello Secrets." So yes, Mom, before you ask, it is erotica and it's even more explicit than "Bordello Secrets" is. (Heat rating of 3 vs Heat rating of 2.)

Asuka, my Tripawed Adventurer, has been doing very well. Her scars are healing up and her fur is growing back. She has caught one shrew, and she spends a lot of time sleeping in her favorite chair upstairs. She is very affectionate these days, but less inclined to sleep on me as she was before. I'm still giving her the ES Clear, two-three drops a day, even though the directions say twice a day. It's hard to get her to eat canned food more than once a day. For one thing, she has access to dry food whenever she wants. And also, she doesn't want to eat when the other two cats try to mob her to get a taste. And as soon as they hear me opening the can, the other two are right there begging for it. So it's difficult to find a place where Asuka can and will eat in peace.


Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

She goes up and down stairs in complete ease. The only time I've seen her falter was the time Daisy swatted at her from under the bottom stairs and she nearly fell off, but she saved herself. Sometimes she doesn't cover up her stuff in the litter box. But then again, neither does Dusty.

All in all, she seems to be just dandy. It's such a relief to see her happy and purring.

Happy Less than Three Day!

That's <3 for the uninitiated, heeheehee!

Hubby bought me chocolate, of course. What cracks me up is that instead of buying the heart shaped box of Ghiradelli chocolates for $10, he bought the regular old bags and got twice as much chocolate for the same price. Smart man, well trained.

So here's the lowdown on how Write 1 Sub 1 is going for me. I was falling slightly behind during the last week of January because I was frantically making some mini bear nuns and priests as gifts for the hard working crew people in our Nunsense II production. If I could have, I would have made one for every person in the show, but my fingers would surely have fallen off. As it was, I got no writing done that week.

I've caught up now and I'm right on schedule. I've had a couple of rejections and an honorable mention for one contest I'd entered. Out of 366 entries, one was the winner, and ten others (including mine) got the honorable mention. I was bouncing off the walls the rest of the day when I read that. I mean, someone read my stuff and noticed it! Not only noticed it, but liked it enough to give it a mention! Woohoo! It's a little like gambling: you may only be getting nickels, but the fact that they're pouring out of the machine is a total trip. Not much but it's something!

My husband was reading over my shoulder while I was working on a Japanese monster hunter tale. He actually looked surprised with what he read. He always though of it as a hobby for me, that I wasn't really serious about it, but he really liked what he read. He was impressed. Now I know there are professionals out there that would say it doesn't matter if your husband likes it because he's your family. Of course he wouldn't really criticize it. But anyone who knows my husband would know what a big deal that reaction was to me. He inspired me in a way nothing else could have.

I just submitted that story today. I also made a Resubmissions spreadsheet so I can keep track of what stories are already out being considered, and what has been rejected so I know I can send it somewhere else. Sure, some places allow multiple submissions, but most don't. So I'll just do them one at a time.

I'm really enjoying this writing journey. I mean, the story that got honorable mention, I thought it was bad. I didn't like it much. But I could spend eternity rewriting something and never be happy with it. That taught me something about my abilities. Just because I don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad story! I gotta keep going, keep trying, keep learning.

Okay. Back to writing.

I know I just posted, but I got nostalgic ...

... and decided to go back and see what I had resolved to do for 2010. I wanted to see how I did as far as completing (or at least making a dent in) those resolutions.

Here's a copy of that list:

1) Stop biting my nails. (I know, I know. EVERY year the same thing. I'll do it for good one day.)
2) Finish working on my novel Sparkless and start shopping it around as I move on to revise Summerland's Savior.
3) Read as many books from that list of 100 books everyone should read. At least I'll try to get to the classics.
4) Perform in at least ONE show this year!

As I said in my earlier post, I've accepted the fact that I'm a nail biter in the hopes that through that acceptance I will finally give it up. (I know, twisted, but hey, it might work!)

I did finally finish my first major revision of "Sparkless," which I am most proud of. I'm not sure if it's ready to be sent out into the world again, so I will consider that as the 2011 wears on.

I tried to read one book that I borrowed from the library on that list: "An American Tragedy." I was interested in it, some of the writing was delightfully terrible, but it was taking so long to finish it, and I was tired of renewing, so I finally returned it to the library half read.

And I did perform in a show this year, "Pride and Prejudice," and made new friends and had lots of fun. I also auditioned for and got into another show, "Nunsense II," which will open in January 2011, so that will count as my show for next year. I don't think they're doing any shows that I'm interested in until 2012, so it will have to do. Unless I get up the guts to audition for something in Anchorage.

So after reading that list and seeing how much I really accomplished, here is my "To Do" list for 2011:

1) Get my dojo going
2) At least finish my 2010 Nanowrimo novel. I'm nearly done, so that won't take too long. After that, finish "Summerland's Savior." If there's still time left in the year, begin revising it.
3) Complete "Write 1 Sub 1." Don't be afraid to do the submission part.
4)Somehow get up the guts to try auditioning for Anchorage theatre. (I'm still wobbly about that one, but a friend of mine told me about it and thinks it would be fairly easy for me to get in. I'm just still not sure if I want to put in the time to drive there and back.)

Some of those are close to being completed already, which is a bit like cheating on my resolutions since they're easy. But it's also easy to put things on the back burner until they become a lot more difficult to complete, so I want to avoid that.

And if I run out of resolutions before the year is out, I'll just write some more.

New Year, New Challenges!

One of my friends just turned me on to this writing challenge that goes on all year, called Write 1 Sub 1. It means you write a short story each week, then submit it for publication as you write the next story. Apparently Ray Bradbury used to do this. I need to read up on this challenge a little more, but as I've always wanted to tackle the short story form, and several of my writely buddies are considering it as well, it sounds like I'm gonna jump in with both feet! I'm terrible at this form, but that's because I avoid it, I'm sure. Besides, my full novels can't be much better!

This is day three of my three days off for the holidays. A friend of mine was not only kind enough to invite me over for Christmas dinner last night, but she stuffed a stocking full of candy for me too! She also told me about getting to play elf for some local kids who weren't getting Christmas this year. I left her house with a full belly, a full heart, and over-full eyes. There need to be more people like her in the world.

I got to Skype with my family on Christmas Day. They set the computer at the end of the dining table. It was almost like I was sitting there and eating with them (except I didn't get any food. Sigh.) I opened a couple of my presents, and got to watch when Mom opened the box from me and passed out the presents to the cousins and my Aunt. There are times I absolutely love modern technology.

Progress on our little garage dojo is slow. We finally found the manual for the gas heater on the wall, so I'm going to start it up today. With an extinguisher nearby just in case. First, I need to finish sweeping out the snow that collected on the wrestling mats. The wind storms we've been having drove the snow through the door cracks and even through the window, leaving piles of it all over the place. I have to sweep it while it's still frozen before I can start the heater.

Nunsense II is shaping up nicely. Hard to believe we've only two weeks left before opening. I'm panicking ...

New year's resolutions? I'm giving up on the biting nails one. I'm just going to accept the fact that I'm a nail biter. Maybe then I'll stop doing it, eh? So I think maybe this Write 1 Sub 1 challenge will help me write more, which is something I want. Can't really think of anything else.

My husband thinks my aunt and uncle's tradition of sending a letter of our year to our family and friends instead of Christmas cards is really cool. So I may send a New Year's letter out this year, then do it for Christmas from now on. Maybe I'll convince him to let me send a picture of us along, too!

Look Ma, I made it!

I crossed the finish line with a half hour to spare for Nanowrimo 2010. I will now be posting my winning badge here on my blog. Make sure you take a moment to admire the gloriousness of it.

That was a grueling month. There were a few days where I thought I wasn't going to make it, but I slugged through to the end and now I can breath a sigh of relief. I'm going to finish this novel, then put it away and go back to finishing the second novel I ever wrote, but didn't finish.

But not tomorrow. Tomorrow I'm cleaning the house.

Congrats and YAY to the other Nanowrimo winners around the globe! We all ROCK!

And the Insanity Parade Marches On ...

Yes, I do believe there is insanity running through my family. I'm only grateful my job isn't full time because I'd be even more nuts than I am exhibiting now. However, while my job is short hours and lousy pay, it's long on physical demands!

And we haven't even started the dance rehearsals yet.

I think Nunsense II may be the most challenging musical I have ever done to date. I'm trying to think of any in my list of shows that were as freaky as this one is. I mean, really: bingo games with the audience, split personality puppeteering, singing and dancing in habits and other costume tidbits. I don't want to give things away, so that's all I'll say on the subject.

Except for this: I can only pray that the audience will be laughing at me for the RIGHT reasons.

Nanowrimo has been going exceptionally well. Yes, my little widget shows some yellow days amongst the green, and here's why: I've been largely ahead of my word count on most days, so there were a couple of days I technically didn't reach my daily word goal of 1667. However, the other days have made up for more than those short days. I think day one had me glued to my computer, cranking out near 5k! The take off is always the strongest.

I credit following Nanowrimo Sprints on Twitter for a big chunk. They run word sprints most of the day, so I can get on there and sprint with other people all around the globe. (So if you've been looking at my Tweets lately, that's what all those word count ones are about.)

The other big chunk goes to the write-ins with the Mat-Su chapter of Nanowrimo. We crank out a lot of words through word wars (where we compete for the most words written in a certain amount of time, making teams with names like Ghosts vs Fairies), with lots of candy and Pandemonium Bookstore's hot chocolate. Nothing like fellow crazies and sugar highs to knock out a bunch of words.

Anyway, now back to writing.

The temperature drops ...

... like cement shoes on the feet of a lawyer.

Sorry, bad joke.

The last week has shown a sharp change in the temperature, but this is rather typical. I always start thinking of doing ye olde tire swap around this time: mornings in the teens, frost so thick it doesn't melt before the sun goes down, that almost burning sensation of frigid air slicing down your throat. At least my nose hairs aren't crackling yet.

My body is starting to protest a bit this year. I'm usually fairly stiff if I sit still too long, like at the computer, and the cold air just makes it worse. I've added energy/protein bars to my diet. Most people use them as meal replacements. I use them as meal enhancements. I try to get organic ones whenever I can, but I also want ones that are edible. So I mix it up by getting several different kinds.

I've gone back to adding vitamin D to my regimen since my doc told me that my immune system was probably seriously depressed. So far it seems to be doing good. Now I just need to figure out the best diet to keep me moving.

Ah, the joys of living in Alaska!

Speaking of living in Alaska, today marks the third year anniversary of officially living here. It's been quite a ride, not always a pleasant one, but certainly a huge learning experience. I still haven't caught the local Alaska disease yet: that of complaining every time the weather turns cold. I'll admit, the summer sucked big time with all that rain. But there are good things to be said for winter. I like how the snow pack makes my road more tolerable for driving (no potholes.) I like the longer sunsets (since the sun never gets all the way up in the sky, the whole day is practically sunrise and sunset.) I like the fireworks on New Year's, the fact that we always have a white Christmas, the warm and comforting foods and drinks that are too warm for summer. I love watching my dogs playing in the snow.

And I can't wait to try out my new two handed snow shovel! (Okay, I'm stretching it a bit here.)

And, last but certainly not least, NANOWRIMO! Celebrating the art and science of writing for an entire month of literary abandon. Where you are free to write as crappy as you ever thought possible.

See, there are always good things about every kind of weather.

Another closing of another show ...

... and I'm down in the usual post-show dumps.

The word often used is bittersweet, but that always makes me think of food. It's not strong enough for the emotions one goes through at the closing of a performance run, especially one as amazing as the run "Pride and Prejudice" just had. Two weekends sold out, and at least one sold-out show each of the other two weekends. There were a bunch of people saying they came back a second time (and they weren't spouses or family.)

I think I'd lean more towards manic-depressive as a description? I have to put more thought into that.

I'm grateful to have my "life" back. There are many things that have been taking back seats as we got closer to opening the show and during the actual performances. I haven't been practicing my new exercise routines as much as I usually do. At the very least I was pretty distracted while practicing backstage in the green room almost every performance night. (And several of the other actors and crew would join me every once in a while. I had my own chorus line going!) I need to get the garage clean and organized for the dojo. I need to bug spray the house. The list goes on.

But I got rather attached to the group of people I spent so much time with the last couple of months. Many of them were strangers to me when we started. It took weeks to learn everyone's real name instead of their character name. And then last night most of us went out karaoke-ing and have a blast. We want to make it a regular thing (much like us "Spitties" did after "The Spitfire Grill" closed.)

I got to work with people I already knew, and with people I wanted to know better or hadn't had a chance to work with yet.

I got to prance around the stage in fancy dresses with my nose in the air and speaking in a British accent. (I even got a compliment from someone with a real British accent!)

So my mind and emotions are at war for dominance: relief at life returning or depression at the ending of something special. Eventually the depression will pass and I'll be content with the memories: my nickname for my onstage brother when he accidentally called me his daughter during a show ("Dad!"), our own secretly added lines whispered behind the curtains ("Consider it dropped"), songs sung on our karaoke night ("I Got You, Babe"), and so much more.

I better be happy with my life being returned to me. The auditions for "Nunsense II" are coming up real soon ... ;>

NaNoWriMo website relaunch!

The NaNoWriMo website has indeed relaunched, so I've been procrastinating from cleaning the house to update my info and add the counters and banners to my blog. You can see the new ones in the sidebar. >dancing in giddy circles<

If you've never done NaNoWriMo, but you've always wanted to write a book, jump right in! You've got a month to plan still. Just remember you can't write a word of the novel itself until November 1, 2010. Until then, you can plan, outline, fiddle, brainstorm, and draw idea bubble maps to your heart's content!

The Wonderful Weather of Wasilla

Apparently the Alaska Branch of Mother Nature Dot Org decided that "fall" had lasted long enough, and it was now time for "blow." Just when we were getting the intense gold color of the leaves along the road to our house, the wind rushed in to shake them all loose, knock down trees, and remove power from several homes for days.

I suppose I should be grateful that we were spared the looooooong power outage that affected many of my friends, and of course I am. I am also grateful that the theatre was spared having to reschedule a show when power was flickering Friday evening. (It never did go out, though it did flip off for a moment when I was curling my hair. I screamed, "Wait, just one more curl and I'm done!" Then the power came back on.)

However, I'm really peeved that I didn't get to take a picture of that fabulous gold tunnel along our road. The trees hug a place on the road that dips down, and when the sun shines just right, it gleams with an intensity that takes the breath away. I wanted to get a picture of it this year, but the wind robbed me of that by stripping the leaves before they reached that point. Grrrr.

A few days of wind, and then the real fun began: early winter. Yesterday snow appeared on the mountains, as well as making small flurried appearances in the valley. If a rainstorm had moved through, it would have been a snowstorm. At the end of September, for crying out loud. Thank the gods we've already bought that huge two-handed snow shovel for the driveway. We're not even allowed to put on snow tires yet, technically! (I guess that would change if it actually snowed that much, though.)

We escaped most of the problems that others have had: Our only casualty of the wind was our trash can (which wedged itself in such a way that nothing was coming out of it, so we left it where it was until the wind died down), and the fence along the back of the garage. We were going to take it down anyway, perhaps use it to line the outdoor dog kennel, so no real problem there. I think it was only there as a kind of view blocker for the lots behind us, but it was pretty pointless anyway.

So here's the million dollar question: if winter is already threatening to loose itself on us, does that mean it's going to be a long, mild winter, or a long, harsh one? Since it's winter either way, I suppose it doesn't really matter. >Sigh<

Flashbacks

After the last post, I was struck with the sudden desire to look back on my other New Year's posts. There were only two others since I started this blog. Here's a very brief recap of what was going on:

In January 2008, we hung out with one of our coworkers and shot off fireworks in his backyard. We had also adopted Bruno right around that time. We were working, eating, and sleeping and that was pretty much it (though we did squeeze in a drive to Talkeetna and saw our first moose after three months of living in Alaska.)

In 2009, things had quite dramatically changed. I helped my new writerly friends make a video to enter in a contest and we got second place. I'm still very proud of that video and I remember how much fun we had making it (and how cold it was, too!)

But the really big thing last January was "The Spitfire Grill." I was reading about the opening, watching the Youtube videos, and even read all the way through February and the last show. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about that night.

See why I added theatre to my list of resolutions this year?

My widgets are working!

Yay, my widgets from Nanowrimo are up and running! Woohoo! Doing all right overall. Still haven't officially fallen behind in my word count, but every time I get way ahead in my count, I do terribly on other days and even out again. Today I'm at Pandemonium having word wars with my writerly friends and I am one day ahead. I need to be two days ahead and I'll be more comfy.


Okay, will write more later. Got some word wars to start!

Alaskans know how to party!

You gotta hand it to Alaskans: they fight for their right to party!

Today was the company picnic for my husband's store and even though the weather has been beautiful the last couple of days (or so I've been told), it started raining the moment Logan and I showed up to the picnic site. and it didn't really stop the whole five hours or so that the party raged.

And yet there was a great turn out. Despite the rain, a water balloon fight erupted, much to the delight of the kids attending. Also, a "pie" fight (pies were just pudding and whipped cream) to ensure all managers were "pied" willingly or unwillingly (Logan was willing), an egg fight (between several employees and managers who carried the pie fight to a new extreme), sack races (Logan and I both did that), and an archery contest.

So much food was brought, it was barely contained under the awning that was set up in case of rain. Kids roasted marshmallows over an open fire, hot dogs and hamburgers filled the air with that lovely grilling smell, and I had so many sodas I'm surprised I didn't float away. We brought Ghiradelli chocolates and they were devoured. Logan just said some people took handfuls home to spouses that were unable to attend!

Logan and I were among the last to leave, making sure everything was as picked up and clean as possible (the splotches of pie will just have to wash away in the rain) and make sure the fire had burned down safely. A few others hung out with us by the fire and told interesting stories about old ladies buying them drinks and how to get around California's various smog laws.

All in all, it was a successful party, one I was glad to be a part of. And I got to see just how determined Alaskans are to have fun, no matter what tries to get in their way!