Nothing else matters ...

Oh, journal! What a long, strange couple of months it's been. I almost don't even know where to start.

Since it's November, I'm participating in NaNoWriMo as I do every year. I've written close to 60K words on an Epic Zombie Masterpiece that is currently lacking zombies. I nearly gave myself a week long heart attack when my computer caught a nasty virus about a week and a half ago and I had to reformat the hard drive. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue since I keep all the important stuff on my external hard drive. However, this virus snuck in and hid all my external hard drive files.

I went from being at 32K words on my NaNo story to...OMG!WHERE'D IT GO? over the course of one agonizing night. I persevered and kept writing, despite not knowing what was going to happen with the first half of my novel or even if I'd be able to retrieve it. Fortunately, I have an awesome cousin who popped over one night and found all the files and fixed them up for me right good.

This was just about the most fantastic thing ever and I'm so thrilled to say that everything has now been recovered and backed up in triplicate. Also, I have so kicked NaNo's ass this year.

I've been very neglectful of all my online sites lately as I attempted to get things up and running, blah, blah, blah. However, Twitter and I have become extremely close and I'm turning into an insane tweeter. INSANE.

I won't be such a stranger in the future. I promise. I think.

OMG! Guys, Cole had a friend spend the night last night and the amount of food this kid eats freaking boggles me. Let me draw you a picture: I made muffins for breakfast. Cole had two. Hailey had one. My mom had one. Cole's friend had FIVE. FIVE! As in the number after FOUR! Now, these weren't huge, bakery sized muffins or anything but FIVE? And when I took them for lunch he asked for a double burger with fries. O_o I just... Cole doesn't eat like that. I wasn't expecting to come downstairs in the afternoon and find that the dozen muffins I'd baked this morning had been whittled down to 3. Cole and Hailey are more in the grazers camp. They eat a little here and a little there. For all I know, they eat the same amount as his friend but it isn't all in one gluttonous swoop. I'm still going like this --> O_o

So, yeah. I had a little talk about portions with Cole after his friend left and even Cole was kinda weirded out by the sheer amount of food he consumed. I'm just glad I don't have to feed him on a regular basis. I'd be prostituting myself for grocery money.

Anyway. Books stuff:
Book #288 - My Soul To Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent - A really cool take on the Celtic banshee myth.
Short story review - Reaper (Soul Screamers) by Rachel Vincent - A quick peek into the life of one of the characters in My Soul To Take and the events that drove him to become a Reaper.
Short story review - My Soul To Lose (Soul Screamers) by Rachel Vincent - Diving into the events that led Kaylee into being hospitalized before My Soul To Take and her short stay in the mental ward.

I prepared a huge post on my favorite books for 2010 that I'll probably post later tonight. I got to take a look at the new books in established series I loved and new-to-me authors I discovered when I went crazy with my Kindle.

I also have this driving yearning to do a book-centric wrap-up post so I can smile vapidly at how many books I read this year. If I manage to get my shit together, I'll write that one up tonight as well. Or maybe I'll write it up tomorrow and read tonight. I don't know.

FYI, I did end up doing a bit of writing on my NaNo story last night. Yeah, all 235 words worth. Fear me.

Okay. I'm done.
Later.

Guys, it's Friday. Yeah, that pretty much means absolutely nothing to me except that my sister wants to go shopping tomorrow and the kids are underfoot for the next two days.

Have I mentioned that I need to finish my NaNo novel? Because I do. I hit that 50K plateau and immediately slacked off. This is despite vowing that I would finish the entire novel by the end of November. I suck. But I still have great plans for it and my read through a week or so ago convinced me that it's actually very good. Or at least I think so. But I wrote it, so I'm a little biased.

Hey! Do you guys remember when I was reviewing the Vampire Academy books for that re-read challenge at the end of November? Well, I won the grand prize for that which is ABSOLUTELY FUCKING AWESOME! I won a copy of Last Sacrifice (the last VA book), the Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, some other books, bookmarks, and VA inspired jewelry. I'm sure I'll take pictures once I get it.

I also won another book through another contest earlier in the week that I forgot to mention. Is this is best book week ever or what?!?!

Tomorrow, I'm dragging the lovely and talented malkovich03 out to the tree lighting ceremony for my little town. Apparently it's big deal. There's a parade and everything. We're going to either go to dinner, lunch or drinking at some point. All I know is that I want a Snakebite at some point. Mmm. Snakebite.

Okay. Book stuff.
Book #247 - Sons of Lyra: Slave Princess by Felicity Heaton - A nice, sexy sci-fi romance. I've been digging Felicity Heaton's books lately. Part of it is the extremely attractive price ($1-$3) and part of it is just the sexy. Yum.
Book #248 - The Vampire Queen's Servant (Vampire Queen #1) by Joey W. Hill - Oddly, it isn't the type of book I would have normally picked up, but I'm very glad I did.

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday - My answer to both parts of the post cracked me up. And they're all true. That's the funny part.

Okay. I'm out. I have to watch those Winchester boys heat up my screen.
Later.

When my mom took the dogs to the vet not too long ago, the doc said that they had...umm, gained a little weight** and I needed to cut back on the amount of food my little darlings are getting every day. Okay. I can do that. So I cut them down and now I ask my family every day if Ruby's looking slimmer (she's the fatter of the two). I always get the same look, the one that says "Dude, it's been a week. I can't tell a difference." Whatever, family. I put my dogs on a diet, I want to see some results!

**Random aside: I would just like to mention that my minor obsession with peanut butter led to me buying a bag of after-Halloween discount Reese's. BAD IDEA! I'd like to take this moment to extend a big, fat Fuck You! to Reese's and their candy. And now I'm going to promptly take it back because WHAT IF THEY HEAR ME AND STOP MAKING PEANUT BUTTER CUPS?!?!?! WOE!!! The point in this is that my dogs aren't the only ones in the house who need to watch what they're eating.

NaNo stats:
I'm embarrassed to admit that I slacked like a champion slacker today. I wrote a grand total of 250 words. Boo. This is suck-a-licious because I've hit a really awesome part of the story with a revelation that I didn't see coming (but which makes perfect sense, thankyouverymuch) and I want to write it. I'm just momentarily unmotivated. I do, however, plan on getting this story done, in its entirety, by the end of the month.

No more slacking for me.

Book stuff:
Books #235 & #236 - Holiday Bound by Beth Kery & Snowy Night Seduction by Arianna Hart - Earlier this week, Samhain Publishing released a bunch of books as free downloads for the Kindle and Nook. I snapped up most of them. Now I've reviewed the first two of the lot.

Book Blogger Hop & Follow Friday - Why, yes. I did just admit that I keep trying to sell my son to the gypsies. Yeah, I don't know either.
30 days of books... Day 68 - High fantasy! Now with blood and guts. No, wait. That's usually present anyway.

There you have it.
I'm hungry, it's getting late. I should really eat.
Later.

I almost had a heart attack this morning when my wireless connection kept refusing to connect. Seriously, it was horrible. I was doing everything it told me to do and it just kept maliciously laughing at me. Bastard machine. I fixed it, though, when I restarted the damn thing and forced it go through its startup routine a second time. And, lo, it worked. Which is a good thing or I would have been... without the internet all day? Terrible! Terrible! See, there's something to be said for using brute force and coercion on inanimate objects.

Okay. Nano stats:

Check that out! I have less than 3000 words to write for the month and still be considered a winner at NaNo and it's only the 17th. I can totally do that, guys! Totally!

Randomly, today is Donation Day for NaNoWriMo. Since the guys who run this are a non-profit, they rely on these donations to continue rolling out this program every year. Less than 4% of the people who participate have donated thus far. When I think of how awesome it is that people around the world have been brought together for this novel writing experience and only 4% think it's worthwhile enough for them to donate even a few dollars, it makes me sad.

Yes, I did donate. If I could have done more than I did, I would have. This particular NaNo has been one of the funnest I've ever participated in. Mostly because I'm doing well at it, but let's not get into that now, shall we?

Okay, my Public Service Announcement is over. You all can uncover your eyes.

Bookish stuff. Things of a bookish variety.
I'm rereading the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead as part of a re-read challenge and to get back in full-on VA mode since the final book is coming out in a few weeks.
I posted a review for Vampire Academy last night. I already read the entire series earlier this year, so it doesn't count toward my yearly goal (Kelly's rules for book reading in the new millennium, Article 6), but I'm absolutely loving being able to go back and write these in-depth reviews and roll around with the characters all over again.

Waiting on Wednesday - Last Sacrifice - And here's the 6th (and final) book in the VA series. It comes out on December 7th. I have plenty of time to finish up the series before then.
30 days of books... Day 66 - Best line out of this synopsis: Those well versed in fantasy novels and role playing games a plus. That is AWESOME!

Okay. I have to go get Cole up and moving toward bed.
Later.

The kids had an inservice day today so the teachers could, I don't know, get ready for conferences, I guess. You'd think they'd already by ready, but I'm not a teacher. What do I know?

Despite the fact that they were home all day, I managed to get my giveaway up and running at my book blog. It has a banner and everything! Look!

Celebrating 200 posts with a Giveaway! - A signed copy of Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires: Volume 1 and a signed copy of Cherie Priest's Boneshaker. Two vastly different books, both of which I adore. Vampires and Zombies: all the things a girl wants as a gift!

Since I'm already talking about book stuff:
30 days of books... Day 64 - Umm, I just posted this and my brain is fried to the point that I don't remember what it is. Oops.

NaNo stats:

The story is still flying along. I'm definitely seeing it moving towards a resolution, which is a good thing. I've written down all the loose ends I need to tie up and I'm maneuvering myself to make pretty little bows.

FYI, today is the halfway mark of NaNo. We should be at a minimum of 25K words. I am thrilled beyond belief to be where I am. It's really helped me having a defined daily goal and having someone that I'm feeling competitive with.

Since it's freakishly hot right now (seriously, November, enough of this already!) and I'm sweating into my chair, I'm going to sign off now.
Later.

Oh, NaNo. How you are slaying me right now. It burns. I think I can say, with confidence at this point, that I will reach the 50K mark by the end of this month. Will the story be completed at 50K? That's what I'm not so sure about. However, I do have the plot moving progressively forward toward the final goal. I'll admit that there may have been some overindulgent sex scenes written over the first 25K words. Some of those may be cut during editing. Maybe. It all depends on how the story pans out. Does the sex lend anything to the plot? Is there a reason behind it? At this point I'm not sure.

And that's why we edit. To make things fall into place a little more neatly from beginning to end. And to cut those unnecessary sex scenes.

Okay. Stats:

At one point today I was helping out one of my fellow NaNos with a sticky plot problem she had run into. We were hashing things out back and forth and I pointed out that her book was about deep stuff (an abusive relationship and possible pregnancy) while mine was about werewolves having sex. Sure, I'm simplifying my plot, but it struck me as funny.

Book stuff:
30 days of books... Day 62 - Magic, assassination attempts, hot kisses and a prince. Well, okay.
On My Wishlist (week 10) - I'm asking for Zombies and Vampires under my Christmas tree. And why wouldn't I?

Randomly, I have a book review to write, but I'm feeling very mushy in the brain and have been putting it off all day. That review will be my 199th post at Reading the Paranormal. I have a couple of signed books that I was planning on giving away on my blog. The 200th post seems like a perfect time to do just that. Yes? No? I picked up the books in question specifically for a giveaway, so it's not like I'm dipping into my private stash or anything.

Arrgh. Now I have to plan that. Although it technically doesn't have to be THE 200th post, just around it. You know, celebrating the 200th.

Okay, enough blathering.
Later.

Short post today, I have things to do that require a TV and a couple of sexy vampires.

NaNo update:

I have 17,000 more words to go on this and I'm thinking I'm not going to be able to tie up the story in that amount. AGAIN! This is what happened to me last time and that turned into a 100K word brick. Which I'm still in the process of editing, thankyouverymuch.

Book update:
Book #233 - Bluebeard's Machine (Silk, Steel & Steam) by Mari Fee - Part of my foray into Steampunk sexiness. I loved it. It tried to love me back. Steampunk is cool like that.

30 days of books... Day 60 - I'm not quite sure what this book is about but I like it! Plus, I've done 60 consecutive days of this meme. I'm putting in my application for the super-awesome Kelly can do really long memes and is a demi-god position over the weekend. Don't ask. I don't know what I'm talking about either.
Books Through Thursday - War Stories - I have no clue what I was thinking as I write up this post. Obviously it was written before I'd finished my first cup of coffee. *face palm*

I am done now.
Later.

I've been battling the headaches to end all headaches all day today. I fell asleep with the beginnings of it last night (and of course I figured that since I was only going to sleep I didn't need to take anything for it. bad idea.) and woke up with it boring at full-speed through my skull, laughing maniacally at everything I took to try and tame it.

It was not enjoyable. I slept for about 3 hours this morning (from 9:30 to almost 1) with my head under the covers in an attempt to tame it. Then I took another 1 1/2-2 hour nap this evening. I feel slightly better but at the same time I can feel it lurking in the back of my skull, waiting for me to lower my defenses so it can pounce.

Despite all that sleeping I managed to get in my NaNo wordcount.

It was a struggle today. However, I'm very pleased with the writing itself and some of the side roads the characters are taking on me. It's really amazing how they come to life and start leading you and showing you what they should be doing.

Book stuff:
30 days of books... Day 58 - Dystopian and creepy. I like it already.
Teaser Tuesday - 3 of the 4 books I teased last week, which should just go to show you how much writing and how little reading I've been doing. However, I finished one of them earlier this evening and will be reviewing it tomorrow. Because my brain is mushy right now.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I won Bluebeard's Machine by Mari Fee. Today, I emailed an author who had left a comment on one of my posts offering me a digital copy of her book and she sent it over. It's like Christmas in November over here! A Steampunk Christmas! Boo-yah!

My head is starting to hurt again.
Later.

I've spent the day fingernails deep in clay, helping Cole with his ginormous Egypt project that's due tomorrow. It's one of those group projects where no one in the group is really helping out. Cole's a mess with this and has been freaking out since Friday when he found out that no one was willing to help him with the 3-D bird's eye view map portion. It's done now. I got to use my mad sculpting skills to make pyramids.

My weekend is complete.

Yeah. Anyway. Yesterday's NaNo word count could have turned out very badly but I somehow had a miraculous hour and a half of writing (from 10-11:30 last night!) and got my 1,667 words in for the day. Yay!

Today was even better because I started writing early and stuck with it on and off all day (the off portion being while I was freezing my ass off and getting rained on at Cole's football game).
Total wordcount to-date:

2300 today and roughly 1700 yesterday.

My next NaNo goal is to kick past 25K words. That'll be sweeeeet!

Book stuff:
30 days of books... Day 56 - I love the phrase "The fickle finger of fate". Absolutely love it!
In My Mailbox - I didn't spend a dime this week on books. And yet I still got some new ones. I love free Kindle downloads!

My wee beast is snoozing on my bed. I've got to get him settled in his won room.
Later.