50,000 words later...

Actually, 50,413 words later.... I have finished this year's NaNoWriMo.  Thing is, probably half of that is going directly into the bin through the miracle of editing and there is still more writing to do to finish the story.   But... the deed is done and it's 12:30AM and I have to be up in about 5 hours to go to work, but I did it.

So, if you scroll down my right sidebar, my lil' "winner" badge is there.

And now I can finally legitimately say I'm "WINNING"! *giggle

Gotta go linky up to the Wednesday Blog Hop!  You should too!

The Only Constant Is Change

I've been hearing that Google Friend Connect (GFC) is going away, to be replaced by Google+ (at least until the Next Big Thing comes along) so I added a little clicky over in my righthand sidebar that will take you to my (at the moment) rather sparse Google+ page that I just got around to actually creating. Because I'm cutting edge. Or I'm behind the curve trying to catch up.

It's gotten chilly.  I suppose with it being nearly December, I should have expected this. However, I did not.  Furthermore, I don't like it one bit. But, no one asked me and it appears that Old Man Winter is going to keep on stalking me, whether I want him to or not.  I was sure I'd left him behind when I moved South, but like a bad penny he's come back to haunt me (no, I never understood the whole "bad penny" thing, but people say it so it must mean something close to how I'm using it here).

Can you believe November is almost over? I am still trying to finish my NaNoWriMo novel so it'll be crazy the next couple of days.  Then I get back to my "normal" life.  Except that I am not quite sure what that entails anymore. I guess it means I can't procrastinate any more and will have to actually clean out the Closet o' Doom.  Or , ya know, maybe I can find a second job and a few more volunteer gigs... I'll feel better after I've faced the Closet o' Doom, right?

Was it really a long weekend?

I can't believe that tomorrow is Monday again and it's back to the rat race.  The days have flown by and I've not accomplished nearly as much as I wanted to and now here we are on the eve of another workweek.

Don't get me wrong, I still love my job and the people I work for/with.  It's just that there was so much I was planning to get done and the days just slipped by.  I think, though, that this is the last busy week I will have as NaNoWriMo will wrap up and then I won't be writing a novel on top of all the other things I do. And yet... something tells me that maybe I will still be doing some writing. At least on Tuesday nights.  Which will be good for me.  If nothing else, maybe I can use Tuesday Night writing time to make sure that I write at least ONE entry a week in each of my blogs.

I can also use Tuesday Night Writing Time to write YELP reviews.

I clipped a HUGE stack of coupons over the weekend.  Now I will be thinking about what to do with those coupons I don't use (I don't buy diapers, for instance).  I mean, I have BEEN thinking about it, I just haven't come up with a good solution yet.

Since I have a few more things to do to get ready for the week to come, I'm going to duck out of here for now.  Have a fabulous week everyone!

Clipping

I have coupons I should be clipping.  I am trying to figure out the best place to do it.  I think that "in the room that does not have the cat who wants to cuddle all the time" is probably my best bet.  It is difficult to clip coupons with a cat whapping you in the face with her tail.  It's not IMPOSSIBLE but it is difficult.

I have some other things I need to get done today. I need to get another load of clothes washed.  I should probably load up the dishwasher. I need to get some writing done. I have a number of blogs to read. I should clean out the fridge and take out the trash, too. But I won't if it continues raining.  We need the rain, so I am not at all upset that it's raining, I just don't want to be schlepping trash in the rain.  I should probably run the vacuum cleaner, too! (You envy my exciting life, don't you?)

I also need to work on some stuff for my online store.  I'd love to do that now, but somehow don't think my neighbors would appreciate the noise of me chopping and using the mixer at this time of the morning.  Still, the thought of revenge for their 2AM arguing is a temptation.

I had some of my Teavana tea.  It was quite tasty and I need to remember more often that I have tea I should be drinking.  I am probably not killing all of the oxidants and so should probably get with the program.  Being an oxidant killer is hard work.

Quickly Thankful

Thanksgiving went pretty well. I am very thankful for three more days off, though, because I got NOTHING accomplished today and I need to do something productive over the next three days.

Tomorrow morning after some coffee I should probably get some cleaning done. Then I have work to do and some writing to get done and need to get around to getting my coupon clipping accomplished.

I think, though, that sleep is in order. I'll write a better post tomorrow. 

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am thankful for all of my bloggy friends!

You Down With Y-E-L-P Party

I'd never been to a YELP party before Saturday Night.  Now that I've been, I need to push to become "Elite" so I can go to more parties they throw because it was a kickin' party, y'all.  I was really, really excited for this party because I'd heard that YELP gatherings were a class act!

The Venue - Life in Deep Ellum.  It's a cultural center in, well, Deep Ellum (a section of Downtown Dallas) It was a good size for this event, parking was a little challenging as their lot is on the small side,  but I found a spot pretty easily (though not in their lot, however to be fair, I don't think they have big things like this going on every week), it was not glitzy or glamourous but I think with this sort of gathering, the venue being simple is a plus and I am hoping to go back there for a less crowded event at some point.I did feel like I was a good decade older than most of the other attendees but one of the first things I did, to help fit in with the theme and give myself a little bit of a younger vibe was let the absolutely amazing Live Hair Group stylist give me bangs. I haven't really changed my hairstyle in eons and he did a stellar  job.  The girl before me getting her bangs done was really nervous but she looked absolutely gorgeous when she was done (she was stunning to begin with, but he did a superb job with her bangs!)

They had a DJ spinning the 90's tunes who was excellent, not much as far as mic work, but I think that the crowd was more interested in music than talk, so he did a really excellent job with gauging the crowd. It was so much fun to spend a night listening to music that I knew all the words to (why yes, I AM OLD....and would you kindly get off my lawn?*giggle).  Dallas PowerHouse had dancers there and they were all very talented and about a half hour in (perhaps everyone having, by then, a drinky or two under their belts) several people were on the dance floor.  The furniture from CORT was very stylish, functional and comfortable.

There were Bahn Mi sandwich slices from Pho is for Lovers, which I will need to track down in the VERY near future as I was impressed with their Bahn Mi and am always on the hunt for tasty Vietnamese eggrolls. Velvet Taco had an amazing pulled pork taco with a pineapple habenero salsa that was spicy but not "my mouth is on fire" spicy  So, I'll be tracking down Velvet Taco soon, as well. The Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka mixed with lemonade was a nice quencher for the taco's spice.  Top all that deliciousness off with a taste of Whiskey Cake... had I known how delicious the Whiskey Cake is when my office-mates and I had gone there for lunch a few weeks ago, I would have skipped ordering food and just had cake!

The event was fun, the music was awesome, the food fabulous and the drinks were outstanding.  Very happy that I was given the opportunity to attend! There were other tables I just didn't make it to but what I did sample was excellent.  There wasn't much opportunity (due to the volume of the music, which was completely appropriate to the venue and event) to socialize with other Yelpers.  A number of people came with friends or found friends that I assume they'd met at other events but for people like me who didn't know anyone, there was just not really any opportunity to strike up conversation.  And I assure you that while there may have been people who thought I did not dress for the event (90's theme), I assure you that except for my shoes, what I wore was actually purchased in the 90's.  (Yeah, that tells you something about my "fashion sense").  It's funny, because one of the reviews I read complained that the music was not "strictly 90s" and that there were quite a few 80's songs played.  I think it had more to do with playing what was danceable/keeping a hip hop theme than anything else.  Plus, as someone who has done some DJing, try as you might, there are going to be a couple of mis-tagged songs in most sets.  It happens.

Hoping I can work my way to YELP Elite for 2012 so I can get invited to more YELP events!

Time keeps on slippin'...

Time sortve got away from me last night.  I was finishing up a project at work and didn't leave until nearly 6PM, had to stop and get gooshy food for the kitty and either a miracle occurred or the apocalypse is nigh because for the first time EVER I went into Target, got only what I went for (gooshy food for the kitty) and nothing else, checked out and went home.  I NEVER go to Target without getting way more than expected. It was weird. I had thought about maybe getting a curling iron so I can do something with my new slightly different from usual hairstyle but it's been eons since I last used a curling iron and it's not like I am a froufy kinda gal so even if I got one, who knows if I would actually use it or just get frustrated that I couldn't do anything good with it.  I figure if I get a gift card at some point, I may actually get the curling iron (since it then would not impact my bottom line like spending the money I should be saving for food on a curling iron)  and the fact remains that I DO have hot rollers, so if I feel the need to get my curl on, it's not like I have no way to do so.

I realized last night that I will likely be having Kraft Mac n' Cheese for Thanksgiving dinner.  I'll be home alone (my family is all over 1000 miles away and I have neither the time nor the funds to travel).  But for the last several years, Thanksgiving has been a small "celebration" usually marked by stuffing myself with delicious food that I didn't cook (the benefits of having a housemate who cooks!) and this year the housemate is out on the road for work and I am just not inclined to cook a bunch of food I won't end up eating (leftovers for days is not my idea of fun).

But now it is time to get ready for my day. I am tired.I am hoping some caffeine will help. It will at least taste good.  Have a stellar day, y'all!

T-Mobile DFW Blogger Party

Ok, as promised, I am going to tell you about the T-Mobile DFW blogger gathering that I went to on Thursday night.

TexasHolly sent the invite and I was excited to not only get to see the latest tech stuff and get tips on holiday shopping (something I admit I am AWFUL at doing...) but also get to see some blogger friends I hadn't seen since the last one of these fabulous soirees!

Since I work super close to the venue, it wasn't a surprise that I was early.  Except that I'd had a class that day and STILL ended up being there at 5:30 for a 7PM event. Oops!  Fortunately, I caught a power nap whilst waiting so was revved up and ready when it was finally "Go!" time!

Got in the door and wristbanded, entered the contest by tweeting (actually, I tweeted to @TexasHolly before I even got in the door!) and played some games.  I also lovingly caressed tablets and phones and thought a lot about what my next tech purchase should be.

There was WONDERFUL lemonade and sandwiches and little tasty cakes and I had to restrain myself from parking next to the table and hoovering it all up.  Fortunately, there was plenty going on and I was distracted from the deliciousness (seriously, the tomatoes on the sandwiches were fresh and tasty and that is a rarity when eating catered food. BONUS POINTS!)

Fred the Regional Manager was on hand, which was pretty impressive due to the fact that OFFICIALLY he was on vacation.  I choose to believe he had wanted our stellar company and not that he was afraid of what chaos a pack of bloggers would unleash upon his store (for the record, there was no dancing on countertops, however, there WERE flying monkeys!).  Arthur and Tanya (who looked stunning in her pink sequin Santa hat!) helped us out by chaperoning the games and it was cool that they genuinely seemed to be enjoying themselves.  I know it can be tough to be tapped to work events like this when you'd rather be home in front of the TV, so I thank them for being fabulous hosts!

There were FIVE phones raffled off.  And I was pretty psyched to win one, even though I don't have T-Mobile service I am thinking of having a giveaway that will star the phone I won.  Stay tuned for that!  (Yes, I am planning it for before the December holidays, so it can be given as a gift).

Fred shared some websites with us to make our lives easier including Big Oven  Need a recipe idea?  Check out Big Oven!  200,000+ recipes!  I'll try and find my list and post a few more linkies over the next few days.

It was a ton of fun (and I'd say that even if I hadn't won something), I loved seeing blogger friends, TexasHolly throws GREAT parties and I am looking forward to the next DFW blogger gathering.  Thank you to T-Mobile and TexasHolly for a fabulously fun evening!

Just a snippet...

I went to a YELP party tonight and it was so much fun.... but I can't write about that until after I write about the T-Mobile event that I went to on Thursday.  Hopefully, I will get around to writing up both events tomorrow. 

I didn't get nearly enough done today, but I did get the one thing I HAD to do done, so there's that.

Funny thing.... I came home last night (Friday) and there was a note on my stove from the maintenance guy saying that my light over the stove was fine.  SOMEHOW, "the light fixture in the den" got translated to "the light over the stove...in the kitchen..."  which makes me want to research some Spanish to see if any of those words are even SIMILAR.  I wrote out a maintenance request (even though I REALLY don't want them back in here) that was basically written just one step up from "Me, Tarzan... You, Jane" as far as simplicity so maybe they'll actually get into the correct room and do what needs to be done. Not counting on it or holding my breath, though.

Got a couple more things to do before bed and then a busy day tomorrow.  Have a stellar night, y'all!

Playing In Traffic

It was brought to my attention that apparently I'm none too bright if I have not "monetized' my blog.  Fair enough, I suppose.  I mean, I spend countless hours weekly on the internet writing blogs, reading blogs, commenting on blogs, linking to blogs, entering giveaways and sweepstakes on blogs, looking for invitations to blogging events (events held by bloggers, not an event where we all sit around blogging, but... hey! That might be an awesome event!)  If I'm going to be investing the time anyways, why not try to have my time paid?

Don't misunderstand me, I am not a person who wants something for nothing. I am certainly not someone who figures I am entitled to anything, but isn't there some old adage about "do what you love and the money will come..."  The old wives who tell these tales can't be completely full of it, can they?  And, for the record, I like my day job just fine.  But the fact is that, right now especially, I could use a little extra income (me and the rest of the world, right?)  So, I am committed to trying to help others with their monetization and hoping I can get a little quid pro quo (that sounds delightfully naughty, does it not) and at least get some more traffic to my blogs.

I know it probably seems like I'm a new kid on the block and if you've been around, it might seem like I'm some uppity upstart who hasn't paid her dues.  The reality is that I have been blogging since 2004.  I've seen some INCREDIBLY talented bloggers pack it in and leave the blogosphere.  I've had months where I got extraordinary traffic and I've had months where I could count visits to my website(s) on my two hands and two feet and maybe have a pinkie toe or two leftover.  I've had people tell me to expand (write on more sites) and I've had people tell me I spread myself too thin (write on too many different sites).  I've had times where I'd sit at the keyboard for an hour without the first clue what to write about.  I've laughed through posts, I've cried through posts and I defy anyone who wants to try to tell met that no one you meet on the internet is a REAL friend.

All of which is to say that you may see some changes. Don't be alarmed or ticked off, this is a natural progression and I'm not going to let it stop me from doing what I love, which is writing and making new friends on the internet (and beyond).

Quick Check-In

I had a really fabulous time at the T-Mobile Holidays event in Frisco tonight.  TexasHolly was, as always, an awesome hostess, I had tons of fun and I want to do the event justice so I will write a recap this weekend. But I had SUCH a good time, I wanted to post a little about it tonight.

I took a class on Business Writing today.  I will also blog more about that this weekend.  And I have a YELP event on Saturday night that I will, of course, write about this weekend.  I think this weekend is going to be a busy writing weekend.

But now I have to get to bed. I am running on very little sleep and that doesn't work well for me.

Webcomic Wisdom

I was going to be a slacker and go to bed without posting tonight, but then I read Something*Positive and the final line grabbed me... "Don't let what you might lose blind you to all that you still have".  I'm not even entirely sure why that made me pause (and then burst into tears).  I'm pretty sure it will all become clear to me in the next couple of days. I am in a pattern at the moment of not getting enough sleep which tends to make me a little berserk in the emotions department.  At any rate, it struck me as important enough to post about and share with you.  And maybe it has to do with the entire Something*Positive today and the fact that the first anniversary of a good friend's passing is coming up which has me thinking more about life and mortality than I usually do.

On a more upbeat note... I did some writing on my NaNo novel tonight at the wine bar. There was good company and I think I may have found a nice little social group.  Which I really want/need.  It's nice to meet people who don't look at me like I'm growing a horn out of my forehead.  Tomorrow night I do my volunteer gig and Thursday is the Blogger gathering and Saturday... Saturday will be an adventure.  I got invited to and actually confirmed to go to a YELP gathering. As far as I know, there will not be anyone there that I know so I am hoping my social anxiety will be kept at bay.

But now it's way past bedtime and I should get to bed.

Why I Hate Renting (a Rant!)

Oh sure, renting means that there are things I don't have to take care of (as opposed to being a homeowner who has to deal with it when the toilet is overflowing... I mean, as a renter you need to deal with it short term if that happens but the fixing part is the landlord's gig... most of the time... except most of the places I've rented in my life).

But I have to say the one thing that irks me above ALL OTHERS in regards to living in an apartment is "inspections".  Basically, an inspection is people snooping around your apartment and they don't even need a search warrant to do it.  It is, in my eyes, a violation of my 4th Amendment Rights. (The Fourth Amendment has been held to mean that generally a warrant must be judicially sanctioned for a search. In order for such a warrant to be considered reasonable, it must be supported by probable cause and be limited in scope according to specific information supplied by a person (usually a law enforcement officer) who has sworn by it and is therefore accountable to the issuing court).  

In the case of an apartment inspection, I am sure that the folks conducting the inspection would argue that the specific information is supplied to the inspecting agency by the landlord and therefore falls under the "limited in scope" clause seen above but as someone who has been cited for (I kid you not) "No Fresh Vacuum Tracks", I think the entire inspection criteria is WAY too subjective and  is tainted by the bias of the inspector(s).

Now, I have some other issues... 1)apparently someone (I am HOPING it was maintenance) was in my apartment today and left lights on. Way to jack up my electric bill, idiots!   2) the notice is written as though it should have been distributed last week.  There is reference to coming in and fixing things "next week, before the inspection" but the inspection is this Thursday.  However, given the Engrish (spelling intentional) of prior notices from the Management Company, I would not doubt this is another semantic/grammar issue.

Further, the light that was left on was in my closet.  What do you folks need to "maintain" that is in my closet?  Forgive me for being a tad suspicious.

Nevermind that the rest of this week, there isn't a night that I will be home before 10PM  I'm sure my neighbors will adore my vacuuming at midnight.  (Payback for your kids slamming the door and screaming at 7AM on Saturdays!! VENGEANCE IS MINE!!)

Ok, I think it's time for bed now.

Looks like it is going to be another one of those weeks where I am obnoxiously busy.  Monday and Friday look like pretty clear evenings (for now) but Tuesday I have a writer's meet-up, Wednesday I am going to do my shift with the kitties for the cat rescue and Thursday I have a class during the day and then I have a blogger gathering in the evening that I am looking forward to very much.  I also have to remember to get things ready for an errand I need to run this weekend. At the moment, I really have nothing planned for the weekend, but things are sortve "in flux" right now at home so we shall see what ends up happening.

There is a fly in the apartment and it is driving me CRAZY.  It never seems to land so I don't even have the opportunity to smack it. 

I am caught up on my NaNo novel writing. I am still not convinced that this is going to be a decent read. It's going to need a ton of editing.  I am hoping that maybe if I manage to get it into Y-Writer, I can organize the thoughts a little better.

It's funny, I was supposed to get $250 off my rent in December for signing a new lease but I just looked at my lease and the "concession" as they call it was not written into the lease.  Not that I am surprised.  I am hoping to be able to move next year but am thinking that it will probably be the year after next.

I got some bath fizzies made today.  I need to get some more molds.  Or I need to sell enough fizzies to get a neato gadget that I found ($100). 

I suppose that right now, though, I need to get to bed!

Sorry Lisa, they're still out of monkeys...

A while back, Lisa wrote about her adventure at the Tea Shop (Teavana) at The Galleria (which makes me feel like I am stepping into the past because I remember the Valley Girl song that talked about The Galleria except hers was in bitchin' Encino and mine is not.  However, my Galleria has an ice rink inside so I think I should get some bonus points for that.

Anyhoo, I had to go to The Galleria today for another reason and thought I would check out Teavana when I went because maybe the monkeys were back in stock and I could let Lisa know.  How I live in the same city with her and haven't met her yet is a bit of a mystery to me but I am beginning to think that maybe she managed to get me secretly microchipped and now that she knows where I am all the time, she makes sure that she can hide when I'm going to be in relatively close proximity.  (Hey! This is MY conspiracy theory, don't judge me!)

The Teavana people a) love to fight antioxidants and b) try to sell you a $50 pound of tea.  I mean, really, who needs A POUND OF TEA?

Anyhow, I somehow got finagled into buying some tea. Which is fine, I guess.  I mean, I went to a tea store so it isn't like I was going to buy delicious chocolate (which I think also has antioxidants in it) at the tea store, right?  So, now I have to somehow convince myself that I am a tea drinker.

I think the funniest part is the (absolutely SUPER, thanks for asking) dude who rang up my purchase didn't tell me how much money I spent, he told me how much I was "investing in my health and well-being".   I'll let you know if this is some sort of magic monkey tea and if I manage to become a tea drinker.

Weekend planning...

Here it is another weekend and as usual, I have a long list of things I should do this weekend.  On that list are things like cleaning off my desks, getting some bath fizzies made, scooping litterboxes, grocery shopping and other chores that need to get done as well as some possible fun outings like going to Penzey's and seeing if I can scoot over to the LUSH party at The Galleria sometime between 1:00 and 4:00 tomorrow afternoon.  Believe me, easier said than done.

I also need to get sleep, write words for my NaNo Novel, clip coupons and get ready for the week ahead. I also need to catch up on my e-mails and things in my reader and see if I have time to enter any of the many awesome giveaways that are happening out in the blogosphere.

Now, though, I need to get some writing done and then I should go to sleep.  (I just noticed I need to vacuum the office, too).

Finally Friday

I'm glad that it is finally Friday.  I don't mind my job but I look forward to getting some sleep.  On the flip side of that, I am hoping I am not going to sleep the weekend away because I have things to do this weekend.  At least I am on track with my novel writing.  Which is one of the reasons I've been getting to bed late, so I guess it is a trade-off.

I got my lease renewal signed. There are several things that make me uncomfortable about it.  First, they won't give me a new parking sticker claiming that the folks who tow don't look at them anymore but if you get towed, you have to pay all the costs to get your car back, so I am not thrilled with that.  Secondly, there is a "bedbug addendum" to the lease that basically says that we have to pay for it if there are bedbugs in our apartment.   If I wanted liability, I would be a homeowner.  So, that sits wrong with me.  Also, my rent went up.  Not a lot, but it went up. And I guess I don't feel like I am getting more for the extra money.  They're letting in a lot of people who are violating their leases (loud outdoor parties, domestic violence (which, aside from its basic problem, it gets LOUD), kids running around until 11:30PM outside (not teens, LITTLE kids) unsupervised.  I am hoping that next year I can afford to move and can find a decent place.  If not, I should be able to afford a move in 2013.  As my sage co-worker Roy used to say "You do what you gotta do til you ain't gotta do it anymore".

Got a bunch of coupons to look through/clip before I go shopping this weekend.  But, for now, I'd best be getting back to work.

Oops!

So, I re-read the invitation I got to the blogger gathering and realized that it is scheduled for NEXT Thurday and not tonight.   It's a good thing I looked now and not right before I was supposed to go because I would have stayed late at work tonight for no good reason. It'll be a bit more inconvenient next Thursday because instead of work, I have a class but it means that I will be out plenty early so will be able to get back to the event without a problem.  I sortve wish I had someone to meet for dinner beforehand, but I guess I will have to either wait until I get home after the event or find somewhere that I won't feel too awkward about eating alone.

I am tired again today because I didn't get to bed at a decent hour again last night but at least I got my NaNo writing done.  It's a tradeoff.

Well, I'd better get back to getting things done.  At least I have a shot at getting to bed somewhat on time tonight. So.... yay for that!

Another Late Night

I am up way past a reasonable bedtime again. I was at a write-in for NaNo tonight, though, so at least I was being productive. Still, I have to admit that I was awfully tired today.

And so, in an effort to not be too godawful tired tomorrow, I am going to bed.

Blogger gathering tomorrow night. I am excited!

Sleep is for the weak

I got home about 10:45 last night.  By the time I had done everything that needed to be done it was about 12:30AM and I just couldn't justify staying up longer to make a blog post.  So, there may be two today to make up for not posting last night.  As it is, I've had about 4 and a half hours of sleep which is about half of what I need to be functional and am sucking down coffee as if my life depended on it both because it is caffeinated and because it is warm.

I have another writing thing to go to tonight which may get rearranged/abandoned because my flatmate, who is an OTR trucker, is coming into town for a few days tonight and I drive the one vehicle that we have betwixt us so I will probably end up having to pick him up.  Not a big deal and to be honest I am glad that it is tonight rather than tomorrow night because there is a blogger gathering tomorrow night which is very close to my office and there's no way I could get down to pick him up and make the blogger gathering.  I am fairly certain that being alone all day and all evening tomorrow will not be an issue for my flatmate who has been co-driving with a man who WOULD NOT SHUT UP!  Plus he was yammering on about politics and it was driving FMate nuts.

Ok, I have work to do so I am going to go and drink more coffee work very hard. Ciao for now.

Procrastinating

Actually, I am frustrated with the NaNo Novel and don't know what to write so I am here writing a blog post.  Which is weird... writing a blog post about not knowing what to write.

Girl Cat is all pissy because I am not holding her but I can't type and hold her. I am halfway considering getting a baby sling so I could hold her AND type.  Does that make me a crazy cat lady? Or a crazy writer lady? Or maybe a little of both.

I was all proud of myself today for finding a blog hop to participate in.  I went and visited some new blogs and will have fun reading them.  I am not expecting a substantial increase in readers as I am a complete unknown....(or, more accurately, my blog is a complete unknown).  I am still trying to figure out what to do with my big pile of coupons for things I don't use (diapers, dog food, etc.)

Now I am going to get back to my novel. So I can eventually go to bed.

Clipping... and clipping... and clipping...

I found out a couple of my co-workers normally just throw away the coupons from their Sunday Paper so I asked if they would mind bringing them to me.  I have a big pile of coupons I will potentially use and a big pile that I will never use. Like diapers. Because I will commit hari kari before I ever need to use a diaper again (Depends Undergarments as an oldster notwithstanding).  And dog food. Because I don't own a dog and probably never will (it could happen, but I really envision myself more a crazy cat lady).

So, now I need to figure out what to do with all the coupons I don't/won't use.  I don't want to throw them away, I am sure SOMEONE would want them but I'm a little vague on how to get them to people who would use them...

So, that's my dilemma tonight.  That and contemplating Monday.  It's not that I dislike my job, I just dislike the whole "getting up Monday morning" aspect of it.  Once I'm there, it's fine, but having to get up, shower and somehow resemble a human being is sometimes more than I can fathom on a Sunday Night.

Today did not go as planned. I think that's partially because the day was grey and depressing and partially because I was just altogether unmotivated.  I did get some vacuuming done and for the most part, things look pretty good.  I got 1802 more words written for my NaNo novel.

Sometimes good has to be good enough, right?

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?

Ok, I know it's some time after midnight but the time change thing always messes with my head and I don't know what time it is anymore.   What I do know is that I am tired.

Also, I have been looking at all of these "blog hops" and the like and they all say you should have a "family friendly" blog and while I know what they mean, I really don't think this blog counts because it's not a mommy blog and I think I've probably cussed more than once and I don't limit my topics so there could be something here to offend someone (like my Halloween post...)  But I want to build traffic so I guess I need to find the raunchy blogs that do blog hops or something.  Where are the "blog hops that allow the occasional F-bomb"?

Can you tell I'm not getting enough sleep? Because I'm not.  Just the fact that I'm up at some point after midnight should be an indication of how little sleep I am getting.

Does it count if my family wouldn't be offended by what I post here? Even though they don't know (and don't care) that I blog?

Can someone please come and read me a bedtime story?

Crazy Week

It's been a crazy week and the weekend is packed with stuff I need to be doing and nothing at all fun and I'm really bummed that I have nothing fun planned so I'm busy and crabby which can't be a good combination.  ANd I haven't written my NaNo words for tonight so as soon as I am done with this post, I will go and do my NaNo words for today.

I did find that 750 Words is a big help in getting me started writing.  It also gets me at least 750 words. Which is not quite half of what I need for a day of NaNo to be on target.

And I really should be noveling, so... bye for now.

NaNo Ate My Brain

I managed another 1811 words on my NaNo Novel.

I am too tired to think.

I am too tired to function.

I may be a zombie. Except that brains still sound like something that should NOT be eaten.  Even with fava beans and chianti (which I found out I don't really like).

So tired...

I finished another 1744 NaNoWriMo words today.  I'm pushing myself and I can feel it (not writing-wise but in the sleep deprivation department).  I have so much to do and I just can't let ANY of it drop.  I've started NaNoWriMo and am determined not to drop out. But I'm tired. So very, very tired,

Today I got up at the usual "Are you kidding me" o'clock, worked all day, came home and fed the chinchilla, went back out to a NaNo "write-in", wrote 1744 words and socialized a little, came home, fed Girl Cat her gooshy food, cuddled with Girl Cat and read email and all the social media I'd missed whilst writing and now here it is, 10 minutes to midnight and I'm blogging because I would feel guilty if I didn't.

Up side... at the moment I have nothing scheduled outside of the apartment for the rest of the week after work.  Down side, it's hard to write a novel when you are cuddling a cat who insists that you give up an entire arm for her.  I have a full agenda this weekend, too (no social stuff planned. At least not at the moment).

We are expecting a cold snap here tonight/tomorrow. Should be ok after that.

Ok, my eyes are closing even while I am typing, It is OBVIOUSLY way past bedtime.

WINNING!

Ok, other than being a phrase we all heard so much we probably wanted to vomit over the summer, I am co-opting the phase "Winning" today because there were things I feel went excessively well.

First, I managed to write 1711 words on my NaNoWriMo novel today, putting me a tich ahead of the 1667 word/day pace that is prescribed to achieve 50,000 words by the end of the month.

Second and, in the grand scheme of things, much more importantly, I did my first volunteer shift tonight for the cat rescue.  Yes, it's cleaning cages. Which means I scoop litterboxes and refill food and water. Not glamourous at all but I felt REALLY GOOD afterwards in a way I can't really articulate.  Plus, I got to love on a bunch of kitties tonight.  Yes, my muscles are sore because I used a bunch of them that I don't usually use, but it's a good soreness and I'm that really GOOD tired that comes with accomplishment.

And now, because it's obscenely late and I got nowhere near enough sleep last night, I'm going to bed.

P. S. Another co-worker brought me coupons today.  I'm excited!