Tuesday, December 29, 2009

New Year, New Goals

I started this list as a comment on SJDuvall's post Twenty Ten over at her blog, Forever Writing.

2010 Goals

1. Query Ivory – I want at least 200 rejections by the end of the year.
2. Finish first and second draft of either EIM or AF. Whichever I start working on, I have to finish.
3. Faithfully participate in Zette’s 2YN course over at Forward Motion for Writers.
4. Manage at least a 2.5 GPA this semester. I’m shooting for a 3.0, but I’m realistic, I’m not a great student.
5. I did have running a marathon on my list (next years Turkey Trot), but it’s now off the list. I have to get cleared to run before I can start working on that one. I could walk a marathon, but that’ll just take forever and I can’t imagine it would be all that fun.
6. Finish first draft of EIM or AF (whichever isn’t #2) Maybe NaNoWriMo?


I don't think these are in order of importance, except for the Ivory one. I've been taking WAY TOO LONG to get that manuscript out into the cold world of the slush pile.


How's Ivory doing now? Don't ask and you won't hear the bad news. Wait. I asked...crap. It's going slow. I knew it would. I need my husband to sleep in more often.

Hope you're all having wonderful holidays!

Friday, December 25, 2009

Lemon Merinque Pie


This is my husband's favorite pie. EVER. He can sit and eat a whole one. In one sitting.

Problem is, his mom won't share her recipe. (It's really a long, funny story. Not her being an evil mom-in-law or anything.)

So this is my second attempt at making a lemon meringue pie. The last one I made was 'too custardy'. Very helpful honey.

This time I'm using Alton Brown's recipe. You can find it here.

All I did differently was double the meringue, cause that's how he likes it.


BEWARE! If you follow the recipe exactly, you'll get lemon meringue soup. If you sit and read all 100 comments you'll learn that you have to put the stuff back on the heat after adding the lemon juice. I didn't know that.

So. Pie was a failure. My husband said it's okay and he didn't get why I was upset. Stupid soup. I'm going to try it again. He's been in Iraq for a year, the man deserves his pie!

I hope you all had a good Christmas!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas!

Yep, I say Merry Christmas. Next year I need a pin. "You can say Merry Christmas to me, I won't get offended."

That's too long for a pin or button. Maybe just one that says Merry Christmas.


It's snowing. In Texas, on Christmas Eve. How awesome is that? It was nearly 70(F) degrees yesterday. I don't mind, I'm not going anywhere. Anabelle, however, is stuck at Dallas waiting on her flight. She started out stuck here, then got shuttled to another airport. I home she makes it where she's going today!

No offense, but Texans don't see to do well in any kind of weather that isn't warm and sunny.

Anywho, gotta go check on dinner.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Readjustment Fun!

Writing - Not going to lie, not getting much done. Today's the first day I've woken up before him. I'm guessing that's because it's the first day since he's been home he's been able to sleep in. (My husband's been home not quite a week yet. He's enjoying the fact that we have a mattress and he's not sleeping on a cot in a tent full of 300 other guys.)

He'll probably sleep till noon. I've got nearly a solid two hours to get some writing/editing in. Probably editing. I want to start my new project, but I want to finish Ivory's second draft more. Weird.

Food - Cupcakes didn't happen. Brownies did, sadly there is no evidence left to prove this. Cupcakes may happen this week. I will be attempting Annabelle's Chicken Cordon Bleu sometime soonish. It is delicious and I want to see if I can manage to recreate one of her recipes. I haven't managed it yet, even with the recipe in hand.

She's got a knack for cooking that I thought I had...

Life - Readjusting is always fun. My toilet seat is magically up more often than not now. I wonder how that happened. But then other weird things happen too. The trash changes itself, my hot chocolate makes itself, and my toes are always warm at night.

I think I can deal with the toilet seat being up. Takes a whole second to put it down.

My house gets messy REALLY fast, but I don't have to clean it all by myself now. I'm not allowed to go into the trunk of the car, apparently there are unwrapped presents in there. Ooo how badly do I want to go sneak a peak while he's still sleeping. I won't, but I can think about it. I found out when I was little, finding your presents early ruins Christmas. So no peaking for me.

And in case I don't manage another post, Merry Christmas! If you don't celebrate Christmas, happy/merry whatever holiday is next for you. :)

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Tag!

Snagged the tag from Anita Miller's Blog. I tag everyone, because I am awesome at tag.

1) A. What's the last thing you wrote? B. What's the first thing you wrote that you still have?
A. Email to my cousin.
B. Autobiography that I started when I was like 10.


2) Write poetry?
Sometimes. Used to a ton. Now if I do it’s generally to help me flush out the vibe of a story forming in my head.

3) Angsty poetry?
Yep, when I was an angsty teen.

4) Favorite genre of writing?
FOR WRITING: Um. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve found it yet. I’m thinking it’ll end up being paranormal/sci-fi – ish. Not vamps and werewolves, but like psychics and super human crap. Maybe.
FOR READING: Pretty much everything. Classics, horror, romance, fantasy, sci-fi, … if it’s a book, I’m likely to read it.

5) Most annoying character you've ever created?
Minor bad guy who I killed off pretty quick. He thought he was the shit, but really he was the shit’s father. Excuse my language but I can’t think of any other way to phrase that at the moment.

6) Best plot you've ever created?
Don’t know yet. I have a short story one that I really like. Which is on my old laptop and I will eventually remember to transfer it over.

7) Coolest plot twist you've ever created?
OO! The one when the MC’s best friend turned out to be a traitor. Even I didn’t see that one coming. And I’m the writer!

8) How often do you get writer's block?
I don’t get writer’s block per se, I get annoyed and walk away from the computer for a bit.

9) Write fan fiction?
Nope.

10) Do you type or write by hand?
Both. I like to brainstorm on paper, outline paper/computer, main writing normally on computer, but sometimes I write scenes out by hand. Flows differently.

11) Do you save everything you write?
So far…kinda. I’ll trash paper that I’ve typed up. But if it’s not typed up I’ll save it.

12) Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it?
I’ve never abandoned one. I’ve come up with ideas, written a quick blurb so I wouldn’t forget and walked away. I say they are ‘marinating’.

13) What's your favorite thing you've ever written?
My autobiography actually. It’s fun to go back and read how I saw my life when I was younger. It’s so much fun to add to it every couple of years.

14) What's everyone else's favorite story you've written?
Yeah, I’d have to share more stories for them to have a favorite…

15) Ever written romance or angsty teen drama?
Romance, as a subplot yes. Angsty teen drama? No.

16) What's your favorite setting for your characters?
Um. Don’t have one. Each story has its own proper place so far.

17) How many writing projects are you working on right now?
Second novel draft, first novel draft and a couple short stories I REALLY need to finish already.

18) Have you ever won an award for your writing?
Nope.

19) What are your five favorite words?
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Pint

20) What character have you created that is most like yourself?
I’m not sure. I think my first MC is most like myself. But I think all of them carry some traits I have.

21) Where do you get your ideas for your characters?
From the idea fairy. She rocks. Really, no clue where they come from, I’m just grateful I get them.

22) Do you ever write based on your dreams?
Yes. I have some seriously crazy dreams.

23) Do you favor happy endings?
Happy yes, but they can’t be fairy tale happy. That just annoys me in my writing. I do love reading them sometimes.

24) Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write?
Yes. Usually. Normally. Okay sometimes. I try to remember to go back after writing a section to check, but I’m still working on getting my writing routine down.

25) Does music help you write?
Sometimes. When it works, I get to the point where I don’t even hear the music, it just helped me get into that sort of trance-ish state where I’m totally into what I’m writing. Doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s awesome.

26) Quote something you've written. Whatever pops in your head.
Like I can quote my own writing. I should be able to, but I can’t. I’m not great at quoting anything really.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

YAY

LIFE
My husband is home!

Why am I writing this instead of ignoring the world? He's sleeping. It's so weird to walk into my bedroom and see someone sleeping on my bed.

I fell back into my writing-while-he's-sleeping routine really quick. Now if he'd just sleep longer...

Most of my Christmas shopping is done, Christmas cards are at least bought. And sorted. But not addressed, no notes written. I'm glad my husband is home. As much as his handwriting sucks, my wrist can't take writing that much. I'd print labels but the ink for my printer is way too pricey.

Medical note: I may get to have surgery on my wrist! I figured it was coming, I've had problems for so long. Getting some test done to see if I really need surgery at this point or not. I went to see my doctor about my knee and he caught me on my wrist pain. Needed to happen eventually. Did you know carpal tunnel can cause permanent damage if not treated properly? I didn't.

WRITING

No clue if my goal of having the 2nd draft of Ivory done by the end of the year or not is reachable, but I'm going to keep trying.

And I'm getting really excited to dive into the first draft of my next idea...gettin antsy.

FOOD

Making lots of Christmas cookies. I'll take pictures of some of them when I remember. The camera I have runs on AA's and I so ran out. Just bought more today.

Also might be making cupcakes. My husband, who hates cake, believes he likes cupcakes. Do I risk having to eat them all myself if he discovers he really doesn't like them, or just hope he really does like them? Ooo. Or he could bring them to work and give them to the guys. They'd love cupcakes. Sweet.

Off to get more 'work' in before he wakes up.

Laters!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Last Minute Cookie Swap!

Reposting from The Fancy Lady at Cupcakes and Corsets.


I should have thought of this earlier but i figured I'd give it a try now.
Were going to have a cookie swap open to US residents only since the shipping time is limited.
You are to send 6 cookies of your favorite recipe along with the recipe to your partner.
Last day to sign up is the 15th you will get your partners the 16th and have 4 days to send them out so by the 20th.
Just send me an email to thefancyladygourmet@yahoo.com with your address I hope to get at least 5-10 people so don't be afraid to sign up this should be fun!!



You could end up getting an awesomely yummy thing of cookies! And the recipe!

Go on, sign up. You know you want to...

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Yay!

So I get a crap week followed by what should turn out to be an AWESOME week.

For starters, they knocked on my door at 9:01am yesterday to fix my heater. They had to replace some part and I got a shiny new thermostat. Yay warmth!

I can go part-time to the school that's an hour away. So if I don't get into any of the closer ones in time, I'll only be driving up there twice a week rather than all five days. 10 hours a week of just driving did not sound fun. So I'm calm about that.

I say 'so' quite frequently.

My husband should be home rather soon. I can't publicly post details. But soon. YAY! Which also means all writing is likely to stop and I'll fall off the radar for a while. At least that is what normally happens. This time around I'm going to try to not stop writing for quite so long.

My heater is fixed. I was so warm and comfy in bed, I slept in today. :D

I'm motivated to get as much of Ivory done as possible. Still shooting to have the second draft 'done' by New Years. Don't know if that will happen, but I'm going to try.

Anything exciting to look forward to for you in this next week? (I'm looking 7 days ahead even though that isn't a normal 'week' period.)

^_^

Monday, December 7, 2009

This Week Just Sucks - a.k.a. mini-rant

My heater is broken. It needs a new part. I rent an apartment, they are supposed to fix this stuff. The part apparently is very far away and will take 'a few days' to get here. I reported my heater not working Wednesday morning. It's now nearly Tuesday. A few days? They did give me a space heater so I'm not freezing my ass off, but still.

My husband is due home soon. Can't say when obviously, but soon. And my heater is not working. He'll be coming from living in a barely warm tent to an apartment heated with a space heater at this point. Him coming home is a happy time, but also extremely stressful and it's annoying.

My friend nearly got into a nasty car accident this afternoon. She managed to avoid hitting the guy that cut her off and severely messed up her car hitting the curb.

Did I mention my heater isn't fixed yet?

I'm still stressed about what to do for school. That will figure itself out though. I'll either get in to the closer school in time or not. If not, I get to drive an hour for a semester then transfer closer. :D

I also have Reynaud's. (Click here if you don't know what that is.) And yes, my fingers do turn that blue. So the non-working heater is a bit of a MAJOR thing. Tomorrow I get to go bitch at the office. They will fix this tomorrow or there'll be hell to pay.

A week? Seriously?

*breathes*

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Who Hit the Fast-Forward Button?

Time is flying! My last post was Nov. 13th and it's Dec. 2nd. I want to know who has the remote control for my life. I need a pause button badly right now.

Let's see. 10 of 14 second draft chapters of Ivory are done. Sadly, I already want to go back and tweak them some more, but I'm resisting.

I'm all registered for classes for the Spring 2010 semester, and now not sure I want to go to that school... It's a drive, an hour each way. It's a VERY good school. Originally I was going for their Professional Writing major, but then realized that I'd be better off going for something like accounting.

I need to know I'll have a not horribly hard time finding a job. Then my friend Anabelle brought up the fact that I can get an accounting degree anywhere. There are closer schools that are decent, not as good. So I have to decide if it's worth it to drive that far for a degree I can get anywhere.

At least nearly all my Christmas shopping is done. :D

Anyone else want a remote for their life?