Word verification

I'm sorry I had to turn on word verification for comments, but I kept getting all this stupid spam. Since I did it, I haven't gotten any spam at all, so thankfully it works! But I am sorry for all the trouble it causes actual people who are trying to leave comments. Please continue commenting, I love to hear from you!

Just had to post this

I kept seeing these cool signature pictures at The Official NaNoWriMo Site and just had to make one. So I made this.

My friend Chris says my working title sounds like a porn book or movie, but I don't care (Hi Chris! I love you!) I think this name fits the tone of the story. And there's going to be a part at the end that makes that particular phrase very meaningful. (or at least, I hope it's meaningful!) The outline is going very well and I've done a detailed synopsis and a timeline that goes from before the book starts to after it's over. I've got a few pages of back story done and some pretty detailed character sketches. Yeah, I was a Girl Scout, always be prepared! So I think I'm ready for November to start. By the end of the month, I hope to have a finished novel. My very first finished novel! But back to the picture, it's made from a rose pic I took about a year ago, using some really fun features of Paint Shop Pro. (I love that program so much!)

In other news, I'll be working hard on some video editing in the next few weeks for my church's Christmas program. I love video editing, so I'm looking forward to working on that. There's a lot going on, but that's the way I like it!

Shots (Not) Fired

Okay, if anyone saw the news last night that said there were shots fired at my place of employment, it was not true. The news was mistaken. There were no shots fired at the place where I work, nor have there ever been shots fired here, nor will there ever be. (hopefully)

I actually work at a very safe place. The shots were fired at the old location of my organization, a place I've never even been because we moved three years before I started working here. Everyone has been calling here today because they caught the incorrect part of the report but not the part where they corrected themselves. So it's been kind of interesting today.

You know, it's scary to me how much trust people place in the media. People at my church were afraid for my safety because they saw something on the news. We are supposed to be able to trust the news, but sometimes it fails us. So today's lesson is: don't believe everything you hear, even if it's on your evening news.

"Anita needs"

I saw this on someone's blog today and had to do it for myself. What you do is go to google and type in "(your name) needs." For example, I typed in "Anita needs" and then list the top 10 results. If two of the top ten are the same, go to the next unique one. Make sure you use the quotes or it won't work correctly. Try it, it's fun!

Here are my results:

Anita needs me - obviously someone is obsessed with me, lol

Anita needs team members - what kind of team, I wonder?

Anita needs more than a slap - hey, wait a minute! what have I done to deserve this? It appears that there is a naughy soap opera character named Anita that some fans want to torture and kill. Glad it's not me!

Anita needs help - don't we all?

Anita needs to know more about vampires - Everything I know about Vampires, I learned from Joss Whedon.

Anita needs to sort out her priorities - actually, I think my priorities are pretty good, except that I'm doing this at work instead of working. (In my defense, I am on lunch break!)

Anita needs to be rescued from the oppressive hand of the brothel keepers in Bombay - Huh??!

Anita needs to put all her addresses within this spreadsheet under each of these headings - ugh, I feel sorry for this Anita. I absolutely hate spreadsheets.

Anita needs a huge portion of diplomacy and persuasiveness to get everyone out unharmed - or we could just let everyone die, right?

Anita needs to go rescue a couple of wereleopards (and you thought there were only werewolves, right?) - hmm.... well, it is almost Halloween, I guess stranger things have happened...

I wonder if there's a way to make a story out of these. I think that's something I'll work on after NaNoWriMo this year. I'm particularly fond of the brothel keepers one and the wereleopards one. I'm pretty sure these are taking about fictional Anitas and not real-life ones. At least, I hope it's fiction...

Ouch

So I started my workout program again today and... OUCH! I was doing so well before the stupid hurricane and then work sort of took over my life. For the past few months I haven't wanted to do anything but crash when I get home, but I have really needed to get back into the exercise routine. It's funny how a couple of months away from something can feel like a year, especially exercise! My X-Box exercise program told me to do the flexibility workout, which means lots of yoga. You would think a pose called "plank" would be just sort of lying on the floor like a plank of wood. Guess what... it's not like that at all! You know the "up" part of a push up? That's plank pose. And you're supposed to hold it for 25 seconds, which, let's be honest, feels like half an hour when you're as out of shape as I am!

So now I'm in pain when I move, and when I'm not moving... and when I'm lying down. But I know it gets better if you just keep doing it, so I'm going to get back into the routine of working out every day. I'm considering getting up early every morning to do it, maybe start my day off doing something energetic so that I don't have to fight the urge to nod off during my morning commute. That's a little scary, trust me!

I'm sure there's something I'm forgetting to say, but The Daily Show is almost on and I need to concentrate on the adorableness that is Jon Stewart! I hope he has a good guest tonight. I loved Viggo Mortenson on the show a couple of weeks ago. It was great!

My insane ramblings...

Nothing really important to report. I was off work on Friday, which was nice. I spent the day wandering around the beautiful virtual world of Myst III: Exile on my X-Box. I actually solved the first two ages and am now stuck on the third. It was a very relaxing day. Friday evening Rhea and I went to see Stay, a movie starring Ewan McGregor and Ryan Gosling. I will most likely post a review of it on my Casual Critic blog, but not yet. I'm still working out what it meant, if anything. I will say that it was interesting and fun to try and figure out. Plus, it was scary in a way, and I've been in the mood for scary movies lately.

Actually, I'm still in the mood for scary movies. I always am this time of year. Last year, the weekend of Halloween, I watched scary movies pretty much nonstop, because several of the cable channels were broadcasting scary movie marathons. I watched several that I hadn't seen before, which was cool. Maybe they will do it again this year. Or maybe Rhea and I can have another scary movie marathon like we did last year. That was fun. She says she wants to go somewhere this year where she can dress up. I don't have any idea where that might be, but I'm looking into it. I have no idea what kind of costume I would wear, but it will be fun to figure out if I can find a place to go. None of our friends are having parties, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to find something.

It's funny, today I was telling my mom that I'm in the mood for Christmas already. I guess because this summer was so bad with the hurricanes and everything that I just want the holidays to come. It's always so much fun to decorate and buy gifts for everyone. I really want to go caroling this year. So yeah, I'm completely insane for thinking about Christmas in October. I guess because I was cleaning out my closet the other day and found my little fiber optic Christmas tree that I bought for my office when I worked at Thomas Hospital. This year I'll probably take it to my office at the food bank. I guess I'll have to wait until Dec. 1 to do that. :)

In other news, I got my car title in the mail this week. My car is officially mine, after five years of paying for it! yay! Hopefully it'll last awhile, since absolutely can't afford a new car at this time.

And can you believe it? Tropical Storm Alpha? What in the world???? We are in no danger from this storm, but it still amazes me that we have gone through the entire list. I can't recall that ever happening, at least not in my lifetime. Very strange times.

That's pretty much all I can think of that's going on right now. For anyone who is interested, my family is doing great. My nephew Kohl (2 years old) just had surgery, but he's doing fine. Gina's other two kids, Hannah and Noah are also doing great. Hannah (3 years old) wants to be a ballet dancer and Noah is reading at a 7th grade level (he's 9 years old, by the way) so they're both amazing kids. My parents are also doing fine. Dad's gearing up for a busy Christmas season, his handcrafted ornaments are more in demand than ever. I'm thinking of getting him to do a few for my coworkers, just as a nice little Christmas gift. So now I've arrived back at Christmas. That's strange. I guess that means it's time to go. I'll do more later.

More news on NaNoWriMo

I'm working on an outline. It's not going well. I may have to forget about the whole thing and do something else. At least I have about 5 or 6 different ideas, so I can do one of them. I think I'm still too close to the whole hurricane thing to do it now. That particular idea may have to wait awhile.

Stars

This song by Switchfoot totally describes how I'm feeling now.

Maybe I've been the problem
Maybe I'm the one to blame
But even when I turn it off and blame myself
The outcome feels the same
I've been thinking maybe I've been partly cloudy
Maybe I'm the chance of rain
And maybe I'm overcast
And maybe all my luck's washed down the drain
I've been thinking 'bout everyone,
Everyone you look so lonely
But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself

Stars looking at a planet
Watching entropy and pain
And maybe to start to wonder
How the chaos in our lives could pass as sane
I've been thinking 'bout the meaning of resistance
Of a hope beyond my own
And suddenly the infinite and penitent
Begin to look like home
I've been thinking about everyone
Everyone you look so empty
But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself.
Yeah!
Everyone, Everyone feels so lonely
Everyone, yeah everyone feels so empty
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I feel like myself
When I look at the stars
The stars, I see someone...

Reflections

I love this picture. The building is currently a library in a small town, but it originated as a church. The American flag reflected in the window is actually flying from a pole on the front lawn. In a time of great trial, I think it's good to reflect on what our country really means, what makes it great, and what we can do to make it better. I think that's why I love this picture, because it reminds me to reflect on the good things. Our flag is beautiful and so is our country. In the past month, I've seen that beauty in the people who have volunteered to help storm victims in Mississippi, and the people who have given their money to organizations who are trying to help. I've seen beauty in the way we take care of each other, and it makes me proud.

Decisions.. decisions...

Well, I'm pretty sure I made the decision about which novel idea to use for NaNoWriMo. I think I'm going to go with the second Love Inspired book. I hate to fall back on the easiest option, but those books pretty much all follow a certain formula and I think I can do the whole thing in 30 days without too much trouble, due to previously mentioned formula.

It'll be interesting, though. I think I'm going to set it in a disaster zone, after a hurricane perhaps. Since that's been on my mind lately, with Hurricane Katrina. I'm thinking a female relief worker and a man who has lost his house. Maybe even his family. Maybe his wife drowned in the storm and he's angry with God for allowing it to happen, and she can help him back to his faith. Or something like that.

Anyway, at least I made a decision, which is something I don't do often. Now I just have to write the thing. Easier said than done, I'm afraid!

Oops!

Okay, so I didn't manage to come back later. Yesterday was crazy. Unfortunately, I've started the usual cool weather cycle. My sinuses are driving me insane. They drain and then I get a sore throat, which eventually leads to congestion and coughing. (I know you wanted to know all that)

So anyway, I didn't manage to do any work on my novel planning, but that's okay. I have the rest of October to do that. Only problem is, I can see that November is going to be looming before me in no time at all, and I will have done NO preliminary work. So tonight I'm going to sit down and start planning.

Here are my options:

Second book in Deadlines Series
Second Love Inspired book
Children's book involving a brother and sister who discover a fantasy world
Coming of Age story
psychological thriller with such a complicated premise that I can't describe it here :)
First book in Preacher's Kids Series

Anyone care to weigh in? I'll happily take suggestions at this point. I'm only starting to panic a little, I promise!

The Naming of Characters

So I thougt I would blog the progress of my NaNoWriMo venture, just to have a record of the insanity. Before November starts, I can do any preliminary work I need to do on the novel, I just can't actually write a word of it. So I'm going to start today, working on preliminary things, such as deciding which idea to use, sketching a rough outline, and naming the characters. I always have the hardest time naming characters. It's actually the hardest part of the process for me.

In other news, my littlest nephew, Kohl, just turned 2 this week and we are having a birthday party for him today. I'll post pictures of it when I can.

Oh, and I took my parents to see Serenity last night. They loved it. Move over, Corpse Bride, Wallace and Grommitt, Flight Plan and all other movies that have been coming out. The toughest critics in the world (my parents) liked Serenity! My dad said it was just as good as the original Star Wars trilogy. How about that? He's a huge fan of the trilogy, so that's a big compliment.

Anyway, I've got to go clean up a bit before the party. I'll be back later with (hopefully) my decisions about NaNoWriMo. It's going to be fun, no matter what I choose to do. I love novel writing month!