Still plugging away

Hey everybody!

Just a quick note to let you know that yes, I am still alive. 

Still alive, and busier than ever!  I started a new job last month, which is why I (sadly) had to ignore all the great comments on the A to Z challenge.  But one day I'll make the rounds and see the other great stuff you guys did and are continuing to do.

I'm hoping that in the next couple of months to have some giveaways and promotions for some of my short stories, which I'm planning on self-publishing as ebooks.

But that's if I find the time and find some people willing to be beta readers, and give me constructive criticism on cover art, etc.

*If anyone's interested, feel free to let me know.*

Hope all of you guys are enjoying the transition from spring to summer as much as I am!

Plug day!

So in between my grief group and a doctor's appointment, I haven't gotten a whole lot of time to write today.  After dinner (which my dear husband is cooking for me as we speak) I plan on getting down to business on A Window to the Gift.

Just a short post today with updates and plugs for upcoming events.

• As of posting this, I have 3880 words in my manuscript.  That's a record for the most I've ever written in one day.  I doubt I can keep that pace up, but I'm still pretty stoked about it.  Feel free to buddy me if you're taking part in NaNo.

• The Small Packages blogfest posting day is just two weeks away!  Put your thinking caps on for this month's theme: 
• In honor of Thanksgiving, and the beginning of a long line of colonists screwing over Native Americans, post about a time that you took advantage of someone. Or if you don't want to be that revealing about your darker side, write about a time that someone took advantage of you.

• The husband has a great contest going on his blog.  Show off your Inappropriate sense of humor and maybe win a free T-shirt!  Check out his ever growing Cafe Press shop, too!

• Make sure to check back tomorrow for the latest installment of Taking Liberty, my 3WW inspired serial story.

•  Prepare yourself for support-less support at Blogging Blobs, a new cooperative blog I'm a part of.

• Check out my album review of  KJ Denheart's Album No 9 at Frequency Magazine.

Just a quick note

If you've been wondering where I've been (or not) I thought I'd give you a quick update on some randomness.

I've been on a temp assignment this week, and I've learned a couple of things:

• The best temp assignments are the ones where you're left alone to do your thing
• I really don't want to make friends with people on assignment
• Audiobooks make brainless activities go by 1000x faster
• My work ethic may work me out of a job (I do tasks much faster than the people think, it always makes me nervous that they'll just tell me to go home early)

I've also been able to cross of  several things on my 101 in 1001 list this month:

• On vacation, have at least three pictures taken with me in them: I was able to get lots of pictures in Costa Rica. Even though I wasn't looking my best in every picture, I have proof I was there, and I faced my fear (or whatever you want to call it) about getting my picture taken at my current weight.
• Beat the husband at a game of pool: During the same vacation, I was able to beat the husband.  I guess I put it on here because I had never beaten him, he had just always beaten himself (as it goes with every game I've played).  Even though I'm awful at it, I have a lot of fun playing pool.
• Unload the dishwasher as soon as it's done every time for a week: I'm kindof cheating on this one.  I've just finally given up on my dishwasher.  The reason this was on my list is because if you leave dishes in there for long at all, they get a really gross musty smell, and you have to wash them all over again.  By bypassing the dishwasher and just washing them by hand, I avoid the issue. 
• Find a good local bowling alley: We went with some friends this last Saturday.  It was actually really nice, a decent price, and is open 24/7.  But we went at peak hours, so we both had to get shoes that were a little too big and bowling balls that weren't quite the right fit.  The Husband got the short end of the stick, though, and got stuck with size 16 shoes.

Doesn't he look thrilled about his clown shoes?

 I also have three new articles up on Associated Content:

Saving Money by Making Your Own Wedding Invitations

Learning to Crochet with Easy Patterns

Three Unique Spins on Pride and Prejudice

I also posted an amazing recipe on my other blog, made even more awesome by a substitution I made the other day.

I'd be posting more often this week, but I've been getting up at 5:30 to get in to work, so it's kindof been killing my soul a little each morning.  Wish me luck!

Preparing for Monday

So I'm gearing up for Monday which is:

• The start of 50k in 50 days.
• The screening day for substitute teaching.
• My 7th anniversary (what is that, the tin foil year?)

It's a big day all the way around.

I'm a bit nervous about the 50k challenge.  I know that it's just 1,000 words per day, without editing or even really reading what you've written.  The whole point is to get words down on paper (or computer screen).  I guess I'm just worried on if anything will come out at all! 

After a lot of thought, I still haven't made up my mind about continuing teaching.  There's a big part of me that hates the idea that I've wasted all those years of college (and student loan money).  But there's an even bigger part that says "Please, don't make me go back!"  So to make a little extra money and test out to see if I really miss the classroom, I've applied to be a substitute teacher.  I can work just a handful of days a month and add a good bit to paying the bills (and fun money).

And then most important of all, I've survived seven years with this man:

He really isn't that bad, just really hates taking pictures.  Prepare yourself on Monday to be inundated with all sorts of nostalgic mushy-ness.  All joking aside, he's my rock and the reason I'm still sane.



On a side note:
I've crossed off two items on my 101 in 1001 list.  I've officially finished the outline for my Lilith novel.  I'm really excited, and I think it will be even better than I had hoped.  And I ordered the first issue from the Wonder Woman reboot.  If you read my rant about WW, then you can't be surprised with my choice there.

I'm also about 90% done with a short story that I'm going to submit for publication.  I'd like to get some feedback, so if you're interested in giving it a once over and helping me catch typos, etc, let me know in the comments below.