So, even though it's just 11:00 p.m. at my house, the NaNoWriMo count just closed shop on me. But, it's not like I was going to crank out 14,000 words in the next hour anyway. ^_^ So, I guess my official word count came to 36,845. (And yes, I was typing right up to about 10:57 when I went to enter my latest count, and was planning to keep typing away until 11:55.) I make no excuses for the fail: I just couldn't get it going. I think I picked too ambitious a plot to try to plunge in with no prep work. I still really like the story and do plan to finish it, but NOW I can turn my attention back to previous/current projects.

( So, madmiko, what are you going to do now that you've failed at NaNo? )

I posted my first chapter of my first fanfic, "Hentai Bets," at MediaMiner on November 9, 2006.  I thought this would be a good time to take stock of where I am now. 

( Boring stats under cut ... )

I am officially the worst fantasy football manager in history.  However, in spite of the fact that I had my 3 top-scoring players riding the bench, I managed to win my match-up this week!  And that is in spite of the fact that Kurt Warner forgot what color jerseys his receivers were wearing.  So, I have moved up into 4th place! 

Let's talk GOOD football.  Cover your ears if you can't stand to hear a mother brag about her kid.  ( shameless bragging under cut )

Now for the NaNo update.  I am pleased to report I am writing!  I have about 7,000 words to my credit since November 1st.  BUT ... only about 1,500 of them are for NaNo.  LOL!  As foolish as it is, I am continuing to work on a couple of other chapters right now.  I know I need to focus on the one story, but until I can get these out of my head, I don't think I can.  So, there will probably be some pretty pathetic numbers for me at NaNo for this first week, but I am still thinking I can nail it this year.  Optimism:  I haz it!  I wish all my friends and NaNo buddies who are participating--either officially or unofficially--Good Luck!  (I've already had one buddy pass the goal line!)  Go!  Go!  Write!  Write!  Yay, Team!

Did I mention I love football?  ^_^  My son's football season is already over, which makes me very sad.  His team had a lackluster record of 4-4, but his personal stats were great--at every position.  Basically, after the first couple of games, the coach started putting him in wherever they needed someone hit.  He played middle linebacker, fullback, corner, wingback,and tight end.  (Heck, they even had him practicing at QB.  LOL!)  There were very few downs he wasn't in on both offense and defense.  I know this may sound very unmotherly of me, but I have to confess that when he got pulled out of the last game because he was bleeding and the other parents were yelling at the trainer to "Patch that boy up and send him back in there!" I was one of them.  ^_^  I'm looking forward to the Football Banquet coming up in a couple of weeks.

As for my fantasy football season, I am pleased to announce I have mastered the art of choosing exactly which players are going to have outstanding games.  They are inevitably the ones I bench.  *sigh*  I led the league for the first 4 weeks and now have dropped into an ignominious 5th place, with very little hope for climbing back up in the rankings. 

However, have you seen my Saints?  Yeeha!  I can't tell you how great it feels to finally see them kicking some booty!  If only Archie Manning had a team like this one around him ...

Just thought I'd publicly commit myself to participating in NaNoWriMo again this year.  Last year, I failed abysmally.  But I'm no quitter.  ^_^

I am delighted to pimp out the fabulous deal vicas-fawx is offering:

"One sketch, any character, person, or creature you like, $10. There are 30 slots open to begin with, and each person who buys a sketch has their name entered to win either a full-color, poster-size image of whatever they like, or any two prints from my gallery, printed on poster-size matte paper and sent to you directly! The more sketches you buy, the better your chance of winning the Big Prize!"

She is an awesome artist and this is a great opportunity to get some quality fanart.  The holidays are right around the corner, you know, so why not give Inuyasha or Sesshoumaru to your favorite fanfiction author?  Or Miroku!  Or Jakotsu!  Or even *gasp!* Kagome or Kikyou or SessMom!  (A sketch could make a really sweet prize for a contest!)

Check out the full details and samples of her work at her DA account:  http://vicas-fawx.deviantart.com/

(And yes, I am gifting myself with Hiei/Kagome fanart.  ^_~)
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( football! )

Since some of my f-listers have shared some awesome reviews they have received recently which inspired them, I can't resist sharing this:  someone made an AMV for BWM!  It completely blew me away and now I am so pumped that I am desperate to shoo everyone out of my house so I can WRITE!  Of course, that isn't going to happen, so I expect I will be up all night after everyone goes to sleep.

( A few tiny A/Ns and the video link )

It appears I managed to wait until the very last minute, or beyond, to send in some recommendations to the IYFG. 

 

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  It rained most of the day here, but it had cleared up by the time we got out of church, so we carried out our plans for a huge cookout and fireworks at the in-laws' place.  After we got home, I sat in the swing out front for a while and watched more fireworks as I enjoyed the lovely cool breeze.  It was beautiful out.  I can't remember such a cool 4th of July since the 1st summer I worked in Yellowstone and it snowed.  ^_^  Now, I need to start packing.  Ugh.

When I was a kid, we would get up and go to church on Fathers' Day.  Quite often, we would go to a park for a picnic lunch where Dad and I would throw a baseball around.  (I'm an only child, btw.)  Then, Dad would get to relax and read or watch tv while Mom fixed a big, special dinner.  There would be a cake.  I would give him a card and maybe a shirt Mom had picked out and paid for.  Happy Fathers' Day!

( Fathers' Day today ... )


I just had to do the Book Meme I saw floating around and I hope the rest of the people on my f-list will do it also.  It's so interesting to see which books have stayed with/influenced/are revered by everyone.

( Book Meme )

I'd like to wish everyone it applies to a very Happy Mother's Day--whether you're a new Mom, an old Mom, a "broken-in" Mom, a Grand-mom, a step-Mom, or "everybody's Mom."  You're the care-takers, the encouragers, the supporters, the teachers, and the givers.  I salute you all!

I had a wonderful day today!

( My day  )

And, in other "news," I need to be gagged to sit in church these days.

( Irreverent again )

I was so intrigued by some of the personal recommendations revealed, along with confessions of what has been the most difficult for some of my f-listers, that I had to do this one myself.  Besides, FF has all those great stats so nicely compiled, why not put them to use?

 

( Read more... )

 

 

It's celebration time at my house--I just got back my latest lab results and my HGB is all the way up to 13.8!  NORMAL!  Yes! 

I realize that may not mean much to most people, but when I hit the double digits 6 months ago, I thought that was probably as high as I'd ever go, and I was content with that.  I've spent the last 10 years with blood levels that baffled many a doctor and got me sent to a few oncologists.  However, all tests revealed no cancer--just a strange case of chronic anemia.  Just 2 years ago, my HGB was 7.9, and my newest doc asked how I managed to walk into her office since the only other time she saw a patient with a level like that  was in the ER after a car wreck, and they gave her 2 units of blood on the spot.

My mother, my aunts, my mother-in-law, and numerous well-meaning friends have hounded me for years to push for hopsitalization and/or some kind of surgery.  Who the heck has time for that?  So, I am feeling a bit cheeky and smug today that my slow, but steady course of meds has paid off.  The bourbon chocolates are on me, everyone!  ^_^

AKA I may have to find a new church to attend.  LOL!  Ever have one of those moments when all other sound just suddenly stops right as you are making an "aside" to someone and more people hear you than you intended?  So, the pastor is hitting us hard with the Sermon on the Mount--in particular, the importance of not being judgmental.  He brings it on home with "If I were to ask your husband or wife if you constantly criticize them, would they say that you nagged at them all the time?  Made them feel bad or like they can never do enough to please you?"  I lean over to Mason and whisper, "Not if he knows what's good for him" right as all other sound is sucked out of the room.  Apparently, my  whispering skills need some work.  When the pastor looks at our section of pews, puzzled by the laughter, my father-in-law repeats for all to hear, "She said not if he knows what's good for him" while pointing at me.

I had visions of the pastor glaring at me disapprovingly as I write on a blackboard, "I will not talk when the minister is preaching" 500 times.

The sweet, sweet feel of victory.  I am still riding high on my cloud of smugness this morning.  Yesterday, I finally ran my prey to ground at the Parent-Teacher Conferences.  Long story is long.

( Parent versus Teacher )

Oh, man!  I am so excited!  Windell Middlebrooks is on The Tonight Show tonight!  It's on now!  You should watch it!

* I can't believe that less than 24 hours after I mentioned him in my journal here, he turns up on TV with Jay Leno.  ^_^  Go, Windell!

I've been meaning to put up a new journal entry here for quite some time, but just really didn't have anything I wanted to say. Out loud. In public. That anyone would be interested in. That wouldn't get me lynched. That wouldn't sound like I was just rambling pathetically. So, when I saw a few of my f-listers doing this random facts meme, I thought I may as well join in. (I think this is the first meme I've done here.)

( Bored enough to look? )( Bored enough to look? )

*I have no clue why my lj cut duplicated itself.

Well, my NaNoWriMo attempt was somewhat less than a spectacular success--in fact, it was an abysmal failure. ( Read more... )

NaNoWriMo. Well, I suppose it's time to get off the fence. I've been dragging my feet about committing all month. But, I suppose I'm not satisfied with living my life at 100 mph, squeezing 25 hours of busyness into every 24, and pushing the envelope with my borderline high blood pressure.

( Read more... )

I was concerned about Hurricane Ike because my brother and sister-in-law and my nieces and nephew live in Houston. They made it through safely, thank goodness!, though they are still without power. Now, in MY part of the country, they had predicted we would get about 4-5 days worth of nasty rains as a result of the hurricane. Well, we didn't get any rain. What we got were 75 mile-an-hour WINDS. Check out the picture of the uprooted tree below! This is down our street.

http://s428.photobucket.com/albums/qq10/plushiemaster/?action=view&current=treeDSC04747.jpg

( Read more... )

Well, thankfully, my brother and sister-in-law and our nieces and nephew made it through Hurricane Ike safely!  I was really worried when they didn't evacuate.  They are without electricity, and now have a tree in their garage, but they have plenty of water and are warm and safe. 

My mother-in-law was really frantic until we heard from them this evening.  But my Mom and Dad came down for the weekend and they really helped us keep her mind off things.  And my garage has never looked better.  My Mom's solution to everything is to get into something and CLEAN.

I hope everyone else who either lives in Texas or has family there has had good news today!