Sorry I've been MIA

I had good intentions of joining a couple end of the year read-a-thons but have gotten waylaid by the holidays. I'm trying to finish up some presents for family, and haven't been reading... like, at all.

Well, I guess I can't say that, I read 3 pages the other day ;) But I have been making plans to start in again after the new year. I did get one new book for Christmas from my cousin in California. I had never hear of it but it sounds amazing and right up my ally!

I am planning on taking the Read Harder Challange over at the Book Riot site. For more info follow this link, http://bookriot.com/2015/12/15/2016-book-riot-read-harder-challenge/ My cousin Kris and I plan on doing it together so let me know if you plan on joining in so we can cheer each other on. I also have been thinking about my reading goals and decided I am doing a Series TBR Jar.

I have about 20 complete series on my book shelves that need to be read. So I put them all in a jar and at the beginning of every month, I will pull a slip out and read that series. There are a couple that may take two months to complete since I threw The Mortal Instruments in there. If you don't know the series it is 6 very large books so, it may take me a little longer. I would like to read about 100 books in 2016 so I will also throw in some of my stand alone books. That pretty much covers the reading goals I've made so far. There are other 2016 goals I've set but I think I will save that for another day. I hope you've all had a wonderful and productive December and are looking forward to 2016! Huggs from Minnesota!

Another awesome Lit Cube!

Not sure about the books this month but love the shirt!

And all the other bookish swag.

The lump of coal peppermint soap is a cute idea. The first book is interesting, set in the Christmas Carol world. From what I understand it's a murder mystery.

The second book is actually 2 books in one and are 2 love stories that revolve around a Christmas cabin.

I figured I would give then a try once I'm done with the Lux series and Cramathon TBR. Hope you're having a wonderful December!

Gearing up for #Cramathon 2015!!

Don't know what it is? It's a read-a-thon from the 19th to the 22nd. It's hosted by Whittynovels on you tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEsloLuTEQ4 She has 7 Challenges: 1. read an audiobook or ebook: The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater 2. read a bindup: Lux Opal and Origin bind-up 3. finish a series/read the last book of a series: Opposition 4. read a book under 200 pages: Three Quarters Dead 5. Finish a book you DNF’ed: The Iron Trial 6. Read a graphic novel series (or as many graphic novels as you can): The Infernal Devices trilogy 7. Read 5 books total So here is my TBR

It's an extremely ambitious list to do in 4 days and I honestly don't expect to get them all read but hopefully most of them will be done and I can finish the rest before the new year! I'll be back here and on Twitter (@iluvmy5men) with updates! For now I'm gonna finish Duality by Kellie Sheridan. Huggs to all!

Post NaNoWriMo hangover!

Okay, so a week before the end of Wrimo I stopped writing for this, that, and other reasons. I fell 12,000 words behind and just gave up. UNTIL.... The afternoon of the 29th. My favorite group The Word Nerds were having a live chat with word sprints and I didn't want to miss it even though I wasn't going to win NaNo. I told my husband about it and he asked me the craziest question, "Why can't you catch up?" My response was, "Umm, it's 12K in a little over 24 hours! I can barely do that in a week!" I knew that the man was crazy, I mean he married me right? but this was bat crap lost your mind crazy! Then I started thinking about it, and thinking, and thinking. Why not? Sure, there wasn't going to be much sleeping involved, and my Keurig would be working over time, but why not?!? Can't hurt to try! So I Joined the WordNerds over on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSKHG1eUF7vnL1kieYiVasA and I re-watched some of their other live write-ins, I finally went to sleep at 4 in the morning when I couldn't write a word without misspelling it, and I mean if there were more than 3 letters in it I would spell it wrong! I got 4 hours sleep and went right back to work. I sat in front of my laptop all day and even up to this point I was saying, I don't want to do this!

And maybe because I'm totally stubborn, or just plain spiteful to thoes who doubted me, or the fact that I have an awesome husband and Amazing friends cheering me on but at 11:00 pm on November 30th I finished with 50,113 words!

Thank you all for visiting my Blog, and this story goes to prove, You can do anything you set your mind to! Even if you don't think you can! Huggs from Minnesota!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I haven't updated lately because my life has been nuts! I had a great weekend and did really good word count wise but then I didn't write at all on Monday because my van broke down on the way home. Then I had a doctors appointment and went grocery shopping on Tuesday. Then yesterday it was catching up on all the things I hadn't done in the last 5 days. Then My mom and nephew are coming up on Saturday for our thanksgiving dinner which means today and tomorrow are prep days. I grabbed the wrong gluten free bread at the store so I have to figure out how to make it today so it can dry out in time to make stuffing, I still have to bake pies and finish cleaning the house, and I have come to the realization I am not going to win NaNoWriMo this year, but that is okay. I am a lot further than I ever thought I'd get my first try at NaNo, and next year I am going to kick ass next year because we are not going to have Thanksgiving dinner till December! I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving or Thursday depending on your beliefs and Congrats to all the NaNo Winners!

Total emotional exaustion has set in!

I got up with a raging migraine today, which took a hot shower and 2 rounds of medication to dull to functioning level. Then, drove the 70+ miles to my best friends house, hitting every red light along the way. Got here just in time to pass her on her way to work. Sat down and wrote 3948 words! I find it totally amazing, if you have children back me up here, how much you can get done without them interrupting every 5-10 minutes. I honestly didn't realize it till now. I had my boys pretty close together, as in 4 boys in 5 years 1 month, so I haven't had a lot of quiet time lol. But that is not why I am emotionally exhausted. Today I wrote the goodbye scene and it has ripped my heart in two. I sit here trying to write through my tears. Did I know this was coming? Yes! Does that prepare my heart for this trauma? No! So, for tonight that is all I have... Let me know in the comments if you've ever written a scene that was filled with strong emotions. And until next time, Huggs from Minnesota!

32,348 and I'm done for the night.

Just a little more than the 31,667 for day 19 but not as far as I would have liked to be. I am leaving tomorrow to go to my best friends, so we will see how that goes. For tonight I need a shower and a good nights sleep. Huggs from Minnesota and update you tomorrow!

I broke 30 thousand and had an Holy Crap moment today!

First, I've been doing late nights which is why I haven't updated in a few days. Just not enough hours in the day for everything and my writing brain has decided not to turn on till about 7:30 at night... which kinda pisses me off lol. But even with that I have been hanging in there. Hopefully I keep up the momentum through this weekend when I'm spending the weekend with my best friend. Anyway, tonight while I was writing, I was in the zone so to speak. Actually my family had not interrupted me for a half hour, so I was on a roll. All of a sudden the story took off on it's own and without going into too much detail, one of my subplots took a twist. A holy crap I didn't see that coming twist! Now it you're not a writer you may ask exactly what my husband did, "You're writing it, how did you not see it coming?" But if you're a writer... you understand! When you are writing as a kind of Plotter and a kind of Pantser you know some of the story but not all. Something your characters will hijack your story and take it in directions even you can't predict, and when they do, it's basically and bluntly a "Where the hell did that come from" moment. It's one of my favorite things I have discovered as a newbie novel writer and it's made me fall in love with writing even more. So for tonight I will wish all my NaNoers Happy Plot Twists!

HALF WAY BABY!!!!

That's right 25,333 to be exact! Half way feels pretty good :D I have had some times where I didn't like my story, and times were I was bored with it, but things are picking up and I can't wait to see where the second half takes me. I hope you're all hanging in there with me!

23,547 New Total for Today

The goal was 23,333 for day 14 and I got a little extra. So I'm done for the night. It's almost 7 pm and it's a Saturday evening so it's time for some fun! I hope all of you NaNoWriMo writers had a wonderful word count day as well!

Busy day so quick update!

Went to town and didn't get home and settled into writing until 7:00. I did finally finish my word goal for the day and now I need to get ready for bed. My prayers tonight go out to all of the people in Paris and all over France!

I broke 20K!!!

It's crazy to think that in 12 days I wrote 20 thousand words but I did :D Today it was easier to get my word goal because except for my amazing mom stopping in for a visit, I had all day to write. Now the big question is do I write more of do I treat myself to some audio book time??? Hmmm... Ya, I believe 20 K deserves a break! Also, one of my favorite authors does a "What's on my desk" picture on Facebook and I always thought it was neat. So, in honor of Kami Garcia, here's mine!

It's actually a desk I can set on my bed. My husband made it and I totally love it! Someday I will have a motor home set up out back as my writing retreat, but this works for now. Okay well it's time to put in my headphones and relax! Blessings to everyone!

Brief update:

11:53 pm and I MADE IT!!! I didn't wanna but I did anyway! Made my word count goal for the day and now it's time for bed, Yay! Happiness to all!

I don't wanna, I don't wanna, I don't wanna!

I suppose this is a normal point in NaNoWriMo. I sit here at my computer and write 10 words, then I check Facebook. I write 10 more words, and I check Youtube, I write 20 words and check my phone. I write a little more and someone calls. I write a few more, sit back and just stare down my computer. Nothing exciting is really happening in the story and I don't know how to more it where it needs to go. I have a little over 500 words and I just don't wanna write any more! I have been battling a headache on and off all day and I just don't wanna write. So, I'm going to give myself just enough time to make a cup of coffee in my brand new amazing cup that Janet sent me, and then

I'm going to get back to work, even if it is just 10-20 words at a time. See you on the flip side!

Feeling lazy and the most beautiful book about writing!

So today I have done nothing... Well, nothing writing related. I spent the morning getting ready for my meeting, I wrote a letter (by hand, I know, how old fashion can you get!) and I started listening to The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater on audio book. If you haven't heard about it I subscribe to an audio book/e-book site called "Scribd" I get to listen to 1 audio book per month and read all their E-Books for less than 10 dollars a month! And they have an AMAZING selection!!! If you're interested you can go to https://www.scribd.com/g/4xomnm and check it out. I have the app on my phone and tablet plus I can access it on my laptop and it auto sync's to where I left off. It's awesome! Anyway, I figured I would probably feel this way, since town always wears me out, so I did today's 1667 words yesterday *such a smart cookie* lol. Oh, and I also got the most beautiful writing book I have ever seen in the mail today!! It's called Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer

Now, I've just briefly flipped through it but look...

All the pages are this awesome!!!!! Okay, I may or may not have had a Ho Ho Mint Double Shot Mocha in town :D So now the hard part is deciding if I try and get ahead on my word count for tomorrow or read/listed to one of these amazing books! I hate these decisions! Whatever you're doing tonight I hope it makes you happy!

7:30 pm on Day 9 of NaNoWriMo and I'm ahead!!!

Yes, I'm super excited! I'm almost done with my word goal for tomorrow :D Time to do the happy dance!!! My exact number total is 16,059, so only 610 words to go and I'm at a really exciting part because Super hot boy confesses his love to Cyn, and she loves him too! Which means they have to decide how to handle everything that goes along with loving someone who is going to die... I'm as excited to find out what ends up happening too! I only know how this story ends, I'm as clueless as you are to how we are all going to get there! Thanks for stopping in! Happy Reading, Happy Writing, and I'll be back tomorrow!

Sneak peak of the working title and cover

Yay for catching up!!!

It took two days and a LOT of work but I'm finally caught up!

I think I will reward myself with going to bed! Or maybe a bit of reading lol. I know, the exciting life of a writer. Not that I'm not excited to write the next scene, but writing is simply exhausting... and this coming from the mother of four sons! I'm hoping to hit it hard tomorrow so that I don't fall behind on Tuesday when I have to take a break for afternoon meetings. But for tonight, Happy Reading and Happy Writing!

What a long day!

I started the day 5000 words behind, it seems impossible to catch us but I set my goal as the end of chapter 6. I knew that that would put me in reach of the 13,333 total I need to get back on track. I even decided that I wouldn't do my nails until I knew I was going to make that goal. I know, it may be lame to you but I got my nail wraps from Jamberry and in that order is the perfect nail wraps for NaNoWriMo. With all the boys home I've had plenty distractions and phone calls because we all know that no one wants to talk to you until you're busy. It is not 12:28 am and I can happily say that I am now only a little over 1000 words behind and my nails look amazing!

Chapter 6 ended with cake and the promise of a date ;) Happy Reading, Happy Writing, and Good Night!

Okay, not as much as I was hopeing for, but...

It wasn't to bad because I'm not any further behind than I was starting off the day. I'm up to 6667 words total which is one less than my goal for yesterday which means I need 3335 tomorrow to be caught up... totally do-able! Decided to amp up the drama by giving my main character an alien disease! I don't know, I was writing and before I knew it she was on the ground. That's the beauty and flexibility of being an "Astronaut" instead of a full on plotter. I've also found that writing about aliens and a world made up by me, there is no one to question the validity of her illness ;)For now I'm off to bed, got a busy day planned with trying to get caught up and also go to town for blaze orange clothing lol. Oh, almost forgot. My shirt came in the mail today!

Yay me!!! Anyway, Happy reading, Happy writing, and have a great day!

No Words...

Not one yesterday. The thunder (thunder in November!) woke me up before my normal 10:00 so this morning it's cold pizza and Supernatural. Then get down to some hard core writing. I did get a little more plotted out before my appointment though so I guess that could be writing... kinda. Anyway, I'm hoping to be back for an update later. Until then Happy reading and Many words!