Update!!

I feel exactly like the man in this picture. This has been one crazy, hectic, and time consuming semester! I don't think I've ever been more excited for a break than I am right now!! I have so much (not really) to fill y'all in on since I last posted on here.

The last time I posted on here, I was stressing out about being behind with my novel for NaNoWriMo. Well, I am pleased to announce that I successfully completed my novel; I was able to make it to 50,156 words. I would have rathered a much higher word count, but I'd say I did pretty darn good if you factor in that this was my first year doing NaNoWriMo and everything else going on in my life. I've been waiting for the end of the semester to pick my book back up. Now since the semester is ending and the fact that my novel has had a good time to collect dust, I'll be picking it back up to edit and add/take out some scenes.

 

Last, but not least, let's not forget about the innocent people whose lives were taken from them way too soon. It still baffles me as to why someone would want to shoot babies and innocent adults. I just feel like they had so much good they could've done in this world, and they were robbed of their chances to make a difference! Please, continue to pray for these innocent people and their families. This should be a wake up call for the entire world...for everyone who is always complaining about any and everything, be grateful that you're still here today; you could be in worse shape...what if one of your family members was lost in that shooting? What if you didn't have a roof over your head or food to eat? Sometimes I think people take everything they have for granted. Although I don't have any children, I really feel for these parents and for the families that lost the adults as well. School is supposed to be a place where we can feel safe, but that's not the case anymore and it just sucks! While everyone is running around, screaming about the world coming to an end on December 21st, they need to wake up. If you ask me, the world ended when these innocent people were killed. Tell your loved ones how you feel today...don't let another minute pass by!



NaNoWriMo Update

It's Day 14 of NaNoWriMo and I'm only a little over 14,000 words into my novel! I thought I'd be a lot further than where I'm actually at, but with finals coming up, it's getting hard to balance. I'm really hoping that I can make it to my 50,000 word count, because it'd be a huge accomplishment for me, but if I don't make it to 50,000 words, I'll know that I tried my best! I'm not giving up hope yet, though; there's still some time left to finish! There are many days I stare at my story and think, "Is this flowing smoothly?", but then I quickly remind myself that it's about the writing right now; I'll have more than enough time to edit my story during my Christmas break. This has been an amazing journey so far, and I'm very grateful that I'm able to experience it. Below are some of the things/people that have been helping me stay sane throughout this experience!

The man behind the novel, my father; this novel wouldn't be possible if it weren't for him!!

 

My mother and sisters have helped majorly!

Samantha Stroh Bailey is an awesome person, and she's made this experience so great for me!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love Xtina! This album has been on repeat since it came out!

Need I say more?

 

 

 

Book Blurb for NaNoWriMo

Now, I know in my last post I said I was going to wait until Thursday to reveal my blurb for NaNoWriMo, but with school being so demanding and hopes of not neglecting either of my blogs, I'm going to reveal my blurb right now. This is a huge step for me because I've never been one to share my serious writing with anyone, so here goes nothing!

 

"Sliding Into Love"

 

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade; but when it throws you a curve ball, what do you do?

Emma Murphy has been spending her days the same way for the past ten years:  wake up, take her medicine, go to dialysis, and help her mom run the daycare. But when Bradley Carter, the star Pitcher for the Pleasantview Penguins, start attending dialysis, she knows that her days are about to be a lot less boring.

When Bradley is forced to put his career on hold, he goes from goofball to grouch within a matter of days, but Emma is adamant on changing that. Things are going well for them until Bradley receives bad news. Will Emma be able to turn Bradley's bad news around before it's too late?



Missing In Action

I'm baaaaaaaaccccccccccckkkkkkkkkk!! Well, at least I am for the moment. There has been so much that has been going on since I've been on here last. For example, I'm back in school and it is kicking my butt literally!! I had no idea this year would be so time-consuming; it's my sixth week back and I feel like I'm still trying to get used to my schedule! Thankfully, Thanksgiving break is coming up soon, but I'm crossing my fingers that Christmas break will come even sooner!

Next, I'd like to take this time to recognize the people who have fought, is fighting, or who will fight Breast Cancer. My prayers go out to these people and their families. Stay strong, keep fighting, and I pray a cure is found soon!

Last, but certainly not least, this year I'll be participating in the 2012 NaNoWriMo challenge. The National Novel Writing Month is where writers and authors challenge themselves to write a novel of at least 50,000 words in 30 days, but it has to be a story that you haven't previously worked on. Lucky for me I have about 20 of those. Of course, my inner Drama Queen is nagging me, saying "I can't do this" because I can barely balance school by itself, but I'm determined to prove her and everyone else wrong. Yesterday was officially NaNo Prep day, and I started filling out one of my character sheets, and I'll be doing even more prepping tonight!! I was a little nervous at first, but I believe that I can do this; I have faith in myself, my story, and I have an awesome support system from Facebook friends to authors to my actual friends, and especially my family. I don't think I'd be able to do this without them. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to do this, but if I don't succeed at writing 50,000 words in 30 days, I'd be happy with just attempting to; and I'd be even happier if I can stick it out and not quit after a day. Be sure to come back next Thursday, the 25th, and check out the blurb for the book that I'll be working on for NaNoWriMo!!

 

 

Appreciating Your Losses, Gains, and Everything You Have

There has been so much stuff going on lately, not only in my life, but in the world period! First and foremost, it's been a CRAZY last week; beyond crazy!! Through all this craziness, though, it made me appreciate everything I have in my life at this very moment, but before I get into that, I'd like to congratulate the Rancics on their baby boy! I'm a huge fan of their show and I'm thrilled for them because they deserve this happiness and more!!

On August 23rd, our lives were forever changed; on that day I lost my maternal uncle. His death was very unexpected and came as a shock to our entire family. I'll never forget that phone call, what I was doing when I got the phone call, or how fast I raced out of the house to be by my Grams' side. At the time I had no idea my uncle had passed away, I honestly thought it was going to be a call about my Gramps, but when I found out the real reason, I was completely heartbroken. I've been experiencing the loss of close family members for the past 3 years, and those were completely different than this one. Those family members had been sick for some time, not that I was expecting death, but I had some time to prepare myself for what might've happened, so when death is completely unexpected it takes some time to recover from something like that. Throughout this experience I've learned two things; the first thing, it is pure heck trying to organize a funeral during hurricane season, especially down in the South. The second thing I've learned is that my Grams is one of the STRONGEST women I know; a lot of people underestimate her. But you have to be a very strong woman to bury two of your children within a year of each other. Most people think that children are supposed to bury their parents, but that's not always the case; so please, appreciate and love your loved ones while their still here. Give them their flowers before it's too late!

Well, the time has come...this Thursday I'll be back to school. I'm definitely having mixed feelings about starting school again. I've been out of school for summer break since May, so it'll definitely be challenging to fall back into the routine of notes, homework, quizzes, and school projects, but I know as long as I work (not too) hard and I'm dedicated, I can't go wrong!!