Writer's Write, Right?

I didn't do NaNoWriMo this year.

I've done it every year.

I don't always finish. I know for a fact the first year with Kyra I didn't finish that story until much much later. But I did at least sign up and for the first few days or weeks I would write.

I didn't do it this year.

I didn't read the emails.

I didn't prep in October.

I didn't get that happy butterfly feeling on Halloween that at midnight I would start and write at least the very first sentence like I do every year.

At Midnight on Halloween I was awake but not writing. I was giving Ty a bottle and watching an old rerun of Chopped with the volume all the way down praying that he would go to sleep soon so that I could crawl back into bed and hopefully sleep for an hour or two before he woke up again.

I actually forgot about NaNoWriMo until someone on Instagram posted their daily word count Friday.

"Oh. I guess it is November." I said this and put the phone down and got back to folding the laundry.

I've wanted to be a writer since I was 10. I just knew I had stories in me and I just knew that someday my name would be on a book as the author. I knew it was going to happen. It hasn't...yet.

But writer's write. They sit down and they write. They think about writing. The worry about writing. Then they actually put words down.

I haven't been doing the word part.

I dream about writing. I make mental notes about characters and scenes and possible plot twists. I read books and re-imagine the scenes telling them my way.

But I don't write.

My time is divided now with being a mom to a 5 month old and a 5 year old. With being a wife. With being in charge of the household because let's face it most wives are whether you work or stay at home you are the force that keeps the other humans around you running and surviving. Still it feels like an excuse.

Writer's write.

But I haven't been.

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Currently....November

Working On: NaNoWriMo, Catching up on blog posts, and working on some Gift Guides for the Holidays! (Hint Hint....I will have the first one up VERY soon!!!)


Watching:Still Really enjoying This is Us, American Housewife, and Westworld. However I am over here waiting for for Sherlock Season 4 like....

Reading: Just finished The Coincidence of Coconut Cake and am now halfway through Book Scavenger! Such a better book month for me!

Loving: Listening to Kyra play with her toys. She makes up whole stories and it is so much fun to listen to her little plays. She has a great imagination and that makes me really happy.

Wanting: So many things from Sephora and Ulta that I just can't even get into right now. I had some things on my wishlist but they are totally sold out online now :(

This sampler was an amazing deal. I totally get why it is sold out!

Excited:For Thanksgiving because I am ready to bake things. Also excited because I'm starting to feel the pull of Christmas and I really want to decorate and start watching all my feel good holiday movies!

So what are you up to Currently?

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Currently....June

Reading....Books that I own! I started Erin's Read Your Books Challenge yesterday and I am super excited to finally read some of the books that I've had forever but haven't gotten to yet!

This is just a few of my unreads....I hope I get through at least some of them!

Watching....Game of Thrones and Penny Dreadful  It's that part of the year again where these are basically the only two shows that I watch. The rest of the time is movies and whatever Kyra wants to watch while I clean!

Listening to....podcasts. Specifically The Armchair Librarians and Mortified. Both hilarious and awesome! 

Link

Link

Loving.....Chobani Greek Yogurt. I have been on a yogurt kick lately and these have been my favorite! Bonus is that Kyra likes them too!

Writing....trying to get back at this again. Right now just journaling! 

So what's up with you Currently? 


Linking up with.....
 

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Currently....April

Reading....Just started A Thousand Naked Strangers by Kevin M. Hazzard. Really intrigued to read this one!

Watching....The Magicians I'm kind of in a love/hate relationship with this show. Some parts are so interesting and fun and other times I am so irritated with the characters that I want to scream. Only time is going to tell with this one.

Watched....I wanted to add this one in for the Netflix crowd. If you are into sitcom type shows I would recommend The Ranch. Ashton Kutcher's new show reminded me a lot of 90s sitcoms and was both funny and heart wrenching at times. Ashton's character Colt is a failed football star that returns home to the ranch. Danny Masterson plays his hilarious older brother Rooster and Sam Elliot the abrasive father with Debra Winger as the estranged wife/mom. Again if you are into the sitcom thing I would say check it out.

 

Wanting.....Pretty much the entire collection of OPI Through the Looking Glass.

 

Loving.....Milani Conceal and Perfect foundation. I love a good drugstore foundation and this one is my current favorite. It is a thicker formula but it gives great coverage and goes on super smooth. It does have a scent to it but I find it really pleasant and it doesn't stick around long. If you are looking for a medium/full coverage foundation for a drugstore price I would for sure check this one out.

Writing....1000 words a day. I actually fell behind on this for a few weeks due to the funk, but now I am back in action again! 

So what's up with you Currently? 


Don't forget the Show Us Your Books Linkup Tomorrow! 
 

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April 2016 Goals

1. Workout- In an effort to shake the slump and get things going I've decided that I need to get things going. Namely I need to get myself going. So I am shooting for at least 30 minutes a day but honestly even five minutes is better than nothing! 


2. Read- My reading took kind of a hit lately and I've got a huge stack of To Read books that I am more than ready to get into. 


3. Write- I need to write. Even just a paragraph a day. I need to get writing again. Whether it is actual writing or just journaling my thoughts. Writing is writing. 


4. Bedtime- I have a great night time routine for my face but getting to sleep is a whole other thing. I need to start getting into bed at a normal time.


5. Meditate- I was doing so well with this but once I hit the slump I was so not in the mood to listen to meditations and trying to do unguided ones just resulted in me worrying about things instead of relaxing. So once again I will start from the beginning at three minute intervals and move forward from there. 


What are your goals for the month? Anyone else going through a bit of a slump? I feel like the whole blogging world has been in one.

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Currently......February

Reading....Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman 

Watching....X Files I loved the show way back when and I love it now. Mulder and Scully are just awesome.

Wanting.....more brush pens. Seriously Bullet Journaling has just given me an excuse to indulge in all the office supply things that I love. That was always my favorite part of back to school. New supplies!

 

Loving.....London Fog. I found this recipe on Pinterest and the name was what caught my attention at first. I didn't realize they make something similar at Starbucks and I have never had their version but man I am in love with this drink. It's becoming an almost nightly ritual.

Writing....1000 words a day. Sure most of it is awful but I'm writing and every day it gets better and better.

Cooking....these awesome egg muffins by Steph! I tried these this week and now I will make them pretty much forever. So tasty and simple! 

Also cooking up some really tasty chicken mushroom broccoli....low carb and YUM!

So what's up with you Currently?

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I miss blogging.

I've been writing but not blogging.

My way of dealing with things but I miss blogging. I miss coming to this space.

However I'm not sure what to write about yet.

It seems strange to just dive back into normal blog posts.

I've changed a lot in the past three weeks. Yes...three weeks to the day. I wonder when I will stop counting the days....

Anyhow I want to come back to blogging. I want to come back to the space where I felt happy and ready to write. I miss linkups and comments and reading other blogs.

So this is my first small step into getting back into things again. I'm not saying things are going to be the same around here, in fact I can promise you that they won't. I'm going to be taking on some new topics and the basic thing is...I'm not the same anymore. For better or worse I'm changed.

Anyhow I'm going to keep this one short, just know I'm back to reading blogs and writing blogs again...and I'm glad.

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Weekend Recap: The Halloween Edition

Friday: 
My brother was having a Halloween party and if you were not aware....we go big around here. Honestly I hadn't been that excited for Halloween until a few days before when I finally knew what I was going to go as! You see my brother and his girlfriend were going as Beetlejuice and Lydia so I decided that I would go on theme and go as....Miss Argentina! 

Yes I am super blue. Yes it took forever to do. Yes it was totally worth it! 

Of course my brother and his girlfriend looked AMAZING! 

My Husband went as Otho to continue the theme! 

The party was fun and we made a TON of food for it! 

Saturday: The morning was spent grocery shopping and even though I hate the term with a passion being "basic". Yes I had a Starbucks Frapula in honor of Halloween. #sorrynotsorry #noshameinmygame

She loved riding in the Car/Cart!

That evening we decided we would chance taking Kyra out Trick or Treating. She is pretty shy around strangers and I wasn't sure she would enjoy it but imagine my surprise when she was all for it! She was scared at first but once she figured out there was candy involved she was running up to doors and knocking! I was super proud! 

Baby Owl Costume because warmth! Also CUTE.

The Haul. Not bad for her first time!

Sunday: 
Easy day of watching movies and wondering what it is I was going to write about for National Novel Writing Month. Yes I should have had something picked out ahead of time but I wasn't feeling any of the ideas I had....I still wrote but it is just junk...still junk is better than nothing! It will come to me in time...it always does. 


So there was the weekend. Hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween. Happy Monday!

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Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo

So NaNoWriMo is about to begin this weekend and I will be participating again this year. Honestly I really do love the challenge even though halfway through the month I usually regret my decision. However if you are like me and you are gearing up for a month of non stop writing then you might enjoy this past post of mine!

 

So lately I've been having a little trouble thinking of things to write. I cannot tell you how many minutes have passed me by while I stare at the blank page or blank screen. It is so frustrating to know that you SHOULD be writing but there is just nothing that wants to be written. I always feel so guilty if I close the laptop or the journal without writing anything down or meeting my word count for the day. Writers Write!!! They do not give up! 

So I decided that I would put together a post of things that I do in order to get back to writing again! 

1) Get Musical. Find a playlist or spend some time creating one. I like to find classical styles normally for more intense or thoughtful scenes and songs with lyrics that I really like for scenes with more dialogue. Either way music can really help get the ideas flowing! 

My Favorites: 

Lindsey Sterling

Apocolyptica

Halestorm

The Piano Guys

2) Go for a Walk. Sometimes you just have to get out of the house and get some outside stimuli. It helps me clear my head and start to let my mind wander away from all the other things that I am worried about and before I know it I am daydreaming. Daydreaming always helps me come up with new ideas!

3) Check out Pinterest "Writing Prompts". There are so many prompts for both blogs and just writing in general! Sometimes you just have to write something different from your current project to shake things up a bit!

4) Read!  I believe the only way to be a good writer is to be a good reader! So pick up a book, something that you enjoy, something that made you want to write in the first place! Books inspire great thoughts, let them inspire you!

I tend to gravitate toward books about writing when I am having a case of writer's block. My favorites are these: 

Stephen King's---- On Writing

I love this book. Part Memoir and part Writer's Tool box, it really helps me get focused on my work. I love Stephen King's honesty in this book. His approach to writing resonates with me and I am always returning to this book for good advice! Also I love hearing about how he struggled before he became famous, helps remind me that it never comes easy, only with hard work! Also I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook version of this. Stephen King narrates it himself and it is truly brilliant to hear live!

Barbara Demarco- Barret's----- Pen on Fire

I got this book a LONG time ago when I thought I was too busy for writing and wanted to find ways to fit it into my schedule. Little did I know that I had NO CLUE as to what having no time was like! Now that I am a Mom and a Wife, I realize what it is like when you are trying to meet word counts and still maintain the balance of daily life. This book has some really great tips and tricks for fitting writing into your daily life without feeling guilty! (Mommy guilt...ugh)

5) Free Writing. I know you have heard this before, but it really does help. Sometimes all you need to get started is to just start typing or writing. It doesn't matter what you are writing about. It could be the weather, the items on your desk, how frustrated you are that you can't seem to write anything....just write! Even if you don't get anything brilliant written, you still "exercised"  your writing ability and the next time it will come easier and you will break through your block! 

I hope these tips were helpful to you! Happy Writing Everyone!

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Confessions 10/14

Good Morning Everyone,

Time for some confessions....


I confess that I am currently hiding in my bedroom because tonight is Bobby's game night. Normally the guys all game at my in laws but tonight the game got moved. Now this might not have been an issue but Tuesdays are my nights to write and do beauty routines. Meaning they all came over and I have coconut oil in my hair, a face mask, and I generally look like a crazy person.

I confess that I've wasted a ridiculous amount of time on the You Cam App. Have you tried this thing? It adds makeup and junk to your face and sometimes it turns out really pretty and sometimes it is just hilarious. Bobby wouldn't let me post his pictures but let me tell you it was hilarious. Honestly I thought mine turned out awesome especially since I was completely makeup free otherwise!

I legit have no makeup on in this photo. This is just what the app did.

I confess that I have been really trying to figure out the whole "work from home" bit lately. I want to be able to contribute to our bills while still being a good mommy and wife. It's a tough gig. There are lots of scams, lots of hoops to jump through....honestly it is just really frustrating trying to be helpful and just finding brick wall after brick wall.

I confess that I really hoped....I hoped a lot when I was starting out back in 2003... that blogging/writing would be my full time thing. I so wanted to be one of those professional bloggers that had brilliant and viral posts. I wanted to write things that people loved reading....but now I worry that doing so means "selling out". I hate blogs that are so covered in ads that I can't even scroll through the content. I don't want to be an ad only based blogger...even if I could use the money. 

I confess that I sigh inwardly when I see glossy white backgrounds with perfectly staged items. Not because I resent those bloggers but because my life isn't the kind of life with perfect white backgrounds. This blog has Chaos in the title for a reason. I have to fight for every moment I get to write now that I'm a Stay at Home Mom. I thought (naively!) that once I was home I would have MORE time to write. Instead I have so much less. I used to write during my mid morning break or even during my lunch hour....now I don't get those things. Most of my writing is now done in the dark well after bedtime. 

I confess that despite the above confessions...I still really love blogging. I love reading blogs and seeing other people's lives and opinions. I love the linkups that let me share things that I love and give me knew things to try out and explore. I still hope that someday....this will not only be something I love but something that loves me back. 

Happy Humpday Everyone. 

Be sure to join the linkup and share your confessions!

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