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NaNoWriMo: The final weekend

26 Nov

Which is of course Thanksgiving weekend, which means there are plenty of non-writing things for me to do.

Yesterday we had a lovely dinner at Kristen’s parents’ home. More food than you could feasibly eat in one meal, and I was stuffed silly. Today is Black Friday, and while Mom & I didn’t go out at 5am like in years past (Stores were opening here at 3! I’m not going out at 3am. And if we went out at 5am, we’d already be 2 hours behind the rest, so may as well sleep in, head out at 10 and call it good.) it cut into the writing time.

So here I am, formerly ahead, now trying to catch up.

On our travels today, I bought this little guy from Starbucks. His real name is Huxley and he’s a writer mouse.

Squeeky squeeky! Here's some candy if you write!

But we’ve renamed him Nano and you may think he’s sweet for offering me a Hershey’s kiss if I make 2000 words tonight. But Nano is an intimidating force to be reckoned with. This is what he does when you’re not looking.

I will paint my face with your blood!

So, uh, I’ll get back to writing now. (shiver) I have 42,103 words written. Tuesday is the last day.

Holy moly!

22 Oct

This week’s Friday Five finds me off today so in lieu of the calendar, let’s have glimpse at breakfast. Oatmeal in a bowl and coffee in a cup is a decadent treat anymore, since I usually have my oatmeal in a container and my coffee in a thermos.

This week’s theme is Holy Moly!

1. What gives you the heebie-jeebies?
Being approached from behind. Because of my bum ear, I don’t hear people walking close to me, especially in the office. Then when they start talking, I shoot through the ceiling. I startle so easily. I hate it. It’s not something you want to be when you work in an open plan office, that’s certain.

2. When were you most recently in double trouble?
Now, actually. It’s nonbloggable, so I’m moving on.

3. What puts you in the mood for some hanky-panky?
A sharp dressed man. Suit/suspenders/fedora/kilt, but not all at once, obviously. Also, Dave Matthews Band “Crush” or Wagner’s “Flight of the Valkyries.” Again, not both at once. But that’d be a neat mashup. Someone go do that for me.

4. What easy-breezy task is still a pain in the neck to accomplish?
Walking the dogs. It’s simple, in theory. The larger, nuttier dog is on a regular leash. The smaller, pokier dog is on a long retractable leash so he can be poky while we walk ahead. I carry my iPhone for tunes and a roll of bags for waste disposal.

In the summer it’s not so bad. But now it’s squirrel season and my dogs love to chase squirrels. I fully accept the responsibility for this bad habit I helped instill in them. But it’s taken my peaceful stroll and turned it into a cavalcade of NO.

5. What area in your life seems especially rife with mumbo-jumbo?
My job! (But I bet yours does too.) Lots of paperwork and arcane ways of doing things. Want to sell a new product? Fill out eighteen sheets of paper and wait forever ’til it gets into the system. They work in inches, not pixels so anything online has to be converted to inches for ordering/billing purposes. “How many pixels in an inch?” “Depends on your resolution. If you’re at 72 dpi then…” (other person passes out)

***
Wanna know how I spent last night? Copiously weeping at YouTube videos of Les Mis songs. I never saw the musical (I know, right?) but I read the book.

SPOILER ALERT (highlight that with your mouse): Almost everyone dies.

I’m glad I never went to see it. I’d be an absolute mess.

Today I think I’m going to live large and go to Old Navy. Tonight, more felt meat! Yay Friday!

Sweetest Day

18 Oct

Do you celebrate Sweetest Day? It was this past Saturday.

We do. I’m not sure why — it’s not mainstream. Maybe we do because it’s not mainstream. But we buy cards and get all schmoopy. This year we picked our own gifts.

This is WM’s. He chose a jaunty Kangol cap for the fall:

Hipster hat gets the hipster fake-Polaroid treatment

(me: Cankle hat? Ew! WM: No, Kangol.)

This was my pick. It’s a necklace featuring a piece of Roman glass that’s allegedly 2,000 years old and was found in the Holy Land. I think it’s really cool and beautiful.

Photos don't do this necklace justice.

It only cost $34 and I got it from QVC of all places. I <3 QVC. I hope it’s still on the air when I’m a shut-in.

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