Nanowrimo 2013- One Hour Out!!!!

Quick! Put that Halloween candy down, scrub the clown make-up off your face, and grab a pen! It’s the eve of nanowrimo, and we’re one hour out from the stroke of midnight. That means in one hour you can join thousands of people across the world in a mad dash race to finally write the novel that’s been churning in your head.

I don’t know about you, but I’m geeked. Geeked enough to wait up until midnight and type my very first sentence. Geeked enough to have my folder ready with my title page, and my backup system hooked up to my computer. Geeked enough to sit and wait for the magic hour to come. My husband told me to just write already, but that would take all the fun, all the anticipation of waiting for November out of it, so I’m waiting with my fingers ready. When midnight hits, the magic will begin!

If you want to join in on all the craziness of attempting to write a novel in a month you can visit the nano website- http://nanowrimo.org/

It’s a blast, there are fun prizes to be won, and there is a wonderful community of hilarious writers to meet! More information to come within the next few days. If you've ever thought about writing a novel this is the perfect time to get started! 

Halloween Nostalgia

     Halloween has become a very special day for me and James. Of course there’s the flurry of decorating the house with orange and black, pumpkins, leaves, witches and bats! There’s watching Dessie stick her tongue out as she works on the design for her pumpkin, and hearing Dara’s squeal of delight as she tries on her Halloween costume. There’s carving pumpkins, which leads to pumpkin guts in our hair, on our faces, and on the walls.

      James’ pumpkin always has to do with hunting or football, and I like carving quirky things likes owls or wizards. Dara carves animals, and Dessie always surprises us.

      We love watching the girls crunch through the leaves as they run from house to house collecting candy in their orange pumpkin bags. I love all the little kids from school that I can’t recognize under their batman masks and butterfly painted faces who run by waving and yelling, “Hi sub!” My heart melts when they stop to give me hugs and show off their costumes so I can “ ohh” and “ahh” over them.

     On top of the smells of apple, cinnamon, and pumpkin, the vibrant colors, the fresh crisp air, and carefree evening socializing with neighbors and getting free Reese’s peanut butter cups, there are a couple more things that make Halloween special…

     The hunting! James loves hunting on Halloween, rain or shine, because he always says, “Halloween is when the monsters come out.” I look forward to that line every year and seeing the smile on his face as he says it.

     It also happens to be the eve of nanowrimo. At the magical stroke of midnight when it switches from Halloween to November 1st, the infamous writing contest begins, and I pound out the very first words of a brand new story. There is nothing more exciting than finally getting the chance to write the story that's been churning for months in your head, and having a community of writers to do it with!

      Hoping you all have a special Halloween!

Best Apple Butter

I couldn't resist sharing this yummy fall recipe with you!

 The Necessities:

 8 cups of chopped peeled apples
 1 stick of butter
 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
 4 T apple cider vinegar
 1 t salt
 2 T cinnamon
 1/2 t ground cloves
 optional- 1/4 t nutmeg

Peel your apples.

Chop, measure out 8 cups, and throw into your crock pot.

Add 1 stick of butter, 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar, 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Let it cook for about 3 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. The apples should have rich brown caramelized look when they are done. You can leave it chunky or puree it in a food processor or blender.

We like the silky smooth texture after it's been pureed.

Apple butter is yummy mixed in with oatmeal or spread as a layer between cakes, but you really can't beat it poured over hot buttered rolls fresh out of the oven!

Things to Do While Waiting to Hear From Agents- Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge

Waiting for agents to reply to your query letters can be agonizing. It seems like it takes forever. You put so much time into writing and editing, and then weeks tick by and you hear nothing.

I learned that things like pacing the floor, checking my e-mail every chance I could, and lying haphazardly on the couch while staring at the ceiling weren’t very helpful in the waiting process. I started to read blogs and reread my writing books. Several of them mentioned that reading was a great way to give your brain a breather from writing, and to pass the time while waiting to hear from agents.

I flipped through a few books here and there, but I wasn’t excited to be reading until I came across the Rory Gilmore reading challenge.

I LOVE the Gilmore girls. I love their enormous coffee cups, their eating habits (lettuce essence on a hamburger satisfies vegetable requirements), and their mandatory Friday night dinners.  My favorite quote also comes from that show. I quote it at least once a week as I’m urging my rural internet to work.

So when I saw Gilmore Girls and reading, I had to check it out!

http://www.listchallenges.com/rory-gilmore-reading-challenge

My score was a 51, so I have a lot of reading to do! Thanks to this challenge, I’ve swapped ceiling staring for book reading, and have had a lot of fun in the process!

Just for fun:

RORY: Thirteen million volumes? I've read like, what, three hundred books in my entire life and I'm already sixteen? Do you know how long it would take me to read thirteen million books?

LORELAI: But honey, you don't have to read every one of them. "Tuesday's with Morrie?" Skip that. "Who Moved My Cheese?" Just stuff you already know.


RORY: Okay, but every kid coming to Harvard is inevitably reading books, and different books, and I want to be able to converse intelligently with each of them and I can't do that unless I read books, at least a few from every genre and sub-genre.