Category Archives: General

Camp Is Fun!

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Camp NaNo is going well…kind of. I still have no idea on theories, so I definitely need to do that. I have some general notes, on spoilers I found, so that’ll help.  I’m pretty sure that I can reason my way through who the mole might be.  It’ not hard…I just don’t want to do it.  Maybe I’ll do it tomorrow.  It’s not likely, but I’ll try!

I’m definitely going to get back on track for camp nano, since I only wrote 456.  Gtting the fanfiction written was pretty easy, but I didn’t really want to work on my original stuff. I managed to, and once I got going, I was fine. It just took a while for me to actually sit down and write, so hopefully camp nano will help out with that, since I’ll be writing everyday.  It’s just taking me a while to get settled in.  I did some reading- and I finally decided to start re-reading Harry Potter.  Not sure if I’ll get through the whole series in the next couple weeks, but I should get through the 1st three, and I’ll probably read Deathly Hallows while watching the movies in preparation.

My excuse for not going to the gym last week was the fact that it was really hot outside, and working out was the last thing I wanted to do.  Yet I somehow managed to lose almost 2 pounds.  I swear I’m going to start up my food journal, and do some kind of exercise, whether it be at home or at the gym.

I think that’s about it for today, so have a great day!

Food Update Plus Harry Potter!

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I didn’t cook nearly as much as I had hoped, but at least I made a couple things.

Brown Butter Blondies

I made Brown Butter Blondies, which I found over at My Baking Addiction.  They were pretty good, although I’m not the biggest fan of butterscotch.  It was also my first time making blondies, and I’m definitely making them again.  I don’t know if I’ll use this particular again soon, although I probably will just to get rid of the butterscotch chips.

Rotini With Salsa Di Limone

I also made Rotini with Salsa di Limone, which I found over at the food network.  I didn’t have any tomatoes, so I opted not to use them, but it still came out yummy.  I guess you can’t really call it Salsa di Limone, since there’s no tomatoes in it, but the oil and the cheese and the lemon made it yummy!  After spending some time recently watching the food network, I’ve decided that I like Giada.  I checked out a couple of her books from the library, and I’ll probably review those in the next few weeks.

And of course, I have to talk about Harry Potter!  I finally got my tickets for it- I had a slight change in plans for it though.  I was going to go with friends, but I waited too long to get tickets at the theater we were going to, so they sold out.  😦  But I still want to go at midnight, since it’s the last Harry Potter movie ever, and if there’s a good time to see a midnight movie for the first time, it’s going to be for Harry Potter!  So I’m going with my mom instead.  I’ll try and get some pictures.  At the very least, I’ll bribe my mom with cookies or something to get her to take a picture of me, because I’ll be going in costume!  I’m super excited!  So excited, in fact, that I may see it twice, which is something I so rarely do.

Today Is Going To Be A Cooking Day

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Yesterday, I decided that I needed to cook today.  I know I’m making brownies, and I have a few things I’m thinking about making.  Hopefully, they’ll turn out well.  The baking I did turned out really well, but as for the actual food…not so much.  I’ve been watching the food network over the last couple days, and it’s making me hungry!

I decided to check out a couple cookbooks from the library, which is something I thought I would never do.  Mainly because I don’t want to get anything on them…but at the same time, it’ll be a good way to test out cookbooks before I actually buy them.  And checking them out works just fine because I’m already starting to get bored with the cookbooks I already have.  Someday, I like to have a decent collection of cookbooks, and I’d like a few of them to focus on baking!  I definitely want the Bread Baker’s Apprentice and Baking: From My Home To Yours, and I definitely want to see what else is out there…and maybe I’ll find a few people that I love as much as I love Rachael Ray!

I think that’s it for now, so I’m off to bed!  I’ll share what happens with the whole cooking day sometime this week!

Libraries Are Awesome

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I’ve been to the library several times over the last week, and got so much done!  I finished a few books I was reading, I worked on my blog a little, and I did most of my writing for the week!  Oh, and I looked at a consanguinity chart too, and managed to make sense of it.

It’s nice and quiet, there are comfy chairs, tables, free wi-fi and outlets!  The outlet part is especially important because the battery in my laptop is pretty much dead, and I can’t afford a new one, which means that I am attached to the power cord at all times.  It tends to be inconvenient when I want to work on something at a place that is not called my house, since I need an outlet, and most places don’t seem to have a lot of outlets.  If they have any at all, that is.  I mean, I can write out some notes or an outline or brainstorm…but if I want to actually work on one of my novels, I need to be plugged in to do so.  It’s not that big of a deal, because it nevers hurt to brainstorm, but at the same time, I can’t access any of my typed notes.  I did write down the notes I had typed up, so at least I have a written copy in my binder.  And looking at my notes when brainstorming could help me come up with ideas.

Now that I’m done whining about how my battery is dead, I don’t know why I didn’t think of adding my library to the list of place to go to.  Coffeeshops are also good places, but it’s harder to justify staying at a coffeeshop for a few hours.  At least for me- and I tend to get slightly more distracted at a coffeshop than at the library…the library is a magical place.  I feel like I have to be productive at the library, especially when I look around and see people studying and stuff.

I think that’s enough rambling for now.  There’s no doubt I’ll be rambling about something else soon!

I Was More Productive Than I Thought I Would Be

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I got a bunch of writing done-  not a big surprise, but I am managing to write in months that aren’t November, which is a big achievement.  Plus, I’m very slowly working on projects in months that are not October, which is also an achievement, because it gives me time to think, and plan (at least a little).  I never considered myself much of a planner when it comes to NaNo, but the one project that I had the least trouble with last year is the one I had the most notes on…which is especially strange, since I went into November with some vague ideas.  Notes are good, at least in a very limited experience.  I don’t know if I’ll outline or not, but at the very least, a list of potential conflicts is necessary.  And right now, I’m all about trying new things, so maybe I’ll eventually work my way up to a very vague outline.  Anyhoo, I wrote just under 2000 words last week!

I only worked on one character from my funeral plot bunny, which is okay.  I used a different worksheet for Hannah, which I like as much as the last one.  There are some similarities, but some differences too.  Maybe I’ll combine questions from both for future plot bunnies.  I definitely want to have some kind of profile/biography for most of the family members, even if it’s only one page.  It’ll be a lot to work on, but I figure if I do 2-3 week, I should be able to get through most of them by November.

I worked a little on my pact plot bunny- I have a bunch of different ideas and thoughts and possibilities, so there’s a lot to think about!  I have a few lists to make, and I’ll work on those this week.  I just need to pick something, but I have no clue what I want to go with right now.  Lists might help with that.

There’s not much to report on the weight-loss front- I stayed the same, which is okay.  At least I didn’t gain anymore weight.  But honestly, I’m not exactly trying either.  I don’t want to go to the gym, because I’m lazy.  And not even my biggest loser workouts are appealing right now.  I’ve been eating okay, but not as good as I could.  I did make a bunch of food this month, but unfortunately, I didn’t like any of the food I made.  The desserts were fine…unfortunately, I can’t live off dessert.  And I don’t have a big sweet tooth anyway.  It is part of my food experiment though- I will come across things I don’t like, but I’ve also made things I love, so it all balances out.  And how will I know if I like or dislike something if I don’t make it?

Speaking of things I like, I went to the library a couple times last week, and I was super productive!  I got reading done, and most of my writing too.  I might not be able to eat in the library, but I sure am productive!

The Evolution Of A Family Tree

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Today’s post is how my family tree has evolved over the last couple weeks or so.

The Basic Structure Of My Family Tree

The picture above is the basic structure of the family.  It starts off with Chastity, who is the great-grandmother, and goes from there.  I wanted to do it in pencil so I could erase things as needed.  It’s a little bit messy, but it works.

Rough Draft, Version One Of The Family Tree

This picture is the first version of the tree, complete with names.  Except for the one section that doesn’t have names, because I didn’t give myself enough room…and I didn’t feel like changing it so I could have enough room.  Plus, I needed to redo the tree since it was still a little funky.  Still in pencil, but that’s because it’s easier to change things if it’s all in pencil.

Family Tree, Version 2 Of The Rough Draft

And this is the most recent tree, with names for most everyone…the only exceptions being the four unnamed children, who will probably have a few mentions.  I also have a few notes- mostly on who’s dead, which will be a good reference for the different funerals they’ll all be going to.  Plus, I have a note on who’s divorced and a note that someone’s a single parent.  It’s still in pencil, thank goodness, because I did have to make a couple changes to it.  I still don’t like how it’s formatted, but it’s better than the previous draft.  I think what I need to do is have a bigger version, which will probably help.

For the super final version (that hasn’t happened yet), I’ll probably do different colors to distinguish between the different branches.  I’m going to put off that super final version on posterboard until October in case things change between now and then.  And honestly, that’s highly likely, depending on what I come up with.  I know posterboard isn’t expensive, but I really don’t want to buy it until I have to.

Honestly, I’m so glad I have a list of names I like, because it was really helpful to have a list I could pick from.  I tried to make the names as different as I could, which didn’t always work in some cases.  But I’m not too worried since, I’m going to focus on only a few people anyway.  Writing it all out definitely helped me in terms of how they’re all related.  I took a look at a basic family tree detailing how cousins are related, and it makes a lot more sense now that I have names I can attach to each spot on the chart.

I think this novel is definitely going to be an adventure!

And on a random side-note:

Pottermore has finally been revealed!  I’ve been waiting to see what it is, and it’ll be the only place to get an e-reader version of the series.  Plus, JKR has a lot of unused info concering the series, so that will be revealed too!  It sounds awesome and I can’t wait until October, when everything will be set to go.

In This Week’s News

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Writing wise, I had a great week, some of which I already shared.  I wrote around 1850 during the week.  It felt really good to be writing a lot, and it didn’t feel forced.  In weeks past, I really had to force myself to meet the word goal for the week (for some projects) but since I started doing the average, I haven’t felt that at all!  Sometimes it is a struggle to keep writing something, even when I don’t feel like it, but struggling is part of the process.  I’m not always going to want to write but I always feel better after I do. 

I kind of started working on one of my characters from my funeral plot bunny, but it didn’t really get very far.  Thankfully, the tree is done, and everyone has a name (except for a few very small children that aren’t too important).  I decided to redo the structure of it, so I’m currently on a second draft of the family tree.  I’m definitely going to put it onto a posterboard (or a very large piece of paper) because I had to write some of the names really small to make it fit. 

I do have an idea of who’s going to be dead, and the order in which they die, but not when they die, so that’s something I’ll try to work on this week.  Plus, working on some of the details of the different perspectives.  I have so many characters that I’ll never be able to focus on all of them…especially in one month.  And with so many characters, it’ll be a good idea to focus on a few anyway. 

Let’s see…weight loss update!  I gained a pound, which isn’t a surprise.  I only went to the gym once, and it’s doubtful I’ll manage to get to the gym this week.  I might, though, but I’m having so much trouble getting myself in the mindset of going.  I’ll definitely do some sort of exercise (I hope) whether it be a workout video or going to the gym.  And while I am eating better, it’s still not as good as I could be eating, so I’ll definitely be doing some cooking this week. 

As for my reading challenge, I’m feeling slightly burnt out for a few reasons.  One, I read 13 books last month, and I’m a little tired of reading.  I could probably get away with reading a few less books this month, but at the same time, I want to hit the halfway point this month.  I definitely need to read a few short books (preferably fiction) to give myself a little break from all the long non-fiction books I’m reading.  And two, I’ve been reading a lot (45 books so far) and sometimes I feel like all I’m doing is reading.  I’m definitely enjoying the books I’m reading, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time, reading 100 in a year is a lofty goal.  I’m sure I can accomplish it, but I can slow down the pace a little- and reading multiple books at a time would definitely help since I can switch back and forth between different things. 

I think that’s it for now.  Here’s a preview of a few posts I have planned for the week: at least one book review, a character spotlight, and some pictures!

Adventures In Baking

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I made cheesecake squares and peanut butter snickers cookies yesterday.

I’m definitely branching out with the whole baking thing, and am not making my way through every chocolate chip cookie recipe under the sun.  If I make something that’s not cookies, it’s usually brownies.  I can’t remember the last time I made cookies, so I figured I go looking through some of my favorite food blogs and see if there was anything interesting…and found peanut butter snickers cookies over at the brown eyed baker.  They were pretty yummy if I do say so myself.

I also made cheesecake squares- I wanted cheesecake, but not an actual cheesecake, so I made cheesecake squares.  I’m not a big fan of making the crust- it was fine until I had to press it into the pan.  It was thinner in some places than in others, and I’m quite sure that it’s because I just put the crust into the pan and didn’t pay attention to the fact it should be relatively equal in the whole pan.  Other than that, they seemed to come out okay.  And it took about 10 minutes of crushing the graham crackers by hand to realize using the rolling pin would be a lot easier.  The only thing I didn’t like about the cheesecake squares was that they were a lot more lemon-y than I expected.  If I make them again, then I’ll definitely adjust the lemon juice and the lemon zest.

I think I’m going to start doing more muffins and quickbreads…that is a project for next month.  Or maybe this month.  I’ll see how fast the cookies and cheesecake squares go.

Writing Is Amazing!

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Yesterday, I managed to write around 1,000 words or so.  I think that’s the most I’ve written in a day since NaNo.  Granted, it was spread out through 3 different novels, but still, it’s a lot of words in one day.  It took me most of the morning, since I was doing other stuff (cough*facebook*cough), but I felt like I actually did something. 

I worked on the family tree a little more.  The format of it is still a little weird, but for now, it works, plus the characters have names.  There aren’t any last names yet, but first names will work for now.  I think today I’m going to work on a couple of the characters- maybe do a character profile.  It doesn’t need to be too detailed or anything, because there are going to be so many characters, and I’m still not sure who I want to focus on.  I have some ideas on who I want to focus on, but that could change.  I really want to leave things open right now, because I don’t want to focus my attention on a few characters, only to change my mind a couple days before the start of NaNo.  So I’ll slowly work my way through the family, until every one of them has some sort of biography.  Or until I get tired of it, whichever happens first.

I have a lot to work on, but at the same time, it’s nice to be writing so much again.  I’ve realized how much I miss writing on a regular basis, and NaNo reminded me of how important it really is.  I have so many ideas, and being able to work on them is helping me focus on something. 

Have an awesome day everyone!

Family Tree!

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Well, yesterday I managed to get a basic family tree done.  There aren’t any names attached to it, so it’s just a basic idea of what I want the family to look like.  The tree definitely needs a lot of work because the structure of it right now is kind of…annoying.  But it’s a really good start, and it’ll definitely evolve over the coming months.  Plus, I want to give those consanguinity charts another look, so hopefully a family tree written out will help me better understand how everyone’s related. 

I think today’s project is going to be naming everyone, and I’ll try to format the family tree a little bit better, just to make it a little easier to understand.  While I don’t mind naming people, this is going to be a little different than what I’m used to, just because of the number of people!  I think it’s around 50 or so people (if I counted correctly, and it’s likely I may have missed 1 or 2 people).  I definitely need to figure out who I want to feature- but that’s something that can wait until I actually know who everyone is.  I have some ideas for a few of the people, so I might work on that sometime this week. 

I’m feeling pretty excited about this, and it’s one of my favorite ideas so far.  It’s been really nice writing again- and it’s also really cool working on different ideas.  It keeps me busy, for at least a few hours every week, and it gives me a chance to see different projects in different stages of completion. 

I should start writing!  Have a great day!