the blog post of many, many things (a.k.a. procrastinating writing my novel)

1. i am doing NaNoWriMo this month. i've added a word count progress bar on the right side of my blog. hoping to type 50,000 words by the end of the month. wish me luck.

2. how to host a spooky spa party for younger daughter's 8th birthday: when elder daughter asks if her friends can come over, say do they want to help with a party? also, invite your brother and his girlfriend. then have everyone else do ALL THE WORK.

3. daylight saving time unfolds a bit like the FORTUNATELY, UNFORTUNATELY children's book. fortunately, all my kids were in bed by 7pm the last two nights. unfortunately, they all woke up at 6am. fortunately, it's light outside when elder daughter walks to the bus stop. unfortunately, it's dark before dinner. fortunately, we got an extra hour of sleep on saturday night. unfortunately church still starts at 9am. i think the practice should be abolished along with the incorrect use of the apostrophe.

4. will someone please buy the man who runs at 5am at the american fork rec center track some new pants? he's worn the same ones everyday for the past five years—which wouldn't be so bad except they're about 4 sizes too small, and pulled up at least 4 inches too high, showing an unsightly chunk of hairy white ankle and not leaving anything to the imagination in his nether regions. maybe he wouldn't breathe so loudly if he had a pair that fit better. no one should have to deal with this at 5am.

5. younger daughter's baptism day was one of the happiest of my life for many, many reasons. i might have taken more pictures had i not been deathly ill. i think when my head cold clears, i'd like to blog more coherently and deeply about it.

Fiction Friday: Needs

Week 2 of NaNoWriMo has a reputation for being the hardest week. I hope that's true, because this week was a doozy.

If I had no other life, writing would be no problem. But I have a husband who is so needy. He expects me to answer him when he asks me questions and actually have conversations with him when he comes home from work. And then there are the 4 children. Needy, needy. They need lunch money, birthday gifts for friends; they ask what's for dinner; they get sick and need to go to the doctor.

And then they wet beds and poop outside without telling anyone. Then before you know it, every sheet and blanket in the house is waiting in a patient pile by the washer and every mattress is bare. Meanwhile, the rest of your family has tracked poop up and down stairs, hallways, and kitchens. So you spend your writing time looking at people's bum crack cleavage in doctor's offices and lugging your carpet cleaner around your house and thinking you should buy stock in Clorox Wipes.

So, is it really necessary to let you know that I am 4900 words behind? No, I didn't think so. Don't worry. I am plotting the rest of my novel today on index cards and Mr. Coleman is headed to Phoenix until Sunday night. I have a Friday and Saturday night date with a few of my favorite people. I hope someday you get to meet them too. Here are some novel stats:

Number of times I thought seriously about quitting: 26
Ounces of caffeinated beverages consumed: 40
Number of times I called this project "stupid": 2

Insomnia episodes: 2
Topics researched on google: corsets, fjords, Båhus castle, coming-of-age rituals

Nearly every sentence in Part 2 is spoilery, so I'm not sharing much. But this should give you a feel:

PART TWO: CHILL SEASON

I shall not come into the hall with words of fear upon my lips.
The Aesir will welcome me: death comes without lamenting.
The disir summon me home.
Gladly shall I drink ale in the high seat.
The days of my life are ended: I die with a laugh.
-the Krákumál

Someone should have warned me. Perhaps then I would have made less of a fool of myself.

Fiction Friday

Last night I dreamt that my brother Steven was a zombie and to destroy him we had to tear him into tiny pieces while he was still alive and without him noticing. My first thought upon waking was not ewww, or, I'm so glad that was just a dream. No, my first thought was where's my pen? I've got to write that down.

Today is day 6 of NaNoWriMo and I am still ahead of my goals. This week of writing has been made possible by Micah, who made chicken enchiladas and french bread all by himself. A few stats:

Number of times I thought seriously about quitting: 8

Ounces of caffeinated beverages consumed: 0

Number of times Mr. Coleman called this project "stupid": 2

Topics researched on google: albinism, Krakumal, Gokstad, ship diagram

So, with that, here is an excerpt:

I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. I wanted to remember every detail from that first trip to Xene Beach. I remember the pale blush of the morning sky, the feel of the shrubs brushing my bare feet, and the sticky coolness of the salty air. I remember Olek from the backside too for all that it matters: his green uniform and straight back, dark head of hair, cross bow slung across his shoulders.

The photo is a shot that I am using as inspiration for my setting. It's the greek island Corfu. Some say it is the most beautiful place in the world.