NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month officially ends tonight at midnight. Yesterday I received an e-mail telling me I need to validate my final word count. Because I've signed up in the past, I still get e-mails from them, even though I'm not participating. For one brief, crazy moment, I wondered if I dropped EVERYTHING and did nothing but write for 24 hours straight, could I complete 50,000 words and still post. Of course, the answer to that is a big, fat, resounding NO!

I seriously considered participating this year. I even mentally tossed around plot ideas for different books. But seeing as I'm downsizing in other areas, I decided that the month of November probably wasn't the most prudent time to tackle such an assignment. And I have no regrets about that decision.

So while I won't have a novel rough draft to in my stash by midnight tonight, I do hope to have all my Christmas decorations up and all props for Sunday's Christmas play near completion. For me, that will be enough success.

checklists

I'm a checklist kind of girl.
In college, one of my friends complained  that our conversations  felt like I had a list of things in my head to ask, and we simply jumped down the list. Sadly, many times that was the case. I was taking too many classes and working too much, and there simply was never enough time in the day to get everything done. I lost most of my neatness-freak characteristics during those years.
Yesterday was one of my checklists days, where I didn't have things down on paper, but I do have a huge mental list of things that need to be done this week. And last night when I finally crawled into bed, I was very happy because a lot of those things were mentally checked off. Yeah, I'm weird that way.
But day planners and written checklists don't work too well for me. I figured out how to cheat. :)
It's simply, really. You have this list staring at you, and at the end of the day, many of them are STILL staring at you because you simply don't want to do them. But you can't end a day where it looks like you've done nothing. So you quickly write down all the things you DID do, and cross lines through them. After all, no one is superwoman and can accomplish EVERYTHING. And you got a lot done, see? So all the un-finished things simply carry over to the next day, and the next, and the next. Some people call that procrastination. I call it an unfinished checklist.
So if I don't post pictures of my Christmas tree by the end of next week, you'll know it simply came off of my checklist. :)

reminiscing

Today I've been thinking a lot today about my maternal grandmother.
She was married to an abusive alcoholic.
She was a Christian.
She stuck with him to the day he died.
When she met Bobby, I remember her telling him that she was miserable until the last 7 years of marriage. Then her Pug (never did find out how he got that nickname) became a Christian, and those last 7 years were the sweetest years they ever had.
One of her sayings was "Love is not a water faucet that you turn on and off."
We were the same height, and I fear have a lot of the same personality characteristics.
I don't know why God blessed me with wonderful godly examples and the family he has, but I am truly blessed beyond measure. I hope I can leave behind half the legacy that she did.

a day of rest, a day of work

Thursday found us up early (after a very late night!) and headed out to be with family. It was a great day, and I enjoyed playing with my great nephews (the nieces were a tad occupied). When we got home, I got to talk with 2 of my 3 siblings, and then we headed out to "black Friday" shopping...a first for both of us. We were home and in the bed by midnight, with only minor complications. (Some idiot decided to play with Bobby's van; we had to take two parking spaces since there were no handicap spots available; thankfully everything was fixable.)
This morning we were up and at 'em at our normal time, and I was very pleased with the amount of work we accomplished today.

holes dug for property line seedlings coming soon

and the hole size

outdoor nativity set up, minus light

my new nativity window clings

Christmas tree #1 is up...the nativity

More early shopping in the am, then family stuff, and Sunday we head back to the normal routine!

a note

Dear Squirrel,
I'm sorry I laughed at you yesterday morning when you almost fell out of the tree. Your gymnastic feat was truly quite amazing. When the tip-top outermost branch you were on started to fall downwards and you began stretching and clawing at the air, I thought for sure you would have to grasp at the branch below. When you instead flipped upside down and started climbing the underside of the limb, I was most impressed, even if I did laugh.

I see you've been enjoying the pecans. That's nice. We like them, too. So would you PLEASE stop throwing the remaining 3/4 of the nut you've already nibbled to the ground below? It's not very appetizing to pick up a wet shell that has the top eaten off. Why don't you bury that one in your holes? I'd leave those alone if you did.

There's already been talk of acquiring a dog or a cat by a member of this household. I'm not in favor of the proposition.But if you don't behave a little better, there may not be an option. I really don't care to find your tail on the doorstep. That has happened to some of your relatives in the past, you know.

This world is nutty enough for everyone, but you have to share more than just what you've already chewed.
Just thought you'd like to know.

little stuff

Fisher Price toys....I love them. They were my favorite as a kid, I delight in watching the toddlers in the nursery at church play with them, and I was thrilled to find two almost complete sets at a consignment sale today (for Christmas presents). The Noah's Ark was missing half of its animals, but I was able to find them plus some extras at a store online. :)

Quilting...it's fun, but I'm finding I love it when one of two things happen: 1) it's a crazy quilt and there's no pattern to worry about it, or 2) there is a pattern that tells you EXACTLY what to cut and HOW to sew the cut pieces together. I'm working on a baby quilt for someone, and the "easy" pattern I chose is missing some very vital instructions. Let's just say my bear currently has one arm, one leg, a belly, one ear, and one cheek, though not all connected.

Hammering...I've spent several hours the last few days pounding at the outer shells of black walnuts. While it's messy on the fingers (my thumbnails are stained black), there's something quite satisfying about the smashing the smothereens out of something and finding something worthwhile inside.

Coldness...we've had "mild" winter weather this week (several mornings of heavy frost), but several of our trees still bear leaves. We've still got a LONG way to go before the depths of winter, but somehow I find myself looking for daffodil shoots, as if it's mid-January.  Perhaps I really am mental.


And last, but certainly not least...I am so blessed to be married to my best friend and to walk this life journey with him. I had to wait a long time to find him, but he was clearly worth the wait.

one of my weird favorites

I don't know what is, but almost anything you're drinking tastes better with this:

Last year Kohl's had a machine on clearance (and I had a coupon) that will crush ice. I was so excited about it, and one of the kids (not sure if it was a relative or a friend's kid) gave me one of those you're-so-old-are-you-crazy-or-just-plain-out-of-touch looks and said, "Why did you buy a machine instead of just getting a new refrigerator?" Why, indeed.

But regardless, if you want to feel better, just add crushed ice to your drink. :)