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Oh, Hello December

02 Monday Dec 2019

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Did you know that it’s December?

We’re not in November anymore. I repeat, I’ve lost the end of November. I don’t know where it went, or what happened to it, or how it passed by me without even a wave and a few words sprinkled in it.

None the less, we are in December. Technically we’re two days in now. We have 30 days until we say goodbye to 2019 and hello to a new year that will hopefully slow down and treat us kinder than 2019 did. Though, there’s never any promises for that from the years, is there.

I leave for a work trip in four days (on Friday) and am spending a week two timezones behind my normal one in the desert. Las Vegas specifically. I’ve had one of my co-workers all, you’re going to get to do all the things and see all the shows while you’re there, and all I’m thinking is ‘when!?’ because I’m manning the Residency Interview booth for my company and interviews start at 7:30am, which means I need to be there around 7am to make sure the booth is all set up for the day. And interviews run until 5pm, which means I’m sitting at this booth smiling and making idle and awkward chit chat for like 9 – 10 hours a day most of the days I’m in Vegas. What time do I have to explore and have fun? Because I’m not seeing it.

I am considering bucking up the courage to try my hand at some blackjack. I do okay virtually, who knows if I’d do well live. And if I lose $20 at least I can say I tried.

I am looking to capture some photos while I’m there and update Instagram as I can, so if you aren’t following me on Instagram, be sure to follow me there @meriscorner

I’m also looking to try and get some writing done, but I’m not sure I’m going to bring my laptop. I think I’m going to try and do some back to basics, pen and notebook writing while I’m in Vegas. Less distraction because I’m not sliding to instagram or twitter or facebook, but also, it’s not going to look like I’m ignoring interviewees when they come up to the table if I’m just writing in a notebook. I’ve also been having an issue staring at a blank word document just making me stressed that I haven’t written so I’m hoping this will help me in getting words down again. It’s been forever since I’ve really written and I’d like to get back into the habit, the groove, the writerly swing of things.

This week specifically I’ve been prepping my friend’s presents so they’re ready to mail. And getting everything ready to head to the conference. Not just with packing clothes and planning wardrobe for a professional conference, but making sure like, everything on my desk at work is okay because someone will be sitting at it the entire week I’m gone. O.O I hate the idea of someone using my space while I’m gone, but because I work at a front desk it has to be.

Any fun plans for your first week of December? Let me know in the comments below!

NaNo ’19 – Day Fourteen

14 Thursday Nov 2019

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So yesterday, the 13th, was interesting. We had a gen contractor over at the house to fix a few things, and of course, the few things took a lot longer than expected. What was supposed to be a small fix became taking the old pipes of our shower out and putting new pipes, new fixture, and new tile in and took until about 10pm last night.

Which also meant that I spent a lot of time after getting home from work listening to banging, cutting, and overall contractor work being done in our only bathroom.

Which meant I didn’t really get anything done. Well, unless you count getting two episodes of Riverdale and an episode of Nancy Drew watched something. I’m still working out which of the many panels I want to go to this weekend, everything starts tomorrow! I’ve still got a lot of work on my words to do, but I haven’t actually given up hope either. I’m still hoping I can get caught up on things.

Queen of Nothing releases on Tuesday, so I’m also hoping to finish Wicked King this weekend. If you haven’t read The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black yet, definitely should give it a try. I recommend them. They’re sold as YA, but do be aware that there are some dark themes in them, as an FYI. I’m bouncing and waiting and chomping at the bit for the Owl Crate edition of the new book because they’ve been doing exclusive covers for the books that are a stark difference between the mass market covers and I love them and can’t wait to see how everything looks and what they do for this new release.

I’m going to try to update my blog while I’m at the con, maybe after everything settles from the day before bed. But that’s completely dependant on how the internet works at the hotel. More and more hotels are being super stupid with charging for internet these days, and I refuse to pay for it. If I remember correctly from last year though, this hotel gives complimentary internet just for staying at their hotel. We shall see.

NaNo count, still the same as it was when I first got a little written. Here’s hoping by Monday that number goes up though.

NaNo ’19 – Day Eleven

11 Monday Nov 2019

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Day Eleven started out with snow. Yesterday it was like 50 degrees, not terrible to go outside in a really thick sweater and enjoy the sunshine. Today, snow everywhere. I’m hoping there’s not too much accumulation before I get out of work, because if there is, well cleaning off the car to go home is going to suck.

This week is only a four day week for me at work though. Friday I’ve taken off because I’m headed to a Sci Fi Convention in my area. I’m still trying to narrow down what I want to attend panel/workshop wise. There are a lot of good choices both in the Science Fiction/Space Opera topic and the writer topics in general. All the expanding my horizons though.

This weekend, overall was pretty lazy. Mom and I did some shopping, I finally set my Cricut Explore Air 2 up. It’s all lavender and pretty and I love it. The Design Software could use a little work, it seems super slow on the computer when I go to design things. I’m not sure if part of that is because it’s mostly online. The phone app seems to work fairly well and smooth with few glitches. I’m not sure what’s causing the computer version to be so glitchy. Hoping to find a happy medium between the two so that it’s easy for me to both design and print/cut.

I also picked up a new printer, mostly because the last printer we used in the house is at least five to six years old, and hasn’t been used in that time frame. So figured new was definitely better. Also, I settled that in my study so it’s up and running as well.

The two are so happy next to each other.

But playing with that and fiddling with things took up a good portion of my time over the weekend energy-wise, so I didn’t get much else done.

Writing wise, this NaNo hasn’t been fairing pretty well. We’re a third into it, but I still have some time to catch up and keep working. While I plan to attend panels at the con, I also do plan to write. They have a writer’s room where some of the writer panels are taking place. And any time it’s between panels, it’s just open for people to come and sit and write so hoping to get some catch up done this weekend.

And Hoping to get home tonight in enough of an early hour that I can snuggle in and get some work done tonight. I’m finally starting to feel better in regards to my cold. Mornings and evenings are the worst, mostly when laying down. But between times are generally okay right now. Here’s hoping that it stays that way.

Hope your November is going well!

NaNo ’19 – Day Seven

07 Thursday Nov 2019

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I was able to get my internet back up and running, thankfully. So we have internet in the house once again. I actually stayed home from work on the 5th to be able to be home for the tech to come and fix it. And once he had fixed it I took some cold meds and basically slept for the rest of the day.

Yesterday was back up and to work, and cold meds had me sick to my stomach on the car ride to work and then woozy all day at work. So made the decision to not take those again while at work/before work because that’s just not good for getting anything done.

Mom and I got home yesterday and cooked a Hello Fresh meal for dinner and then I crashed super early again.

I will say, I am starting, slowly, to feel better. I’ve taken to sucking on peppermint and wintergreen because the mint helps to clear out the congestion in my sinuses and help me to breath without the need for too much in the way of meds while at work and it’s helped me get through the first hour or so of work today so far. And I’m about ready to make myself some tea even though I’m warm because the steam helps to clear out my congestion as well and I have noticed I’m a little dehydrated so more liquids will be good.

I’m hoping to kick this by Saturday so I can really push hard and get better back on track this weekend to settle into where I should be.

Hope everyone else is doing well for November! Stay hydrated! Stay warm! and stay Healthy!

NaNo ’19 Day 4 – It got worse

04 Monday Nov 2019

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So, I missed Day three for this blog, but it’s not entirely my fault. I currently have no internet in the house.

Remember that storm I talked about that happened last Wednesday? Well, it had pulled a wire down from the corner of the house and Mom and I hadn’t thought it connected to anything because we didn’t have any problems when it came down. Turns out, that’s because it hadn’t been broken, the not causing issues.

It was our phone line.

You know, the one that grants us connection to the outside world via the internet?

We found this out because Mom, in a cold medicine haze, made the decision to snip it since it clearly wasn’t doing anything in our house…

So she left us with no internet…

Now I’m trying to get our provider to come out and fix it so we can have internet again. While barely being able to talk because my throat is super bad, my coughing is bad, and my head feels like it’s underwater with the sinus pressure and sick.

Needless to say too, I’ve gotten nothing done on NaNo too. I haven’t been able to think clearly enough to actually write anything.

How is your November going so far?

NaNo ’19 Day 2 – The Sick Has Me

02 Saturday Nov 2019

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It’s about 3:30pm on Day Two of NaNo. I’m already a day behind because, as the title of this post states, the sick has caught me.

I have narrowed down that the nausea is caused by the medication that’s helping with the breathing and the coughing. Of course, I didn’t make that connection until about 1pm this afternoon so I’m still trying to feel better stomach wise.

On top of which, I’m struggling to stay awake because even just chewing lunch took so much effort, though that might have been because I was battling the nausea. I’ve managed to get about half of chapter one done this morning despite cats deciding my notes and laptop were THE space to be, and feeling like if I close my eyes I might just fall asleep.

I am thinking if I take a small nap, I’ll be awake later because the rest of the meds will be – hopefully – out of my system and I can finish getting through chapter one and slide through chapter two as well.

Of course the risk is also that it’s not how it’ll go down and I’ll just sleep right through to day three. Choices and risks.

Current word count: 1,291

How is your day two going?

NaNo ’19 – Day 1

01 Friday Nov 2019

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Happy November, Everyone!

I hope that your November is starting out a little better than mine. You might be asking yourself, well why say that, and thinking that you’re sure my November has started off fine too. Weeeeelllllll, I’m not so sure about that.

For starters, I’m in the Midwest portion of the country that received snow. LOTS of SNOW.

Enough that I had to clear off my car before I could drive home last night. Enough that we really didn’t get any trick or treaters last night.

The snow actually started on Wednesday. I woke up and looked out my window at my neighbor’s roof and even half asleep was whispering, “no, No, NO!” to myself. In prepping to go to work, I cleared a BRANCH out of the street and pulled something in my back. On walking back to the house to email work I would be tending to my back I heard a super loud SNAP and looked to my backyard where a thick branch had broken off the tree. It took down whatever cable was attached from my house to the pole in the alley (not my landline – still have wifi, and not my electric, so we still don’t know what it is. We’re calling the phone company tomorrow to see if they can come out and at least determine if it’s theirs or not). It also took out my neighbor’s landline to the pole, which took out their wifi too.

Thursday night, on the eve of NaNo, my throat got a tickle.

I’m now coughing and queasy, but I’m at work because bills to pay and all that.

Despite being under the weather, I’m looking to do some NaNo Work after I get home from actual work. I might try to con my mother – we car pool to work because we work across the street from each other if I haven’t mentioned before – into leaving a little early today. I got the sick from her, I can state this confidently because she stayed home Tuesday and Wednesday sick with it. I’m hoping having it hit today, I can spend the weekend tending to it, drowning it in tea and honey, and writing, and just get over this before Monday or it settles too much in my body.

Maybe I’ll use a hot shower as my word count reward today, hit word count, take hot shower to let the steam help break up the sick in my throat. It’s definitely a good motivator. Though I’m also super ready to nap right now – which may be the meds I took so I’m not dying at work.

Wish me luck killing the sick before it becomes a monster.
I’m determined to not let it disrupt my NaNo and my November goals.

Also, since I’m not too into the vlogs and on camera, but more the writer behind the blog, I’m hoping to do a blog a day for NaNo. Even if it’s just a quick snippet of how my word count went the day before. High goals for me, but here’s hoping that by the end of November I’ve updated this blog thirty days in a row. =)

Happy writing, for those that are participating in NaNo!
Happy November for those that are not!

Stay warm, readers. And stay healthy!

Hello 2019

08 Tuesday Jan 2019

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Can you believe it’s 2019. Not just 2019, but we’re already eight days in! Is the new year treating you well? Are you well on your way to exactly how you want to work, what you want to work on, and what all you’re doing?

I hope so.

I have a few things on my personal list to accomplish for this year, but also a good bit of wants for my blog, writing, & reading portions of my life.

For My Blog

Updates: 2018 saw me increase my posting much more than in the past. I want to stick with that momentum and continue doing better until this blog is getting a post a minimum of once a week – on Mondays for updates. (You’ll note that today is Tuesday…)

Reviews: I did some reviews in 2018, but I’ll be honest – especially for the amount I read last year – not enough. I want to be sure this year that if I liked a book, that I’m writing a review for it – and then leaving it on Goodreads and Amazon where I can too. Far too many of my Goodreads stuff right now has a star rating but no actual review – which while better than nothing is still not where I want to leave it for the future. For my blog, reviews are posted on Wednesdays – not in lue of an update post.

For My Writing

In general, I wrote more and published more last year (and mostly in the last six months of 2018) than I did in the past. In this I don’t just want to stick with the momentum, but increase it. I want to write more often, plot when I’m not writing, and get more of a catalog up on Amazon.

I also want to see my first draft edited so I can decide if I want to shop it around to publishers or really give it the push it needs marketing wise to indie publish it. It’s my baby, and I want to do right by it.

For My Reading

Last year I read 50 books. Which considering in 2016 & 2017 I read less than that combined, is a great accomplishment for me. My original goal for 2018 was 24 books, and I was pushing to read five to six books a month overall.

This year, however, because I want to focus a little more on writing. I’ve left the my Reading Challenge at 50 books. I’ve also decided to stop focusing so much on having a long TBR pile. I may decide at the beginning of the month to definitely read one or two titles, but the rest for the month will be titles that just hit my fancy and call to me to read.

I’m not really doing resolutions this year, but more goals to keep myself to month to month, to gradually improve myself and my life. I think goals will do me better this year. We shall see if I’m right.

Are you doing resolutions this year? If so, what are they?

Goodbye 2018

31 Monday Dec 2018

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Can you believe we say goodbye to 2018 tonight? I’m not always sure where the year has gone, how it’s already going to be January again, a new start, a fresh year with millions of possibilities.

I think part of my problem right now is that it doesn’t FEEL like it’s the end of the year outside. I live in the Midwest, where we normally have snow from December to March. But this winter has been so weird, very off because we’ve had a lot of rain and almost no snow. I keep waiting for it to feel like it should be winter, like it’s ready to be a new year or the Holidays, but it just hasn’t happened.

Overall, I still feel like I’m not ready for the year to be over. There are a few things I’d wanted to have finished before 2018 ended and a new year had taken its place, but sometimes life just happens that way, right?

This year has seen my health and Mom’s health get a little better. I’ve been part of a writer’s group for a little over a year and I’m loving the connection it’s given me. I published three shorts this year as well, and have finished writing two others that need to be edited. I’ve also made some headway on editing a finished manuscript, and editing one that still needs the last couple chapters added to it to be considered finished.

I’m hoping I can keep the momentum up for 2019, keep the writing up, and keep up the editing. I’d love to be finished editing the manuscript by the end of next year.

I also read 50 books this year. My original goal for 2018 was 24 books. So 2019’s goal will be 75, I think. It takes into account how much I have read, and pushes me to read a little more. I didn’t always keep to my reading TBRs that were set for the month, and there were some months I didn’t read at all which is why I’m looking to add to my goal for 2019 as well. Because I know where I can improve already.  I do think I’ll keep my monthly TBR lists to three books a month, and that way I leave some space for some non-list books that fall my way as well.

I did better this year with my blog as well, posting more than I did in 2017, but again there’s still some room for improvement. I mean, I can just look at this month to see that. I missed the Mondays between the first and last of the month. I don’t spend a lot of time on the computer when I’m not at work, but because I’m pushing to work more on my writing that’s changing and it’s a good thing overall. Leads me to be more productive when I’m at home, or on vacation from work.

So yes, lots of hopeful plans this year. If you’re interested in the shorts I published, please check out the My Books section here.

I hope you have a Safe New Year’s Eve, and that 2019 brings great things for all of us!

Hello December – When Did You Arrive?

05 Wednesday Dec 2018

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So November is over. We saw it off with a fond farewell, a glass of Strongbow (my drink of choice), and a yippe!

Why?

Because National Novel Writing Month is over! And whether you achieved 50 words or 50,000 words, pat yourself on the back. Because you wrote, or you plotted and planned and honed your craft or business another way. There are many reasons for you to pat yourself on the back for what you did in November I’m sure.

I had good intentions of posting my stats throughout November as I went, weekly check-ins, but that kind of went down the tube.

With the year wrapping up, and finals arriving, a Holiday Party to plan, decorate and orchestrate mostly on my own for my department, things tend to ramp up here at work. Not only that, but applications for Fall are in full incoming mode as well, and I work closely with the DGS for ensuring materials are in, applications are reviewed, and questions are answered during this season – something that won’t officially end until February.

For me, my NaNo was kind of all over the place. I went through slumps, I wrote on several different stories to get my words, but I did achieve my word count.

And now December is here! With ice, snow, and darker mornings that make it difficult to want to get up for work. And I have two weeks before I am off for the Christmas Holiday. I get a little under two weeks of paid vacation off between Christmas and New Years – in which I’m hoping to both get a lot of writing done, reading done, and cleaning done.

Mom and I are hoping to move in a couple years. Somewhere maybe a little smaller, with a smaller yard that won’t take too much to manage. Ideally, I’m hoping for a three bedroom, two bath house. So we can have a guest room/library/office room, which we don’t really have now. We have a studio/office now but I guess part of the problem is it’s where everything from the living room goes when we have company – and the stuff from their last visit is still sitting in there being piled upon. So one of the goals this break is to get the living room and office cleaned out.

I’m trying to hand make some of my Christmas stuff this year. Though, that’s partially dependant on the stores shipping me the items I need make them. I’m just sitting here watching the order tracking information, waiting for them to be out for delivery. After I’m sure people have opened their presents, I’ll see about posting a picture of the final products on here. Not before.

I only have three books on my TBR this month, partially because I’m still working on writing things and with the Holidays, I’m crafting Holiday presents, and the last week of December is pretty much all Family stuff.

What books would those be?

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco
The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince is a serious need for me to read with The Wicked King coming out in January. I have the Owl Crate covered edition of The Cruel Prince, and last month they released the sales for a special edition box for the release of The Wicked King – with a special cover to make their The Cruel Prince cover. So I’m kind of super excited to see what the cover will look like when I get the box. So that’s a hard must read before the month is over.

What are you planning to read this Month? Did you reach your reading goal for 2018? Let me know down in the comments!