Monday, November 21, 2011

I Did It

It took a solo shopping trip, shedding my last clinical day, getting 2 good test grades, and a mini-mondo (doesn't even make sense) shopping trip with my mother-in-law in which I procured a few Christmas decorations, but I finally let go of the stress


Have some things suffered? Yes. I haven't written another word on my NaNo novel since my write-in with Nicole Ducleroir last Wednesday. As of today, I'm a little over 10,000 words behind. Doesn't matter. I'm not going to finish, and I'm okay with it. I have 23,002 words that I didn't have before November 1. I showed myself that I can write every day, even when I'm really, really busy. Even more important, I showed myself that I'm mature enough to make tough decisions about self-denial and discipline. And it payed off--the test that I gave up NaNo for ended up being my highest test grade of the semester.

I also slept a lot. Friday night I went to bed at 8:20pm and woke up at 8:30am. When's the last time you got 12 hours of uninterrupted sleep? It was glorious. Last night, after shopping with Evan's mom, I snuggled with Evan on the couch (again, around 8:30) while he was playing Final Fantasy XIII and fell asleep with the kitties wrapped around me.

Oh, and you know what else I did? This:


The final painting project is now crossed off my December To-Do list before December. Before this paint job, the whole wall was painted the same beige color as above the chair rail, but now the bottom half is "Carroway Seed." Although I don't like giving her money, I ended up buying Martha Stewart paint because I'm a cheapskate at heart, and the gallons were on sale for 19 bucks. I was pretty iffy about the paint at first--it's very, very watery/runny, but it ended up giving really nice coverage with only one coat. My mother-in-law swears by the Benjamin Moore paint that costs 50 bucks a gallon, but that's just not in my budget right now (or rather, I don't want it to be). I'm happy with the end result, though.

The paint makes a huge difference in the living room, and my hideous couch finally doesn't look so bad. Evan even rearranged the furniture while I was out shopping. It's not Christmas tree friendly, but we still have a couple weeks before the tree will go up, so that's okay.

Last year's NaNo novel is whispering in my ear, but I'm going to ignore it for now. I'm afraid Lola Sharp might fly down here and beat me with my manuscript if I don't finish Token.

So. Things are good. Things are groovy. I've smiled a lot in the past few days. School is so close to over I can taste it. The temperature has been in the 40's, which is very holiday-spirit-inducing.

I'm happy.

Are you happy? What have you been up to? Thanksgiving plans this week? Black Friday shoppers? Cyber Monday clickers? Do tell.

16 comments:

Stina said...

Hey, you've got 23,002 more words than me on my new project (I'm still in the planning phase).

Great paint job. You want to do my house next? It's in bad need of painting. You think you're cheap. I didn't buy new paint to touch up the kid-beaten walls. I used what was in the basement from the previous owners. There's a good reason why you should NEVER use paint that is more than five years old. Groan.

Congrats on your awesome grade. :D

DL Hammons said...

Good for you, on all counts!

The family is driving down to Louisiana to spend Thanksgiving with Dad & Sis, then continuing on down to Baton Rouge to watch my #1 Tigers take on the #3 Razorbacks in Deaf Valley! It could be a glorious weekend. Enjoy yours!! :)

Shain Brown said...

Great job. You sound so happy, even with your life running a hundred miles an hour. Continue to have those wonderful days that make memories, and enjoy the holidays.

As for me, you made me feel lazy. Time to get myself in gear. Thanks.

Unknown said...

The living room looks great! Love that color. Humongous congrats on the high test grade -- whoot!!! And believe it or not, I also have not typed one word in my NaNo novel since our write-in. I just don't feel the sense of urgency that NaNo usually gives me. And a friend passed away on Wednesday, which took all the wind out of my sails. Yesterday was the wake, and I'm going to the funeral this morning. Saying goodbye is hard :(

But, tomorrow will be better and I'll get the house ready for my sister and her kids' arrival. Wednesday is baking day -- a family favorite. Once I get past today, I'll beckon the joy back in. Hopefully, I'll write a little too.

((hugs))

Old Kitty said...

Hideous couch? What hideous couch?!?!?!

Yay for bargain paint that works on the first coat! And it looks gorgeous!!! Well done you!!

I hope lovely Lola lays off the beating till after christmas! LOL!

p.s LOVE your kitty pics on your sidebar!!!!
Take care
x

Linda G. said...

Yay, you! I still can't believe you got any writing done at all this month, what with your school schedule and all. You rock. :)

Slamdunk said...

Congrats on the school stuff, and those catch-up sleep days are essential--glad you had one on Friday.

Anonymous said...

I didn't even sleep for 12 hours straight when I had mono in high school. If I get 5, I'm happy. Last night was 4.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Glad you let go of your stress! And it doesn't matter how many words - it's still more than if you'd never tried, right?

Teri Anne Stanley said...

I have given up on my NaNo goal, as well. It's not NoNoWriMo for me!
But I got a puppy, had a girl scout meeting at my house, got a good start on a logo I am supposed to be designing for our family business...so yeah. I'm with you on the de-stress thing!

Sarah Ahiers said...

love the carroway seed color. Love it. We must have the same taste in wall colors because i've really liked everything i've seen of your house.
We finally got snow here this weekend, only a few inches but enough to cover everything, so now i'm getting super pumped for christmas. We'll put our tree up this weekend, after thanksgiving (though where we'll fit it with a new 40 gallon fishtank in our house i have no idea. but we'll make room. Yes. We. Will.)

Lola Sharp said...

You can tell you feel better. Your emails, this post, everything has suddenly lightened up.

And, YES, I will be sad sad sad if you don't finish Token. (I liked last year's project, too. It's a good project. But this one is excellent and you need to finish it.)

Hugs,
Lola

alexia said...

Lots of writing planned for my days off work this week! No Black Friday shopping. No way am I getting up early.

amanda h. said...

Weeee! You're almost done!! The wall looks great... We need to take a hint from you and get ours done. Wah. Happy belated thanksgiving!

Sarah Allen said...

How are you so amazing? You do everything. It's insane!!! I admire you so much, keep up the great work on everything.

And yes, I am very, very happy :D

Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)

DEZMOND said...

keep up the great work, Summer!