Holy crap, you guys!! I did it! Going into this thing my only hope was to get into the practice of writing every day. To be a writer again. In the last several years all I had written of note were two short stories, about three hundred words each. Not much especially over the time span. I thought I was more than a little crazy to jump into NaNoWriMo after such an intense dry spell - but like I said I just wanted to get writing again. I had no intention of winning. In fact I fully expected not to. "I can't write that much!" "1667 words a day? Not coming from me, buddy." I've had five days where I wrote well over 2,000 words, two days where I wrote over 3,000 and today? Today I wrote 6,426. I don't know if I can do anything like this again, but I had a good time (most of the time) and am so glad I did it. It showed me that I can still write. I can still be creative. That I still have something in me that's worth putting to use. It also showed me that I can write and enjoy it just for me. No one has read anything of my novel. No one even knows what it's about. It's just mine and I'm okay with that.
I can't thank the directors at The Office of Letters and Light enough, but along with the merchandise I'm purchasing I'm making a donation. I wish I had more to give them for what they've given back to me.

As far as the immediate future - tomorrow I'm going to treat myself with a trip to the library, because I haven't been for the entire month of November. And that's far too long O_o

Chugging along with NaNoWriMo! I'm currently at 23,479 words - just over the recommended goal for today.I am honestly surprised that I've kept up this long and really do hope I can stick it through until the end :D I had to get an endoscopic procedure done today and I think if I managed to get my word count in today there should be no excuse for the remaining two weeks!

I'm currently up a bit later than usual as I'm waiting for midnight to register for classes online for the Spring semester. I'm not sure why registration starts at midnight - but I want to have the best chance at getting the classes I've chosen so here I am. Thankfully I've got nothing planned tomorrow so I can sleep in if need be :D

We've got part of our Christmas shopping done (woot!) We know where we want to do most of the rest but the lady only puts up shop occasionally and not on any real schedule so we're having trouble finding her O_o Then we've got Mike's brother and his girlfriend and we're set! Except for ourselves. Though that's more a matter of knowing what funds are available than knowing what to buy. Also I've bought supplies to make Christmas cards and I'm really looking forward to that XD

 Welcome to NaNoWriMo! I didn't think I was going to do it but I made the daily goal on day one with a final word count of 1671. Can I do that for another 29 days? I have no idea - but I'm going to try for sure. I thought I'd put up my writing space as today's picture - seemed appropriate for November 1st. Of course I'm currently typing this in the living room - but that's one of the joys of having a laptop.


In non-writing news I saw a new therapist today. My previous therapist was... annoying me. I guess a better way to put it would be that we didn't mesh therapeutically? Or something. Either way I saw someone new today and I do like her. Hopefully that will continue. In other mental health news my psych is messing with my meds in the hopes of getting me out of a rapid-cycling/depressed/irritable/low-energy stage that I have been stuck in for roughly forever. I don't know if the Vitamin D deficiency has anything to do with any of that, but I've been on the 50K unit pills for about three weeks and I would think if that was the issue there would be some sort of improvement. I know I need some improvement because this constant crap mood cannot stay. Mike says there have been times of stability and contentedness in my life - times that have lasted - but when I'm like this for this long I can never remember them.

 Okay, now we've got snow! Something that's actually measurable :D This is from a couple of days ago, but there is still a fair amount on the ground. Thankfully it didn't keep Mike out in the field any longer than scheduled, though it was looking that way for a little while. He got home late but that is better than the alternative :)

The ferret tower got here the day before Mike came home and we agreed he would put it together, but I got impatient and I felt bad that they didn't have proper digs. I managed to build it myself, all proper and competent like but when it came to placing the shelves and the ramps inside... No. I tried and the ferrets got around okay but Mike had to rebuild the interior when he got home. He's much more mechanically inclined than I am and the ferrets are better off for it.

NaNoWriMo is inching ever closer and I don't have nearly as much prep done as I would like >_< Mike is home until 31 October and if I don't make some time to get something done I'm afraid I'm going to be going in a lot more blind than I was hoping. This probably isn't the proper spirit, but I don't truly expect to get 50,000 words done. I want to - it's my goal. But I'm rusty at writing at all and really this is a tool to get me going more than it is a competition to win. For me anyway. If it gets me writing - really writing - in November and beyond I will consider that a total win :D

On Thursday we attempted to go to the Zoo - though we didn't realize it was a "Free Day" before we set off on our two hour trip to Denver. We ended up grabbing lunch and turning around to go to Rocky Mountain Nation Park instead - a very wise detour :) The day was perfect for it - crisp and clear - and the scenery was beautiful. Also we saw a ton of elk - some close enough to touch. Unfortunately the closest elk were at night and my camera is just not snazzy enough to get great night shots. Still, a very cool experience.

Today is my 31st birthday. I feel old. When I was 30 I sort of comforted myself with the knowledge that I was still close to my twenties. That doesn't seem applicable anymore. I know someday my thirties will seem young - but not today :p

What is young in the ferret currently trying to crawl up my pant leg. Oh yes - we've already extended our family again! But we're done now - for sure! Eight pets is enough. For anyone counting that's two dogs, two gerbils, two birds and now two ferrets. They were a birthday extension. So I got a pretty good haul this year! Birds, ferrets, Sims 3 Pets, BBC's "Jekyll", a Paddington Bear mug and Ben Fold's new 3 CD set :D I am a lucky girl! What I don't get this year is my husband. He left for the field this morning. But we pretended yesterday was my birthday :)

NaNoWriMo is coming and I don't think I'm ready! I have an idea but I'm afraid it won't carry me. I need to spend some more time with it and see where it takes me.