On the road again

Yeah, so I totally didn't do last week's Compuserve writing marathon. I had only the best intentions, but something came up. What you ask? Where was I all weekend?

DH and I drove to Georgia (an 8+ hour trip) and back. In just over 24 hours. To buy a motor scooter.

Seriously.

I actually commute for a good 6 months of the year - the good 6 months of the year, or about May thru October - on a scooter. It's fun, it's fresh air...and it's 100 miles per gallon gasoline. I've been riding a 50cc but it was time to move up. The model I wanted is very hard to find in the color I wanted, but one popped up in Athens, GA. I had to move quickly.

Oh, and I brought along my shiny new copy of Vicki's The Scent of Shadows. I started reading it while we waited for our flat tire to be fixed in Ringgold, Georgia (not too far south of Chattanooga). That book ATE MY BRAIN. For the next several days. Let me tell you, it's a good thing her next one is coming out in a month, 'cause I sure couldn't wait a year or more. Dang. Oh, and Joanna's baby was totally Ben's, not Joaquin's. I'm telling ya now, so don't forget I called it when it's finally revealed. *g*

Anyway, no marathon. Last weekend, at least. I resolved to make it up this weekend, and to that end I forced myself to work tonight. I'm pleased with the results. I reworked Chapter One, tweaking and filling in, and bringing it up to full working draft status. Only added about 200 new words, but it's a good point from which to jump off for my linear writing trial/stint.

Tomorrow I rework/finish Chapter Two.

Edited to add: Oh, and I took the Jeopardy! online test a few months ago, then promptly effectively forgot about it. Guess who got an e-mail today asking them to come to Washington D.C. for an actual audition? That's right, I did.

New Year, New Words!

So after spending most of December completely unproductive, last night as I was waiting for something to finish at work I sat down and wrote the first new words of the new year! Only about 500, and in very rough form, but hey - it's a start.

And then I had the happy luck to stumble onto the Compuserve forum for the first time in a while lately, and find out we've got another writing marathon going, starting today (or yesterday, but I'll go with the original plan). So I talked DH into having a writing night instead of video games (more on that in a bit) and I managed to hash out about 1000 words. Only about half of those will go into the story--the rest are a stream-of-consciousness from the December exercise--but the SOC provided a strong base for an important scene that I still have plenty of wordage to mine for tomorrow. A strong start, I think. And getting me excited about writing again.

I had meant to spend last week getting caught up, revising, and prepping for a big first-of-the-year push, but there was one main problem: DH got a Nintendo Wii and the new Legend of Zelda game for Christmas. And I, well, I am a Zelda junkie. Not to play, no--I just watch, and offer suggestions borne of my years of experience watching DH play Zelda. I'm an "armchair gamer," much like a backseat driver. I'm sure it drives DH crazy, but the truth is I really get into the game, even if *I* am not the one actually playing. And every night (and most of some days) since Christmas DH has been playing Zelda and I've been sucked in. Therefore, not writing. It'll be tough staying away for the next few nights to complete the marathon, but that's the point - to get me back to writing. DH is about halfway through the game (I think) so hopefully he'll beat it soon and we can go back to our regular evening lives.

Oh, and the baby now has 6 teeth--2 more have broken through in the past day or so. He's taking it really well, all things considered. At least 2 more are imminent, and then I hope he gets a break.

Wrapping up so I can go to bed, my 2007 resolutions:

-Finish this book. Preferably by July, but I'll take end of the year as long as it's finished.

-Lose the last 10-15 pounds to meet my goal before I stop breastfeeding (and lose the extra calorie burnoff).

-Revise and stick to our family budget. We do all right, but don't save as much as we could be if we were a little more disciplined.

Not too many, and all--I think--doable. And now: to sleep, perchance to dream.