Rollin'...

I've just hit Chapter 6 and going strong! Granted, Chapter 3 is only partially done, but the other four chapters are complete. Yay! Chapter 1 may get a few revisions in the far future, though...

The story hasn't run out of fuel, thank goodness. If anything, its only getting stronger as it goes on. I have it entirely planned out; I know how what the conflict is, the plot, and how its all going to wrap up in a nice, tidy ending. All that remains is getting it there. Roughly 57k more words needed. xD

I'm on the fence about Kevin's most recent ponderings on entering the Air National Guard. Part of me is terrified of losing him to war, but the other part of me realizes that, if he gets laid off (which becomes more and more of a possibility with each passing week), he'll really have no other choice. Finding entry-level jobs in engineering in this economy is about as easy as winning the lottery. :/ He could go back to school, but that would pile more bills on top of bills and we'd be shit broke. The ANG would provide him with the training needed to go into any engineering field he wanted, and then he could use that experience to take with him back to college for his Masters, and the ANG would pay for him to go, and he wouldn't be called into active duty while in school. However, once out of school...

I would love to move out with him and be able to start our own lives, but, I just don't know. >.< I'll support him in whatever he wants to do. Unfortunately, I'm being a bit too supportive, because I told him I'd work out and run with him if he decided to go. Ack! What was I thinking? LoL! I do need to get back in shape, though...hehe.

We've been slowly squirreling away furniture and whatnot. We've got most of the living room complete: we just need to purchase a couch, but we're waiting on that. We've got the storage for it, but the couch is an item the store always has in stock, so it isn't a big deal. The big, flat screen TV was purchased this weekend, along with the mini-entertainment center, a coffee table, lamps, a painting, and odds'n'ends. We got kitchen-y things too, but I still need to purchase a set of cookware. Next, we're going to work on saving up for our bed. Hooray for Ikea and saving money. I had to dip into my savings account, but thats why my savings account is there, and it wasn't a big dip, and I'm still squirreling away money into it.

Anyways, back to writing. My characters are pretty demanding. I feel like my head will explode if I don't get them out and put them on the computer screen. When I have to pack them back up again, they clamor around in my brain until I get a headache. >.< If I didn't have to share my computer with the rest of the fam, I'd bring it along with me to Kevin's house and write write write write...but alas, I can not.

Snow Day!

I feel deprived. When it snowed, I squealed and ran outside and tasted it and played with it like I was six again. Kevin and I threw snowballs at each other while Braxton chased after them (watching him try to pick up a snowball and carry it back to us was so funny) and made puppy angels.

Unfortunately, though Kevin got work off yesterday, I did not. The bank ended up opening a few hours later, but it still sucked! I wanted to stay home and play in the snow with Kevin and Braxton. Instead, I had to stand inside and watch the snow melt from my drive-thru window. Torture! I did manage to get a few pictures though--not as many as I would have liked, owing to the fact that I left my camera at home and couldn't take pictures until after work around 5:30. Pictures follow after the post!

I am working on Chi! Yay! For those of you who don't know, Chi (from Chobits) is my newest costume. I'd post a picture, but there aren't any good ones with a decent enough resolution. Grrr. I'll post in-progress pictures of the costume, however. =D It's got a very long trim of beads, and after doing the math in my head last night, I figured that I'll need to order around 2400 beads. Thankfully, I found just the right kind of beads online. They are affordable enough, but I still need to wait until the end of the week when I get paid and get my taxes. I've been spending a lot, and it's only Tuesday. Ugh!

Anyways. I've never been this far ahead on a costume before. :X Usually, I end up having to wait until the last few weeks before a con to finish. I guess it helps that I'm not in school. The con isn't until the last week of September, and I'm already about 60% done with Chi. Whoot whoot!

Kevin and I went to Ikea last night with the intentions of just looking around. We walked out of there with around $60 of stuff. Whoops. We bought three lamps and two black end tables for our future living room. Our color scheme is red, black, and white, so we bought two white paper lamps (which look awesome), and one cute red lamp (which will go on our future entertainment center). Ikea has cute, modern, clean-cut stuff for cheap. Yay! Kevin and I don't want rustic or fancy--we want straight lines, bold colors, and modern-feel. We're going to buy a red coach (we already have it picked out, just not paid for), and I'm going to sew all the black and white pillows for it. Our coffee table will be black, along with the end tables. The entertainment center will also be black. All the accents and curtains will be red/white.

I'm getting my hair cut today, I hope. Will post pictures if it comes to pass.

The books are going. I can't report anything on them yet, other than I've halted work on the first book for now in lue of the second, as I feel so much more inspiration at the moment for the second. It took me only three days to spit out chapter one. Yay!

Pictures!

I finished a chapter. Yay! I haven't had a lot of time to write, so getting off work early today really helped me finally close up this chapter I've been working on for the last few weeks. x_x I believe the finished chapter is, in fact, Chapter 2. However, seeing as how Chapter 1 still remains to be written, I cannot be sure.

No worries. Chapter 1 can wait. I'm moving on.

It's tough work trying to concentrate with a crazy dog. Every sound he hears he thinks it must be Kevin coming home from work, because he barks like mad. When the front door fails to open, he sits and stares at it and starts whining and grunting. Now he's staring at me. Sometimes he has these fits where he has to run circles around the house. The house is so quiet, so every time he barks, it makes me jump. :X

Stuck. Stuck. Stuck.

My life need be described in only one single word: stuck. I've typed it so much, that it no longer looks like a real word to my brain.

I am writing because it is the only part of my life that I can really move forward. The rest of me remains stuck to this same spot that I've been in for the last year, and I think it is starting to mess with my brain a little bit.

I am trying so hard to make some sort of giant leap, but I keep being held back by some stupid obstacle. I want desperately to just make one jump...just one...but it feels so impossible. There is only so much time before I start taking drastic measures, but if this continues for any longer--if I am still here in the same spot at the end of the month--I will be forced to take those measures. It chills me to realize that I'll be throwing my money down a black hole, but, ironically, the only way I can move forward at this point is to dig my hole way deeper--aka: take out a high risk loan.

Ah, the irony. I will be stuck in paying off a loan that will never go down, in order to pay for the things I need to move forward...yet...I'll be putting myself in even more depth and ultimately moving back.

It's so confusing. x_x

-yawn-

Working is just not for me. I need Kevin to hit it big so I can stay at home and write all day. Haha.

Or maybe I should just try getting more sleep. x_x

Le sigh.

I did it again, ya'll.

I changed my book. Right as I finished the first chapter, I thought to myself that I almost had it...that there was just one detail that wasn't quite right...

And I found that one detail after MUCH brain-picking this morning while getting ready for work (that is what hot showers are for). Fortunately, the characters are the same, and the storyline follows the same paranormal layout that I had (girl sees ghosts, etc). However, the setting has drastically changed, as has the tone. Unfortunately, because of the drastic change in setting, I have to sort of...start over. Clean slate.

But that is why I consider myself in the very beginning of the beginning of developing this book, because it will be revised and rewritten so many times. :X I am just as excited about it as I was with the first draft, because every revision I make just creates a better, tighter, story.

Once I finish the pitch, I'll post it. Until now, I've got another first chapter to write. =D

(On the bright side: I had no idea where I was going to go with the original first chapter, but this chapter is already laid out in my head, I just have to put it on the computer).

I know this is a tad late, but let me just say that the Inauguration was pretty awesome. I am excited for Obama, because he really does represent change. He was elected because the American people are clearly sick of what Bush has done, and they obviously want change. This just goes to show that the Republicans really messed things up. :/ The proof is our President.

I'm placing a lot of trust in President Obama, so I really hope he doesn't let me down. I'll be highly disappointed if he does. =(

I am ready for my tax refunds to get here. Money is scarce. There is talk floating around about our hours possibly being cut a bit in the next few months. I hope it does not have to come down to that, as I'm having a hard enough time as it is maintaining a savings and having a bit to spend. I wish the Man would cut me some slack. That, however, is a whole 'nother rant.

I hit a big of a snag on my first chapter, but I'm wading my way through it and I think it's almost coming to a close--finally. I've revised and rewritten this first chapter at least three times now, and once this revision is finished, I'm moving on and not touching it again.