One of my favoritest people...

...has been interviewed by Heather. Go check out the interview of Carol Valdez Miller! And make sure you check out Carol's blog if by some bizarre circumstance you have not been there before.

Oh and don't forget to take a break this weekend and chillax.

Classes have started! (the spring 2011 edition)

This semester is a full load:
T/R 11-12:20 Interpersonal Communications. This is a bit confusing to me, but I think it will be fascinating. Oh and it's required.
T/R 12:30-1:50 Comp I. Yeah. Also required.
break
T/R 3:30-4:50 Intro to Education. THIS CLASS IS FREAKING AWESOME.
break
T 6:8:50 Film Appreciation. I am really excited to delve into the making of movies and why they mean so much to us.

So yeah. Looks like this will be a busy and productive semester. I owe another dollar to Room to Read. Crap. I am going to write immediately after I post this. I need to stem this hemorrhage. <---whoa, it took four tries before I got that right. Have you given any more thought to joining us in Resolution 2011? I'm only at $5 for the month. Not too bad.

Carol had a prolific post this week; even the vomit talk is relevant. Are we writers disenchanted with the writing process and blogging? I know I am getting there, but why? I am young and vibrant and have a lot going for me. Sure, I have a lot going against me, but those things can only make me stronger.

Anywhokins, happy writing this week folks. I'm rooting for you.

What else is there to do after a foot of snow has fallen?

Sunday Update:


blog - check

sled - check

snow angels - snow is too deep

write - oh, duh  <---I've been writing in a healthy manner. I consider a healthy manner to be steady, not fiend-like and not-pulling-out-hair-like. It feels good to feel comfortable about where I am in my writing. If I only knock out 500 words, like I did the other day, I am still happy. On Wednesday I broke a new record, which was AWESOME. And it's all thanks to Resolution2011 (I see Heather put in her token donation of $25, which I'll do at the end of the month along with my January indiscretion totals.) owe $1

drink coffee with Bailey's - so gonna happen tonight nope

play Apples to Apples - coincides with the above task check!

Happy Saturday to you!

Pictures of our fun:

WOW. How has it been a year already?

I started blogging a year ago. Whoa.

Time flies when you're having fun. And when you're not. Either way, I am just checking in to update you on my resolution. I am in $27 since I didn't really write on Saturday and Sunday. Scratch that, I did write on Sat! I just remembered. Okay, so I am $26 in. Not bad, not bad.

The overriding goal for the month, per Heather, is to track my writing in a small planner. This will reveal my writing process and hopefully I can start milking the weeks I tend to write well, and ease back on the weeks I do not. It's a win-win. Less frustration and self-deprecation, and more prolific results. I'm a big kid now!

I need to work on writing dialogue. I suck at it. I tend to get caught up in the conversation and I do a really poor job of relating it back to the reader. By the time I try, I have forgotten every eye brow lift and half smile.

Check out Christine Fonseca's unique and benevolent take on Resolution 2011.

Currently listening to "Sprawl II" by Arcade Fire. Their 2010 album Suburbs is one of the best of the year.

Short, sweet post today. I am off to write!

Resolution 2011

Happy New Year!

Happy First Monday of 2011!

If you read my post from last week, the one where I welcomed myself back to the blogging world, you'll know that I am an a strange place in my life. It's a place where I am long on ideas, but short on motivation. I see possibilities, but I see barriers more clearly.

Well phooey on barriers. By the end of 2011, I will be in a better place. And I believe healthy habits will get me there. I already eat healthy (kinda), so this year I am choosing a career-related goal: write everyday of 2011.

It's a good resolution, I know, but it's too simple. Heather Kelly and I created Resolution 2011 as a way to motivate us and make us feel positive about our successes and failures.

Resolution 2011

1. Pick a writing resolution.  A writing resolution. 

You know mine. Pick one that suits you. Pick one that challenges you or pick one that is something you're already planning to do for 2011.

2. Pick a charity that is close to your heart.

Heather and I chose Room to Read.  They are building LIBRARIES and getting BOOKS into the hands of impoverished children.  We have a page set up to track our donations, and you are more than welcome to be a part of our Resolution 2011 over there.  We'd love you to chose our charity if you don't already have one in mind.

3. Each and every time that you don't meet your resolution, donate to your charity. 

Since we're planning on writing every day we're donating $25 to start, and will finish the year with a donation as well.  Each day that I don't write, I pledge $1 to Room to Read.

4. Blog about your resolution and charity, and check out the other writers rocking Resolution 2011:

• Heather Kelly is donating to Room to Read
• Tina Laurel Lee is donating to Room to Read
• Marisa Hopkins is revising everyday and donating to First Book
• Dianne Salerni is donating to Joy2theWorld

When deciding whether or not to join us, remember that Resolution 2011, and 2011 itself, is all about you. You can create your own parameters and chose your own charity/cause/punishment. This is meant to be fun, community-driven, and full of successes.

A year long blogfest thing may seem daunting, but we'll check in the first Monday of each month and think of the schools and libraries and children who need books. Also, I am keeping a small calendar in which I will jot down a 15-word synopsis of what I wrote that day. What an easy way to keep track of how much I have to fork over come 2012.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

Here's to 2011's successes, failures, and overall awesomeness!