nothing going on

Since I wrote last, we celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas with lots of family.  We also moved to live closer to my stepdaughters.  My knees got better than they were... but I'm definitely still recovering.    The stairs in my new house have become my nemesis.  We survived the STOMACH FLU MASSACRE of 2012 (which of course, hit the whole family right in the middle of the move, causing us to have to live half way moved without furniture for a week until we were well enough to organize the movers).  My husband also closed the purchase of 5 restaurants with his brother, which is really exiting.  So you know... nothing really going on. :)

One really exciting thing for me is that for Christmas, my husband got me a new Mac Book Air!  Im soooo excited to have a new computer to write on.  My other one was getting pretty ancient... 5 years old for a laptop is getting up there!  I'm very excited to do a big edit of my book on this new lightweight laptop that doesn't get to a million degrees when you're running it and have to be plugged in constantly.    Plus I was totally out of space on it and this one has so much more!  I am a wee bit obsessed with pictures of my family.  I'm really excited about the new laptop!

I read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith, "Unbroken" by Laura Hillabrand and "Proof of Heaven" by Dr. Eben Alexander.  I will be doing reviews soon of all of these books, which were all amazing.

The area I live in now is surrounded by farmland.  Luckily I only have to drive about 20 minutes to get to where lots of things are, but the actual town is very small and quaint.  I do have an unbelievable view of the mountains from my house, so I'm enjoying that.  It's going to be an adjustment for me, but its what's best for my stepdaughters so I know its the right move.

My plan with my book is to hit it hard first thing in January (so... starting tomorrow) and do an overall edit.  My husband is going to read it behind me and give his thoughts and then I would like to hire someone to do an edit while I work on my query letter!  It's an exciting and daunting process.  I'm excited to learn about it though and start on the second book.   I signed up for a writing conference this summer and am also doing a 10 min pitch to an agent, so that's really exciting!

Sorry for the hiatus.  I'm hoping everything will settle down soon.  I really want to be out of boxes very quickly, and then get back to it!

Hope you all enjoy a safe and happy new years eve!!

dizzylittlechatgirl

thankful eve

On this thanksgiving eve, I have a new appreciation for many small things lately because of my double knee surgery.  Things like being able to BEND your knees, kneel down, pick up your kids, dress yourself, drive the car, do normal every day things... you need KNEES for all those things!  I can't believe how many little daily activities I took for granted before.  My husband has totally saved me because I didn't quite understand how much the knee surgery was going to affect me and my ability to do my normal things!  He has totally taken care of EVERYTHING!  He gets up with our 14 month old in the night and has helped on ANYTHING I've needed.  He never complains about anything and is always encouraging me and telling me how much better I'm doing whenever I'm discouraged.  Seriously he is my rock and I appreciate him soooo much!!

Here's a random list of other things I'm thankful for this year:

• my perfect baby
• my family
• health
• rainy days
• sisters
• surprise visits from my brother
• coffee mugs
• laughing til it hurts
• best friends
• texting
• time with my hubby
• fuzzy socks
• creative and fun babysitters
• nail polish
• secret santa planning
• my awesome group of girlfriends
• audio versions of books
• peppermint mocha creamer
• pinterest
• movers
• bags of peas
• physical therapy
• tempurpedic pillows
• ipads
• coconut curry popcorn
• dvred shows
• decorating
• red wine
• my grandpas published book
• indian food
• my writing group
• vegetable gardens
• new beginnings
• late  nights
• inside jokes

I could go on.... mostly I'm really thankful for my family and friends.  I have an amazing husband who makes my life so much better, three stepdaughters who are so amazing and turing into such lovely young ladies... with just enough edge :) and of course my son, who makes me so so happy.  I have a great extended family and couldn't ask for better friends and I have my health (almost... with my knees!!).  So, I think that my life is pretty fabulous.  I'm a lucky lucky girl and am humbled to be able to make a list like this.  

Hope you all have a great thanksgiving!!  Tell those that matter to you how you feel!  Life is short... make the most of it!

thankfully yours,

dizzylitttlechatgirl

I FINISHED MY BOOK!!!!!!!

There really aren't words to describe the amazing happiness I have right NOW!  My first COMPLETE draft on my novel has 96,106 words and it only took me 4 years to write! Ha ha!  Well I did a million different versions and then decided to start my story waaaay earlier, making my original book the second book.  I have learned so much, put so much time into it and it's just such a great feeling to FREAKING FINISH!!!  

I have to say that my characters feel like complete real people to me.  I'm often surprised by things they do and situations they wind up in.  Many times I've just felt like its a movie I'm watching and I'm as surprised as a reader seeing what's happening!

I don't think I could be more happy than I am in this perfect moment.  I will always remember how it felt to write the last sentence.

I FINISHED!!!!  Yaaay!  Now I'm going to celebrate!!!

dizzylittlechatgirl

NaNoWriMo

I did it.  I signed up for NaNoWriMo!  In case you don't know what that is, its the National Novel Writing Month and basically you have to write 50,000 words of a new novel in the month of November to "win."  Check out the website for all the details and to register... only one day left before we begin!

I have always wanted to participate, but haven't ever done it!  Since I'm nearing the END of my current novel, I'm feeling like I should give it a try!  My plan was to finish the end of my book before the end of the month and then give it out to a selected few for their take on it while I give it a break for a month.  Then during that time, I would begin something else.... haven't decided if I want to jump into the second book or if I want to try something totally different out... still chewing on that one.  

But I just had double knee surgery and so my progress has been slowed.  Or rather stopped.  Here it is one day before the end of the month and I should be in the home stretch!  But I still have three chapters left.  So I'm going to give myself a break and just try to finish as soon as I can, given my circumstances.  And in the meantime... I registered to do NaNoWriMo.  

I have two sisters that are doing it too, so that makes it even more fun!  I'm excited to be inspired and doing something at the same time as so many others!  There are lots of helpful tips from other authors and perks of finishing.  There are also local write-ins and things like that to help.  Plus, if you submit the final book, there are agents looking for that next best seller!  Anyway, after reading this post, it got me all inspired, and so I'm doing it!  

So, check it out!  JOIN ME!!  Let's be NaNoWriMo-ers together!

dizzylittlechatgirl

here's how I see it: a review of "Sharp Objects"

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the first book by Gillian Flynn, which I read since I liked "Gone Girl" so much.  I really love Gillian's writing style.  Her descriptions are amazing!  The storyline of this book was disturbing, which is her intention.  I didn't like it as much as Gone Girl, but I also got through it pretty quickly.  I think I'm captivated because it is so different and since it's a little out there, its like I can't look away.  A good halloween time read, showcasing some pretty crazy characters.  I don't know how she comes up with this stuff!


View all my reviews

dizzylittlechatgirl

here's how I see it: a review of "The Picture of Dorian Gray"

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was... interesting at best.  I really liked the premise that Dorian was able to transfer his "aging" to the painting, and go about unmarred by the decisions he makes and unaltered by the consequences.  But, for a good 3/4 of the book, Oscar Wilde seemed to be pontificating on a myriad of subjects that ended up reminding me of the Woodstock bird on the peanuts comic strip.  You know he's talking but it comes across as mumbling words that are meaningless.  I listened to the audioversion of this book and I don't think I would have ever been able to get though it if I just read it.

Not to knock Mr. Wilde, but I think the idea of this book could be adapted and redone to make a new book that is very interesting and much more compelling.  The whole relationship with Sibyl Vane was so rushed and intense it was unbelievable, and then the entire time Dorian was off doing all these terrible things, I didn't feel connected to him or what he was doing at all.  I knew the murder was coming but I wish it wasn't so obvious as the next step.

I had a friend say that this book was meant to be discussed, not read, and I think she was right on.  Of course you have to read it to discuss it, obviously, which is the downside.  The relationship with his friends, Harry and Basil were also so strange to me.  I'm sure some of that had to do with the time period, but again, I was left feeling just.... disconnected.  I knew Dorian did all these unspeakable things, but I didn't FEEL it from him.  I didn't hate him, or feel sorry for him.  You never want to feel apathetic towards the main character.  Maybe its the difference of showing, not telling, which I always hear about as a writer.

The two stars I'm giving it are for the idea of the story.  I think it could have been so much more.  Sorry, Oscar Wilde.


View all my reviews

dizzylittlechatgirl

The Life I Thought I Wanted

You know how when you're little and you imagine you grown up life, you just knew certain things would happen.  I remember a 4th of July with my cousin, looking up at the fireworks, dreaming about when I would be doing that same thing with my husband and we talked about what our husbands would be like, and how we would live on the same street and our kids would play.  In my mind, I was going to get married in my early 20's have four-ish kids basically right away and then proceed to be the best mommy ever.

Ha. 

My life isn't really anything like I pictured, but I'm sooooo glad its not!  Here's some things I never thought I would do:

• Marry someone 9 years older than me- SCORE for me!  Hubby is still amazing after 10 years.
• Have stepkids- Never thought I would ever have to be a stepmom, but I LOVE it!!
• Leave my religion- Its a looooong, heartbreaking story, but the road to truth led me somewhere I never would have expected, but I'm so happy with where I am.  This one, for SURE I never in a gazillion years would have imagined, since I was raised extremely devout.  Like i said, its a long story...
• Spend 7 years trying to get pregnant.  Thought for sure this would be a cinch.  What did I know back then??  But I'm the HAPPIEST mommy in the world, and I cherish every single second with my perfect son.
• Work in the Insurance and Investment Industry for 10 years.  yeah, not sure how this happened, but I learned a lot and now I'm SO THANKFUL EVERY SECOND that I will NEVER EVER EVER have to do it again. :)
• Write a book- never even considered it as a possibility... now I'm almost done with a whole entire book!  
• Live in Utah- never pictured staying here, but since my girlies are here, this is where we are.  But I love being around family and enjoying the seasons.  
• Become much more open minded- I didn't realize it at the time, but I was kind of judgmental.  After all the things I've been through in my life, I've learned that you can never pretend to understand where someone is in their life, what they've been through or that you would do it differently if you were them.   You have no idea what you would do if if you walked their road.  Now, I just try to be nice to everyone, and accept people for who they are at that moment.   Who am I to judge?

It's funny because never in a million years would I want the life I thought I wanted back then.  I wonder if there are things I think will turn out a certain way for my future now, that will veer totally off the course I have mapped in my mind.  I'm sure it will happen.  Who knows what the future holds??

What things haven't gone as you thought in your life?  What would you change if you could go back?

Hope you have a great weekend... I'm planning to!

dizzylittlechatgirl