i did it!

and to think, those 51,921 words are but the TIP OF THE ICEBERG. lots more to write, and lots to edit and clarify. right now it's a huge mishmash of this 'n' that, or as jami puts it, "puking on the page" !! i prefer the more refined phrase: word dump ;-)

11/11/11

**

today is the date when three 11's align for the first time in a century. there's much ado on the internet about the significance of the numbers of this date, like the Mayan calendar and spiritual interpretations. i'm not going to write about it other than making this note of it. read here for some interesting factoids about 11/11/11.

November 11 also happens to be Veteran's Day, and PBS posted this blurb on Facebook today in honor of the day:

This Day in History: Today is Veteran's Day, also known as Armistice Day. On this day in 1918, on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month," all fighting on the Western Front of World War I ceased. The Armistice Day agreement promised an end to fighting between the Allied powers and Germany.

American Experience's "War Letters" brings to life vivid letters from the front. Watch Lloyd, an American soldier writing to his mother, recount the emotions on the front on that historic day.

on another somber note: t-4 days until i am officially old .... wa-a-a-a-ah! :(

** thanks to imranhunzai.wordpress.com for the graphic *

it's NANO time!

it's November again and time for another month of NaNoWriMo! i had originally planned to work on the Harry story again. i'd even worked on character profiles and descriptions, site and layout information, etc. the weekend of oct 28-29 i was full prepared to continue with the pre-planning of that story. my friend jami had even given me "Ready, Set, Novel!", the new NaNo writer's workbook, as an early birthday gift to help get me going.

but then during that weekend i received an email and some tweets about memoir writing that got me really jazzed about returned to that genre. so, once again, i'll be working on my life story. i've done a prelim outline and made some chicken-scratching notes of things i want to be sure to include, memories of events that have been brought forward by some of my other writing. i dusted them off and cleared out the cobwebs. i even gathered up all my fabulous books about memoir writing and placed them right next to my desk so they're handy when i need to look something up or to get additional motivation.

and now i'm ready to put pen to paper, digitally-speaking.

i've been participating in NaNo since 2005, and only achieved the 50k mark once, in 2008. let's see what i can do this year. as always, if i make 50k it's icing on the cake. the important thing is that the whole NaNo project really pushes me to write, write, write. so however many words i manage to churn out is that many words more than if i don't participate at all. keep your fingers and toes crossed for me that i manage to sprint, or hurtle, or at least crawl across the finish line this year!

Steve Jobs RIP

Steve Jobs has been so much a part of our collective consciousness for so long that I think we all took it for granted that we would be able to continue ad infinitum to be entertained and fascinated with his seemingly endless ability to create new and advanced technological inventions. His death yesterday, October 5, 2011, has created a huge gaping hole in that consciousness.

the siren call of the library

ok, ok, i'll be the first to admit that i'm addicted to books. and that includes library books. about 4 years ago, in the middle of a project i was working on, i actually had 46 items checked out. 46!! normally i'll have a stack of 12-15 books at any given time. and don't ask me how i know it was 46, because then i'd have to explain my obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive record keeping, and that's another topic for another day.

at the beginning of 2011, i decided to return everything and start all over again, so for a brief moment in time i actually had ZERO library books checked out. that brief moment in time lasted all of a millisecond, because i was also picking up several books from the "Hold" shelf.

yesterday i returned 7 books, which the library staff processed today. so now, for a whole day, a whole 24 hours, i only have 1 book checked out. i'm so proud of myself *grin*

tomorrow i will return to the library to pick up more "holds" and the vicious cycle will start anew.

why have 1 when you can have 3?

no, no, i'm not talking about candy or cookies, i'm talking blogs. not that i'm staying current with the one blog i already have, but ....

i just created two new blogs, which i'll add to the sidebar for easy reference. one is for my riley family posts and one will be for mo's art stuff, like journal pages and index cards.

that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

words to live by

today's post on Daisy Yellow really struck a chord with me. i need to push away from the keyboard and work on my art journal or my doodle camp journal or my index-card-a-day project or my camp nano writing project or my [fill in the blank] ....

i spend WAY too much time online, it's an addiction! now, how to break the ugly cycle?

fabulous surprise in today's mail

a couple of weeks ago i ordered the latest "zine" from an artist in the UK whose sketchblog i read regularly. her name is Andrea Joseph, and you can find her blog here. be sure to also check out her "book on a blog" about the woodland folk, as well as her Etsy shop. i have all her earlier zines, too, and i've given several as gifts. everyone just loves them.

anyway, the package arrived today, yeay! notice that the mailer has "Royal Mail" stamped on it! that's probably as close as i'll get to the royal wedding. PLUS my copy was #5 of a limited edition of 75. the zine itself was inside a lovely envelope lined in rich, dark green, and included a charming handwritten note and a special acorn gift tag direct from the woodland folk. now i feel really special.

Andrea's attention to detail is just awe-inspiring, and the fact that she does 99.9% of it with ballpoint pens just adds to the inspiration and creativity. check out some of the illustrations on her blog; many of my personal favorites can be found on Andrea's Flickr page. just click on "your faves" in the right hand column. her illustrations just draw you in, you can't help it. and you'll be gobsmacked and delighted, all at the same time, i promise.

all of Andrea's designs are copyrighted, so please do not reproduce without permission. as she said in her latest zine, "You really wouldn't want to face the wrath of an angry pixie. Believe me."

IFJM 2011 - Day 5

IFJM 2011 - Day 4

IFJM 2011 - Day 3

IFJM 2011 - Day 2

IFJM 2011 - Day 1

{ iClick on image to enlarge }

The Pack redux

oops, forgot to update the Green Bay packer situation. the big reveal: the Pack won Super Bowl XLV by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25.

it's the 4th Super Bowl win for the Pack ... booya!

International Fake Journal Month (IFJM)

well, ok, i'm late to the game on this one. but after postponing my participation in IFJM for 2 years already, i decided to just dive in for the last 8 days and see what i can do. i completely rejigged my whole approach and my new idea seemed like such fun that i couldn't resist doing at least a few pages! the fake journal is my fake trip to the very real Ireland.

more shortly, when the first page is completed.

the pack wins!

a snippet from NPR earlier today:

The Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs for the first time since 1941

so, guess what? yep, the Pack won, 21-14. booya!!

now, on to the Super Bowl ...