On Weddings

I don't have a writing post for you today. I wanted to have one, but it would probably be similar to yesterday's. That IS the problem I'm dealing with currently, after all, and I don't want to bore you with the repetition. If you check back later tonight, I'll update you on my word count for the day. :)

In the meantime, I hope you won't begrudge me a little bit of narcissism. As I've mentioned before, I'm marrying my best friend in November. We're not the wealthiest people alive (I'm a nanny/writer and he's an artist...draw your own conclusions :P), so we're taking on a lot of the work ourselves. In fact, the only outside vendor we've hired is our photographer. I handmade all the flowers for the bouquets and boutonnieres, as well as the centerpieces for the tables. I'll be making the escort cards myself too, and we'll be designing and printing our own invitations in the next week or two. But right now, I really want to show you all my flowers and centerpieces.

I don't really think of myself as a crafty person. That's more my mom than me. But over the past few months, I've discovered that I'm actually craftier than I thought, and that I genuinely enjoy sewing. Who knew? Anyway, on to the pictures! Please excuse the poor quality...they're cell phone photos. :/

These are the boutonnieres. The top row is: groom, man of honor, best man, groomsmen. Bottom row: FOB, FOG, groomsmen

This is my bouquet. :)

The green bouquet is for the toss. The others belong to the bridesmaids.

These are the centerpieces. They'll have cupcakes on them at the reception, since we opted for those instead of a giant cake. They're made from flower pots, if you can believe it. :)

There's your first sneak peek at our wedding! I'll be back later this evening to let you know how writing goes today, but for now, happy Tuesday! :)

J



Today's Progress

Just a quick note to let you all know how I did today (assuming you're interested, of course). I gave myself an hour of blog surfing, and then shut the computer down and handwrote for an hour while the kids napped. I cranked out 424 words in that time, which is a lot for me, so I was pretty pleased. But then, when I was driving home from work (which is when I get all my best ideas...that, or swimming in the pool), I thought of a way better way to write the scene. So I rewrote it. Or, most of it, until I got to a spot I needed to mull over a little more. I did get 711 words on my rewrite, though.

So, today's total is: 1135 words in an hour and a half! I managed a 1k day for the first time in months! This calls for more dancing, people...join me! *happy dances around the blogosphere* I'm going to try this again tomorrow, and see if it's something I can actually stick to. Here's hoping. :)

J

Like Walking a Tightrope

I think I've officially joined the circus. At least, that's what being a writer feels like at this stage. I feel like the tightrope walker who's demonstrating their skill for the first time. I'm clinging to that tiny parasol for dear life, struggling to maintain my balance and knowing that flimsy thing won't be nearly enough to save me if I fall. Or maybe I'm the plate spinner, and I have one too many plates twirling right now. All I can do is watch them and pray none of them topple over.

What does that have to do with writing? My biggest struggle as a writer is balance. I'm having the hardest time figuring out how to balance my family, friends, a full-time job, wedding planning, networking through my blog, exercising, reading, and writing all at once. I know things will calm down after November, and I'll be able to put my wedding planning plate back on the shelf. Or break it, since I won't need it again. :P But right now, it's difficult.

I never used to have this problem. When I was younger, I didn't have so many things to do, and it was easy to find time to write. Now, I'm squeezing it in while my charges are napping, amidst checking e-mails and my blog feed, making sure there's no laundry to do, and planning tomorrow's activities so that I'm not frazzled in the mornings. I'm a bit of a perfectionist when I write, so it takes me a while to think things over and feel like I'm ready to start. But maybe I need to find a way to change that... I mean, I don't really have time to be so particular.

I'm going to spend this week trying out different daily routines. I'm going to try writing for an hour every day, at different times of day, to see what works best for me. I'm going to write in the morning, during naptime, in the evening when I get home, and any other random times I can think of. I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, when do you get your writing done? How have you achieved a balance?

J

I...I Won? An Award? Really?!

  I won an award! Wheeeeeee! Apparently there are lots of reasons to happy dance today. Lots of shiny new followers, a beautiful new header created by my lovely fiance, and AN AWARD! *sniffles* I'm so happy! :D

So, here are the rules for this award of mine.

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.
2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun!

First and foremost, huge thanks to Brooke for giving me my first blog award. I appreciate it very much! I already pasted the award to my blog (see the beginning of this post, just in case you missed it :P), and I'm trusting you all to spread some love yourselves. And now I get to share some love myself! Here are my five award recipients:

1. Rachel Bean from Rachel Bean's Blog
2. Julie from Rosewood Pencilbox
3. Jeigh from Writer Brained
4. Jillian from Writing on a Limb
5. Mel from Adventure Writes

The blogs selected for this award all have less than 200 followers (which is part of the criteria). Go give them some love! :)

J

Freak Out With Me?

Guys. Guys! I've gone from 8 followers to 31 followers in 5 days! *happy dances around the room* Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and support!
J

And I Owe It All to a Boy Wizard

This has been a difficult post to write. I wanted my sparks to be inspirational while being books that not a lot of people had heard of. That way, they'd be inspired to try something new and moderately obscure. I didn't want to talk about Harry Potter, because at this point, everyone and their mother has read it and probably has something to say on the subject. But I really can't finish out Sparkfest without paying tribute to the Boy Who Lived. He was (and still is) such an integral part of my life, and I owe a lot of things to him and his universe.

I started reading Harry Potter with the first book. We got it out of a Scholastic book order for less than five bucks. I didn't think I was going to fall in love with it, since I was already 11 and beyond most of the middle grade stuff (read my earlier post on Dr. Seuss for info on how accelerated my reading was). Much to my own surprise, I was sucked into the magic of the story. Harry was 11 too, and he got a letter to Hogwarts. He got to experience all these things that I desperately wanted to experience: magic, adventure, and boarding school (yeah, I was weird). He also met some really funny kids, studied subjects that were way more interesting than pre-algebra and world history, and found a place where he belonged. I was desperate for more.

As Harry grew up, so did I, and I learned a lot of really important lessons from him. I learned that standing up to your friends is a lot harder than facing your enemies. I learned that the right thing to do is often the hardest. I learned that you choose your own family by surrounding yourself with people who matter, and that blood ties are not always the strongest. I learned a lot about self-discovery, and that being a teenager was hard, with a lot of complicated emotions. But through all the difficulty of adolescence, I always had Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

I learned a lot about writing from Harry as well. I learned that the best characters are real ones, with wants and needs and feelings. I learned that the best stories have lots of adventure and mystery and intrigue, but underneath it all they have love and relationships, because that's what makes the world go round. I learned that you don't have to go to a whole alternate universe to find magic. You can find it right in your backyard.

Last month, the Harry Potter franchise finally ended. It was bittersweet for me, as I sat there in the theater with tears streaming down my face. In the last thirty minutes of the final movie, all I could think about was the end. It was the end of 13 years of my youth, the end of one of the greatest book series of all time, the end of Harry. But really, it was only the beginning. Harry Potter gave me the tools I needed to not only be a successful writer, but a successful person. He taught me the value of good friendships, how to listen to my elders and be respectful, and the benefits of hard work.

I think of my books as close friends. They were the constants in a childhood filled with change. We moved every two to three years, and even though I lost touch with a lot of childhood friends, my books have always remained. I don't know the influence Harry Potter has had on all of you, but for me he's been one of the very best friends I've had. Even though there probably won't be any new material from Harry's universe, I fully plan on introducing my children to him at some point in the future. After all, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone else who can play Quidditch like a pro at the ripe old age of 11. ;)

J

For the Love of Fantasy!

It's the second-to-last day of Sparkfest! You can still join in the fun by heading over to Christine's blog. :) Today, I'm paying homage to my favorite fantasy author in my childhood, and one of my favorites of all time: Tamora Pierce.

She's the first author that made me think, "Hey, I could do this!" Her Tortall books were constant fixtures in my backpack, regardless of what book I was reading at the time, and they influenced a lot of the short stories in my freshman creative writing class in high school. Alanna was the first female character I remember thinking was kick-ass (I didn't realize until researching for this post, but the Alanna books were published before I was even born! I thought they were new when I discovered them at the age of 12), and I had a monstrous crush on Prince Jonathan for a long time. Probably because he looked like Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid... *sigh*

Anyway, when I was 16 I decided that I was going to write Tamora Pierce an e-mail. I wanted to thank her for writing the books that defined a portion of my childhood, and ask if she'd be making an appearance in my hometown in the near future. And guess what, guys? She e-mailed me back! It was the first time I identified authors as real people and not as faceless beings that cranked out amazing works of literature in mythical caves (ok, I didn't really think that, but it's pretty close to what I thought...). She encouraged me to pursue my dream of being an author, and while she wasn't coming to my hometown any time soon, she did tell me how to research such events so that I could see other authors in my area. She sparked my interest in the publishing world, and made it all real for me.

If I ever get the chance to meet Tamora Pierce, I'll probably tear up a little. She's been a very influential part of my life, and even though it's been a mostly indirect influence (I don't know her personally, after all), I still owe a lot of my drive and passion for writing to her. She's one of my biggest sparks, and I hope someday I get to shake her hand and tell her so. :)

Which author was the biggest spark for you?

J