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Field Report from NaNo
 Posted by Elisa Beatty Nov 15 2011, 1:01 am Back in the gauzy haze of optimism that was mid-October, I vowed to do a midway report on November 15 sharing my NaNoWriMo progress. So here I am…. But folks, it ain’t pretty. I fully expected to be reporting in, like last year, with a screenshot of my healthy little progress bar, proving I was right on target (which, at this point in the NaNo project, should be 25,000 words). Alas, friends, it was not to be. On November 1, I took the day off from work, sat at my computer from 8 a.m. to 1:30 the next morning, madly typing away. By the end, I couldn’t feel my legs, and I’d written well over 7,000 words. Hurrah!! Sadly, not a one of those words was for NaNoWriMo. See, in my other life, I’m a high school English teacher, and somehow this year I promised to write college letters of recommendation for….um, 32 seniors (which, if you’re a high school English teacher, you know is NUTS, ’cause those suckers take a couple hours of work EACH… I had only planned to write about 15 of them, but my juniors from last year just kept coming to ask, and they were really, truly awesome kids, so how could I turn them away?). Eleven letters were due November 1. And another ten are due November 15, which is…uh, today. (Dang.) And, yeah, I theoretically could have gotten all the letters done by October 31 to clear the decks for NaNo, except our quarter grades were due October 31, and I’d just spent a frantic weekend grading the last of the chin-high stack of essays I’d been struggling my way through for weeks. In the 48 hours before NaNo began, I’d had a grand total of 5 hours of sleep. Not to mention that October 31, according to my own biological offspring, is kind of a holiday (oh, those crazy kids!) and somehow they wanted to spend it performing in our church’s Haunted House, which had a new “haunted pirate ship” theme this year–which meant I’d spent virtually every spare moment in the past three weeks that hadn’t been spent grading sewing pirate shirts, hot-gluing starfish to random objects, building “dead” pirate dummies, rigging sails, wiring lighting, and constructing Kraken tentacles. (I know, I know….there’s a magic word “NO” that could make all this stuff go away. I am really, really bad at “NO.” The Haunted House was amazing, though!!) Oh, and then the health problems set in. I’ve been battling severe anemia for a couple years, and had been winning in October; in November, my body decided to go in for another charming hemoglobin low. Double dang. I had barely enough energy to get through a full school day and get my family fed; by 8 p.m., I was wrestling the kids into bed before I had to collapse myself. So, yeah, not my best month. But this is not a post about self-pity. And it’s not about excuses. I HAVE managed to get some NaNo work done in weird little scraps of time I found in the welter of other duties. Behold:
See: this is actually a hopeful post, a new rallying cry–because I AM going to forge ahead with NaNo and [cue stirring inspirational music] I AM going to report back here on December 1 that I HIT those 50,000 words on time, dammit!!! And I’ll never go hungry again! (Actually, considering how I snack when I’m writing, that’s pretty much a given…but I couldn’t resist having my little Scarlett O’Hara moment.) So off I go to get some more NaNo writing done…as soon as I finish the last four letters of recommendation I have to file by midnight tonight. Sigh. So, how about all of you? How’s NaNo going? How’s life going? What crazy work and family burdens are you juggling right now? And how’s your hemoglobin count?
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Awesome post, Miss Scarlett…I mean, Elisa! You’ve been doing wonderful, fulfilling things for those seniors and your own kids. (The Haunted House sounds fab!) Now put on that green velvet dress, have a solid serving of protein, sit down and KEEP WRITING!
My haemoglobin count has to be low — haven’t had red meat in weeks! My NaNo count, however, is similar to yours. I’m about a thousand words behind you on 13,362. But so far, so good! I don’t feel as crazed as I did this time last year, mostly because I’m only aiming for 500 words a day because of work and other commitments. My NaNo goal is to write between 15K to 20K, then I plan to finish during the Ruby Winter Writing Festival.
Good luck, Elisa, and to all the other NaNo’ers out there!
Thanks, Vanessa! It’s really smart of you to recognize some limits and to have planned for a more mini version of NaNo. I’m not very good about setting reasonable limits…sigh.
Just think what you’re accomplishing though, NaNo or letters of recommendation or grading – it’s all important!
And I’m certain that plot is germinating in the back of your mind as you write lovely things about your students.
My personal NaNo goal was 2500 words a day, since my three little ones have the entire week of Thanksgiving off (yes, the ENTIRE. WEEK.). And I actually met it until the 11th. So I have almost 27,000 words. Then everything else was shoved aside in my family as my mom’s cancer took over. We had to put her in a hospice today after a weekend at the hospital. The emotional drain has really sucked me under, but being busy (and being Type A) has it’s advantages. I swear that deadlines and contracts pop up when I need them to keep me on track. NaNo is one of those.
I’m determined to start back into things tomorrow. Perhaps at a slower pace, but I will create new words. And I have a bit of a cushion since I had such lofty word count goals that first 11 days.
Good luck to all who are “NaNo’ing”!!
Big hugs on your mom, Anne Marie!
Been right where you are last year, Anne. Sending prayers your way. I hope your writing is a bit of an escape and offers you some peace. I completely quit for a while and it wasn’t the smart thing to do!
Thanks, Gillian. I completely agree. I quit for a couple months after I had my third child and was sleep deprived, but I missed the writing so much. It truly is an escape for me (when I can find the time and energy!). I’m sorry you had to go through something similar, but I suppose it’s a part of life. It’s encouraging to see people on the other side still functioning.
I’m praying for you and your family, Anne Marie. Your mom needs to come first right now, so your writing can be a good escape when it gets too tough.
Hugs, Anne Marie!!! You’re right where you need to be right now, with your mom.
And still, somehow, you’ve made all that writing progress!
Women are amazing (especially Type A women!!)
So true, Elisa. Women continue to amaze me, especially this bunch of women.
Thanks, all – I used to joke that writing kept me sane when my kids were teeny-tiny. Now it’s keeping me sane through other stuff!
Huge hugs to you and your mother, Anne Marie.
Oh, Anne. (((HUGE HUGS))) You’re all in my prayers.
Anne Marie,
Like you, my husband is suffering with his mom’s cancer rearing its ugly head in several organs. My heart is with you. It’s too difficult to speak of, I know. Be well. KB
I feel better now. I’m at 12840. I had one 2,700+ day and one -209 day. Yes, I know, you’re not supposed to delete, but it was all backstory dumped into the beginning. I didn’t delete, I just copied and pasted into a different version. Does it count if I combine the two different versions? I didn’t think so.
At least I’m writing every day. And I have the Winter Writing Festival to look forward to. Hopefully I’ll be working on revisions then.
Yes, yes, yes, Kristina! I forgot to mention the Winter Writing Festival! It will be here for all of us mid-January thru the end of February, when hopefully the craziness has calmed down and we can all get some serious work done (and set goals that really fit our lives!!)
Congrats on having over 12,000 words done!! We have to remember how great it is to HAVE all those new words!
How are your curtains looking, Elisa? Any new dresses lately?
I’ve suffered with anemia before, and I know it’s no fun. I had to have an infusion once (don’t know if they do these in the States) where my doctor slowly injected iron directly into my blood stream over the course of about a half hour. I’ve only had to have it once, though, thank goodness. Here’s hoping you’re back up to normal levels soon, Elisa.
I’ve had a couple non-writing days, and thought for sure I’d get behind, but I’m squeaking in just over the Nano wire. I’m at around 25,000 words.
Woo-hoo, Tina! You’re on target!!
So far I’ve managed to escape transfusion, though I’ve been hovering right on the borderline a couple times.
Hi Elisa! As the mom of a senior who’s asking for reference letters for college this week, may I say “Bless you!”
I’m at 12,370, or somewhere around there. I just wanted Nano to be another way to keep me pushing my writing each day. I think I’ll be happy to hit 30,000 by the end of the month.
Oh, good luck to your senior! I know it’s a very stressful time…but I also know from experience that by the time April or May roll around, pretty much everybody has ended up matched with a school they’re really happy with…even if it wasn’t the school they *thought* would be the only perfect match.
There are so many good schools out there–there’s a place for everyone!
And congrats on getting over 12,000 words! That’s a lot of new words that wouldn’t be there if you’d spent November in front of the TV. 30,000 is really an amazing goal for one month if you think about it.
I also have to say that, despite the hours and hours it takes, I do love writing those letters. It forces me to really stop and think about my students and remember what’s special and wonderful about each and every one. I appreciate them much more afterward. (I know I’ve written a good one when I’m sniffling and wiping my eyes as I reach the end.)
You must be an amazing, well-loved teacher for so many of your students to ask YOU to do them the honor of writing their recommendation, Elisa.
I’m kind of doing NaNO but not officially. As I think I mentioned at some point, I’m rewriting my FIRST book for the Golden Heart from scratch (the writing in the original version, although it’s a great story, is AWFUL). So it’s slow going and the more I learn the slower I become as a writer.
When I started, I spent several days fighting with myself over using a prologue, and decided this story really needs one in order for the reader to truly feel the hero’s pain.
I’ve only got the first thirty pages (about 10,000 words) down, but they’re fairly well-polished and almost ready for Gwyn to read them.
I’ll probably be using my original version (except for the first fifty pages) as my ‘full manuscript’ for my GH entry, but I’m planning to have the rest of this book finished and polished by the end of January at the latest.
Even though it’s going slowly for me, doing this has really helped me get back into the swing of writing every day as much as possible. I haven’t done that in a VERY, VERY long time.
Good luck reaching your goal, Elisa!
Thanks, Laurie!
And it’s so cool that you’re going back to that “first” GH book!!!
I’m sure you’ve learned an incredible amount since then–what a fabulous book that’s going to be!
(Amazing how we do get better and better and better…I’ve been reading Joanna Bourne’s latest, BLACK HAWK. You all know how I love Joanna Bourne…and WOW, this is absolutely her best yet. I didn’t think she could get even better, but she has. And now I find myself wishing the story would slow down so it won’t be over too quickly….but I can barely put it down. Very inspiring!)
No, this wasn’t even a GH finalist. It was my VERY FIRST novel I ever wrote. It was the story that made me want to write.
Oh, even better!!!!
You were certainly my cheering section last year, so I’m here for ya! Ra-ra-ra-sis-boom-ba! You can do it, we KNOW you can! Go, girl, go!!!
But you do need to start to say “no” to some things and yes to more iron in your system. (Which reminds me, must go get mine checked.)
I had to put in a marathon weekend and then a big push yesterday, but I’m on target right now, and maybe just a little ahead. The best part of slogging through this when my muse had up and left on November 2nd for parts unknown is that, come December 1st, you and I will have lots of juicy new stuff to exchange.
So… forge ahead. Sis-boom-ba!!
Woo-hoo, you!!!! It’s so fabulous that you’re on target!!
When all the NaNo craziness is over, I’m looking forward to reading the new stuff!
Fight on!
Lucky children to have you as their teacher, Elisa! Your NaNo count is pretty dang good, considering everything else you’ve got going on. I’d bet money you’ll cross the 50K finish line, flags flying.
And speaking of NaNo counts, I’m busy bringing up the rear with not quite 9,000 words. I have my excuses–Mama is visiting, and my annual fall sinus infection felled me for three days. I wonder if my hankering for a nice, juicy steak signals low hemoglobin as well. Must experiment.
But I’m not giving up. *shakes radish at the sky* I plan to cross right behind you.
After all, tomorrow is another day.
I’m definitely crossing that finishing line Jane! Let’s shake those radishes together!
Elisa, looking at your status page reminded me to check mine to see how many words I have to write a day to finish on time–2,522. That’s a number I can wrap my head around. I feel less freaked out now. Must remind myself that slow and steady wins the race instead of worrying that I have to make up 15,000 words in a day to catch up.
Thank you!
Yes!!! A couple of 4,000 word days here and there, and it will be easy!
What is this “word count” of which you speak?
I’m not doing NaNo – never have – but one thing I’ve found as my personal writing process evolves is that daily word count is not a useful metric for me. Just thinking about counting the words I write locks me up, and makes me less apt to delete words that seriously need deleting. The fact that I like to edit as I write, so that when I get to the end I don’t have a massive rewrite on my hands, is probably a factor.
Elisa, your comment about hemoglobin counts made me shudder. I take immunosuppressives for Crohn’s Disease, and need to have liver function and other blood work done on a monthly basis. I’m what’s known in the phlebotomy biz as a ‘tough stick.’ Last time out it took 4 tries to find a vein. Once we hit pay dirt, it collapsed before we were done, and we had to find another. Three weeks later, I’m still covered in bruises. I get to repeat the experience all over again next week. GAH. Hope you feel better soon, babe.
Good luck NaNoing, everyone!!
Ouch on the “tough stick” problem, Tammy–you’re one of the toughest people I know!
Yeah, the sheer word count thing about NaNo is a little weird for me too. Naturally, I’m also of the perfectionist “polish as you go” camp. But it’s also really cool to just get lots of raw material on the page and have new plot points come whooshing in out of nowhere.
My daughter is actually NaNo-ing for the first time this year! She’s DEFINITELY in the perfectionist camp, so it’s been interesting for her. She discovered Write Or Die (an app you can download from the internet, for those who don’t know) and has been thrilled by how much she’s getting onto the page. I think she’s over 10,000 words at this point, and she’s never written that much before. (Have I mentioned she’s also scary talented??)
No Nanoing for me. I always say I’m going to do it, but once Nov. rolls around I’m so tired from October that I end up chickening out. One day, I will do NaNo. One day.
As a lady who was once in your shoes, I can sympathize. I remember one of my pricipals saying “if you do it for one, you have to be willing to do it for all the others.” Somehow that stuck, but that philosophy can get you in a lot of trouble. You go to one game, better go to every sports’ game. Give one student a second chance, and they’re lining up. Agree to one letter of rec, and thirty-something more kids have requests on your desk. So, really, you’ve done very well in word count considering what’s on your plate.
Good luck! I’m rooting for you!
Ah, yes…only another teacher knows what it’s really like to do that crazy job. I don’t sit still for a minute from the time I leave the house at 7 in the morning until I’m home around 5, and almost inevitably I have to put in at least a couple more hours on school things before I can go to bed.
The demands are truly infinite. My husband’s ALSO an English teacher, which makes for really fun times around our house when grades are due.
Often, our idea of a date is staying up til 1 a.m. grading together, and getting back up at 4:30 a.m. to grade some more.
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be English teachers!
I’m not Nanoing this year either. Wish I had a good excuse, but don’t. (Hanging head in shame.)
But major kudos to all you ladies who’ve taken the plunge and are rocking it out!!! Makes me think I’ll one day make the commitment myself. One day, just not TOday. Each and every one of you are an incredible inspiration! Just please remember to take care of yourselves FIRST!
Best of luck to us all in meeting our individual writing goals.
You’d make such a good Scarlett O’Hara, though, Lynda!!
And you’re persevering just fine on your own–congrats on the release of GLAD TO BE HOME! It’s on my Kindle and ‘m looking forward to reading it!
Elisa, you are a treasure to do so much for so many!
I’m not NaNoing this year. I was going to cheat and just do 50k, but we had a NaNo speaker come to our local chapter and give us the background of NaNo and the rules and expectations. For the purists, it’s supposed to be a brand new story, one you haven’t written on at all, etc.
So, I decided to finish 35k of a WIP instead. But I’m rooting for all of you to WIN!
Good luck with the WIP!
I’m soooo not a purist about anything. I haven’t yet done the full-on NaNo starting absolutely from scratch on Nov 1, but I’ve finished a couple manuscripts during November using the NaNo inspiration and support.
Hmmm. Maybe that’s what I’m doing wrong, starting from scratch. But I’ve done that each of the three times I’ve NaNoed. Won once, and that book turned out pretty well.
As the mother of teenagers who haven’t always had the most committed or engaged teachers, I just have to say how lucky your students are to have you, and how impressed I am with your commitment to them. Yes, our word counts and our writing ambitions are important, but you’ve definitely got your priorities straight by taking time for your family and to take such care and attention to do something so meaningful and important for your students. Character counts, and you’ve got it in spades!
(I make a deep, deep curtsey—worthy of no less than a Duchess—in your direction.)
Aw, shucks–thanks!
I’m also incredibly lucky to have so many fabulous students! There’s no way I’d stay in this line of work if spending my days with them wasn’t so satisfying.
Hey Elisa,
What an inspiring post. Seriously. You have so got nothing that gives credence to the “this ain’t pretty” claim. Holy cow, if I’d accomplished as much this month as you have, I’d be up for a commendation. Which means, you’re the one who should get one. Let’s see: 32 letters of recommendation, sewing costumes and decorating a haunted house, dealing with health issues, working full time AND writing 14,000 words? Yup – commendation.
I absolutely refuse to be a NaNo purist — it’s almost a badge of honor. I figure every one of us here is a “real” writer. We aren’t just some random people who want to spit out a crazy story once a year. I can’t make my writing schedule mesh with NaNo, but NaNo is a tool that works so well for me I want to use it. Therefore, I write 50K new words on a novel and call it good. I’ve finished three books this way.
Good luck with the last half of the month. I have no doubt you’ll succeed!!
Wow–congrats on the three finished books!
And thanks for the commendation…warms my heart!
Hear, hear, Liz. As much as I love NaNo, I refuse to pump out dreck just to “fit” with what drove them to start the program in the first place.
I just *do* it. I write 50k words, but there are no strange alien weddings, no nonsense deux ex machina born in a wacky moment when I was desperate for words. I would hate to spend all that time knowing I’ll have to totally scrap and toss out that dreck come December 1st.
Last year, I “won” NaNo with 50k *new* words added onto 50 pages of fairly polished ms work. In October, I had mapped out the character arc, knew the plot points I needed to hit, and when they would happen. And then I quickly wrote a… um… ahem… *version* of that story, dropping what I knew could be added in later to flesh out the characters or the emotional pacing. But the plot was down and I had something to work with when it came time to revise.
Worked for me!
Let’s see….
I’m mostly focusing on writing, as I need to finish this WIP before the Golden Heart deadline on Dec. 2. It’s series romance and only needs to be 50,000 long, and I’m at 35,000 ish. I can do 15,000 words this week if I focus.
Like, focus. Not spend two hours in the morning researching cloth diapers (seriously, why do there have to be so many OPTIONS?).
I’m admittedly distracted by the growing child in my body. He kicks a lot, and it’s hard to ignore that! Like right now. And I can’t sit with my legs crossed or else my legs swell up and make walking painful. And, and, and…. The litany of pregnancy woes never ceases.
I just read the other comments, and now I’m wondering how much I’ve written in November. I know I began this WIP when we got home from Europe, which was around Oct. 3 or so. So that’s 35,000 words in 1.5 months, which isn’t bad for me at all! I’d love to be the sort of writer who can bang out an awesome series romance in 6-8 weeks, and I’m on track for that now.
There’s no distraction like that sweet distraction of knowing a new life is growing right there at the center of your body!
I’m definitely impressed that you’re getting writing done at all!
I hit 14,400 last Friday before deciding the NaNo way was not for me. Back to my usual modus operandi, with a firm reminder to myself to stop fixing what ain’t broke.
As I know I’ve told you before, you’re the most prolific writer I know! I’m always amazed to see yet another fabulous title of yours pop up!
Definitely nothing to fix there!
LOL. I know for a fact I’m not the most prolific author you know, because Addison & Darynda & Liz Talley and any number of other Rubies put out more words than I do. I only appear to be productive because the titles you mention are often for shorter works.
Good luck with the rest of your NaNo goals.
I’m still totally dazzled by you all!
Great post, Elisa!!! I’m at almost 35,000, but I’m also on deadline, so no choice. If I would just stop with the editing!!! Grrrrr…
Whoo-hoo!!! You continue to be amazing!!!
Can’t wait to read the new work!
A former boss of mine (high up in a major organization) would only write recommendation letters for her former interns if they wrote it themselves first. Partly because she had so many interns over the years that she was never quite sure which projects each had worked on and it would take hours for each letter, but partly because she just didn’t have time. She would then copy parts of the letters, add in things she thought were important, then print and sign.
That’s quite brilliant!
I do ask my students to share all sorts of material with me–their best papers, their college essays, the letters they and their parents write to our counselors so the counselors can write rec letters, but I’ve never thought of having them try to write a rec letter themselves…
Elisa:
Fantastic post and I have to echo Laurie’s comments – your students request for recommendation letters is such a testament to your teaching.
I have every confidence you will kick NANO butt!!!
Addison
Whoops…I was trying to put in a little grin symbol, and it came out blank. (Hope that’s not an omen!)
There’s a special place in the afterlife of your choosing for high-school teachers who write thoughtful recommendation letters, I swear. We went through this last year with my eldest, and not only did she have a higher acceptance rate than you’d ever predict from her transcript & test scores, but she wound up at a school that seems to be a perfect match. I think it had everything to do with the recommendations. So on behalf of your student’s parents, thank you thank you thank you.
I don’t have anything motivational to say about your word count, because an average of 1020 a day looks pretty awesome to me
Thanks, Cecilia-
Once upon a time, I was a college professor and was on the reading side with those letters. Along with the student’s personal essay, the letters were hugely important in humanizing kids.
I can’t tell you how many times I sat down at an admissions committee table and we got to a kid whose scores and grades really *weren’t* up to the college’s standards, but the essay and/or letters painted such a picture of a fascinating/unusual/talented/compassionate human being, EVERYONE came to the table ready to fight to admit the kid. It was always great when we looked around at each other and realized we all felt the same way, and got to send that application straight to the “admit” pile.
Wonderful post and very inspiring to read about everyone’s accomplishments.
Thanks, Rita!
Elisa, You’re an inspiration. You go girl!
No Nano for me, but I did write ‘THE END’. I’m letting the wip sit before doing one more pass through. Meanwhile, back at the keyboard, I’m doing research, working on two proposals and on three workshops.
You’re another on my list of Amazingly Prolific Rubies!!!
Congrats on the new “THE END”!!
Elise,
Great job!Nano and all your other responsibilities? Scarlet, baby, rock the heck out!
One of the teachers who wrote my college recs was such a special person to me. I think of him to this day and hope to catch up with him now that we’re living in our hometown again. You’re making a real difference for young people. To choose your college and be accepted-it’s one of the first steps toward defining your adult life. All 40+ will remember you with great love and fondness, I’m sure.
As far as the writing stuff…not doing Nano but I’m participating in 2 weeks of Candy Havens Fast Draft hoping to (no! not hoping!) finishing an entry for the GH. I’m at about 20K and yikes, 20K more?…I’m going to have to learn to give up writing longhand and just go straight to the PC to have a real prayer here! Wish me luck! You’ve got mine-I KNOW you can do it!
You can totally do it on the Fast Draft, Kelley!!
And, YES, look up that old teacher!! It will mean a lot to him or her to hear that he/she made a difference in your life!
Elisa, you are amazing!! It’s hard for me to imagine getting all the things you’ve listed done even if I had three months with nothing else to do! You’ve done it all in 14 days AND written 14k words? That is beyond impressive. Hugs on the anemia! I had a minor bout of that recently, and go back in for a check this week. My husband calls it the hemogoblins. So here’s hoping your hemogoblins behave themselves soon!
My NaNo word count is now just over 25k, after some great days, some non-writing days, and some in-between days. So I’m on track for the month as a whole, but I wanted to be ahead by now since I know I won’t write as much next week. I guess I’d better make the rest of this week count!
I think you should feel really good about averaging 1,000 words a day under any circumstances, let alone in the midst of all your other commitments. That’s a seriously respectable daily average. If you did that all the time, you’d finish three single-title manuscripts each year, which would be insane, right? You’re definitely in this marathon for real. But please take care of yourself, and don’t over do it!
And amen to all the comments about what a wonderful thing it is you’re doing writing college recommendations for your students! I am many years out of college, and not yet a parent worrying over a child’s admissions process, but I really cherish all the personalized support and encouragement I was lucky enough to have from high school teachers and college professors, and could get very emotional even now about how crucial that kind of mentoring was to helping me to make the most of my college experience, which shaped and inspired me in more ways than I can count. There is no more precious gift you can give to a young person than inspiring them to love learning, and all those recommendation requests are a testament to how well you’re doing that.
Thanks for another great post, and enjoy the rest of the NaNo ride!
Sally
Whoops…accidentally posted my reply as a separate comment below. You can tell my brain is fried.
Wow, Sally on getting past that 25K mark!!!
Hemogoblins…I love it! Now I can picture them video-game like in my mind and clobber the heck out of them.
And all these lovely things people are saying about teachers–I’m getting downright soggy! (And trying to use it all to inspire myself to finish those last couple letters before 9 tonight. The online Common App system that most letters go to now is set to East Coast time. The *colleges* won’t care if I file Nov 16, but my students are all online and will be FREAKING out if they don’t see their letter post on “Nov 15.”)
Just wanted to report in that I did finish the letters of recommendation I had with Nov 15 deadlines!!! That’s twenty-one letters in so far.
No new NaNo words today…but, as Scarlett would say, tomorrow is another day!
[...] I last checked in here on November 15, I was way behind thanks to all the crazy shenanigans going on in my life (you may remember the 32 [...]