The Roller Coaster

Sorry it's been awhile.

The holidays were quite the roller coaster this year.
Of course as you know I decided to enter NaNoWriMo this year. I'm so very glad I did. I ended up actually starting on November 3rd, so I was already behind right out of the gate. However, by the 25th I had written over 53,000 words to win! Yes, that's right, I'm a NaNo winner. *does pageant wave*

I decided I really like the novel I wrote. No, it's not the next Great Gatsby that I've always hoped to someday write, but it is a nice little piece of chic lit. Of course, I'm totally biased. You know, the funny thing is, it's exactly the type of thing I always swore I'd never write, but alas once I put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard - that's what came out of my head. I guess deep down, I'm a romantic after all.

After I finished my novel, we had family in town for Thanksgiving, then came Christmas and all that excitement. We had a really nice Christmas and I hope all of you did as well.
After Christmas came New Year's and my sister and her daughter came up to visit. It was good to see them, but I always try to do too much when we have company and once they left I was exhausted. I also found out that a close loved one had passed away on New Year's Day. It was something that was expected, she had been battling cancer for quite some time, but it doesn't make the pill any less bitter. She was my cousin's sister-in-law, but I always considered her part of our family. In fact our families always did so much together, so I think I was a teenager before I even realized that we weren't technically related. All of her family and a large group of my family came up for her funeral. It's rare that I get to see them anymore, so it was really nice to get to spend some quality time with them, despite the terrible circumstances and the fact that the mood was rather somber.

The day of her funeral I had to meet with my boss. He wanted to let me know that due to the economy our area of the company was shutting down, so I was being laid off. Part of me knew it was coming, the other part didn't want to believe it though. Alas, it's true.

When I told Joe of my misfortunes, I asked him what he thought I should do and without even stopping to think about it, he said, "Publish your novel." He's actually read the novel, so I'll take that as a compliment. I know it was probably torture for a male sci-fi fan to read through my very woman-oriented prose, but he did. And I love him for it. So, I'm working on editing the novel right now so I can begin the process of submitting it to various publishers. Hopefully I'll find one that likes it. In the meantime, I will probably self-publish it on createspace.com just so I can get it out there. Once it's available, trust me, you'll be the first to know...well, maybe second after my family...or third after my facebook friends...okay, so you'll be no less than sixth to know!
I think that catches you all up on my two-month roller coaster ride. I know people who complain about the ups and downs of life, but to me, it just keeps the ride interesting.

Here's to a wonderful 2009! Cheers to you all! *clinks glasses*

And a fun shoe to get the new year started off on the right foot, so to speak...

These are what I call my amusement park shoes, simply because they are so comfy I could wear them to Six Flags and not regret it at the end of the day!

Their story:
They caught my eye simply for their resemblance to every pair of shoes my Barbie wore, and because they're red, my favorite color!
These shoes marked my return to singledom many years ago after leaving a less than savory boyfriend who preferred his women to wear running shoes and flip-flops.
With this pair of shoes, I began to reclaim my femininity and sense of style. They were symbolic of my new beginning, and thus I felt it fitting that they be my first shoe of the day for this year. For anyone hoping to make big changes this year, just remember this line from Rent, "No day, but today!"

*stepping off my shoebox*
-Jenn