Gator Mamas & It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
WHAT I'M READING
Downloaded LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green. I've been really looking forward to this one. So far, I've pretty much loved everything by him. Fantastic sense of humor. Also, still reading a little JANE EYRE. Because yeah, Gothic tales of woe and mistreated orphans are very Christmas-y. ;)
WHAT I'M WRITING
How is it that Wednesday sneaks up so fast and I'm like "Wait, I was supposed to write some words, so that I can blog that I wrote some freakin' words."?!! This month is getting away from me. I did work a little bit on my "great train robbery" scene, as well as a few other sections. But who am I kidding, I dabbled. I made Christmas cookies and invented new ways to use spray paint. Goal for this week: 500 words. Any words. Preferably in English.
WHAT WORKS FOR ME
Handcuffing myself to my laptop. Taping my eyelids open "Clockwork Orange-style" with scotch tape. Hiring a Hit Man to off me if I don't meet my word count. Borrowing motivational tactics from the Spanish Inquisition. Tattooing my Word Kills on my arms. Making fewer Christmas decorations.
Handcuffing myself to my laptop. Taping my eyelids open "Clockwork Orange-style" with scotch tape. Hiring a Hit Man to off me if I don't meet my word count. Borrowing motivational tactics from the Spanish Inquisition. Tattooing my Word Kills on my arms. Making fewer Christmas decorations.
WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO
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| Fun with lighted branches & handmade ornaments; more moss & ferns (I *heart* moss); made these cool 3D snowflakes (in case you ever wondered what to do with all those plastic salad containers *grin*) |
◆ I've been going a little nuts decking our halls lately. Tolerant Boy is being Tolerant in the face of my annual Christmas insanity. Why is it that I don't just go buy x-mas decorations like a normal person, hang them up and then be done with it?! Noooo...I have to make everything. I have to invent Christmas decorations that don't exist yet. Then I have to make a huge mess assembling and testing everything. I have paint and glitter everywhere. Still, my creations look pretty and they make me happy.
◆ Spent a couple of days doing Alligator surveys on the river. You have to count them off like the Count on Sesame Street. "One Alligator...ah ah ah, two Alligators, ah ah ah" and so on. Our record is 387 in one day. Baby Alligators make this cute little barking noise like puppies. Unlike most reptiles, Alligators are actually excellent mothers. They care for and defend their offspring for several years. Little ones start out riding on her back. They even have Alligator "day care" where one mama will tend other gator mamas' pups.
◆ Hmm...what else? Messing about with new songs on my guitar, shooting pool, caring for baby monarchs, eating my weight in home-grown Tangerines.
* Above: I decked out my mantel with a bunch of moss and ferns and stuff from my yard. My whole house smells like a forest.
What have you guys been up to this week?
Posts
LOL Kris…handcuffing yourself to your laptop!!!! Too funny. I love Looking for Alaska, it is actually my favorite John Green novel and the first one I started with. Jane Eyre on the other hand….I always think I am the only girl who DOES NOT like that book!
ReplyDeleteI think I added Looking for Alaska to my TBR pile when you said it was your favorite. Love having good book recommends from people with great taste. :)
DeleteThose pictures look absolutely gorgeous! And wow 387 alligators in one day? Wow, wow, wow :) Cheering you on for your writing goal this week. You. Can. Do. It!
ReplyDeleteThanks Elodie! And if I can't make ridiculously tiny writing goal...well let's just hope it doesn't come to that. *grin*
DeleteHave a great week!
Love what you're reading. JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS are some of my faves!
ReplyDeleteYeah, those two books are kind of like old friends. Familiar and strangely comforting. :)
Deletealligators! ahh they terrify me. When I used to visit my grandparents in Florida I was so afraid of seeing one (though I'm a huge animal lover so a part of me wanted to see one too--I was a weird child ha). And I've been meaning to read Looking for Alaska--I have Paper Towns on my bookshelf and am excited to get to it!
ReplyDeleteAlligators get a bad rap. They're actually quite shy creatures that are more interested in sun bathing than pretty much anything else. But, hah, yeah, I was a weird child too. Morphed into a rather weird adult too. *grin*
DeleteYour decorations look so lovely, Kris! LOOKING FOR ALASKA is my favorite of JG's. Hope you love it, and I hope you have an awesome week!
ReplyDeleteThanks Katy! Hope you have an awesome week too!
DeleteYour Christmas decorations are magazine beautiful with a little something-something extra. Love them so much! I think it's fantastic that you make your own stuff, even if you're going to be picking glitter out of every nook and cranny for the next several months lol. (Oh, wow. That sounded WAY dirtier than intended. But since I figure you won't be offended, I'm leaving it lol.)
ReplyDeleteI still have yet to read my copy of LOOKING FOR ALASKA. I really want to get to that one sometime in the near future, so I think that will have to happen early in the new year. Can't wait to hear what you think. I hear you on Wednesday sneaking up super quick each week. I have the same problem :-/
Hope you have a wonderfully amazing week, Kris! :D
Hahaha! "Glitter in every nook and cranny" um yeah, that totally made me snort-laugh into my tea. I think I will have glitter and beach sand everywhere until the end of time.
DeleteAnd thanks, but if anyone has 'magazine beautiful' photos it's you. But having someone else get excited about my holiday decor = priceless
Hope your week is shiny and bright!
Haha, your "what works for me" section cracked me up! Have you tried writeordie.com? I never have, because it scares me, but you set a word count goal and if you don't meet it by the end of the session it starts deleting words...
ReplyDeleteI haven't tried Write or Die. Mostly because I think for me it would just be called "Die and Die Some More". I like to pause and think sometimes in the middle of writing. So, my book would just get shorter....and shorter. :)
DeleteVery nicely decked halls ;) And good luck getting those words down.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And right now, I'd be happy for Any Words. :)
DeleteGood luck on your writing goals! I agree, sometimes time sneaks away from us. :)
ReplyDeleteMy Blog
Thanks! And yeah, I blame Time Bandits. (totally a thing) :)
DeleteHandcuffing yourself to your laptop? Lol. Good luck getting some words down!
ReplyDeleteDuct Tape might also work. *grin* And thanks, you too!
DeleteI ADORE the moss and fern decor!!!! I want to go dig up the woods behind my house and bring them inside now lol. I hope you have a great writing week. I to fell victim to the busyness of the season and come to think of it, I was cutting out little paper ornaments instead of writing last night...
ReplyDeleteThanks! And I highly recommend bringing the woods indoors. Worth it for the smell alone.
DeleteAnd fellow paper ornament cutter...we should start a club.(i.e. Write, cut out snowflakes, more writing, make paper star lanterns, etc. etc.) *grin*
I'm freaking out over your awesome, gorgeous Christmas decorations! I love all things silver and white and snowflake-y, so I want to steal those from you. I can't believe you transformed plastic salad containers into 3D snowflakes! Homemade ornaments are the best. My favourite tree ever was the year my son made all the decorations from craft foam. His gingerbread men had weird mismatched button eyes and there was glitter everywhere, but it was so fun and festive. Also, the moss and ferns are beautiful. I'm partial to those as well.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck getting those 500 words out this week (in English)! Oddly, I'm working on a train scene right now too, though it's not a robbery. And have fun continuing to deck the halls! :)
Okay, can I just say how happy it makes me that somebody likes/appreciates my silly Christmas decor. Boy Chris is so sick of me asking him that he said, "Do you want me to put it in writing that I like it? Because I will" Some of my faves are the ones I made from recycled stuff. Stars from aluminum cans, 3D snowflakes from salad containers. They're super easy, I think you kids would love making them.
DeleteLove it that your son made all sorts of decorations from craft foam.Sounds like the best tree ever. Where was craft foam when we were kids?! I love that stuff.
I already thought baby alligators were adorable and now that I know they make barking noises...
ReplyDeleteToo much cuteness!
Note: my tabby cat also barks. One of the many reasons I *heart* him :)
Have a lovely week filled with many homemade decorations!
Your tabby barks?! That is fantastic! I've never had a kitty that did that. It sounds absolutely adorable.
DeleteCat People of the World United and Take Over- (sung to the tune of the Smiths)