Here we go..

November is almost here! Pretty soon I will be deep into writing my novel! This time next week I should already have 10,000 words down. We'll see how that goes. But I know I can do it! I found a cool spot near my job that I can go to during lunch and after work (or before work if I'm motivated enough!). It seems like a nice comfortable place to be, plus if I get off track there will be plenty of people watching to do to get back on track.

I am also planning all sorts of things during November. Like next week I have a Stampin' Up workshop with a few of my coworkers. Then we have a busy day next weekend for work. There's also that bridal shower and baby shower coming up too, for 2 friends of mine. Then our 1 year wedding anniversary is just around the corner, and I took off an extra day from work for that.

So I made a calendar with word count goals (as well as all of the events going on), that way I can stay on track with everything. I am done with the research I needed to do for my novel. I am sure I will need to look up more things during the writing process, but that's what the internet (and library) is for. I am all set and ready to start writing my novel.

This time next month I should be adding the finishing touches! I plan on being done by Thanksgiving.

Caramel Apples

So the other night I made caramel apples. I took some granny smiths, washed and dried them completely, and then dipped them in melted caramel.
I melted the caramel in a saucepan on the stove (following the directions on the package). I held the apple upside down for a couple seconds so the caramel would look nice and pretty. Once the caramel was set on the apples, I dipped them in melted chocolate (on a double boiler). After the chocolate dip, I rolled each apple in crushed candy pieces. Once that was done, I drizzled melted chocolate on some, and melted white chocolate on others. The apples I made:

m&m's
crunch bar
twix bar
baby ruth bar
snickers bar
marshmallows
oreo cookies









Daniel & I shared the oreo cookie caramel apple that night. It was so good and probably my favorite. I brought the twix apple to work today, to share. I hope my coworkers like it! I am taking the other 5 somewhere this weekend for a surprise..

Just one of these apple slices is plenty for one person, so these things are definitely made for sharing. There is a thick layer of candy topping, chocolate, and then caramel before you get to the delicious apple underneath. MMm!

I think from now on when I make these, I will just use oreos, unless someone has a specific favorite from the ones I made this time.

Tip: Don't set the caramel dipped apple on wax paper or foil. It sticks and is very hard to get off of the foil or wax paper.... :( It's probably best to just hold it and let it set before you do the chocolate dip, but that could probably take a little while..

Tori Amos Fall/Autumn playlist

I made a Tori Amos playlist for our drive to Georgia, plus I was just feeling like making one. This is the fall/autumn mix (in alphabetical order).

Abnormally attracted to sin

Amber waves

Black dove (January)

Body & soul

carbon

Carnival

Caught a lite sneeze

Code red

Crazy

Dark side of the sun

Devils & gods

Digital ghost

Doughnut song

Father Lucifer

Give

Girl disappearing

Gold dust

Graveyard

Happy phantom

Honey

Josephine

Northern lad

Operation peter pan

Original sensuality

Pancake

Past the mission

Pirates

Rattlesnakes

Riot poof

Scarlet’s walk

Secret spell

Siren

Smokey joe

Starling

Strange

Teenage hustling

Virginia

Wampum prayer

Pirates by Y Kant Tori Read

Last night I had Ourpod (what we call our ipod) going and 'Pirates' by Y Kant Tori Read was on. I love that song. Daniel said it sounds like "pyrex" though. I thought that was hilarious. He was right, too. It really does sound like "pyrex." Song of the moment!

Here are the lyrics:

traveled far
from my home
foreign streets
paved with stone
deep in my dreams
moroccan sand
now i sail my ship
on dry land

there is a light that
shines on the frontier
pirates yeah
pirates
and on a dark night
when you feel lonely
and the world just
can't understand you
pirates yeah
pirates

steal the jewel
watch it break
it cuts with an eye
i can't escape
the ruby heals
alone i stand
when i sail my ship
on dry land

there is a light that
shines on the frontier
and baby someday
we're gonna be there
pirates yeah
pirates
and on a dark night
when you feel lonely
and when the world just
can't understand you
pirates yeah
pirates
there is a light that
shines on the frontier
pirates yeah
pirates
there is a light that
shines on the frontier

Weekend in Athens, GA

We're going to Athens, GA this weekend. Daniel's brother Jerrod is getting married to Lindsey on Saturday! We are both really happy for the two of them-they have even been together longer than we have! They are a gorgeous couple and will make a wonderful family one day.

You might remember Lindsey caught the bouquet at our wedding. Here ^ they are posing with it. :)

We are driving down to GA early on Friday, and then driving back later on Sunday. I wish we could have more time there to spend with family but we will see all of them again in December. Jackie is getting married on December 17th (which is Lindsey's birthday), and my birthday falls during that weekend too (December 19th). So, we're going to have a nice birthday weekend in Texas and a nice early Christmas with family (which is what Jackie wanted-all of us together for Christmas). :)

My friend Sarah is having a baby BOY! and her baby shower is in November. Another friend, Stefonia, is getting married in January 2010, and her bridal shower is also in November. So, I've got a lot of registries to shop from! Exciting.

Lots of excitement! I can't believe our one year wedding anniversary is almost here! It seems like just yesterday we were folding all of those roses..

Notebook

I spent my lunch break today writing out outline stuff for my novel. I almost filled up the entire notepad! It was one of those small legal pads. About the height of a novel, actually.

I know I write pretty big but I was writing down a ton of stuff. Chapter information, word count goals for each section, character descriptions, names, etc. I wrote down the things I need to research some more information on. I am feeling motivated. I feel like I know my character more so now I can actually daydream about the character and the adventures he/she will be experiencing so I can write my novel!

All I can tell you is that my research has something to do with old post cards and old road maps.

I see walking through dark library halls and sifting through dusty pages in my future. Yay for research!

I don't really have a genre, but on the Nanowrimo website I chose 'chick-lit.' I feel like that is a bit cheesy, though. I don't want it to fall under mystery or horror or adventure or romance, because it can be all of those things. We'll see.

October!

It's October and outlining has officially started for my novel!

I don't think I'll be posting details here but I will definitely update my word count/progress here. I really want to be able to do this.

I have a ton of ideas, and I need to organize everything for my outline. I'm going to get a lot of satisfaction out of completing this. Can't wait until December 1!