In Which There is an Apple

Hey guys.

This is going to be a sort of "update" blog. I guess they all sort of are, aren't they? But I wanted to give anyone who's interested an update on all the goings on in my life at present.

First up: I've made a good dent in my 101/1001 list, but not as much as I'd like at this point. That said, I've made progress on a few of the items that will take the longest to complete, which is nothing to shake a stick at.

Some notable accomlishments (in my opinion, anyway): 

1. I've read six of the twenty recommendations I requested.
2. I've kept record of one of six months in "My Day in Six Words" journal.
3. I've written a short story to begin my Short Story Project.
4. We have plans with regard to savings/paying off various debts in mind.

For my comprehensive 101/1001 list, you can click here.

Second, I have read 31 of my intended 85 books this year. Thus far, this equates to 11688 pages.  Cray cray!

Third, I started at what is essentially my Favorite Day Job Ever on Monday. Working at this company was always the game changer for me, and I'm hoping to be able to move from contract to permanent employee in a hot second. Good thoughts appreciated. :)

And lastly, I've decided to be more comment-y in my blog reading. I very rarely get comments on this thing, and I know how much it means to me when I actually do get one, so I want to be sure to pay that forward a bit. :)

I'll leave off with this, just for some TRUFAX:

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How are you? What's new? Are you working steadily toward any of your own goals?

PS HOMG THE WALKING DEAD AUGH.

Happy Birthday to Me!

hey-o! 

for my birthday, i thought i'd make a hodgepodge post in which i shoe you a few of my favorite things. so, here we go!

in no particular order:

chuck taylors, because duh.

ben whishaw as Q in skyfall. OHAI BOY.

lattes (particularly with fun foam designs)

Daryl fucking Dixon, yo. Obviously.

Foo. Dave Grohl is cooler than you.

Mumford & Sons.

books.

Ten. (and the TARDIS, i suppose)

Marcus Mumford's lyrics.

and last, but definitely not least:

Cupcakes. Because of reasons.

anyhoo. there's obviously more where that came from, and i forgot to link to the original files, and for that i apologize, but: 

happy birthday to me!

hope you all have a fab day.

a new start

over the last ten years or so, i've probably had twenty different blogs. it all started with livejournal (i'm old, apparently) and continued to build from there. it's been a long, twisty road, and i was never able to keep up any real sort of commitment to any of the blogs i've had, whether they were a real, official blog  or something as simple as tumblr.

perhaps i'm a bit slow, but i've just realized that the reason for this - the reason i could never stay motivated to post regularly - is because i always, always, always shoved myself into a corner, content-wise. all of the blogs have had themes instead of just being a place where i can deposit my mind's meandering thoughts whenever i see fit.

novel idea, i know.

so that's the goal here.

(side note: if you read any of the other 8 bajillion blogs i've been a part of, please note that they are all closed. another side note: an additional goal for this blog is to use it before, during, and after i (hopefully) attain a publishing deal, so i'm doing the initial thing for now, as i intend to use a pen name if i ever get a book deal.)

a few more impacting things you should know, in no particular order:

i've acquired a recent affinity for typing in all lowercase letters. perhaps this has something to with my daughter (who is 4) preferring them to capitals. or maybe my pinkies are tired of hitting the shift button, and we all know caps locking all the time is just plain rude.

i'm an aspiring YA author. my current project is fantasy, the first book in a trilogy, and i'll be querying for agent representation soon. (i do not, however, type my books in all lowercase letters. in case you were wondering. (although that really worked for david levithan and john green in WG,WG.)

i am a wife, a mother, a big sister, a friend, and a foodie. also, i'm somewhat obsessed with coffee in varying forms, but i'm convinced that once one declares oneself a writer, that comes with the territory.

i read obsessively. my to-be-read pile is currently over 120 books, and still growing.

i currently live in nashville, tennessee, but will soon be relocating back to my hometown of austin, texas, and i'm pretty excited about it.

i feel compelled to say that i'm not entirely sold on this blog background, and i may have a friend create one for me.

topics on this blog will likely range from books to writing to pop culture to genuinely nerdy, flaily posts about whatever may happen to come up. i'm contemplating a few different sort of theme post things, and will start posting soon. there will definitely be updates as i go through the querying process, and if you'd like me to talk about anything specific, feel free to ask.

also, this is one of the (very few) television shows that can keep my interest:

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also-also, this blog url was taken from the song "in my eyes" by robyn.

if you're still here, i'd like you to know that there is fresh lemonade and a pile of homemade cookies just down the hall.

thanks for stopping by. won't you stay a while?

hearts,
b