Resolution WIN

Last year around this time, I was feeling like an epic failure in the area of New Year's resolutions. I'm a huge fan of setting goals - LOVE setting goals. When New Year's rolls around, I'm always like, "WOO! Let's list some goals and meet them, and this year will be the best year EVER!"

But I'm also a huge goal-meeting failure (not a quality I love about myself) and usually around January 18th I realize I have completely left my goals by the wayside and drowning myself in the last of the New Year's champagne sounds like a mighty fine idea.

But remember last January? When I decided 2011 will be the year I pick a resolution (write EVERYDAY) and then stick with it? And for every day that I don't write, I donate $1 to the charity First Book?

YEAH, I TOTALLY ROCKED 2011.

Okay, so I didn't write every day. Out of 365 days, I wrote for only 323 days. Which means that, in addition to my base donation of $20, First Book will be getting $42 from me.

As it only takes $2 to provide a book for someone in need, my lack of resolution-meeting will provide 21 people with books that otherwise would not have had one.

Which makes me feel pretty awesome for all the days I failed at meeting my New Year's resolution.

WIN.

How about you guys? Did you set goals for 2011? Did you meet them? At least a little? I haven't thought about resolutions for this year. I've been up to my eyeballs in getting ready to query agents - like, next week - which is SOON.

But I might just try this write everyday resolution again. It certainly helped me on the days when all I wanted to do was sit on the couch, eat ice cream, and watch Awkward. marathons on MTV. Because I can't afford to buy ice cream or pay the cable bill when I'm donating all my moolah because I'm too lazy to work on my book!

xoxo,

Seven Years!

Carmel, CA
Seven years ago today - our very first day as newly weds

Yesterday, my BFF Jenni congratulated Will and me on our wedding anniversary by posting pictures on Facebook that I hadn't seen before - of us as newly weds. Very sweet! (thanks, Jenni!)

Before our wedding, Will and I were apart for 5 months - separated by an ocean and an 8 hour time difference - which was torture.

I'm so glad I've had my favorite person beside me every day for the last 7 years!

xoxo,

Marisa's Adventures In Writingland

Write or Else Art Print by Kathy Jeffords
www.thedreamygiraffe.etsy.com

I thought writing a 92,000 word complete novel was the most complicated thing ever.

Then I thought figuring out what my novel was about, and rewriting it as an 86,000 word novel, was the most complicated thing ever.

Then I received book-splittingly HUGE critique and had to find the backbone of my story and gut the rest, rewriting it as a 72,000 word novel. My brain melted several times along the way. I figured it was the most complicated thing EVER.

Well, I was wrong, folks. It wasn't at all.

The most complicated thing ever is taking what used to be a revoltingly bloated 92,000 word novel and condensing it's essence into two paragraphs.

TWO.

PARAGRAPHS.

SHORT ONES.

That need to sparkle more than Edward Cullen's chest.

You guys. I'm dying here. Writing a query is so darned hard.

But on a brighter note, I finished my book! The Book That Never Ends finally ended!*

So what's next on the Marisa Wants To Be An Author When She Grows Up agenda?

Querying agents. *gulp*

Then I'll be finishing the book I began for last year's NaNoWriMo. I was SO INSANELY bummed that I didn't finish SLEEP before this year's NaNo. But I have wrangled up a handful of writer friends and we're going to attempt a first ever JanFebMarNoWriMos (in which we write a complete first draft in 3 months - which to some is easy peasy, but to me - who takes a year to hack out a draft - this will border on epic)

Any one up for hopping on the JanFebMarNoWriMos train?



*okay, mostly, as I still have a light round of touch ups - and maybe rip and restitch a couple scenes - which feels like child's play at this point

xoxo,

My Week In a (very fragile) Nutshell

The last picture taken before Annelie didn't break my camera

I can summarize my week like so:

ME: Annelie, please don't touch my fragile, expensive camera.

ANNELIE: Okay.

[camera breaks]

ANNELIE: It wasn't me.

-- time lapse: one day --

ME: Annelie, please don't step on the printer cord attached to the USB port of my fragile, expensive computer.

ANNELIE: Okay.

[USB port breaks]

ANNELIE: It wasn't me.

-- time lapse: one day --

ME: Annelie, please don't touch my fragile, expensive snow globe.

ANNELIE: Okay.

[snow globe breaks]

ANNELIE: It wasn't me.


.... Yeah, I am SO ready for the weekend*



*But only if nothing breaks. I'm tired of broken stuff.

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season so far, folks! We've been holiday decorating, holiday movie-watching, holiday crafting, and having a holly, jolly time of it. Sorry, no photos to share!

xoxo,

Creative Inspiration (for 4-year-olds)

I love seeing what inspires artists to create.

Especially hip mini-artists who need iCarly sunglasses and hot pink bathrobes in order to tap into that creativity.

The other day, I came across this picture -

And Annelie laughing her head off when she caught me looking at it.

"My picture is hilarious, huh?" she wanted to know.

"What... exactly is going on in this picture?" I wanted to know.

She looked at me like I was crazy for not seeing it straight away (My kids perfected the "Oh, Mom, you are so uncool" look years ago) but got over it quickly so she could share her creative inspiration.

Behold:



She finds this delightful - grinned at me as I watched, hoping I'd find it just as delightful.

(do you find it delightful?)

Nothing quite like tribute art of the 4-year-old kind!

xoxo,

Bringing in the Snow

I knew Annelie was awake this morning when the piercing shrieks of "SNOOOOOOOOW! It's SNOW! Everyone! It's snowing!" blasted through the house.

She then ran straight to her sister's room screaming, "Gracie, GET UP IT'S SNOWING RIGHT NOW!!!! SNOOOOW!!"

(Of course Gracie already knew it was snowing -- she had to trudge through an inch of it on her way to the bus stop a half hour earlier.)

Poor Annelie was so disappointed that her sister wasn't home to share her excitement.

Upon discovering that snow and SANTA HAS BROUGHT PRESENTS are not synonymous, she was disappointed further.

And disappointed even further to discover that instead of playing outside in the snow with me all morning, as she'd planned, I'm sick on the couch, hacking and coughing and dripping and sneezing. (Boooo to sinus infections and bronchitis. Yay to prescription meds that are finally starting to work!)

So she was given a minute to make a snow angel, and then we grabbed bowls and buckets and scraped the snow off the grass.


And brought it inside.

All morning, I sat on the couch under a pile of blankets, and she sat at the kitchen table, burying her toys, and digging them up, and making them each mini snowmen.

By the time she was ready for a new activity, all the snow had melted and her Littlest Pet Shop pets were swimming in a blue lagoon.

She was thrilled - she had a happy snow day after all.

Happy Monday, folks! Hope you're all warm today, because baby, it's coooold outside!

xoxo,

Outta the Mouths of Babes: Another Annelie Edition

4-year-old Annelie finding creative inspiration
in Baby, by Justin B
as she draws a picture of Justin B
to mail to Justin B

My kiddo, cracking me up as usual. Here are some bits and pieces of our life.

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE: Mommy, know what? When I grow up, I want to be a TEENAGER!

---------------------------------------

WILL [to Annelie]: You're so cute. Did you know that?

ANNELIE: Yeah. I know everything. [pauses] Well, I know everything except how to turn on the stove.

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE [at pediatricians office]: Hi! I'm Annelie. And this [gestures at me] is Daddy's wife.

(she went on to introduce me like this several times)

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE [pointing at a picture of me from when I was in 5th grade]: Is this a picture of me when I'm all growned up?

---------------------------------------

ME [listening to Annelie humming]: That's a nice song.

ANNELIE: Thanks. Did you know I was humming in Spanish?

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE [pointing at our phone]: Florence and the Answering Machine has an answering machine just like us.

---------------------------------------

ME: Hey, what's that white stuff on your face.

ANNELIE: Oh, that's just white stuff. It isn't frosting at all.

---------------------------------------

After overhearing Gracie call Annelie a mean name.

Annelie: Don't call me names. [clap clap] Don't call me names. [clap clap]*


*sung to the tune of That's Not My Name by The Ting Tings

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE [picking petals off a flower]: He loves me. He loves me more. He loves me. He loves me more.

---------------------------------------

ANNELIE: Mommy, is it Happy 8th Day, again?

ME: What is that?

ANNELIE: You know. That day where we joke around.
---------------------------------------

ANNELIE: Can I have a banana?

ME: Sure.

ANNELIE: That's good. Because I already opened one.

(not going to lie - glad this conversation didn't begin with "Can I get my tongue pierced?"

---------------------------------------

Okay, that's all!

Hope you all have a great weekend, folks!

xoxo,