Color Run
Went back to Michele's in Maryland and spent a night watching television, eating pizza, and drinking beer (ale, but whatever). Then got up the next morning and ran 2.5 miles. Not quite a 5k, but still impressive for me considering November was my least active month since March. It was a nice visit and I'm glad I went, though we did lose some time together due to the upcoming holiday season! Blah, retail. Either way, my shoes are still colorful—and at a recent trip to the gym, I busted through them. So I've officially worn them out, which means I get a new pair of running shoes this spring!! :)
 |
| These used to be pink! |
Despite below-freezing temperatures, a torturous windchill, and seats one row from the top of the stadium, Matt and I went to our first NFL game. And, again, despite all those factors, we had a really great time. Those tickets were easily one of the best gifts he's ever given me (ranked up there with my Kindle Fire and my Pandora bracelets). We spent $5 on hot chocolate, almost $20 on hot dogs, and $5 on a bottle of water that froze before halftime. We couldn't feel our feet or our hands and I'm pretty sure I had windburn on my cheeks. A win is a win and should always be celebrated, but a win against the Giants is definitely worth sitting in the freezing cold next to middle-aged men who lack the creativity to come up with a taunt better than "Romo is a homo." I yelled and cheered, but next time, I want to be extra obnoxious and wear my jersey and paint my face—as long as it's an early game next year instead of one in the dead of winter.
 |
| Being an ass before the game. |
 |
| First Cowboys touchdown with 4:17 left in the first quarter! <3 04/17/05 |
NaNoWriMo
As stated in my previous post, I signed up for National Novel Writing Month toward the end of October to get my butt in gear, creatively. The goal, through the website, was to write 50,000 words in November. I didn't reach that goal (November was such a horrible month for free time!), but I got closer than expected. With Constance's encouragement and Matt's helpful feedback between the last week of October and November 29, I managed to write 40,843 words. Which is approximately 41,000 words more than I've written in years so... I'm happy with it! After the holidays, I plan to pick it back up, but I'm not going to try to kill myself to hit numbers. I got fewer hours of sleep and only managed to work out twice the entire month because I put this task first, so if I pick it back up again, I'm going to need to balance it with the rest of my life—which will be a bigger challenge than meeting any word counts. I have no real plans for this; it's just nice to be creative now and then.
 |
| Working title: Forgotten but Not Gone |
Dave's Wedding
The day NaNoWriMo ended was the same day Matt and I took to the road for Dave's wedding! We rented a car, enjoyed really great weather, and actually made it to the church with plenty of time to share. It was nice to see everyone and though we didn't do as much dancing as I'd hoped we would (or any, really), we had a pretty good time. In our almost nine years together, it was the first wedding we went to as a couple and I doubt it'll be the last. Hopefully more dancing at the next one!
 |
| Love <3 |
The New York Times and The View
Work's been really great recently—other than an insane workload and some unforeseen sudden deadlines. The Fall 2013 season was the first of which I had books come out that I personally acquired, so I found myself watching sales figures, self-promoting (as can be seen on my Facebook) as often as possible, and bugging publicity for any and all updates. This is going to seem like a brag-fest, so my apologies ahead of time. Some highlights:
Why Do Only People Get Abducted by Aliens? was named one of Kirkus's Most Anticipated Fall Debuts.
Left had favorable reviews and was blurbed by New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt.
Kitchen Things was named one of 2013's Best Books to Get You Thinking About Food by AP, appeared on the New York Times website, and was called a "coffee-table must" by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Victorian Secrets was discussed on The Today Show, and author Sarah Chrisman has been interviewed for magazines and newspapers in various countries (including Italy and Australia) and was featured in the print and online editions of the New York Times. She also appeared on a short segment of The View in early December. I was able to go to ABC's studios with her publicist and we hung out in her dressing room and backstage during the taping. Experiences include: meeting Ryan from All My Children and chatting Whoopi up in the hallway. It was a great time and I'd definitely do it again. :)
Our book is available for pre-order!
 |
| Our book! |
Book #2, for me at least
And since the kitchen book is wrapped up, I may as well report on a new development: I'll be writing The Little White Book of Wedding Planning Wisdom for publication in Spring 2015. I've never been married, but I was supposed to be in two weddings at one point! I pitched this book as a quote book to fit our series, but a few minutes later, it turned into something much more, so now in addition to quotes, lists, etc., there will be real advice and research and we'll see how it goes. I'm excited about this one, and I should learn quite a bit that will hopefully come in handy in the future...
Christmas plans
The tree's up, presents are wrapped, and it's only December 11! All that's left for me is stocking stuffers. And I'm pretty sure Matt did some shopping Monday night, so I may actually have gifts to open on Christmas day! We're heading home for a day or two, but plan to be back in the city for Christmas Eve since we both have work that day and the day after the holiday.
The next few Sunday/Monday combos are vital for us in terms of holiday preparation and just spending time together. Matt's schedule is changing after New Years, which means we're back to seeing each other maybe twelve hours a week (Monday and Tuesday nights). This is inconvenient for a variety of reasons (no more Super Bowl party, no more huge birthday celebration, significantly less time together, absolutely no time together in daylight hours... I can go on), and we're both incredibly unhappy about it. We'll see what happens. Not looking forward 2014 in that respect, but there's so much more to think about so... it'll be okay.
