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NaNoWiMo

I have attempted to participate in National Novel Writing Month, or "NaNoWriMo" for short.

 

Their website describes the month thusly:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.

 

I had no idea what I was going to write about this year, but after some encouragement from a friend, I decided to try it anyway.

Day 1 was the hardest. Sitting still without checking email or facebook and forcing myself to put 1,667 words down on paper, or in my case on the computer screen, was HARD. Really hard. But I did it, and it felt wonderful! I felt so accomplished!

After the first week I fell behind and was unable to meet the daily word count goals. But I've had a great time doing the writing, even if I am a bit behind.
I'm not sure a novel will come out of this endeavor, but several great short stories have, and it's been a wonderful exercise.
Even if I don't (and I probably won't) finish on time, I still hope to reach the 50,000 word goal.

And next year, I'll be better prepared, I hope. I'll have ideas ahead of time and do a better job of setting aside time to write.
This year has been a great for "getting my feet wet" with NaNoWriMo, and hopefully my attempts will get better each time I try!

Quotes from Ashley Judd's All That Is Bitter and Sweet

 

 

I really enjoyed Ashley Judd's memoir, here are a few of the beautiful quotes she shares.



 

"Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good; by itself it makes everything that is heavy, light; and it bears evenly all that is uneven. For love carries a burden, and makes everything that is bitter sweet and tasteful."

-Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ

 

 

"If I am not for myself,

who will be for me?

If I am only for myself,

what am I?

If not now, when?"

- Rabbi Hillel

 

"Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found at truth."

- Kahlil Gibran

 

"A man wrapped up in himself is a very small man."

- Benjamin Franklin

 

"Our spiritual purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and our fellows."

- Seen on the walls at Shades of Hope

 

"Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each tomorrow

Find us farther than today."

- H.W. Longfellow, "A Psalm of Life"

 

Ashley Judd mentioned the Great Spirit Prayer by Chief Yellow Lark, which prompted me to look it up:

 

Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice I hear in the wind,
Whose breath gives life to all the world.
Hear me; I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice
Make me wise so that I may understand
the things you have taught my people.
Help me to remain calm and strong
in the face of all that comes towards me.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
Help me seek pure thoughts and act with the intention of helping others.
Help me find compassion without empathy overwhelming me.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy
- Myself (My fears and my doubts).
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset,
my spirit may come to you without shame.

"Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. The one who is motivated only by desire for the fruits of their action, and anxious about the results, is miserable indeed."

- Bhagavad Gita, verse 49

 

"First, I just say, 'Hi, God.'

Second, I declare my proper relationship with my Creator: I am powerless over people, places and things; there is One who has all power, and that One is a loving God.

Third, I recommit myself to the decision I have made to turn my will and my life over to the care of this Power.

A hint of Julian of Norwich's prayer floats to mind: 'All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well...'"

- Ashley Judd



Free Redbox Movie Today!

Today is Redbox's 10th Birthday and in celebration they're giving us a code for a free one-day movie or game rental!

All you have to do is us the promo code: BIRTHDAY

More Info Here

I think I want to see "Dark Shadows" or "Five Year Engagement."

What will you watch tonight?

Quotes from "Happier at Home"

I just finished reading Gretchen Rubin's new book Happier at Home.
I really enjoyed it and now I want to read her first book about happiness The Happiness Project.

There were so many great truths and quotes that my copy quite dog eared.
Here are a few things that resonated with me

One thought was repeated throughout the book: The days are long, but the years are short.

On possessions: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." - William Morris.

On parenthood: "Enter into the interests of others." - A phrase from Tolstoy's Resurrection.

On time management: "My mind works in idleness. To do nothing is often my most profitable way." - Virginia Woolf

On perfection: Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." - Voltaire

Do something that you don't really want to do for 15 minutes daily: A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules." - Anthony Trollope

On goals: "The feeling of growth and movement toward a goal is very important to happiness - just as important, and perhaps more important than finally reaching that goal. Nietzsche captured this tension: "The end of a melody is not its goal; but nonetheless, if the melody had not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable"

On planning: Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. - Eisenhower

On happiness: On the whole, tho' I never arrived at the Perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet as I was by the Endeavor a better and happier Man than I otherwise should have been, if I had not attempted it. - Benjamin Franklin

I urge you to check the book out for yourself, as well as her blog!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

I LOVE Starbucks's Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins.
I have a wheat intolerance, which seems to have gotten worse in the last few years.
In the past I would just eat Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffin and suffer a little, but the suffering has gotten worse and is no longer worth it.
So I set out on a quest for a gluten free option.
I found this recipe and decided to try to modify it a bit.

Please forgive the poor picture quality.

Here's the recipe I used for these AMAZING muffins:

Makes 24 Muffins

Ingredients:
For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 Tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose gluten free flour (works the same with regular old flour)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
15 oz of pumpkin puree (1 standard size can)
1¼ cups peanut oil (vegetable oil works too)

For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons of roasted pumpkin seeds

Instructions:
To prepare the filling: (I made the filling the night before) combine the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours. The mixture will still be somewhat soft but firmer.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly.(This takes awhile) Add in the pumpkin seeds. Transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. You want to put the cream cheese lower than you think because it will rise a lot during the baking process. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (If you are overeager, like I am, and don't let it completely cool, it's extremely crumbly)

Swagbucks Special Offers

Swagbucks is a great way to have some fun and earn a little extra money and/or prizes!
I primarily choose to redeem my swagbucks for Amazon Gift Cards and I make about $40 in a typical month.
Last year Swagbucks paid for almost all of my family's Christmas gifts!

In a previous post I discussed how to earn through Searches, Daily Polls, Toolbar, and NOSO's.

The great thing about Swagbucks is that there are so many ways to earn!
Many "swaggernauts" earn a great deal through Special Offers.

I suggest that when you sign up for Swagbucks you do not use your primary email address, but a separate address just for Swagbucks. This will also be the email address you'll want to use for completing any Special Offers.
That way your primary mail box doesn't get clogged up with all  your Swagbucks stuff.

I tend to stay away from Special Offers that require you to make purchases or ask for your credit card information, though I know that many people complete these offers regularly and have no problems doing so.

I'm happy with what I earn just using the free Special Offers.

When you select "Special Offers" you see a page that has six tabs across the top, each of these tabs is a separate company with separate special offers. I try to check out each tab daily.

Currently the "Radium One" tab is my favorite. They often have video offers, where you earn Swagbucks simply for watching a short video. What could be easier?

The Swagbucks Offers That Credit page on facebook is a wonderful resource!
People share offers that they have completed and received credit for, so that you will know which offers definitely work. Everyone there is friendly and willing to help answer any questions you may have.

When considering which Special Offers to complete I keep in mind some of the Internet Safety Commandments:

• Do not share financial information
• Do not download anything unless you know exactly what you are doing
• Do not share passwords
• Be sure your antivirus software is up to date
• Use your best judgement

Please let me know if you have any questions or I can help in any way!