NaNoWriMo 2009

Awww...exactly two years today, I signed up on NaNoWriMo (for those of you not in the know, that's National Novel Writing Month). Not that I remember exactly what day, but when I logged in today, it lists the date you joined.

To be honest though, I wasn't planning on signing in at all this year. I finished my novels the last two years, using it as an exercise to just get the ideas out, and it was really good. This year, however, I already knew was going to be a little crazy. I'm currently taking a class, so I have homework, plus I've got some travel that will cut into my writing time too. Though, I'm not complaining about the travel.

But...well then we started talking about it. And then of course I thought of the great motivation that is the word count bar, and even the graph, where you can visualize your progress. Plus, there's the added competition of trying to just get five more words than your friend before going to sleep.

And I also have this idea I've been playing around with, not really sure if it could go anywhere, but I would like to start writing and see where it goes.

So. Am I going to do it again?

Let's just say I'm thinking about.

french press

So it felt like several years ago the French press became all the rage, despite it being a brewing method around for 160 years or so. They seemed to be everywhere and I heard quite regularly how great a cup of coffee made from a French press was.

But, like many fads, this one seemed to quietly fade. It was still there, of course. There was even some restaurant I heard of that served after dinner coffee in little French presses (how cute!). Somehow though, I had missed this. Despite my love of coffee, I never got around to trying it.

Until the other week. A few months ago, I won one in my writer's group, which made me a very happy girl since I've long wanted to try it out. Of course, a few months go by and I still haven't. Finally I got it out from the cabinet, washed it up and scanned over the directions and tried it with my favorite Sumatra blend coffee.

The result?

A resounding yum!

It's so much smoother than coffee brewed in my regular coffee pot, and maybe a little more bold. It's not as warm, but maybe that's just because I'm afraid of cracking the pot and my water could be a little warmer, but so far it hasn't been a problem. Plus, if I make more than a cup, which I normally do, it's not sitting on a burner continually heating up, but on my countertop. This I may have to tweak a little.

But it's definitely delicious, if you're a coffee drinker. Whereas before I looked forward to making a pot of coffee on the weekends and getting a little writing done, I'm now looking forward to my French press and my draft. There have even been a few mornings before work where I've made some. I didn't today, but it's definitely become a favorite.

finally fall

Actually, maybe not quite as much into fall as I thought. When I first started forming this post in my head, it was cold and raining, and that was pretty much the forecast for the next 10 days. A few moments ago I looked again, and after tomorrow it's supposed to be up in the 50s and...if you can believe it, then up in the 60s.

Still though, today...it's definitely fall.

Over Columbus Day weekend, I took a train out to the beach to just get out of the city for a little. It's always good to take a little bit of a breather away from everything, and disconnect. I brought my laptop and did a little bit of writing, though I think the most was on the train ride home. But this trip is what sparked my fall post.

Riding through Virginia, it was so beautiful! There were patches of golden fields, shades of red and orange on the leaves, though still mostly dark green...for now. But it reminded me of how beautiful fall is. Again, keep in mind I come from the South where...well, the only leaf color change is from bright green to a dead brown. Hmmm...not quite the stuff of poetry.

But though it's been almost painfully cold at times, because the rain and wetness doesn't play well with cold and wind, it's been ok. I love this time of year because it's cozy. It says: down comforters, movies, and lots of hot chocolate.

And it's also a good atmosphere to write. But there will definitely be a few evenings where I'll say I'm going to go write, but will be curled up under warm blankets watching a movie, while the wind howls outside and the cold chases everyone else indoors.