The Beginning of Advent

Over at Father Z's Blog, there's a discussion about what Catholics are doing during the season of "joyful penitence"- Advent.

This got me thinking about what I was planning to do to make this a spiritually fulfilling Advent. At the moment, I had nothing in mind at all. Sadly, it's been a long while since I've done any kind of "penance" during Advent.

One year, while still a teenager, I gave up yelling at my siblings. You see, I come from a very large and very loud family, so this was a fault I struggled with greatly. Through the grace of God, I managed to hold fast to that resolution, and it helped me to effectively establish a good habit that still helps me today.

I also remember one year when my Grandfather was seriously ill. For some reason, there was some concern that he would die without receiving the Last Rites (the exact circumstances evade me). That year I said the St. Andrew's Novena with the request that he would not die without the Sacraments. Through God's great mercy and St. Andrew's gracious intercession, he passed away the following January having received Extreme Unction in the Traditional Rite.

This particular memory reminded me of the St. Andrew's prayer, which I had forgotten about for a good while. (I will be posting it below for anyone who is interested in invoking the aid of this great Saint.) It also helped me to figure out what my Advent penance will be.

1. Give up sweets.
2. Say the Saint Andrew's Prayer.
3. Say my morning and evening offering DAILY. (I've been sadly remiss about both...)

All three things will be offered for a particular intention, and being that it is a meaningful intention to me, I hope that it will make Number 1 a bit easier for me to manage. (I have a horrible sweet tooth...)

Thankfully, today is also the Feast of St. Andrew, and the day the prayer starts. Kudos to my Guardian Angel for pointing me in the right direction today!

St. Andrew Christmas Novena

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, (mention request here) through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew (30th November) until Christmas will obtain what is asked.

Imprimatur
+MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York
New York, February 6, 1897

How Many Years of My Life Have Been Lost...

... to my insatiable appetite for good literature?

There's been a meme floating around on Facebook for a good long while now, and several of my friends have completed it. I, however, have always been too lazy and never actually done the thing. Alas, being bored and more than a little depressed about not being able to finish NaNo on time this month has made me more inclined to entertain myself with such nonsense.

A note before the meme: There are two lists. The first, which was on Facebook, claims that the BBC said that the average person  wouldn't have read more than 6 books on the list. This is not true; it is merely a ploy to get unsuspecting, prideful people to take a meaningless and time-wasting quiz. The second list is the actual list from the BBC- their Top 100 reads list, which was compiled by vote.

Anyway, here goes, and I hope I don't scandalize anyone. :p

According to the instructions, you are supposed to bold the ones you've read and italicize those that you started but didn't finish.

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (Please note: I read these before I knew any better!)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
   
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen 
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery 
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi- Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens 
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley 
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Inferno – Dante
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince- Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas 
98.  Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl 
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

On this list- 31 read and 5 started.

The BBC's list-

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Only 28 on this list, and 2 started.

And this hardly counts the hundreds of books I've surely read that aren't on this list- The rest of the works by Austen, Alcott, L. M. Montgomery, the Hornblower series, all of Dumas' books about the Three Musketeers, etc., etc.

It's too bad my library card doesn't keep track of what books I've taken out over the years... it would be pretty neat to have a list!

A Wee Bit of NaNo...

Ah! Thanksgiving was fabulous this year, and I hope my readers had an enjoyable holiday as well!!

As promised, I'm going to start posting bits from my NaNo Novel. It is still slowly growing, despite my injured right arm, as preparing the first bit for posting brought my word count over 11K. It's still a far cry from the 50K I'm supposed to reach by 11:59 pm on the 30th, but it is something all the same.

This story is largely a character study more than anything, and I apologize for any boring bits in advance. This is still very much a rough draft, and it will go through extensive editing before I'm even remotely 'done' with it.

Before we start, I'd also like to thank my friend Scot for sharing his extensive knowledge of all things British with me. He's saved me from making a great many silly mistakes already.

And now, without further ado...

Chapter 1

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

“Look at the castle I made, Miss Gracie!” young William Arden cried happily, tugging on his nurse-maid’s skirt.

'Miss Gracie' Sinclair pulled her attention away from her intent, but aimless, study of one of the garden’s beautiful roses.  She looked down to where William was playing and smiled down at the excited little boy.

“It’s lovely!” she told him, gently ruffling his head of curly, blonde hair with her hand.

William grabbed her wrist with his small, chubby hands and pulled her down. “You have to look closer,” he said very seriously.

Grace chuckled and obliged, settling herself on the grass beside William. “Let us take a look at this magnificent castle of yours, Sir William the Great,” she said, imitating what she supposed were the manners of a lady at court.

William giggled and grinned happily.

”Ah, I see your soldiers are all out for inspection,” she commented, pointing to the little tin soldiers lined up in the loose soil. Their painted red uniforms gleamed merrily in the sunlight as they stood before William’s ‘castle.’

Grace smiled at her young charge’s handy work, impressed by William’s imaginative construction. He had levelled a patch of loose dirt and gathered small stones and twigs to construct the walls of his miniature fortress. Fresh spring leaves waved jauntily from the parapets and a strip of old bark served as the castle’s sturdy drawbridge, although a moat had yet to be constructed.

“Yes, ma’am,” William replied, beaming proudly at his youthful foray into the field of military architecture. “When the inspection’s over, they shall go out on field manoeuvres.”

“Very good, valiant knight! I am sure your leadership will do wonders for their discipline.”

“Aye! And they’ll be able to keep an eye out for any French spies lurking about,” William added, his voice lowering as he looked about as if expecting a spy to pop out from behind a rosebush at any instant.

Grace nodded solemnly. “This is a very good plan,” she whispered. “I think you had better send them off on those manoeuvres if we’re going to be safe, Sir Knight.”

William saluted her smartly and then immediately absorbed himself in the task of rearranging the ranks of his army. Grace smiled fondly at him, and then relaxed, resting on her elbows and leaning her head back.

The morning sunlight warmed her cheeks and she shut her eyes for a little while, enjoying the sounds of the light breeze rustling through the rose garden and young William quietly at play beside her. It wasn’t often that they were blessed with such lovely weather so early in the season and she intended to fully take advantage of it.

Enjoying the outdoors was a nice change from being cooped up in the nursery all winter long, as well as an escape from the preparations that busied the entire household. Everyone was in a fluster at the arrival of the Master’s sons, and although they had arrived yesterday, the activities of the house servants seemed even more frenzied.  There were now two more rooms to keep spotlessly clean, two more fires to keep lit, more place settings to prepare at table, not only for the young Masters, but also for the neighbours who were sure to visit. In the country, much to do was made of sons who went away for ‘better learning,’ and the Master’s sons were no exception.

James Arden, the eldest, had contented himself with learning the ways of managing his father’s estate and so didn’t set out to be a huge success at university. He learned what he set out to learn and then returned home to be educated by his father in the particulars on maintaining the family estate.

Robert, the next eldest, held the greatest hope in the eyes of his Father, being currently a student of Divinity at one of the country’s best Universities. Master Arden, being a staunch and devout Anglican, had no greater desire than to see one of his son’s take the cloth, and Robert seemed to be fitting into his role perfectly.  Master never looked half as happy as when he was speaking of his “dear son, Robert, who’s to become a cleric.”

John, on the other hand, seemed to be in the least favour with his father, his name hardly ever being mentioned at all. Grace wasn’t even sure she knew what the young Master was in university for, if anything at all.

The gentle breeze played with the edges of her linen cap and apron and she smiled to herself, enjoying the tickling sensation as the fabric brushed against her. She hoped that the good weather would hold, because secretly she was afraid of the Master’s fashionable sons. James was a regular resident, so she didn’t mind him, but the younger Mr. Arden’s were completely unfamiliar to her. She had heard the rumour from the other servants about Master John’s drinking habits, and there were whispers of other things besides.

Not that she thought she’d be worth noticing by the young master, of course, but it made her innocent soul tremble to think of spending any amount of time in close proximity to a man of his sort.

The sound of voices travelled on the wind to where Grace and young William sat. Grace opened her eyes at once, for the bark of angry, shouting male voices was unmistakable.

William looked up from his tin soldiers, excitement brightening his expression. “Is it them, Miss Gracie?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, rising to her knees and peering through the shrubbery towards the house. Through gaps in the foliage she could see three men, one of whom she recognized as Master James. They were congregated at the bottom of the porch steps, their stances unsteady, which, added to the shouting voices, indicated some trouble.

“I want to go see if it’s them,” William announced, collecting his soldiers into his hands.

Grace placed a hand on his shoulder. “No. Not yet.” Something wasn’t right, she could tell. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to focus on the scene unfolding before them. One of the gentleman, his dark hair unruly and his clothes rumpled, took a step towards Master James and raised a hand threateningly.

She gasped as the dark haired man tried to land a blow on the Master.

“What? What is it?” William pleaded, tugging at her hand.

“Nothing. Just…” She tore her eyes away from the angry men and looked down at her charge, her gaze intense and serious. “Stay here, William. Do you understand?”

William knew from the tone of her voice that she meant what she said. He nodded silently, his grey eyes wide.

“Good lad. I’ll be right back.”

Leaving William amid the rose bushes, clutching his toy soldiers close to his chest, Grace moved towards the house. The voices grew louder as she approached and she held her breath as she strained to make out words.

One of the voices was definitely that of Master James, his resonant baritone carrying easily on the spring breeze. To her surprise, she heard James laughing, and her brow furrowed in puzzlement at the sound.

She peered around the hedge surrounding the rose garden, holding her skirts clear from the branches threatening to catch themselves in the folds of fabric, and looked towards the house.

The dishevelled gentleman was now seated on the ground, the force of his swing obviously having unbalanced him, and a dark scowl marred his features. Grace instantly recognized him as one of the Master’s sons, John, the family resemblance unmistakable in his high brow, strong jaw line, square shoulders, and trim form.

Fortuitously, the breeze picked up again and she could hear Master James playfully chiding his brother.

“Hah! That’s what you get for raising your hand to your elders! Don’t ask me to help you up now!”

“Stuff it, Jim,” John growled, his words slightly slurred. “If I’d had my way, you’d be the one decked, damn you.”

Grace stifled a little gasp of surprise at Master John’s surly attitude, and she was instantly sure that she wasn’t going to enjoy having this man in the house.

“Come now, you two. You’re behaving like children,” the third gentleman remonstrated gently from his perch on the steps.  His words were soft, and Grace had to strain to hear them over a strange pattering sound that she recognized as that of running feet.

She quickly turned to see little William racing out from behind a nearby rosebush.

“It’s them! It’s them!” he shouted joyously, ducking neatly away from Grace’s intercepting arms as he ran past, showering tin soldiers from his arms all the while.

“William!” Grace called helplessly as the three gentlemen turned their attention to the sudden interruption.

 -----------------------

A Great Day... but with a wee bit of disappointing news.

Ah, what a lovely day!

University is on break for the Thanksgiving holidays, I got to sleep in today for the first time in a long while, and I have nothing to do today besides whatever strikes my fancy.

When one has a schedule as busy as I, days like this are joyous, indeed!

The only thing marring the glad state of things is the unfortunate problem I'm having with my right arm.

On Saturday, while working on staging scenes for an opera, a colleague and I got a little to enthusiastic about a quick exit we had to make off the stage, resulting in an unhappy accident. Said accident has left me with a bruised radius, which thankfully did not cause a stress fracture as well. This makes it painful to open doors and jars, carry objects in my right hand, play the piano and type.

Sadly, this leaves me unable to complete NaNoWriMo this year, as typing with one hand is  exceptionally slow. I'm a bit upset about it, but not too upset, as it means I won't have to make the mad dash to get caught up over break that I was planning on.

Honestly, I wasn't doing too well this year, especially with all the troubles we've been having with Dad's health, but who is also doing much better now! Thanks for your prayers!

As it stands, my word count is currently at 10,784. I think that's still a respectable bit of writing, considering. I'm really enjoying the story, so I know that I'm in no danger of letting it fall to the wayside just because NaNo will be over.

I'm actually thinking of posting it here in bits, much like Seraphic is doing over at her blog, in order to help keep my momentum up. That is, provided I have reader feedback. It is very helpful to have feedback, especially when you hit a rough spot and you're tempted to think, "Gah! This is just rubbish anyway! Who would even read this?" and then give up.

I think I'm less inclined to let that happen in this case, but if you feel so inspired, feel free to leave comments in my comm box. :D They'll be much appreciated!

Now, I must let my hand rest for a little while, and then I may post the first bit later on.

If I don't blog again, I'd like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

A fun Blog Gadget!

I found this nifty little gadget thanks to Mac McLernon over at 'Mulier Fortis'!

I write like
William Shakespeare

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

The funny thing is that I used bits of my NaNo Novel that I'm currently working on, and I came up with several different writers! One scene gave me Rudyard Kipling (which I suspect was due to the mention of an elephant [Thank you, Seraphic's inner child!]), another gave me Agatha Christie, and there were a few others for various different scenes. I did get Shakespeare twice, though!

I must say I'm happy that I managed to get British writers for the most part... I really do think they've given us some of the best contributions in Literature. Never mind the fact that I'm an Austenite through and through. :)

But if this little gadget says anything, it tells me that I really do have my own style. My writing may have undertones from other writers, whose work I've studied and read a lot of, but I'm not consistently writing like someone else does.

I write like me. :D

True Love... :)

Oh, I have been remiss with my blog once again... *sigh*

I apologize, dear readers, from the bottom of my heart. Unfortunately, however, life has been rather topsy-turvy of late... and not just because of NaNoWriMo.

Last Wednesday, my Dad was re-admitted into the hospital because they found numerous blood clots. They promptly put him on blood thinners and put a nifty strainer-like object into his vein to catch said blood clots. For a good day or so, he was still in grave danger, because he had an adverse reaction to the blood thinner they had put him on... and of course an adverse reaction to a blood thinner means that your blood clots instead of unclotting.

Gah.

The local hospital couldn't get things straightened out, so the doctors in Philadelphia had him transported ASAP back to where they could watch over him. Thankfully, once there, they were able to start getting things back under control. This also meant that my poor mother could start relaxing a bit. She was quite nervous about the treatment that Dad was getting from the local hospital, and it was difficult to pry her away from Dad's bedside.

Graciously, the hospital in Philadelphia has allowed her to stay with Dad in his room while they are there, which has made her much more calm and happy.

Meanwhile, I moved back home to become Mom and Dad for my 8 younger siblings. At first this was a fun adventure, being that I've missed spending time with them since I moved away to be closer to my University. However, this meant that I had a 45 minute commute to school and work everyday, and my already busy schedule now included taking care of a small army of people when I got home.

At this point, all I can say is that I don't know how my Mother manages on a daily basis. I really appreciate all that she does now, knowing how challenging it is (especially when the baby won't settle down at night unless sharing the bed with you, and then behaving like a pancake all night, flip-flopping all over the place, keeping you only on the verge of sleep, as you're deathly afraid of him diving off the edge of the bed).

I also know why God gives us children one at a time, instead of all at once! Lol!

Praise be to God, though, for helping us all through this difficult time. I'm so happy with how well the children have all pulled together and worked hard to get along and helped me to keep things running smoothly (which was tricky considering that I still had to go to school and to work for most of the day).

Even better, is that Mom just called to let me know that the doctors have finally released Dad, and they'll be coming home tonight! The blood clots aren't all gone yet, and he's still got quite a few in his lungs (at one point he had 85% blood loss to his right lung), but they've got the medication regulated and he should only need to check in with his local physician to keep things status quo.

It's going to be so great to have them back home. We've all missed them immensely.

What's most beautiful about this whole ordeal is to see how my parents have handled it all. My Mother has been especially devoted and Dad's been a pillar of strength for her and for us all, despite all of the scary stuff that's been going on with his body. They've both relied on prayer and grace through everything and supported one another through this time of great difficulty. And amidst all of this, they celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary on Tuesday.

I don't think I can think of any other couple in my life who have more perfectly lived out their Nuptial vows.

It's truly a beautiful thing to be edified by the example set by one's own parents and I thank God for them everyday.

The End of Life as I Know It

a.k.a. NaNoWriMo

a.k.a. National Novel Writing Month

a.k.a. 30 days of insanity as I attempt to write a 50,000 word novel amidst the 'normal' insanity known as school, housework, keeping Husband happy, work, music, etc.

So, yeah. I'm insane. Someone should really institutionalize me now, because even I'm not sure what I'm thinking...

This is my fourth year doing NaNoWriMo. I've met or surpassed the goal twice now, and only once was my novel a complete failure (I was 14 and really had no idea what I was getting myself into...).

This year I have a pretty good plot and for a change it's original fiction. I may post bits of it here for readers to review as I go along.

The only trouble seems to be that I'm not in much of a writing mood this year. It's day 8 and I'm only at 1447 words, when I should be somewhere near the 10K mark. But life has become increasingly more complicated and stressful, and I really don't have the ambition like I've had in the past to dedicate myself to these characters for 30 days. Real life is strange enough at the moment, never mind bouncing around in other people's heads...

I don't know... maybe sticking with it will be good for me. Maybe it'll help me to get some of my pent up emotions out on the page, rather than keeping them locked tightly away.

We'll see...