Target Time Giveaway

It's been a while since I did a giveaway so I happily jumped at the chance to do one for Target, because TARGET!!   It's August and what better way to start the soon to be Fall season than with a Target Gift Card? Whether you want clothes, home decor, or a nice new coffee pot, we want you to get what you want so we're giving away a $75.00 bucks to Target. Good luck and happy winning!

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Pony Party. Make Up. Pink.

I confess that waking up in the morning is awful and never seems to get better.  I don't know what my problem is.  I'm normally in bed between 9-10pm.  I have problems getting to sleep so I usually pop a Unisom Sunday through Thursday night.  I still don't fall asleep right away but I sleep well.  When 6:22am rolls around I hit snooze a few times then drag myself out of bed and it sucks.  If I truly didn't get enough sleep the day drags but usually I'm okay by the time I get to work.  If I go to bed at 8pm I'm sure I won't fall asleep right away and that leaves me with just an hour at home before bed on gym days.

I confess that I went to my very first pony party a few weekends ago and had a really good time.  That's what happens when all your kids have friends.  It was at this really cute place called Feather Acres Farm & Nursery and they had an area where the hosts can set up snacks, drinks and the cake.  It's really a great (if expensive) kid birthday party idea.  Everyone had a good time.  His friends are awesome and always have adult beverages available even when the guest of honor is four. We  sipped on champagne and made the rounds petting bunnies and checking out chickens and cows.  We are too heavy for the ponies, but I fed a horse for the first time ever.  They are so beautiful.  I've never wanted a dog or a cat but now I want a horse!!

Disclaimer:  I still don't know how to "do" make up.  I realized that my eyeliner was unbalanced after I took the pic but before I left the house. 

I confess that I only wore make up twice this month.  One of those times was the full on shebang face that I did for my high school reunion and the other time was eye liner, mascara, blush and gloss.  I didn't think it was possible for me to care about make up any less then I did last year but I guess not.  Not quite sure what possessed me to do this.  I guess because it's such a rare event, but I took a before and after pic in my bathroom before the reunion.

I confess that my skin is a total disaster right now.  Obviously, it's not caused by make up.  About once a year my skin is a total mess for anywhere from 3-6 months with what I think is hormonal acne mostly around my jawline.  It started in my late twenties, sometimes skips a year or two and there is no pattern that I can find but when it strikes there is nothing I can do about it.  I learned that the first time around.  Nothing worked so now I just spot treat it with alcohol and wait it out.  When it's ready to go away it will.

I confess that I didn't realize that you could change watch batteries yourself.  I thought you had to take it to the watch people because that's what my mom has always done and that's what I did when I was still wearing watches.  The battery in my Polar heart rate monitor went low and was all frustrated because I needed it for Monday and now I would have to go to the kiosk at the mall on my lunch break to have them change it.  MJ looked at me like I was crazy.  "You don't have to go there.  Just do it yourself."  We popped the batteries out.  They are clearly labeled so finding the right size at the drug store was easy and the new ones popped back in.  How did I not know it was that easy?

I confess that I forgot to put on deodorant yesterday.  I realized it about half way through the day and made a little run out to my car for spare deodorant I keep there.  Good thing because I planned on going to the gym right after.  Hey, it happens.  I forgot socks too so had to work out with sweaty feet.


I confess that I've been terrified of the free weight section at the gym.  All those buff guys huffing and puffing in their tank tops are so intimidating.  I march in there with my pink and try to pretend I know what I'm doing.  I've been forcing myself to keep going back almost every day for the last two weeks and it's getting better.   Can you tell I love Pink?  I also have a pink lunch bag and water bottle for work.  Plus a bunch of other pink stuff I can't think of right now.

I confess that I blogged 10 times last month and that's the highest per month so far this year.  Half of it was vacation recaps.  As always, I don't worry myself about pumping out a bunch of posts.  I just want to keep on writing and enjoying this space.  I was in a bloggy rut just two weeks ago but I think it's passed.

Thanks for all of your sweet comments on my I finally finished my novel post.  I do plan on sharing more about it and an excerpt.  I still feel extremely nervous about opening up about it but I know I need to get more comfortable with that so stay tuned!!

Linking up with Leslie @A Blonde Ambition

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That Day I Finished Writing My First Novel

I keep a lot of things to myself.  No one outside my immediate family knew I was writing a novel until after I'd already been working on it for two years.  It didn't feel real for a really long time, so it didn't seem worth mentioning and now that I'm done I still haven't really mentioned it.  I didn't post about it here, until I'd been seriously working on it for nine months.  On June 11th, 2014 at approximately 12:15pm; three years, 450 pages of double spaced Times New Roman, and 106,585 words later I finished my novel.  Just the week before I had to quit working on it because I hated it so much.  I was so close to the end, and I just wanted to be done with it already so I forced myself to keep opening that word document. I went at it again that day, and two hours later there was nothing left to type. 

Me and my manuscript

My first thought was Oh my gosh.  I think I just finished my novel.  I sat there staring at my screen for a few minutes while my eyes welled with tears.  I sat with it for a while on my own.  It felt like the best way to really take it in and enjoy the incredible wave of happiness washing over me.  I thought about texting my mom, or MJ but I decided I'd rather say it in person because it's not something you get the opportunity to say very often. Then I tweeted it because what else do you do in this day and age?  I was bursting.  I had to tell someone and it was my way of shouting it out to the world, but at the same time still keeping it a wonderful secret to enjoy and savor for myself.  I got some really sweet replies from some of you that made me even more excited.

I didn't look at it for a few days after I finished, but then tons of ideas started rolling in and the editing process began.  It was non stop.  I was jotting down notes in my phone and imagining different scenarios in my head constantly. Every time I looked at it, I frantically added or changed something.   The revising part was way easier then writing the thing in the first place.  I was actually really enjoying it and having a lot more fun with it than I had in a while.  That went on for a month until it got really exhausting and I needed it to stop.  I was so enmeshed in the process that after a while I couldn't see what I was reading anymore.  I felt like I was changing things just to be changing them, so I knew it was time to take a break.  I added 3,219 words and 14 pages by then, when I have a feeling I probably needed to trim it down.

My parents were coming down that Saturday and I decided right then and there that I would going to FedEx Kinko's to print it out and let my mom read it.  I always knew that if I let anyone read it at all, it would be her.  I had come to a nice resting point with the editing and I couldn't look at it anymore so it seemed like the right time to take a break.  I could get some feedback, regroup and then go over it again for more edits with a fresh eye.

It takes a while to print out that many pages so we were there for a bit, and it was really special having my mom there.  At one point the lady doing the print job said, "So who's the author?" I got to raise my hand and say, "Me.  I wrote it,"  and that felt really good.  Thank goodness I told her double sided because when finished it was pretty thick. Total cost: $25 bucks.  I planned to put it into a binder, but it would have been a whole lot of pages to three hole punch and I didn't even have a binder that thick so it went into a box.  That stack of paper is a physical representation of  so much time and effort.  I wrote all of that?  It's really hard to believe that I finally have something to show for all those years I've been tapping away at my computer.   I can officially say I have a manuscript now and it feels really strange because I never imagined myself to be a person that would ever get to say that.  

My shadow on the beaches of Playa Del Carmen, MX

Five years ago I didn't know how to start writing a novel and then, once I started, I didn't know if I could finish.  For 2 1/2 years I essentially gave up.  Life got busy and I told myself that I must be crazy to think I can actually write a novel anyway.  I put it aside, but that desire to write kept on coming back.  The yearning to finish what I started would not go away, so I dusted it off and committed myself to 15 pages a month for however long it took; which turned out to be three years.  I didn't put too much pressure on myself which was helpful.  When I reached the minimum acceptable novel length word count, I focused on finishing the story and finishing it this year.  When it was finally done, I didn't know if I'd ever print it out, then I didn't know if I'd let anyone read it, and now I don't know if I'll ever publish.  I've been winging it every step of  the way. Going from the desire to write a novel to the act of spending three years actively trying to do it has been all about me loving to write and wanting to do it for myself.  With all honesty, I can truly say that finishing it was my ultimate goal and if I never do a thing with it I'll be okay. 

It's fiction.  It might not be any good, but the story I've poured my heart and and soul into for three years is done and that alone makes me really happy because wishing I could write a novel got really old.  I wanted to do it.  There are many things in life I haven't got a shot in hell at accomplishing, but deep down I knew that writing a novel was not one of those things.  I wasn't convinced I could do it but I had to try because there are some things in life that you know you have to do even if you don't believe that you can.  I wanted to accomplish at least one goal in my lifetime that I could be really be proud of.  This is that thing, and I'm glad to finally be able to say I did it.  

Hello, Adorable

I'm that slow annoying person who can and will agonize over every decision big or small. It could be something as simple as what size to get in a shirt or what pill box to get but it's a rare thing for me to make a super quick decision. Unless it has to do with Pink. I always go with Pink. The last time I got to pick a lingerie item from Adore Me to review it took me almost a week so I was kind of glad to shift the burden to someone else when Adore Me contacted me about writing an unboxing review.  They pick, no over analyzing for me.

First of all, the box is adorable.  You can't open a box that says Hello, Adorable without smiling.

I'm also that person that hates not being in control of every little thing so I was really thrilled when I opened the box and found that I really loved what was inside.  MJ loved it too.  I'd just come home exhausted from work and was going through the mail. 

"Ooh.  Try it on for me."

"No, not now.  You'll see it later."

"C'mon, just try it on now.  I wanna see."

I wasn't feeling my most adorable, but I rolled my yes and put it on because if your husband is interested in seeing you in lingerie that's a good thing and so you might as well put on the darn lingerie. 

Adore Me is a membership-based e-commerce site with special prices offered to VIP members, but also offers a Pay-As-You-Go service for customers who don't want to commit.   They have a large selection of lingerie, sleepwear and swimwear.  They sent me the Desirae push up.  I don't own a single white bra or panty so it was perfect because I would have never picked it for myself and now I have something different.  I love the pink details because, pink.  The padding in the bra is just right and the panties are just enough to cover the booty without riding up yet still look sexy and  not even close to "granny panty" status as white panties can if not done right.

They done good.  Thank You, Adore Me!!  

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