Snow

Dear Reader,

The lovely Spring weather we've been having in Wisconsin(snow!) has slowed my journey somewhat, but I have made some small progress. 

I'm up to 19.5 miles now.  Rivendell is still a long way off, but I'll get there.

Still Riding

The hobbits have outpaced me due to my getting more hours in at work this week as well as planting a ridiculous amount of peas, but I got back on my exercise bike today.  I actually worked up a sweat this time, which either means that it's really Spring, or I have to ride 7 miles to get a good workout in.  Today I crossed the "Stock Road that leads to Woodhall" and will follow it for awhile.

I am 13.5 miles into my journey.
Only 444.5 miles to go.

Still in the Shire

After a day of rest, I kept myself to a casual pace today, and am still making my way through Tookland.  I had to stop to plant potatoes, but it was nice to walk under the stars in the cool evening afterwards.

The Ride Begins

I began my journey to Rivendell this afternoon with five miles on my exercise bike.  I have crossed the Great East Road, and entered the Green Hill Country of Tookland.  A very pleasant journey thus far.

Biking to Rivendell

Dear Reader,

In my quest for more interesting ways to exercise, I have run across the "Walk to Rivendell" challenge, in which you keep track of your miles and log in to keep track of your progress on the road from Hobbiton to Rivendell.  The mileage was calculated from maps of Middle Earth.  How awesome is that?

You can keep track of mileage here.

I'm adapting the challenge so that I can use my bicycle, or my recumbent exercise bike, as well as walking.  This will allow me to continue my journey on rainy/snowy/inclement days.  I will post my progress on the blog.  Should be lots of fun!

Update

Dear Reader,

After some reconsideration I have created a twitter account under my pen name.  It's going alright, and I've found that it helps me with my confidence in my writing.

In other news, I realized tonight that I can recite Monroe County 4-H club names like Bran Stark recites house sigils. :)

Writer Incognito

Dear Reader,

It is not well known that I have a pen name, and that pen name has a website and blog attached to it.  I have no idea what to put on the website, as my writing is not something I put a lot of time into at the moment and I would feel like a fraud promoting something that is not going along at any steady rate.

However, I have spent several minutes this morning using various search engines to see what page the website comes up on.  The name by itself is not findable on Google, but if I add "fiction" I get a first page result and adding "weebly" give me number one.  :)  Webcrawler, Bing and Dogpile all yield first page results for the pen name alone, although Bing put me at the very bottom. 

I am considering twitter and facebook accounts, but there again, I'm not sure I could generate enough content to make them worthwhile to anyone who may like or follow them. 

Writing

Dear Reader,

I've started my fantasy/adventure story.  I have many ideas and an eight year story arc, so I'm expecting it to be at least a trilogy.  The hardest part will be world building, something with which I have very little experience.

With other stories, I have tried simply writing them(which is the most fun, when I can do it), making an outline(helpful but not so fun), and now I've started using note cards.  I expect I'll be using a ton of note cards as I start filling in details of my story world.

This story is going to take a long time to write, which is ok because I'm enjoying the creative process.  Lots of reading and writing and editing are in my future.  Wish me luck!

Running for My....

Dear Reader, 

In the past couple of years, while I've been away from the blogosphere, I have attempted running for my life, or health, or just fitness in general.  I enjoy it when my body cooperates.  Having weak knees has gotten in my way, but some low-end braces and a couple of physical therapy consults have helped.

I started with knee strengthening exercises.  They helped enough to convince me to try a couch-to-5k program I found on Pinterest.  Things were going well until week 3, when my exercise induced asthma kicked in.  My lungs were not ready for such a workout.

I have since changed inhalers and added a rescue inhaler to use before exercise.  And I have set myself walking and biking goals for the year.  Unfortunately, I'm way behind on my walking, so I'm not sure I can make that one, but biking should be good.  Anyhow, I'm gearing up to try again on jogging/running.

This time of year, the best time to exercise is way early in the morning, before it gets hot(or hotter) out.  I just read an article with tips for becoming a morning runner.  Here are some tips of my own, that I think are just as useful:

1. Get your butt to bed at night.
2. Get your butt out of bed in the morning.
3. Drag yourself onto the treadmill or out the door, wherever you prefer to run.
4. Brag about your progress somewhere.
5. Repeat.


It also helps to develop a competitive streak.

Now all I have to do is stop procrastinating and get going.

The Next Big Thing

Dear Reader, it seems I haven't kept up with this blog after all.  However, in my absence I have been tagged in a blog challenge.  Since I have started writing again, I may as well participate.  It might even be fun. :)

How it works:  First: Answer the 10 questions below.
                         Then:  Spread the fun and tag 5 more awesome people to participate.
                         It's also nice to link back to the person


I don't happen to know any fiction writers other than the one who tagged me, so I will link back to her in my one tag.

1. What is the title of your book / WIP?

The Bible Study

2.  Where did the idea of this book come from?

I've been wanting to write something with more religious content, and something a bit adventurous.  This is sort of a combination.  I'm not sure how the idea itself formed, it just sort of popped into my  head.

3. What genre would your book fall under?

I don't really know.  Spirituality/suspense?  Supernatural mystery?  Something along those lines.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

It's a little early yet for casting, as all I've done so far is a basic plot outline.  Not much character sketching has been done.  There are a number of actors I would love to see play any of my characters.  I would try to put Aidan Quinn or Sir Anthony Hopkins in there somewhere.

5. What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

   Hmm, I'll try to do this without making it sound like a comic book....

A parish Bible Study opens a door to [Unnamed Heroine]'s past, sweeping her up in the ever raging battle between good and evil.

6. Is your book published or represented?

When/if completed, my publisher will be Collier Bluff Books

7. How long did it take you to write it?

Time will tell....

8. What other books in your genre would you compare it to?

I've never written anything like this before, and I don't read much of this type of story either, so I don't really know.

9. Which authors inspired you to write this book?

Nobody in particular.  Maybe every author I've ever read.

10. Tell us anything else that might pique our interest in your book.

I try to make my characters realistic and sympathetic, even with the wildest plot lines.  There will be humor.  I can't write a story that doesn't have some humorous parts.  Lots of faith-based content and characters you can feel comfortable rooting for.

The One Awesome Fiction Author I'm Tagging:

Kate Warren



*To officially apply for the four vacant tags, please leave a link in the comments.

Yes, I am Still Here

Dear Reader, I realize it has been a few years since my last post. Life has gotten quite busy. My eldest brother passed away a year ago this past January, which pretty much spoiled 2011. I'm not sure where 2010 went. I will make an effort to post more now that I have some time with all my kids in school, and maybe even keep it up over the summer.

If you're still reading this, I apologize for the long silence and marvel your unbelievable patience.

One Down, One to Go

Dear Reader, I am happy to announce that I have completed my biking goal for this year. I rode 100 cumulative miles. It's an awesome feeling. Next year I'll have to bump it up to 125 or maybe 150.

I'm still working on my reading goal. I've read 17 of the 25 book goal. I'd hoped to finish them over the Summer, but I got too busy with gardening, so now I've given myself to the end of the year.

Driving

I forgot to mention this last week, but I passed my driver's test! I'm still learning some things about driving etiquette, but it's nice to have finally gotten my license.

CCD

Tonight was my first full length catechism class, and it was really awesome. My third graders are good listeners, and they participated well. We got through all of the things I wanted to cover and most of the extra activities as well. I might be able to work in a snack next week. The kids would love that. :)

Catechism

I am now officially a catechist. I'll be teaching the third grade catechism class, starting next week. Last night was the teacher in-service, where we handed in all of out paperwork and went over the schedule for the first semester.

I've been researching and writing down ideas all week, and am really looking forward to teaching. Some of the anxiety may return come Wednesday, but I'm feeling pretty good about it right now.

Mystery Solved

These mysterious plants voluntarily came up in my vegetable garden. I knew they weren't the cucumbers I'd planted there, but I also recognized that they were vegetables, so I let them grow. After weeks of watching these things expand and try to take over the entire garden, my suspicions have been confirmed. They are the dreaded mini-pumpkins. I thought I was rid of the little Napoleons, but they're back again trying to conquer the melon patch and strangle my green beans.

I may just let them have the beans. I've put up 39 quarts so far, and today I'm freezing some in mixed veggies. I'm one quart short of my canning goal, but we're still working our way through the last set of 40 I canned 3 years ago.

The kids will be happy to have all those tiny pumpkins around, and at least I don't have to worry about weeding them. Still, I hope they don't come back again next year.

Biking

Dear Reader, I'm up to a seven mile ride now. I'm not paying too much attention to my speed, but it's likely somewhere in the 10-12 mph range. As of yesterday, I'm more than halfway to my 100-mile goal. I should make it sometime in August. Then I can concentrate more on my summer reading goal, which is at the same point, progress wise.

Summer So Far

Dear Reader, Summer is very busy so far. My driving test is scheduled for early September, so I'll be practicing more. Summer homeschooling makes the mornings go by much faster, and should be excellent practice for teaching CCD classes in the fall, which I've volunteered to do. I did my first 5-mile(approximately) bike ride this morning. Due to weather and knee pain, I've only ridden 22 miles thus far, but since I've taken to riding on the road instead of the leg-killing dirt lane, my 100-mile goal is still viable.

I've ventured into the realm of home owning, which has me looking for more ways to save money. For instance, today I made a rag mop out of an old towel, a wooden handle and some baling wire. It doesn't hold together very well, but it serves its purpose, and should save a bit over time. Those sponge mops just fall apart after a short time, and are a big waste of money.

The garden is bigger this year, and everything is growing well except the watermelons, which needed replanting. They may not have time to be more than ornamental, but I'm hopeful for a long growing season. The weeds are being kept at bay, and I'll be canning beans before the month is out.

Only two more months before school starts. It doesn't seem like an eternity this year.

More Driving Stuff

The driving is actually going well. I've improved a lot, and am just awaiting an opening in the DMV schedule so I can take the road test again. I'll probably have another lesson sometime before then to make sure I've got it down. I've had three lessons so far, and they've been a great help to me.

Driving Revisited

Dear Reader, tomorrow I will meet my new driving instructor. We'll be driving around town for an hour so he can assess my driving skills. He just recently opened the driving school, a service that was very much needed in our area(especially by me).

Mr. Allen has been forewarned about my extreme nervousness while driving, although I assured him I've gotten much better about it. Maybe he can help with that. In any case, this is an excellent opportunity for me to get some behind-the-wheel experience, and with any luck, finally get my license.

I'm a little nervous just thinking about it, but I think it'll go well.