Wow am I late. So, yeah ummm... We're in 2015 and have been for a few weeks now. But I am going to post here and reflect on the end of 2014 and the goals I have for 2015 anyways.
2014 ended pretty well. Started walking in September and that quickly became an almost every day event. Then in the end of October, before the cold weather really set in, I joined a gym. Started lifting weights in November and I'm still doing that. Lifting weights 3 times a week(stronglifts program) at the gym and doing other stuff when I feel like it on the other days. I didn't go with PF but ended up at the 24 Hour Fitness location, which is better suited for my goals even as a beginner with lots of weight to lose. Though I might look to transition later as I would like to learn some of the olympic lifts that we don't have much room for at current location.
Here are some fitness goals that I posted in October 2014:
Run 5k (color run 2015)
Deadlift (learn how)
Kayak
Jump high enough to block (HS volleyball, could never do)
Take class on hand to hand combat
Lift heavy weights ;-) (will be more specific once I get to some weights)
I am signed up for 2 5k runs so far. Pride Glow Run in June up in Portland and a Bubble Run Portland in August, which is a type of color run. So, going to be reaching that goal in 2015 for sure and might even add one more in September if I can find one I want to do. I do know how to deadlift now and last night I lifted 190 lbs, which means that goal is achieved. I'm doing 145 squat, 85 bench and 65 overhead press so I'm starting to lift heavy weights (at least they are still heavy for me but also making progress to lift heavier). We'll count that one. Just need to try the kayak, work on jumping and find a combat class and those will all be done.
I've also steadily been losing weight. Though I have a no picture policy in place at the moment, on facebook in particular, I have a goal for November and might be posting actual pictures here on the blog then as well. Have a big family event to attend and want to surprise all of the family as I will have not seen them in almost a year and some since I weighed like 220. Back on October 26, when I posted a weight update, I was 194.2. I am now down to 175. It was faster at first but now I'm going steady at 4-5 lbs per month, which is a good rate since I still have a fair amount to lose. Lifting while eating at a deficit can be a challenge at times but it's manageable.
Now to move on and discuss what I want to do for the rest of this year. I have lots of goals, of course, and some are writing while others are fitness related. How much I get done will be seen in December because I've got a lot of writing to do and it's getting a little slow right now. Hope to pick things up in the next couple of months. February Editing Month maybe?
Goals for 2015
Submit novel to agents
Edit 3 novels
Finish 2 novels
Run three 5ks
Blog more often
Learn more lifts and try out a different lifting program or two (NROLFW perhaps)
Get to the Overweight range (currently still Obese) = lose 20+ lbs hopefully by November
More posts to come. I have writing topics to discuss, plus a few posts on lifting. I'm hoping to be less silent on here for the rest of 2015.
Big plans for this year? How is your fiction and fitness going?
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Silence Reason Holiday Edition: Retail
Yep, I work retail. So, that is part of my reasoning and apology for the long silence on this blog. Retail and holidays tend to be a bit on the chaotic side starting around Thanksgiving, even when your retail is pharmacy focused. (I don't work in pharmacy, it's just a key part of the store.) On top of that, we had a new hire just stop showing up weeks ago so that put us down a person during a time when we needed even more. Short staffed and holidays with 10 days of increased hours the store was open made for a long few weeks.
I didn't work the Friday after Thanksgiving, so that was nice, though we aren't anywhere near as crazy as other retail stores that day. Our big coupon stuff is actually on Thanksgiving and we get more in that morning, I think, than the day after.
However, I also work a good part of my shifts in photo department, so the weeks leading up to Christmas are the busiest for that department. Cards, calendars, photo gifts and just lots of pictures get printed within a short amount of time so by the week leading up to Christmas Day, we are just overwhelmed with orders while dealing with technical issues that always happen at the worst times. And I worked Christmas Eve till after midnight, and then close shift on Christmas Day. I kept busy this year.
So, I've mostly worked for the past month or so and not much else. Well, not much in the way of writing or blogging. I've written maybe over 1,000 words on the Snow novel and a couple online things that needed done. But I've also gone to the gym 3-4 times per week. But I'll talk more about that in the next post, which will include updates, 2015 plans and more. Later I'll have some fitness only posts so look forward to thoughts on fitness with the blog and a couple just about lifting weights.
I hope everyone had a great set of holidays and are ready to rock 2015.
I didn't work the Friday after Thanksgiving, so that was nice, though we aren't anywhere near as crazy as other retail stores that day. Our big coupon stuff is actually on Thanksgiving and we get more in that morning, I think, than the day after.
However, I also work a good part of my shifts in photo department, so the weeks leading up to Christmas are the busiest for that department. Cards, calendars, photo gifts and just lots of pictures get printed within a short amount of time so by the week leading up to Christmas Day, we are just overwhelmed with orders while dealing with technical issues that always happen at the worst times. And I worked Christmas Eve till after midnight, and then close shift on Christmas Day. I kept busy this year.
So, I've mostly worked for the past month or so and not much else. Well, not much in the way of writing or blogging. I've written maybe over 1,000 words on the Snow novel and a couple online things that needed done. But I've also gone to the gym 3-4 times per week. But I'll talk more about that in the next post, which will include updates, 2015 plans and more. Later I'll have some fitness only posts so look forward to thoughts on fitness with the blog and a couple just about lifting weights.
I hope everyone had a great set of holidays and are ready to rock 2015.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Putting Fitness in My Fiction Blog
Hi there.
It has been a bit of a slow year on my blog, though I notice I post here more than any of my other blogs, so that says something at least. But since I've been more active lately, it's probably time to do an update health wise and talk a little about fitness before we get into the crazy fun of November and National Novel Writing Month (yes, I take part in it every year so this year is no different).
First: Update
September 5th was my last weight post, which included a goal to lose 10 lbs by nanowrimo. I am currently at 194.2, so have lost almost 15 lbs since that post since I had a weight of 209 when I made that post. The walking once a week, the week after I posted, ended up more like 6-7 days a week. I've only missed a few days in the last month, and a couple of them were from a cold. Using myfitnesspal, I can get a slightly generalized idea of calories consumed, which is the main reason for the current loss but the scale is just a small factor. I have many fitness goals, which is really where this blog will focus on (though I will occasionally post weight numbers and maybe some day measurements, plus hoping to one day have before/after images). It has been a slow adjustment and I think it's time I got some fitness into this blog.
Fitness
I am a fan. I always have even though liking something and doing it are not always connected. And I like many kinds. I used to be in sports (volleyball, basketball, track, softball) but I've also enjoyed walking, zumba, swimming, hiking, and weight lifting. Only thing I haven't enjoyed so far is spinning, just not for me but I wouldn't mind some day trying out cycling.
For now, I walk. I started end of August with a random 5k walk for charity event and from there just started walking 2-4 miles almost every day with a few times where I didn't walk at all. It's a start and has been fun because I've walked with a couple coworkers and might walk with one other when it's not stormy and rainy.
My next plan for winter, at least, is to go to a gym. There are several in the area but most are out of my price range at this time (even the YMCA is over 40$ a month, which I can't afford). The 24 Hour Fitness has a lot of the amenities I'd appreciate such as weights, zumba class, and swimming pool. However, it is out of my price range as well, though might get a discount through work. There is a Planet Fitness near enough and that is in my price range for the next two months. I'm going to check out a few places tomorrow, then make decision for November and December.
Fitness Goals (a few with more to come in future)
Run 5k (color run 2015)
Deadlift (learn how)
Kayak
Jump high enough to block (HS volleyball, could never do)
Take class on hand to hand combat
Lift heavy weights ;-) (will be more specific once I get to some weights)
I also have some ideas for a few things, which might include researching trademark and such. We'll see how this goes and if there is some community interest down the road. Right now it's one step at a time.
What do you do for fitness?
It has been a bit of a slow year on my blog, though I notice I post here more than any of my other blogs, so that says something at least. But since I've been more active lately, it's probably time to do an update health wise and talk a little about fitness before we get into the crazy fun of November and National Novel Writing Month (yes, I take part in it every year so this year is no different).
First: Update
September 5th was my last weight post, which included a goal to lose 10 lbs by nanowrimo. I am currently at 194.2, so have lost almost 15 lbs since that post since I had a weight of 209 when I made that post. The walking once a week, the week after I posted, ended up more like 6-7 days a week. I've only missed a few days in the last month, and a couple of them were from a cold. Using myfitnesspal, I can get a slightly generalized idea of calories consumed, which is the main reason for the current loss but the scale is just a small factor. I have many fitness goals, which is really where this blog will focus on (though I will occasionally post weight numbers and maybe some day measurements, plus hoping to one day have before/after images). It has been a slow adjustment and I think it's time I got some fitness into this blog.
Fitness
I am a fan. I always have even though liking something and doing it are not always connected. And I like many kinds. I used to be in sports (volleyball, basketball, track, softball) but I've also enjoyed walking, zumba, swimming, hiking, and weight lifting. Only thing I haven't enjoyed so far is spinning, just not for me but I wouldn't mind some day trying out cycling.
For now, I walk. I started end of August with a random 5k walk for charity event and from there just started walking 2-4 miles almost every day with a few times where I didn't walk at all. It's a start and has been fun because I've walked with a couple coworkers and might walk with one other when it's not stormy and rainy.
My next plan for winter, at least, is to go to a gym. There are several in the area but most are out of my price range at this time (even the YMCA is over 40$ a month, which I can't afford). The 24 Hour Fitness has a lot of the amenities I'd appreciate such as weights, zumba class, and swimming pool. However, it is out of my price range as well, though might get a discount through work. There is a Planet Fitness near enough and that is in my price range for the next two months. I'm going to check out a few places tomorrow, then make decision for November and December.
Fitness Goals (a few with more to come in future)
Run 5k (color run 2015)
Deadlift (learn how)
Kayak
Jump high enough to block (HS volleyball, could never do)
Take class on hand to hand combat
Lift heavy weights ;-) (will be more specific once I get to some weights)
I also have some ideas for a few things, which might include researching trademark and such. We'll see how this goes and if there is some community interest down the road. Right now it's one step at a time.
What do you do for fitness?
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Novel Progress
So much progress and yet so much more to go.
Since I am still a writer and the purpose of this blog from the very beginning has been the novels, I must talk about how I'm doing from time to time, though the fitness has been a slight distraction from writing. That and I'm more tired now, so I go to bed earlier instead of writing late. I'll get it worked out by NaNoWriMo though. ;-)
For the summer, my plan was to focus on 1 novel and get it done. Well, I got distracted. (Yes, I see the pattern.) I worked on submitting a few stories over the 3 months. Most have been rejected but I'm still sending things out. I try to get at least a couple stories out a month. Other than submitting, I've also written a few new short stories. Many of them were for contests over on Writing.com but we'll see what happens. One was an expansion of a free write I posted online in a forum and a reviewer already wants there to be more to the story.
I did work on the novel though. I wrote 37,000 words during Camp NaNo and a decent amount in June as well. August, however, I got barely anything done in the novel. I'm near the end where everything goes wrong, the climax of the story, just need to actually write it. I still can get it done by the end of the year but it didn't get done in summer. However, I did write a lot, so that was good.
Novel edit stalled. I won't be submitting the novel to agents in 2014, but I've come to terms with that recently. Instead, I'm going to work on that final edit, get some things fixed up and make the query letter the best I can. My goal is to submit the YA novel in 2015.
World building is also something that was added this fall. Since I've decided for NaNoWriMo 2014 to re-attempt the epic fantasy novel from 2010, I already had my usual prep challenge done. So, instead I am taking the plunge and working on world building. I have notebooks and will spend October focused on that. Working on the different societies, types of characters, magic system and much more. I've added some elements of technology as well, so the novel should be interesting. And I'm going to make myself work on description during November, so it's going to be a super long novel but that's okay. I want to work on using the senses and getting descriptions done, so over the top is fine because I know I can develop it and cut later.
Novel wise, my plan for the rest of the year is: finish LtW, world build, write 100k+ in nanowrimo, work on edits and query letter, and blog.
Are you going to do NaNoWriMo?
What are your current writing plans?
Since I am still a writer and the purpose of this blog from the very beginning has been the novels, I must talk about how I'm doing from time to time, though the fitness has been a slight distraction from writing. That and I'm more tired now, so I go to bed earlier instead of writing late. I'll get it worked out by NaNoWriMo though. ;-)
For the summer, my plan was to focus on 1 novel and get it done. Well, I got distracted. (Yes, I see the pattern.) I worked on submitting a few stories over the 3 months. Most have been rejected but I'm still sending things out. I try to get at least a couple stories out a month. Other than submitting, I've also written a few new short stories. Many of them were for contests over on Writing.com but we'll see what happens. One was an expansion of a free write I posted online in a forum and a reviewer already wants there to be more to the story.
I did work on the novel though. I wrote 37,000 words during Camp NaNo and a decent amount in June as well. August, however, I got barely anything done in the novel. I'm near the end where everything goes wrong, the climax of the story, just need to actually write it. I still can get it done by the end of the year but it didn't get done in summer. However, I did write a lot, so that was good.
Novel edit stalled. I won't be submitting the novel to agents in 2014, but I've come to terms with that recently. Instead, I'm going to work on that final edit, get some things fixed up and make the query letter the best I can. My goal is to submit the YA novel in 2015.
World building is also something that was added this fall. Since I've decided for NaNoWriMo 2014 to re-attempt the epic fantasy novel from 2010, I already had my usual prep challenge done. So, instead I am taking the plunge and working on world building. I have notebooks and will spend October focused on that. Working on the different societies, types of characters, magic system and much more. I've added some elements of technology as well, so the novel should be interesting. And I'm going to make myself work on description during November, so it's going to be a super long novel but that's okay. I want to work on using the senses and getting descriptions done, so over the top is fine because I know I can develop it and cut later.
Novel wise, my plan for the rest of the year is: finish LtW, world build, write 100k+ in nanowrimo, work on edits and query letter, and blog.
Are you going to do NaNoWriMo?
What are your current writing plans?
Friday, September 5, 2014
Goals for Fall and Beyond
My goals for now and all the way up to summer 2015.
Summer is over here. Yep, it's now September and so much has happened over the past few months, yet I forgot to blog a good part of the time. Oops. Anyways, here is a quick run down and then fall goals type of blog post for you to enjoy.
I turned 30 recently, which ended up being tame and not as stress inducing as I thought it might be. My mom came to visit, so we went to the beach on my birthday. It was a very nice day too, so we managed to get to the ocean after struggled attempts finding a place that would actually be easy to get to from the parking spot. Also saw a light house, got some nice ocean pictures, looked around little shops, got salt water taffy and ate fresh sea food by the ocean. Very nice day overall. Didn't panic or anything even though I'm not where I'd thought I'd be at 30, but I'm at a good point to make some changes and work towards my life goals.
On that end, I have many fall and winter projects to work on and need to get to busy to accomplish them.
Organize:
Apartment and belongings - My mess is mostly just unorganized stuff. So need to get it all organized and put in appropriate locations: paperwork, clothes, etc. Get rid of some, donate some and put in better spots for the rest. Would make cleaning easier too.
Pictures - Cat ones need scanned and combined onto cds. I also need to write on the backs of all the other pictures I have that are mine for when I can't remember who and such anymore.
Write:
Finish novel draft
Write a couple stories
Query letter
Edit:
TT needs the final edit done
Standing Ground needs started with the edit
Adult novels need rewrite or edits, but those will wait for other decisions
Blog:
Post in blogs
I have adsense on one so that needs content posted at least a few times a month. I need to write several posts in advance, have like a blog day or two a month, then schedule them so other days I can comment on people's blogs.
World Build:
Need to prepare for NaNoWriMo by world building Epic Fantasy.
Exercise:
Walk 2 miles once a week, starting out, and increase activity from there.
Health:
Watch calories consumed and track on myfitnesspal
Lose 10 lbs by NaNoWriMo (aka November) this is starting at 211, which was what I had on the myfitnesspal
I weigh 209 now. So, my basic goal is to get to 200 soon. My overall goal for summer 2015 is to lose 30 lbs, which would equate to weighing almost 180. It's not an ending point, but a good reach that I can visualize and from there and I can visualize the next steps. Maybe even some day a swim suit. We'll see. ;-)
November will, of course, be NaNoWriMo, so I'll write at least 100,000 words that month. But I've also got work and trying to make more money, along with crafts I want to do, painting and sewing, etc. So much to do this fall/winter.
What about you? Are you ready for Fall/Spring?
Summer is over here. Yep, it's now September and so much has happened over the past few months, yet I forgot to blog a good part of the time. Oops. Anyways, here is a quick run down and then fall goals type of blog post for you to enjoy.
I turned 30 recently, which ended up being tame and not as stress inducing as I thought it might be. My mom came to visit, so we went to the beach on my birthday. It was a very nice day too, so we managed to get to the ocean after struggled attempts finding a place that would actually be easy to get to from the parking spot. Also saw a light house, got some nice ocean pictures, looked around little shops, got salt water taffy and ate fresh sea food by the ocean. Very nice day overall. Didn't panic or anything even though I'm not where I'd thought I'd be at 30, but I'm at a good point to make some changes and work towards my life goals.
On that end, I have many fall and winter projects to work on and need to get to busy to accomplish them.
Organize:
Apartment and belongings - My mess is mostly just unorganized stuff. So need to get it all organized and put in appropriate locations: paperwork, clothes, etc. Get rid of some, donate some and put in better spots for the rest. Would make cleaning easier too.
Pictures - Cat ones need scanned and combined onto cds. I also need to write on the backs of all the other pictures I have that are mine for when I can't remember who and such anymore.
Write:
Finish novel draft
Write a couple stories
Query letter
Edit:
TT needs the final edit done
Standing Ground needs started with the edit
Adult novels need rewrite or edits, but those will wait for other decisions
Blog:
Post in blogs
I have adsense on one so that needs content posted at least a few times a month. I need to write several posts in advance, have like a blog day or two a month, then schedule them so other days I can comment on people's blogs.
World Build:
Need to prepare for NaNoWriMo by world building Epic Fantasy.
Exercise:
Walk 2 miles once a week, starting out, and increase activity from there.
Health:
Watch calories consumed and track on myfitnesspal
Lose 10 lbs by NaNoWriMo (aka November) this is starting at 211, which was what I had on the myfitnesspal
I weigh 209 now. So, my basic goal is to get to 200 soon. My overall goal for summer 2015 is to lose 30 lbs, which would equate to weighing almost 180. It's not an ending point, but a good reach that I can visualize and from there and I can visualize the next steps. Maybe even some day a swim suit. We'll see. ;-)
November will, of course, be NaNoWriMo, so I'll write at least 100,000 words that month. But I've also got work and trying to make more money, along with crafts I want to do, painting and sewing, etc. So much to do this fall/winter.
What about you? Are you ready for Fall/Spring?
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
My Plan to Build Worlds
It's back... the topic of world building. Yay!
Couple of years ago, back when the blog was called It's in the Book, I had tried to do a regular based world building topic called Worldbuilding Wednesdays because there are some things I need to work on and world building is a major one. Since I write fantasy, it can certainly help to develop the worlds at some point or another and there are so many topics that fall under world building. But I must admit, I didn't do much of it.
Well, now I'm putting myself up to the task. NaNoWriMo starts in just over 2 months and instead of doing the prep work during October, I'm going to spend September and October world building. I have never really tried a full building adventure, but since I already did the prep for this novel (back in 2010, and I wrote 50k of the novel in 15 days) figured now would be a good time to give it an attempt.
Not only that, but I'm going old school. Pen and paper! Very little of my world building attempts will be on the computer. But I do plan to have World Building Wednesday posts a couple times a month where I talk about working on different parts of the worlds. And I still have writing to do, so I'll be online often as usual.
My Tools:
A number of thin notebooks that were on clearance price for under 25 cents each.
Gesso - painting the clearance notebook covers to hide the original images.
Sharpies - to label and draw notebook covers.
Pens - I like colored pens because sometimes it's nice to mix things up for different topics.
Binder - to keep a few together at a time so can take it to work and such.
That is all for now unless I think of something else. While I'm hectic in writing with so many things to get done before August ends, plus have the edit that won't be done by the end of the month for sure, there is a lot to do. But I am looking forward to world building for the epic fantasy novel and may also get some other novel worlds worked on in the near future.
I just keep writing and moving forward. Never know what the tomorrows will bring.
Do you build worlds?
What tools do you use?
Couple of years ago, back when the blog was called It's in the Book, I had tried to do a regular based world building topic called Worldbuilding Wednesdays because there are some things I need to work on and world building is a major one. Since I write fantasy, it can certainly help to develop the worlds at some point or another and there are so many topics that fall under world building. But I must admit, I didn't do much of it.
Well, now I'm putting myself up to the task. NaNoWriMo starts in just over 2 months and instead of doing the prep work during October, I'm going to spend September and October world building. I have never really tried a full building adventure, but since I already did the prep for this novel (back in 2010, and I wrote 50k of the novel in 15 days) figured now would be a good time to give it an attempt.
Not only that, but I'm going old school. Pen and paper! Very little of my world building attempts will be on the computer. But I do plan to have World Building Wednesday posts a couple times a month where I talk about working on different parts of the worlds. And I still have writing to do, so I'll be online often as usual.
My Tools:
A number of thin notebooks that were on clearance price for under 25 cents each.
Gesso - painting the clearance notebook covers to hide the original images.
Sharpies - to label and draw notebook covers.
Pens - I like colored pens because sometimes it's nice to mix things up for different topics.
Binder - to keep a few together at a time so can take it to work and such.
That is all for now unless I think of something else. While I'm hectic in writing with so many things to get done before August ends, plus have the edit that won't be done by the end of the month for sure, there is a lot to do. But I am looking forward to world building for the epic fantasy novel and may also get some other novel worlds worked on in the near future.
I just keep writing and moving forward. Never know what the tomorrows will bring.
Do you build worlds?
What tools do you use?
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Camp NaNo
Another NaNoWriMo topic only this time, it's the summer addition. Also known as Camp NaNo, there are usually 2 challenges each summer. For 2014 there was a camp in April and July, same as last year but the year before the months were different.
I like the idea. November can be a tricky month with the holidays, family obligations, crazy work schedules and/or classes. So, having an option to write during summer is handy. And one month a year just isn't enough.
Camp NaNo also has an extra bonus, though. It doesn't require 50,000 words as the goal. People pick the number of words they want to write during the month. And it doesn't have to be a new novel, so someone could take their 50,000 words if it isn't done yet and add an extra 30,000 during Camp NaNo and that would be okay.
I haven't had much luck in the past with Camp, however. I tried back in 2012 but forgot about it each time. Or the one I did some writing in, I only got a few thousand words. This year, however, has proven different. I made a goal of 30,000 words for the month and I reached my goal a few days ago. The novel was over 30,000 words when July started, so I brought my YA novel up to over 60,000 words and I'm getting closer to finally having a finished first draft on the one I started back in like 2011. This year, it was Yay for Camp NaNo.
Though I will admit, while Camp is fun... it still can't compete with November. I can't wait for NaNoWriMo 2014 and for the first time, I already know what I'm working on. A redo of 2010 where I wrote 50k in 15 days but didn't finish the novel. I'm reattempting the Epic Fantasy with the multiple viewpoints and elves. Woot!
I like the idea. November can be a tricky month with the holidays, family obligations, crazy work schedules and/or classes. So, having an option to write during summer is handy. And one month a year just isn't enough.
Camp NaNo also has an extra bonus, though. It doesn't require 50,000 words as the goal. People pick the number of words they want to write during the month. And it doesn't have to be a new novel, so someone could take their 50,000 words if it isn't done yet and add an extra 30,000 during Camp NaNo and that would be okay.
I haven't had much luck in the past with Camp, however. I tried back in 2012 but forgot about it each time. Or the one I did some writing in, I only got a few thousand words. This year, however, has proven different. I made a goal of 30,000 words for the month and I reached my goal a few days ago. The novel was over 30,000 words when July started, so I brought my YA novel up to over 60,000 words and I'm getting closer to finally having a finished first draft on the one I started back in like 2011. This year, it was Yay for Camp NaNo.
Though I will admit, while Camp is fun... it still can't compete with November. I can't wait for NaNoWriMo 2014 and for the first time, I already know what I'm working on. A redo of 2010 where I wrote 50k in 15 days but didn't finish the novel. I'm reattempting the Epic Fantasy with the multiple viewpoints and elves. Woot!
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