Top Blogging Moments of the Past Year

I can't believe a whole year has come and gone!

Last year at this time I barely had a blog and there are so many of you that I hadn't met and didn't know! That's the most unbelievable part of all! I can't imagine my life without all of my blogger friends. And even though life has gotten really hectic for me and I haven't spent as much time with you all in the second half of the year as I would have wanted to, you guys are often on my mind. For reals (as Naomi would say :)

And what is a new year for, but to give us a moment to reflect on the old?
So here are some of my top favorite moments - top hits, I guess you could say - of the past year in regards to my blogging life :) - In no particular order. At all.

1) January was my real foray into the world of Twitter. I tweeted fairly regularly, but it wasn't until May that Twitter became a real distraction for me ;) That was when I met Mia Hayson and Simon C. Larter who really dragged me into the full world of all the fun that Twitter can be. I have loved every minute of it since then and there are so many things that I could not have done without my Tweoples. Like taking procrastination to an art form.

2) Debuting Retail Wednesdays! February was my first post in which I made fun of the crazy customers that shop at the bookstore where I work. I intended to keep it going, and I'm kind of hoping that I can work out a schedule and be more regular at posting this semester, but for now it's taken a hiatus. But I had WAY too much fun with it while it was going on. This was one of the things that started to build a little bit of a following over here at Sonshine Thoughts and I love every single one of you, especially those of you that have hung around through all the sporadic-ness of the past few months.

3) The A-Z Challenge in April. This kind of just fell into my lap when Lee popped randomly onto my blog and suggested I check it out. The goal was to post every day (except Sundays) in April, starting with the letter A and going all the way through the letter Z. I had SO much fun with this. Some days the letter was only a springboard to make me think of something completely random, but it helped me to meet some REALLY cool people and made me realize that I could write a blog about pretty much ANYthing in the world.

4) My first OWL contest! In March I hit 100 posts and decided to do a quick and little contest. So I made an amigurumi owl and offered it up. The owl mania swept my blog and I think I've given away 8 happy little owls since then. I love that you guys have gotten so excited about these little crochet critters and I plan on giving away more of them for random reasons in the future!

5) The SUPER SISTER CELEBRATION! Naomi and I had SO much fun reading all of your stories and judging them (not like, I judge you for writing this, but like, I totally love this part of the story you wrote, but I have to pick a favorite, so I guess I will go with this one, but they're all TOTES cool!) and then sending you guys prizes!

6) Dipping my toes in the world of flash fiction. Yup, yup, yup. Did I tell you that my Zombie Luv flash fiction got published in my school literary magazine?! That totally made my day. Flash fiction and blogfests stretched me so much this year and really have helped me to hone my skills as a writer. From the creepy story I wrote for Palindrome's Halloween contest to the strange western Rumplestiltskin to the Invasion of the Bloggy Snatchers 'fest that I hosted, I've learned a lot about pacing and character development and trimming words until you want to gouge your eyes out. It has been really good for me (not the eye gouging, but the writer's growth).

7) Vlogs. Or, well, videos I made for the blog. Naomi and I had a little too much fun with those this year. Only a couple, but enough to show how truly demented we are. There was the epic battle of HumaneBean Vs. BatCabbage and our foray into the "Zombiest Things" wherein we dragged a friend on our journey of insanity.

And that's about all I've got. I know I'll think of something else the instant I post this, but these are the first things that come to mind, so I'll go with it :)

How about you? Any particularly special memories of your bloggering life this year? Do tell!

Thank you all for being an awesomesauce part of this past year and I look forward to all the craziness to come in 2011.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Merry Christmas to All

For unto us a Child is born

Unto us a Son is given

May God richly bless you this Christmas day.

Doctor Who?

I grew up watching sci-fi and fantasy. I practically lived with the Star Trek crews - from the original to NG to DS9 to (my personal favorite) Voyager. (we weren't a big fan of Enterprise)

Watched all 3 Star Wars videos until they were warbly (in ye olde dark ages with VHS) and loved movies like Flight of the Navigator, StarGate, and Tron.

We (well, my Mom, Dad, Naomi and I) like to latch onto a tv show and watch it from start to finish on DVD. We recently worked through StarGate SG1, and then StarGate Atlantis.

Then Naomi and I made Mom and Dad watch Firefly (*sigh* Nathan Filion).

Mom, Dad, and I are currently on the 5th and final season of Babylon 5 and Naomi and Mom have been watching Farscape online. But the four of us have now embarked on a journey with the last time lord.

Mom and Dad watched Doctor Who long before the reboot, and I know I saw a few episodes here and there, but it was never something I really latched on to. Then Naomi borrowed season 4 of the new series from the library (it was the only one in our library system) and started watching it with Mom and Dad. I jumped in about half way through and crammed to watch what I had missed before we had to return it. We loved it.

I found season 1 and 2 for a great bundle price and we started from the beginning. Having seen David Tennant as Doctor Who in Season 4, I wasn't sure what to think of Christopher Eccleston in Season 1, but he was fantastic. However, as they say, your first doctor tends to be your favorite. I was actually really sad to see Eccleston go, but Tennant is something really special.

Season 1 was fun, Season 2 had some spectacular episodes (one of my favorite is "The Girl in the Fireplace" - Brilliant!), but Season 3 shows a depth of emotion in the doctor that is absolutely phenomenal as well as just fantastically ... yes, I have to say it again, brilliant episodes! David Tennant emotes such passion and pathos carrying the memory of the events of the season 2 finale and season 3 premier all the way into the finale of season 3. I won't say what the event was for those of you that haven't seen it. I'm very anti-spoilery. But the episodes of season 3 have a richness and a depth that is overpowering.

"The Shakespeare Code" was so much fun. "Family of Blood" really stretched my view of what the Doctor really is and if "Blink" doesn't give you nightmares, well then you're stronger than I am.

I'm really excited to rewatch Season 4 with the history of seasons 1-3 behind me and I really would like to start back at the beginning again, because I have a feeling it will be even better and richer the second time.

So there's my plug for Doctor Who. Brilliant writing and acting. What more could you ask for?

A. A. Milne love-fest

Yesterday I came across this link (on the marvelous A. Victoria Mixon's site ... but she's a story for another day) and stayed up way too late reading off of it:

It's a collection of essays by A. A. Milne - a man who is fast becoming my favorite all time writer.

Half of you are thinking who is that?

And half of you are thinking, oh yeah, the Winnie-the-Pooh guy.

Please let me tell you, this man is brilliant.

I first discovered him through the Winnie-the-Pooh stories - Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner - which are funny and sweet and not just kid's stories. If you haven't read them, do yourself a favor. I am a huge classic Pooh fan and I kind of collect what little classic Pooh paraphernalia I can find, but that is not the only reason I love Milne.




I moved on from the Pooh stories to his poetry - When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six are his two collections. Again they are billed as children's poems, but they are rich and the rhyme schemes are brilliant and catchy.




Then, a few years ago, we got in at Borders a book called The Sunny Side, which is a collection of his essays. I devoured it and wished that I could be best friends with him and his family. He has a dry, quirky sense of humor and, even though most of them were written in the 20's they're still so pertinent to today. Some of them are almost precursors to Dave Barry with a wry look at every day life that will have you laughing because you've LIVED it - or at least can relate to it.

After that I set off on a mission to find other stuff that he had written and I stumbled across The Red House Mystery. It's a tongue in cheek Sherlock Holmesian type mystery story that is absolutely charming. It was recently re-released.


I also discovered Once On a Time, a hilarious parody on fairy tales that he wrote for his wife. (I found it in e-books. It hasn't been re-released recently, but there are used copies available) I also picked up a biography, which I haven't gotten to yet, but think I'm going to attack over break.

Go check out the site with some of his essays. They're all short (a lot of them were written for Punch) and it will be a great pick me up for your day.

Have you ever been in the quandary of how to sort and organize your personal library? Yeah, Milne too.

Get frustrated when other people move your things? Check out his essay, "The Old Order Changes."

Or read about the TRUE pleasure of writing!

If you love a good story with a wry sense of humor then please, do yourself a favor and pick up any of A. A. Milne's works. I guarantee you will enjoy it!

NaNo Owlie WINNER!

Hi everyone!

Thanks to all who entered my contest. I had SO much fun reading all of your crazy stories, etc. and I am very proud to announce the winner of happy little Nano....

Yeah! Nano can't wait to go to his new home!

... is ...

LOLA SHARP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah! *throws confetti, passes around cookies*

So e-mail me your address and Nano will be on his way!

Those of you still waiting for your very own owl, keep your eyes open. You never know when I'll have the urge to toss out another contest!

Another Owl Contest!

Yes, you heard that right. I am giving away yet another one of my trademark owls!

This is a very special giveaway for some very special people.

Now you may not think you qualify, so make sure you read the rules before you huff away in disgust at not being able to enter the contest*

This giveaway is for NaNoWriMo WINNERS!

WAIT!

I told you not to huff away. Okay, listen up.

Did you finish your 50,000 words in the month of November? You're a WINNER!
Did you write anywhere between 1 and 49,999 words in the month of November, but couldn't finish for any number of reasons? You're a WINNER!
Did you cheer on friends that were doing NaNo, even though you knew there was no way you could manage it this year? You're a WINNER!

All the rest of you can huff away now. I promise I won't be offended**

So, if you are a NaNo WINNER! then you have the chance to be a SonshineMusic Owl WINNER! too!

Aww... isn't Nano adorable!? He's got a winner flag and a pencil

and a slightly cockeyed expression from writing so much in a month!

All you have to do is comment on this post to enter. School is going to eat my face off this coming week, so this is going to run until next Friday night - the 17th of December.

In your comment entertain me with a tale of your NaNoWriMo experience. If I laugh out loud I will totally give you a bonus entry***

Also, please feel free to steal the picture of little Nano to invite other people to enter and you're welcome to Tweet or Facebook or Blog or Sidebar, because I want to spread the NaNo love!

That's it! go forth and enter and win some owlage.

*because I know that would be your first reaction
**as long as you aren't offended by me
***I am dead serious about this. I need the laughs when I'm in the middle of my 15 page research paper, 8 page final and 30 page case study.

Super Contests!

Attention!

The League of Extraordinary Writers is having a totally awesome contest this week! 5 prizes - one for each day of the week, and a

GRAND

PRIZE

PACKAGE!

So you should go check it out and enter, because these are awesome authors with awesome books coming out next year!

And There was Great Joy and Rejoicing (and a lot of sleep)

Yup! That's right! I did it! All the way, right until the last day, but well before midnight :D

I have a grand total of

51,356

words and a full rough draft. Of course there are GAPING plot holes and a number of things that have to change completely because I discovered things (like the fairy godmother's role) as I went along.

But I have a story arc and I discovered SO many things about this story that wouldn't have happened the same way if I hadn't had to just push through and keep writing. A lot of good things.

You bloggy and Twitter people are totally what kept me going.

A random conversation on Twitter led me to a MAJOR plot change, that turned into the catalyst for the climax of the story. Gnomes FTW!

I would like to give a giant thanks to Lindsey aka Dangerous with a Pen and Darby Karchut for being what felt like my own personal cheerleaders. You two commented on pretty much every random post I threw up over this crazy month and I do believe that it is time to reveal the NaNo cheerleader costume, Lindsey *wink wink* Thank you so much for believing that I could do it!

That goes for all of you *group hug!*

I also started playing with Wordle. Mostly now as a treat to myself for having finished. Here are some of my favorites to share with you.

 Um, yes, my main characters are Layla, Tavares and Erandell. How did you guess?

 I like how this one kind of looks like a tree!

And that's a wrap! Now I put my novel aside for a few weeks so I can do real life stuff and survive the end of the semester. At least, that's the plan. I have a feeling it's going to keep whispering at me until I play with it :D

Congrats to all of you that finished! And to all of you that attempted! I didn't even come close last year, but I felt so proud of the work I did, knowing it was more than I would have written without NaNo!
See you in December!

Flash Fiction Challenge

As if I wasn't already doing enough, I decided to join in Regan Leigh's flash fiction challenge. We got a prompt at midnight and had 90 minutes to write and post something. I worked my toe off in NaNo today - nearly catching up - almost to 42,000 - and it was really invigorating to write something that was totally outside of my novel.

The prompt was: DETOUR

So I just started writing and this is what happened - un-edited and done in about 75 minutes. Enjoy! And run over HERE to check out the other people that joined in on the challenge so you can read what they've written!

Update: I removed this for a couple of reasons, so if you happen to be stopping by a post this far back, well, go check out the other entries!

NaNoWriMo Update and stuff

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! Hope yours was as nice as mine was :) We had our family and then one of my brother's friends hung out with us too. We ate too much turkey and pie as always. Played Apples to Apples and my brothers cheated SHAMELESSLY. It came down to the last point and Joe had been playing random songs on YouTube, so he dropped down his card on Dave's turn and then changed the song that was playing. When Dave flipped over all of the cards, one of them was "Canada." Well, the song that Joe started playing was "O Canada" by Five Iron Frenzy.

Ha! Subtle hints....

Needless to say Dave miraculously chose the right card :)

I got a bunch of reading done for school and then even managed to squeeze in some NaNoWriMo writing.

I'm up to 36,664 words

So I'm still 6,670 words behind, but I want to go remedy some of that deficit right now!

Oh, yeah. And I also changed my background (again) as I'm sure you noticed. I was annoyed by the other one, because I couldn't get the quote at the top to show. And it was rather dark. This one is more cheery :D And I like the dandelions!

Happy Weekend!

Awestruck

Prelude: Yup. I changed my background again. I still don't know if I like it, but the orange was starting to get on my nerves. I like the green, but it's not quite the right green, so don't be surprised if it changes again. Maybe I'll go Christmas in December :D

Anyways,

Here's what I really wanted to talk about.

This is my first year in grad school and I have the amazing opportunity of being a Teaching Assistant in the English Department. The blessing of this particular program is that we are actually teaching freshmen composition. We meet with an advisor weekly, are offered as much help and support as we need, but when 8:00 on Monday morning rolls around, I am the one walking into the classroom, teaching about transitions and MLA format and how to cite sources. I am the one giving the quizzes and grading the papers and fielding the questions.

It can be absolutely terrifying.

I've been through some interesting experiences this semester. I've had to deal with students challenging me over their grade, had to give someone an F, had to have that dreaded talk when a student plagiarizes. I've had a girl cry in my office, had people challenge me in the classroom. I've had the kids that are in class, but aren't actually present. And it's been draining to say the least.

But then. Oh, then....

I had the student tell me that my class was their favorite. Read the paper that blew me away with how much the girl had improved. Had a student thank me for helping them understand a concept. Had invigorating discussion. Watched so many students move forward, deepen in their ability to express themselves, understand that writing isn't just for English majors.

Today I had the chance to go to a musical where one of my students had the lead role. Sitting in the audience I was just struck by what an absolute honor it is to have a chance to make a difference in these kids' lives.

And you know, that feeling is totally worth every single frustration.

Being a teacher is awesome.

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 15-17

I haven't been avoiding you because I haven't been writing. I've actually been avoiding you because I HAVE been writing. Night continues to be pretty much the only time that I can fit my NaNoWriMo time in and usually by the time I write as much as I can, my eyes are crossing and my brain has ceased to function and if I came over here to update you would probably get sentences like:

Tuesday Layla gnomed a magic chimney wing and kiwi up the secret asparagus cook.

So you can see why I haven't posted. But I wanted to let you know that it's going.

I passed the half way mark, which completely shocked me. I almost caught up (only 800 words away) and then I flamed out again (stupid research paper). I've introduced the villain, though he hasn't really done anything yet... that we know of. And am now in the middle of a gnome invasion, which is adding a lot of tension, hero development and word count. So all good things.

Quick look at my standings and then I'm off to tap out 100 words or so before my brain falls out.

OH! I also discovered that I can actually TYPE IN MY SLEEP! Isn't that amazing?! The only thing is, that everything I write, though it is real words, makes no sense whatsoever. I was also too out of it to realize that those words needed to be saved for posterity so I could show you all how ridiculous my subconscious is and I deleted the sections before saving and closing - most of which I think I did in my sleep too.

anyhoo.

I am at: 27,968
Should be: 30,006
2,038 words behind

BUT!

17 STRAIGHT DAYS OF WRITING SOMETHING
That is pretty cool people. Pretty. Cool.

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 14

Great day today, even though a cold decided to move in and settle in my nasal passages.

Grrr...

Recap so I can sleep :)

Words today: 3,961 WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!
Words Total: 23,120
Word Goal: 23,338
Words Behind: 218 SWEET MUFFINS!!!!!!

And I would totally make those up right now, but I need to be healthy for the rest of the month! So sleep is calling!

Thanks for being here and cheering me on! It means more than you will ever know so hugs and kisses to you all! (the chocolate ones of course) :D

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 12 & 13

I didn't update yesterday, not because I didn't write, but because my eyes were literally burning and I just saved and slept.

This novel is most probably the WORST thing I have ever written in my entire life. There is way too much telling. The characters are wandering around aimlessly, I have new characters bursting in in very strange places and ways. But it is ridiculously fun to write. Will anything come out of it? Maybe, maybe not. As they're rambling I'm getting to know their stories and their personalities and after November is over, maybe next month, maybe next year, maybe a couple of years from now, I really think I'll come back and see if I can make something decent out of it. For now I'm just enjoying the flow of consciousness thing that's happening and the delight of actually being writing again.

Quick recap:

Words today: 1973
Words total: 19159
Word goal: 21671
Words behind: 2512

Really not as bad as it should be considering everything else I have going on. Tomorrow is another day, as they say! Yeah NaNo!

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 11

Happy 11/11 and I hope you had a great Veterans' Day. I would like to take a moment and thank all of those who have served and are serving their country in the armed forces. You have a special place in my heart and I am extremely grateful for all of you that have and continue to put your lives on the line so that we can enjoy the great freedoms we have.
Special remembrance to my grandfather and a dear gentleman from our church, both who have passed away. Also thoughts to my brother-in-law, his brother and many other people that I know who serve in many different ways.








Is that enough space? I feel almost flippant talking about word count after that.

But things are looking up in my WiP! I only had about an hour, but I managed to get some juices flowing again. woo hoo!

Quick stats -
Goal: 18337
Mine: 16035
Behind: 2302
Words TODAY: 2112 *happy dance*

How's everyone else holding up? Need chocolate? Caffeine? Plot bunnies?

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 10

1/3 of the way through the month already, but not quite 1/3 of the way through my word count.

Just hit 13,923 words. I should be at 16,570 to be on track, but this week has been a killer for lack of writing time and motivation.

In more EXCITING news! I figured out a giant PLOT HOLE! So that should help to move things along. I just need an extra hour or so...

Anyone have a spare time-turner I can borrow?

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 9

Productive day, just not NaNo wise. Oh well, a good day will catch me up :)

hit 13,098 words

1,078 for today. Almost 2000 words behind the "goal" but another day of writing = another day of win!

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 8

blah.

Not a good writing day, but I got a bunch of other stuff done. I'll have to catch up tomorrow :)

only 276 words and that was striking out a scene and rewriting it, so it was kind of a cheat, but words are words, right? right.

Thank you all so much for the cheerleading and the commiseration and the encouragement. If I finish this year, it will only be because of you guys amazing support! Go NaNoers!

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 7

Didn't think I would make my daily word count, much less catch up, because of a family thing this afternoon. But I got in 700 words before church and then just went ripping along just now.

Falling asleep, but here's the quick stats:

Today: 2470
Total: 11744
Goal: 11669
Ahead: 75

Oh yeah, baby!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

NaNoWriMo Update: Day 6

6th day of writing

3rd day of completing word goal

1st day of breaking 2,000

2nd day of word sprinting with Twitter friends. I am telling you, that seems to be the ONLY way I can get my juices flowing!

Totals:
Today - 2539
Total - 9274
Should be at - 10002
Behind by - 728

Not bad at all :D Actually a whole lot better than I expected!

Tomorrow will be rough, since I'm visiting my sister, but I hope to squeak out a couple hundred somewhere in there.

and I have it on good authority* that Lindsey is going to send me a picture of her NaNo cheerleading costume if I hit 50,000 words this month. Isn't she generous ;)

*that would be my ridiculous brain moving after midnight and inventing facts that are in no way representative of reality.