Loving: Writing. This is the most successful I have ever been at NaNoWriMo and it feels so, so good. Although I toyed with changing my story completely starting on day two, I forged ahead and continued writing the story I decided on previously. I am having such a fun time writing, though, and enjoying the process of it so much. I reached the halfway point on Sunday and now I know I will finish before Thanksgiving, which is an awesome, awesome feeling.
Reading: The Casual Vacancy. I can’t say that I love it. And if it weren’t for being the book club pick for my two book clubs, I would have abandoned this book altogether. The first 100 pages were boring for me, as I was introduced to the plethora of characters and didn’t quite understand the story yet. Luckily, it has picked up a lot and I’m interested to see how everything turns out (and we’re chatting about it on Sunday night with #twookclub!). Still, the story is quite dark (to me) and it’s not really a page-turner so I’ll be relieved once I finish it.
Watching: Let’s go down the list of all the shows I watch during the week. Ready? The Amazing Race, Revenge, The Voice, X Factor, Guys with Kids, Ben & Kate, Parks and Rec, Up All Night, Last Man Standing, Parenthood, Happy Endings, New Girl, The Mindy Project, and Modern Family. I also have Elementary and Nashville taping weekly but haven’t gotten around to watching a single episode (save for the pilot of Elementary which was good, but not in an omg-I-must-watch-weekly way) of either. Let’s also add in all the NFL pregame shows I watch regularly and football itself. Yeah. I have an addiction and its name is TV. (But hey! I still managed to read over 75 books so far this year so… I just have a lot of free time. Too much?)
Anticipating: Thanksgiving and my weekend in Orlando right afterward. My mom and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year and we’re going to end up having 10 people in total (plus a baby!) so it’ll be pretty crazy and I’m not sure we’re quite ready for it. We’ve only ever hosted my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew so it’s definitely going to take a lot of planning and hard work to pull off our very first Thanksgiving dinner with a big crowd! But it will be so worth it and Orlando sits on the other side of it. Wheeeeeee!
Listening to: Is it okay to admit that I am totally, 100% on the One Direction bandwagon? Like, it’s serious, people. Their songs are so catchy and fun and make me car dance. Confession over.
Planning: Our Thanksgiving meal. Well, the baking part. I’m already planning to bake my world-famous chocolate chip cookies, but also want to try my hand at something else. Any ideas? I need something without chocolate in it. I’m scouring Pinterest (yes, I am slowly succumbing, it seems) and baking blogs but don’t want anything too difficult or with too many ingredients.
Working on: NaNoWriMo! This project has completely taken over my life in the best way. I am enjoying it so much more than I thought I would. I’m not sure why I thought writing a novel wouldn’t be as fun as planning one but I always had this fear that I would write and it would be harder than I imagined and I would give into the fear that it’s too much for me to handle. The writing has actually come pretty easy and NaNoWriMo has given me the fire back in my belly that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
Wishing: For the next 7 days to fly by. I am so ready for Thanksgiving and to start my birthday vacation! This week has already been a really tough one and I need a break from it all. Waking up with knots in my stomach and lashing out at people who care because of anxiety is not fun and I need it to all go away soon.
What are you reading right now? Do you think I watch too much TV? Any yummy chocolate-free baking recipes to share that I can make for Thanksgiving? Have you ever hosted a holiday meal?
Man, I have had the Casual Vacancy on my Hold list at the library for forever (it seems!) It’s interesting that you are not really loving it. I am definitely not going to get it done before #twookclub!
For your baking, I love these muffins and they are very fall! No chocolate either. I don’t put cream cheese frosting on them though; they are good without it! http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/moist-pumpkin-spice-muffins-with-cream-cheese-frosting/
It’s really not my style of book at all. It’s completely different from Harry Potter, which I knew going into it, but I’m just not as enthralled with the writing and plot and characters as I want to be. Bummer!
I’ve been wanting to cut back on my TV-watching and Internet browsing all in the name of reading and writing more. Except last night I got this incredible urge to watch Love, Actually, which is a hard movie to say no to. I think I’m going to have to reserve my movie-watching for weekends. They just take up too much time after a work day, especially when I don’t get off till 6 it 7. And, yes, that’s LOTS of TV, but as long as you’re getting your writing and reading in, then so what, I say. 🙂
It helps that the majority of the shows I watch are 30 minute sitcoms so I can get through those in about 20 minutes but yes, I do watch a lot of TV. But I also get lots of reading and writing done so I guess it all balances out? My social life is laughable, but whatever! I enjoy it. 😉
Haha, that is a lot of TV. No judgement here, though, because I watch a lot, too. We don’t have cable or broadcast TV, so I’ll watch shows on Netflix, which makes it super easy to watch like 4 hours of a show all at once.
As far as Thanksgiving goes, I’ve hosted a few times and my best advice is to do as much as you can ahead of time and to keep it simple. I made the mistake at first of trying to make every dish that sounded good to me, and it was really stressful. You have to be able to cook everything and have it all ready at once, so it’s a lot of juggling. What I usually do is make stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a pie or two (depending on how ambitious I’m feeling). My dad usually makes the turkey so I don’t have to worry about it. Keep it simple, especially for your first time hosting. Just pick a few favorite dishes.
Mashed potatoes and some casseroles can be made ahead of time so that all you need to do is warm them up. I usually make cranberry sauce and pies ahead of time, too. Pumpkin pie is great because it’s super easy and it’s served cold. Chop as many vegetables and assemble as many dishes as you can ahead of time.
People usually ask what they can bring. I usually ask guests to bring either a side or an appetizer. Appetizers are nice because people have something to munch on and they aren’t constantly asking when dinner will be ready. I also usually have one or two people take turns helping out with dishes so that the kitchen doesn’t become a crazy huge mess. It makes it easier to cook and you don’t have to deal with a huge mess at the end of a long day.
I hope it all goes well! If you have any more questions, feel free to email me! I’ve hosted lots of holidays, so I have plenty of tips and advice if you need it!
You are so sweet! Thank you for all this advice, so, so helpful! It’ll be crazy but I’m really excited to host it and have our family come together. 🙂
You sound so content in this post =) You have a lot of great things going on and to look forward to! I am so ready for the Thanksgiving break. It’s going to be glorious this year, methinks.
Yes, it is! I really need this break and some time away to just relax and be with my family. Crossing my fingers Orlando works out, too, but if not, I’m still going to enjoy the time off as much as I can!
I was late on “Elementary” as well but now that I’ve started, I’m hooked. I’ll make no comments about the amount of TV you watch since I’m pretty sure I’m worse! LOL
I think I need to watch more of the episodes. I did love the push-pull between Sherlock & Watson. I just need to find the time! I can’t apologize for my TV watching habits. I love it so much!
I love that we both did these posts. Definitely twins! 🙂
I’m with you on One Direction. I’ve been watching them on the Today Show at work the past few days (one of the perks of interning a TV station).
I missed them on the Today Show, but man, I kinda love them in a total teeny-bopper way. Their songs are just so catchy! And they are all so cute!
I am impressed that you watch as much tv as you do and still read that many books! Right now I am reading a (long) biography about Julia Child. It’s good but a bit too detailed, I think. I have never hosted a holiday, but I hosted my family the day after Thanksgiving, and had 15 people in my condo, but it went really smoothly!!
I do not have much of a social life, apparently. Ha! That’s the only way I can watch as much TV as I do AND read a lot. I keep my weeknights for me. No going out if I can help it! That helps. 🙂
I’M SO JEALOUS OF ALL YOUR FREE TV-WATCHING-WRITING-READING TIME! You better be enjoying it for the both of us, woman! 😛
I am doing enough TV-watching, reading, and writing for the both of us! No worries about that. 🙂
The Casual Vacancy… I’ve wanted to read it, just because. But I keep hearing from people that it’s not that great. It makes me kind of sad.
I am LOVING writing, except that now I’m about to hit my 3 day lull. It’s so hard for me to get time in between today and Sunday. Sunday night I should get writing in but I’m just hoping I won’t bomb completely again this weekend.
Yeah, I’m just not a fan of books that have SO MUCH going on and they have to spend 100 pages building the story to have it all make sense. The story has picked up, but it took me a good 200-250 pages until I started having interest in the characters and plot. Some people love it, though, so it’s all a matter of personal preference!
I recommend Pecan Pie! I make it every year. It is delicious and easy. I could probably eat the whole thing!
I am just now learning about NaNoWriMo and I wish I would have participated (even though I guess I still could) but it’s just the motivation I need.
I am totally opposite than you though. I find the planning so much more frustrating than the writing. I’m very excited for your success! Good luck!