Monday Mumbling

When people say to me: "How do you do so many things?" I often answer them, without meaning to be cruel: "How do you do so little?" It seems to me that people have vast potential. Most people can do extraordinary things if they have the confidence or take the risks. Yet most people don't. They sit in front of the telly and treat life as if it goes on forever. ~ Philip Adams

Call for help:

I got a juicer this weekend. It was a used one from my husband's aunt who no longer wanted it. This particular aunt is very well-to-do and discerning in her purchases, and this juicer is top of the line.

I've always wanted a juicer, but wasn't willing to spend the money on a really good one. Now, I have one and I'm not entirely sure what to do with it. Anyone out there do juicing? Send me some recipes, would you? Thanks!

Moving on...

I gardened this weekend. It was wonderful. I completely redid the two gardens in front of my house. I wish I'd thought to take before and after pictures, so I could show them to you and you'd all ooh and ahh. Well, maybe not, considering most of the plants are about two inches tall. Nearly everything in the northeast goes to ground for the winter so things have only just begun to emerge. However, in another few weeks, it'll look stunning. And I really love the smell of cedar mulch (actually I prefer the smell of cocoa shell mulch -- mmmm, chocolate --- but it gets too hard and plants can't grow up through it after a while).

I did manage to get some writing done, and met the weekly MayNoWriMo goal by the skin of my teeth. I was remarkably uninspired this weekend and mostly stared at the computer or played games.

I have discovered one thing: writing a murder mystery type book gives me the opportunity to have my characters say things they wouldn't otherwise. Like, "That isn't rust, it's blood." Yup, the hero just advised the heroine that the innocent looking implement she found is not old and beat up, but is instead a murder weapon. They don't know who was murdered yet ... but they will soon, because a the heroine gets to find a body in the next scene! Nothing but good times ahead...

The ladies in my MayNoWriMo group posted goals recently. Here's what I wrote -- y'all can help keep me accountable :-)

I plan on having my novel (My 2005 NaNoWriMo novel, BTW) polished and ready for submission by July. I plan on having my MayNoWriMo novel first draft done by June 2nd. I have a novella of 25,000 words that I just finished and want that polished and ready for submission by October.

Not to mention my standing goal of submitting two short pieces every month somewhere... though with the craziness this month, I may not make
it.

As I read over what I just wrote, I wonder if I've lost my mind...

I want to have my novella submitted by October if possible because November is NaNoWriMo month, and I don't want to miss it. I even have the story idea for it -- it's called "The Cartoonist and the Cat Lady". Okay, that title will probably change, but you gotta start somewhere.

And those are the days of my life. What did you do this weekend?

Have you entered my contest yet? (C, I put your name in this week for you). If you haven't, leave a comment here. Good luck!