Christmas gifts, and a few deep(ish) thoughts..

It’s that time of year when Christmas reminds me how very blessed I am in my life. I have had Christmases so poor I couldn’t afford Christmas Cards, and Christmases so indulgent I bought way more than I should admit. But more than any of the material things, the one thing that has stayed consistent is my friends and family. I have never found myself alone on Christmas. Now I don’t mean physically alone, sometimes I have had to work and not been able to have family festivities, but I knew my family and friends loved me even if I wasn’t there/there. And truly, above all else, that’s a miracle. Sometimes I am not so loveable. They  love me anyway.  And for that I am grateful.

On the fun side of the holiday.. I have to tell you, I got some really cool stuff this year! I have grown more and more fond of the giving part of Christmas. As a child it was about whatever I got – as I get older I am more and more excited about what I give. I love seeing people like what I got them! I like to think I am a pretty good gift giver. But this post is to show you what cool people I have in my life. So let’s talk gifts! I couldn’t possibly cover them all, but I want to share a few amazing things. I loved every single gift I got, please don’t get me wrong – but some were just really like..whoa.

My mom got me a mirror armoire for my jewelry. We had no full length mirrors in the house, so now we do! Also, I have so much jewelry (I am a fan of $10 big bold jewelry) and no place to put it all. So now I have one central location. It’s just beautiful! Also, a reality check – where did all that butt come from?!

My daughter got me a Daichi Miura CD. Might sound boring, it’s just a CD. Except it’s not! This is my Japanese singing obsession. If any star can turn me away from Keanu, it’s this guy (or Ming Na!). I love the way Daichi sings and I love the way he dances. His heart goes into his music. He can dance like no other. And his little boy smile that shows his heart of pure gold is just .. there are no words for him. I love him in all ways a fan can love a singer. However… he is NOT available in America. I have searched high and low. Nothing. But my daughter ordered this CD from across the ocean. It’s real. And it is amazing.

My sister got me a framed piece of art. The artwork combines 2 of my favorite things. It is Star Wars meets Where The Wild Things Are. Luke starts as Max, various SW creatures play the Wild Things. It is just..awesome. Star Wars, as you all know, is my obsession. Where The Wild Things Are is another favorite of my life. I grew up reading it. I just felt like I knew what it was like to be Max. I understood him. I got it. When I felt like nobody else in the world could understand me, I would think about Max. I knew Max got me like I got him. Not to mention the entire world Max played in with the Wild Things. What an amazing place! So now I have SW and WTWTA all in one.

Another of my top 5 amazing gifts was given to me by the lovely Joy. Warner Brothers released a limited edition Harry Potter Deathly Hallows watch. There were less than a thousand made. She made sure I got one. As a lover of watches and a Harry Potter lover, this is just awesome. Also, I love being able to say it’s limited edition. Now I have other limited edition watches and I normally do not wear them. I keep them on display. But I have recently got to thinking: who sees them? On display in my bedroom, who sees them? Nobody. On my wrist who sees it? Everyone! So I am wearing this gorgeous Deathly Hallows watch.

I feel a little weird listing some of my favs. I really did like everything I got. Tons of socks (YES!), nail polish, Queen Amidala shirt, Star Wars earrings, a messenger bag, butterfly mirror, peacock necklace, limited edition lipglosses, the coolest stapler in the world.. OH let me tell you about that.

It’s called a Stampler. My son got it for me. When I staple papers there is also a stamp around it. The staple becomes the smile of a smiley face and it reads “Have a nice day.” I thought that was so cool!! Can’t wait to staple things and send them around the campus.

I am really fortunate to be surrounded by good gift givers. Not really the amount they spend, but what it is. I really would prefer a $5 gift of something I truly love than a $50 gift of something that will sit on my shelf forgotten.

Thanks for letting me gush over these awesome gifts. Feel free to tell me about you favs. I have already been getting Tweets and Facebook messages about peoples favs. You can tell me here too! 

Martian Death Flu, North Carolina, Free stuff, and Reading!

The Martian Death Flu has had me at its mercy for five solidly intense days. It feels like three weeks. I believe I am starting to recover and I hope I am correct. Christmas is SO SOON! I would hate to be ill during the festivities. Lots of OJ, Vitamin C pills, more Thera-flu than I can recall, and tons of rest have been my friends. Also, I have a loving relationship with a box of Puffs Plus with Lotion now.

Unfortunately I was sick during FINALS WEEK! I did get my results back on my Statistics and Research final and I got an 81. Not what I wished for but so much better than it could have been. I felt like death warmed over the night I took it. I’ll not complain about the B. I am still waiting on the results of my other final, and a term paper. At this point I’ll be happy with passing grades instead of my usual stressing about OMG MUST MAKE BEST GRADES EVER!

I had to cancel my trip to North Carolina because I was just too sick to drive. Also, who wants to purposefully pass the Martian Death Flu to other people? Not me. So I have to go at another time. I will though. Nothing will stop me indefinitely.

In other non sicky news, I got chosen to sample some products and review them for this company. Then a few days later I got another offer from a different company to do the same. I feel really excited about that. My beauty blogging is paying off already! I need to do more vlogs also. I’ll review stuff in vlog format in addition to blogging. I don’t have an awesome camera though. I have horrible lighting too. Horrible. I’ll work on it though. Nobody starts at the top, right?

In other other non sicky news I met my Goodreads challenge for 2011!! I am super happy about that. Granted it wasn’t a dramatically difficult challenge, but considering I work full time and go to school full time and am a single parent, I think a book a month is a reasonable challenge. I am setting myself up for 13 books next year since I have to take one semester off due to financial aid thingees. Should I go for 14?!?! 

Christmas, NaNo, beauty blogging, and Joy.

Christmas is coming! I have done so much shopping but still have some to do. I just love this time of year. As a kid it was all the presents I get - but as I get older it truly is about the ones I give! Seeing other people get excited over something I have done really makes me happy. It's like a high I can get from nothing else. YAY presents!.. or as my dear bestie Scar says.. Prezzies!

IN addition to this, NaNoWriMo is over. I hit 19,222 words this year. My personal goal was 20K. I knew that with taking a 15 credit semester, work, Trey's science fair project, Mom unable to drive (I am infact the only driver in the house), trips to Grandma's, etc etc etc, I would never hit 50K. I didn't set myself up for failure - I gave myself a new goal. And I was THIS close to making it. I'll count it as a victory for myself.

Also, incase you didn't know, I started a beauty blog a while ago. My rate of views on the blog is growing every day. I focus on lipstuff ("I love my lipstick!" as my boss likes to say my catchphrase is.)  but I dabble in other beauty things too. Note: beauty is more than your face, it's in your soul and I blog about that too.

I'm taking a trip to the Carolina's soon. There is a breath of fresh air waiting for me.

A little NaNo talk..

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) is a yearly event that sends tens of thousands of novelists into a frenzy. This year is no exception. I am one of the novelist.

“But Yume (or DJ or Cissy or whatever you call me), how do you find the time to write 50 thousand words in 30 days?” Let me answer that for you. I don’t find time – I have to make time. 50K words breaks down to 1667 words a day. That’s a LOT of words to do for 30 days straight. The first week you’re on fire! After that, it gets harder.

But I love it. Each year I write something I have never written before. Sometimes even new genre’s. last year I wrote a pirate story. I did pretty well for a new genre, but then I ran out of ideas. It was too much of a foreign territory. No worries though, it is saved. I have a real feeling that story will come back to me in time and I will know what to do with it then.

This year I have a story with ghosts and spirits and angels and such. This is new for me. I think I’ll be fine with ideas though. Time is short so that will be my biggest challenge. But I think I will be fine. I am really excited about my new characters. Clementine is really neat. So is Stone. I have a lot of excitement for that.

Anyhow.. some of you have dealt with me before in November. If so you know your job. If you’re new let me advise you of your job. If you see me screwing off you have permission to fuss at me with a simple yet effective “WRITE Dammit Write!” 

10 Commandments of NaNoWriMo for 2011

These are mine. Yours may vary.

10 Commandments of NaNoWriMo

1)      Thou shall be very selective of internet time until thine word count has met it's daily goal..
2)      Thou shall follow thy characters wherever they may lead, for they know their story better than thee.
3)      Thou shall remember to sleep.
4)      Thou shall not neglect thine homework or tests.
5)      Thou shall allow thyself the nectar of the gods without guilt, for Pepsi keeps us sane.
6)      Thou shall get ahead of the word count whenever the ability arises so that it will balance on days when inspiration or time is lacking.
7)      Thou shall not neglect thy crowning glory of hair, nor thy eye makeup.
8)      Thou shall remember that fruit edible by fingers is thine friend, as are Stouffers animal crackers.
9)      Thou shall have a scrunchie available at all times to pull back thy crowning glory.
10)   Thou shall not delete a sentence for thine NaNoAngel will lose it's wings and plummet to the ground.