Novel in 30 Days

Well, my 30 days are up and I didn't reach my goal of writing 50,000 words. I only got to 40,500 but I haven't given up. I am going to push forward and try and finish the final 9500 by mid-February. But, even though I did not make my goal, I feel like I accomplished something because 40,500 words is more words than I have ever written on any one thing. I also have a pretty good start to my novel, not that I plan on anyone ever reading it but I will be able to check something off my "to do" list.

The Best Blonde Joke Ever

This is the best blond joke ever.

Go here.

I Don't Deserve Her

This post is going to get a little more personal than normal but I want to use a forum that is a little more public to communicate a private message.

A week or so ago Shelley said to me that in the past I had made her feel like she wasn't good enough for me. Those words have been echoing in my head because that was never my intention. I am sorry for this and I hope she forgives me.

But, the truth of the matter is that I don't deserver her. She is the smartest, funniest, the best mother and the most beautiful person I have ever known. And either her pure stubbornness or by the Grace of God she has stuck with me and I am so thankful.

She has blessed my life in so many ways and I am so regretful that words I said hurt her and I hope she knows now how much I love her.

Happy Birthday Seth

Today is Seth's 3rd birthday and we are all very excited.

I can not believe I have a 3 year old but I can say it has been the wildest, coolest and best rides I have been on. I look forward to everyday with both of my boys just to see what will happen next.

Seth, we love you!!!!

Books

I think I have mentioned this before but I love books. These are the latest two that are on my night stand waiting to be read. Now, I just have to find the time.

No More "Crackberrys"?

I would not have thought it possible but it looks like it is getting more likely that the RIM Blackberry service will be shut down. The Supreme Court refused to hear Reasearch in Motion's (RIM) appeal which will now allow the U.S. District Court to issue an injunction against Blackberry sales and service.

I'm Not Going to Make It

It's official, I am not going to complete my novel in 30 days. This week has been rough with me only getting about 10 hours sleep from Monday through Wednesday so my novel has suffered. But, I am going to finish it but this self imposed stress to finish in 30 days is just too much with all the other things going on in my life lately.

My new goal is to finish by the end of February. I only have 13,000 words to go so this should be doable and allow me to enjoy the process a little more.

Jesus' Water

Shelley is taking a break and has delegated telling cute stories about the boys to me. I'm not as good at it as she is but here is one.

Our church has a lake with a big fountain in the middle of it. When we go to church one thing Seth likes to do is to go down and look at the big fountain before we drop him off at the pre-school area. Also, at the lake is the baptistery. I have explained to Seth what it's purpose is as best I can but you never know what is sinking in.

This weekend when we went to look at "big fountain" Seth said he wanted to go and see "Jesus' Water". I'm amazed at his level of understanding some times.

Word Count - 35816
Goal - 38341

Armed Citizen #9

Three men broke into a couples home in St. Augustine, Fl with baseball bats and guns. The men ordered the couple and some visiting family members to the floor while they searched for prescription medicine. A family member in another room heard the noise and armed himself with a firearm. He entered the room and fired several shots hitting one suspect in the torso. All the men fled and the police apprehended two of them and the wounded man was found collapsed in the street.

I'm Behind

About three days ago I just ran out of words. I had written about 30,000 words toward my 50,000 word goal for a novel and then there was nothing. I am not a very verbose person so writing that many words has been tough and I finally ran out. I didn't even have any words for my blog, that is why I haven't posted in a few days. But, today I sat down and pounded out a few words and hopefully busted through the barrier. I am now at 33,125 and my goal to date is 36,674. Now, I had to reach up and yank the steering wheel hard to the left and my main character is probably trying to figure out what just happened but I got some words out. He hasn't been abducted by aliens yet but that could happen if I stall again. Pray for him, he's had a tough 22 days.

Oh, How Things Have Changed

This morning I went through my normal routine of reading some of my favorite blogs and after I read this post on Minnie Moments I found myself giving her a quiet cheer as I rejoiced in her success of getting her son to poop in the toilet. I understood the size and importance of this accomplishment. I then had a moment of reflection as I remembered back to a time when I thought eating an entire large Domino's pizza in one setting was an accomplishment. Oh, how things have changed...

Tony and Lori you will soon understand. Enjoy it is really cool!

Word count - 26,800
Goal - 28,338

The Joys of Fatherhood #19

Last night Seth and Chase were sitting in the floor playing together, big brother and little brother. Seth decided he was going to give Chase a haircut. He draped a blanket around Chase to serve as the barber's cape and began to pick up little pieces of Chase's hair and performed simulated cutting movements. They are really good together...

Word Count - 25,039
Goal - 26,672

Word Count Update

I am behind on my word count but I am trying to stay within one day of my goal. I don't want to get too far behind but it is getting hard. Last night I watched the 2 hour premier of 24 and I plan on watch the other 2 hours tonight. That is about all the free time I have on any given day so I may fall even further behind.

Word Count - 23970
Goal - 25,005

I Don't Feel Like Superman

I took the superhero personality test and it said I was Superman. Well, truthfully, I am not feeling much like Superman currently. I am sick, overwhelmed at work, behind on my word count for my novel and last night Seth and I had a test of wills that just leaves my heart hurting.

Every once in awhile Seth and I will have a test of wills that usually revolves around his bedtime routine. I don't like raising my voice to him, I don't like spanking (I am not against spanking, it just doesn't work for me) so his big punishment is sending him to bed early. Before having kids I would never have believed how much it hurts to hear your son sobbing in his bedroom. I really think that is my Kryptonite because it just makes me melt.

Word count - 18741
Goal - 20,004


Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 80% Green Lantern 75% The Flash 70% Spider-Man 65% Robin 62% Hulk 60% Batman 60% Supergirl 55% Catwoman 50% Iron Man 45% Wonder Woman 35%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Per

sonality Quiz

A Blog Revolution

Ok, maybe it isn't a revolution but I am going to take a little credit for some friends of mine starting to Blog. Here are three recent additions to my blog list.

Paul - Where to From Here?
Tammara - Something Mighty and Sublime
Tony - InSearchofSeagraves

They all offer something a little different but they are worth checking out.

Now, for all of my other friends out there who don't have Blogs, when are you going to jump onto the bandwagon?


Word Count - 16671
Goal - 16,670

Sky Scout

I read about this product on Scoble's blog. It looks like it could be really cool.

So what is it?

You look through it at the sky during the day or night and it tells you what you are looking at, Stars, planets, constellations, etc. It will also tell the user the 10 coolest things to look at in the sky that night and give directions on how to find them. It also has updateable software so it can tell you where to find the Space Shuttle if it is orbiting or possibly a new comet that was discovered.

As mentioned in the 10 Reasons to Marry a Geek we love our gadgets and this could be one of the coolest.

Word Count - 15,079
Goal - 15,003
Still hanging in there.

Super Glue, Carpet Cleaner and Batteries

Nobody told me when we were about to have our first child that once we had kids I would be purchasing enough Super Glue, carpet cleaner and batteries to supply a small army. I have fixed more broken toys or broken nik naks with super glue than I ever could imagine. And carpet stains, oh my, the carpet stains we have had. Finally, I think I am going to invest my entire retirement in Duracell because I had no idea how many batteries families with children can go through.

Word count - 13,500
Goal - 13,336

Top 10 Reasons to be Married to a Geek

I thought this post was funny.


Word Count - 8.369
Goal - 10,002

I have fallen behind by a day but I hope to make up a little ground this weekend.

Project Management

I got this the other day and thought it was funny. For all of you Project Managers or former Project Managers(and you know who you are) I think you will appreciate it.

(click on the image for a larger view and click on it a second time for an even larger view)


Word Count - 6,699
Goal - 6,668

Bloglines

If you are finding that the number of blogs you are reading on a semi-regular basis is growing I would suggest trying Bloglines. Blogines is a free, online service for subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and other web content.

You simply subscribe to a blog and then it will become one of your subscriptions. Then when you go to Bloglines, all of the blogs you read will be listed and when one receives a new post, it will show you that you have an unread post. You can then read the new post within Bloglines or link directly to the Blog and read it there. It is an easy way to keep up with your favorite blogs. The one problem is that it can be too easy and that is why I know have over 130 blogs that I read.


Word Count - 5012
Goal - 5001

Word Count

Word count - 4.070
Goal - 3,334

This is hard, hard, hard. I'm ahead of my goal but it isn't going to last long. I see myself falling behind very shortly. I am thinking about creating a character with a stutter or maybe one with an unusual speech pattern where he repeats everything twice or maybe even three times. How would that be for compelling reading?

My Sports Weekend

This weekend had a lot of potential for great things for me. TCU was playing Iowa State in the EV1.Net Bowl, a Pittsburgh loss combined with a Kansas City win would put the Chiefs in the playoffs, either a loss by Carolina or Washington and a Cowboy win would put the Cowboys in the playoffs, and I was playing in the Championship of my Fantasy Football League.

Well, it was a mixed bag in terms of the results but overall it was disappointing. Neither the Cowboys or Chiefs made the playoffs and this was the most important of the different events. The Cowboys lost to finish the season 9-7. While this was an improvement over last year, it was still a disappointing season based on what could have been.

TCU did win the EV1.Net Bowl and I won the Championship of my Fantasy Football League but these were of little consequence.

Word Count

Today was the first day in my effort to write a novel in 30 days. My word count goal for the day was 1,667 words and I am at 2,758. Don't be too impressed because I am trying to pack in as many words over the holiday weekend and it was hard getting to 2,758 today. I didn't realize it would be that hard to write 1,667 words in a day and it is going to be a long month. I don't know where the remaining 47,242 words are going to come from.