$10,000 and counting!

My little site has now had over 10,000 visitors, which is a nice wee milestone. A lot of that is thanks to BE, but it feels nice all the same. Thanks to everyone who has visited, and many thanks to those who have stayed and read for a while.

One year old today!

My little blog was started exactly one year ago. At the time I was unemployed and was certainly more profilic than I am now. But I hope that someone out there has found something entertaining, amusing or thought-provoking in my updates. Back then my novel was 50,000 words long, and I was busily working on it while going to copious job interviews. Now it's 100,000 words long and I'm working on polishing it when not too exhausted from my day job. In between I've shared little tidbits with you about what I've been thinking, doing and viewing, or links to news, quizzes and other bits and pieces. The year has certainly gone by fast. For this year, I'd like things to go slower - and to finally achieve some of my life goals. Namely:

1. Finish my book
2. Find a publisher who likes it
3. Travel to the UK/Europe with my husband
4. Ski in the northern hemisphere
5. Quit my day job
6. Buy a house, preferably out of the city

Wouldn't that be nice?

100,000 words, baby!

100,001 to be precise. This feels like a significant milestone in the progress of my novel, even though it doesn’t really have anything to do with it being finished. But in my mind, it must be getting close. I’m filling in lots of fiddly little scenes, rounding off minor characters, and putting context around conversations. Doesn’t sound like hard work, but it is. When thousands of words were pouring out of me at the beginning of this process, I never dreamed it would be so hard. Perhaps last year’s New Year’s Resolution will be fulfilled this year (i.e. finishing said novel) and I won’t feel guilty all the time for not working on it all night, every night. And just maybe, a publisher somewhere might like it, and I might finally be able to call myself an author. But for now, I just need to finish it. It feels like I could do endless revisions, but I know at some point I will have to stop. Hopefully that point comes around sooner rather than later!

First Anniversary :-)

Tomorrow morning we are off on our first real trip away (alone) together since our honeymoon. The occasion is our first wedding anniversary, and we are going to the beach where we first got together. The weather has been beautiful all week, and although it's forecast to change I'm keeping my fingers crossed! (It was forecast two rain the last two days and all we've had is brilliant sunshine)

We're currently deciding whether to take my car or his (will air conditioning or fuel economy win out?) and who will drive there. We're both very easy going when it comes to these decisions - which makes them harder to make. Meanwhile I've made multiple lists of what we need to pack from different parts of the house. I like ticking things off lists. Gives me a sense of achievement and control in this madcap world.

We're away for four days - so no posts until at least Tuesday. I'm going to do my best to switch off from the normal stresses of life - even though I'm going to find out if I got a job today or Monday. Wish me luck!