The hurrieder I go, the behinder I get!

A 1667 daily word average can be rather daunting under the best of conditions, especially when you miss a day at the beginning. But who am I kidding? Last year I started late, finished early and was still working full time while trying to tie everything up for my imminent departure. This year should be easy, right?

Well, not necessarily. Add in trips to San Diego, visits from my daughter, my personal insistence on getting to the gym at least three times a week, chores, cooking and the weekly box of yummies to find recipes for. The truth is, right now, I’m busier than I ever was while I was working full time! And I haven’t even hit my stride yet.

Thank goodness for those healthy yummies or I know I’d never manage to keep up the pace. Here’s this week’s offering: harvest box 11-4-14
It consists of: 1 Romanesco
1 bunch Easter Radish
1 Romaine Lettuce
1 bunch Arugula
1 pound Broccoli
1 bunch Purple Carrots
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Leek
1 Fuyu Persimmon
1 Kabocha Squash

It’s funny because, on my way to pick it up, sweaty from my gym workout, I found myself craving a nice salad. I had some ingredients in the house, but the radishes and Arugula filled it out nicely. I enjoyed the persimmon while waiting for my dinner to cook (orange cauliflower and kohlrabi from last week) and I have to say that it was rather pleasant. Not what I was expecting, and I’m not sure I’d actually buy them, but it was interesting. Getting to try all of these new veggies is a lot of fun for me. Last time I got a leek, I believe I put it in soup, but I could see it in a stir fry too.

I’m not sure about the fennel, though. I gave it a good sniff today and it really does smell like black licorice. As I can’t even sneak up on the stuff, I don’t know if the fennel will go over well. But my daughter is bringing the textbook from her cooking class with her so maybe we can find a way to prepare the fennel so we will both enjoy it. (she detests black licorice too).

I’ve been writing and writing and writing…

The story temporarily titled “A Dubious Gift” is coming along fairly well despite the fact that I skipped a day of writing. I’m only about 996 words shy of the goal for today, and although it doesn’t feel like it’s flowing, I managed over 2,000 words tonight. As I suspected, it won’t be long before I’m right where I need to be…and then some.

I’m finding, this time, that I’m being even less concerned about flow and continuity, not even putting in chapters. I’m just writing as the words see fit, not even knowing where I’m going until I get there. The story is truly going to be as big a surprise to me as it will be to my readers! But 18 pages compared to the well over 300 which is what became of my first NaNoWriMo novel still seems daunting right now, despite the fact that about half of that came from my revisions. The good part is that when I put in my word count, it tells me how many I have left. Watching that number come down truly is exciting!

Stay tuned for recipes from this week’s Harvest Box. I’ll be consulting with my culinary expert when she arrives tomorrow night.

Until then, my gratitudes are:
1. I am grateful for all of the things I accomplished today.
2. I am grateful to again have a deadline.
3. I am grateful that, no matter what, I manage to sit down at my computer each night to write.
4. I am grateful for motivation.
5. I am grateful for the encouragement I’m getting to keep plugging away without concern for remuneration. It’s doing what I love and loving what I do that matters right now.
6. I am grateful for abundance: inspiration, friendship, love, harmony, peace, imagination, dedication, health and prosperity.

Namaste

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel. I’ve created this page as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” it or leave a comment! Thank you!