For those of you interested:
Not only did I get my 50,000 words done before the end of November. Today I finished the whole thing. I’ve posted the whole thing Happy Accidents in the NaNo section of the website.
I also finished something else… last year’s NaNo!! They are both in the NaNo section.
My next goal for this week? Get a new car 
While my family was here I fell in lust with my Aunt’s new Saturn Vue. There, I admitted it. It’s out in the open. Hi, my name is Kate and I am addicted to the Vue.
It’s spacious. It handles fantastically. It gets decent gas mileage. Did I mention it’s spacious? For a girl who is about 5′11″, with a boyfriend that is 6′7″ and a dog that weighs 80lbs, spacious is a wonderful thing.
I began doing some research last Saturday regarding the feasibility of trading in my current car, a Saturn Ion2, for the Vue. I was pretty happy with what I found. The Vue is a very reasonably priced vehicle, as most Saturns are. I did an estimate on a trade in value, and found that it would be a pretty good trade. I have been in contact with a salesperson from Saturn in Raleigh, and I have given him the information on my car. He said that he feels confident that on trade in they could keep the payments on a new vehicle in the same ballpark as what I am currently paying. I checked on insurance rates, and found that they would go up only $4/month.
A lot will depend upon what the salesperson’s definition of the word “ballpark” is. In my world, my payment would increase by no more than $30 a month. In his world they might increase by $85-$100/month. The brightside is that it’s end of year clearance time, and they’re trying very hard to push out all the ‘07 stock in time for the ‘08 arrival. That might work in my favor.
Jake and I plan to go in to Saturn on Saturday and see what they can do for me. We would really love to have this in time for our big drive to Mississippi.
This is a big decision, but if the payments work out to be about the same I think it’s a very good decision.
I did it!!
There were days when I honestly thought I wouldn’t finish. I pushed through, though, and finished.
This was the hardest year since I started participating, and I am incredibly proud of myself for finishing. The story itself isn’t completed, but I have 50,836 words. I’m nearing a conclusion.
I have posted the first part of this, Happy Accidents in the NaNoWriMo section of my writing. Feel free to prance on by and have a look.
Thank you to all my friends who sent me supportive emails, and for Jake who had an icon on his website to remind me to keep pushing.
I did it!!
After three glorious days off last week, it’s right back to the grind this week. I was kind of dreading starting back up, but it’s been a good day overall. I was able to do my two classroom visits in third grade this morning without any conflict from other obligations. I got a lot of my paperwork and planning done as well. It’s been great to see the students again after the vacation; they are always so excited to see us after being gone even for a weekend, so they all have exciting tales to tell today.
I’m worn out though. A week of houseguests, however welcome they are, is a drain on energy reserves. I’m looking forward to having some time tonight to unwind and relax. Jake has to work a little late this evening, so I’ll have almost three hours to myself when I get home. This will add up to some quality scrapbooking time, which I’m looking forward to. I have lots of pages to do after the time with my family.
19 more days left until Christmas vacation starts. I’m looking forward to that time off already. No matter how much I love my job (which I do), time off is always a welcom occurrence. The best part is that I will definitely be able to go to Mississippi with Jake to spend time with his Dad and step-mom. Steve is able to dog sit. We can’t begin to express our thanks for his willingness to spend time at our house with our dog… and thanks is certainly not sufficient. It means more than I can say that Steve is such a wonderful friend and will do this.
The only thing I would like to do between now and Christmas is get down to Plymouth and visit Courtney and Paul. They are in the process of buying a house, and I’m so excited for them. I haven’t been down to visit the homies since September, and I’m missing them quite a lot. Perhaps I’ll be able to plan something.
Things I am Thankful for:
Jake, Merlin, and our house
My Mom, Dad, and Brother… andhaving them here for Thanksgiving
My Relationship
This wonderful dog… so good and so gorgeous
My new tattoo. It is in honor of my grandmother.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Ours was truly fantastic. My family will be leaving shortly to drive back to New York, and life will move on as normal. The tattoo looks great this morning; the guy who did it was a great artist. It came out exactly like I wanted. The dog has been so wonderful with all of the commotion this week. It’s his first time with so many visitors, and he’s been a true gentleman.
It’s been a wonderful week.
