Krista's Blog

To look a lot like Christmas. At least, at my house, it is.

Yesterday we prepped the house for the holiday clutter before heading off to the Christmas tree farm. A quick visit with Santa, a hayride out to the lot, and a quick walkabout led us to this year's scotch pine. Ken thought he'd let the boys cut down the tree this year. Although they each took a turn trying to saw through the little trunk, neither boy had the strength to do the job. (Honestly, I'm not sure I could do it without a great deal of cussing and sweating and cussing. Hubby may make it look easy, but I know it's not!).

While we waited for the tree to get the loose needles shaken out, we went into the barn. Hot chocolate, hot cider and coffee helped warm us up from our little outdoor adventure as we searched for this year's wreath. Then it was time to head on home and get the decorating done.

It took some doing but eventually we got the tree up and decorated, the lights strung inside and out, and all the other decorations arranged. Of course, as usual, we ran into a few problems. The wreath refuses to stay on the door; it's sitting on the kitchen counter until we can figure out how to get it to stop falling. I need some pushpins to help keep the lights around the kitchen sink window and the sliding glass doors. A new tablecloth wouldn't be a bad thing, either. Oh, and some Christmas-y scented candles..those would be nice, too.

So, is it beginning to look a lot like Christmas around your house, too?

My husband, one of the best bargain shoppers I know, started months ago. A gift here, a gift there. It was a slow accumulation to be sure, but every purchase made on behalf of a nephew (his side) or in-law has made the Christmas shopping a little bit easier.

Of course, the true shopping didn't start until Black Friday. Since that pocketbook-draining day we've managed to get a good portion of our shopping done. Yes, you heard me right. We're almost done and it's hardly December!

However, there remain a few people we still need to finish buying for, most notably our parents. I know what we're getting my Dad and his new wife. We just need to figure out which sibling of mine is going to actually do the purchasing so we can hand them over our portion of the expense.

Then there's my mom and her husband. They've recently moved out-of-state, which means gifts must be shipped. (Sorry, Mom, we won't be traveling this year!) Now if I only knew what to get them. Maybe I should have them take a little time to create an Amazon wishlist. That would help tremendously!

My parents-in-law are another big question mark. They get harder and harder to buy for because it seems like they have everything they want. While I'm sure this is grossly untrue and there's plenty of things they secretly wish for, I don't know what they are. Wishlists for them would be a good idea, too, if they actually had a computer with Internet access.

Okay, so I'm on a wishlist kick. They're fun! You should try creating one for yourself and sharing it with those people in your life who really don't have any idea what to buy for you.

Because you know what? I wish my nephews-in-law had them, too, because right now gift cards are looking good.

Family aside, I still have to buy for the office Christmas party and, again, I don't have a clue what to buy. Knowing me, I'll probably settle for yet another last minute gift card. Oh, the joy of buying for the unknown recipient!

Reading comments on another blog and this bit of wisdom caught my eye...

You're free to say, write and do exactly what you want... and live with the consequences. Don't complain if the consequences are unexpected and harsh.
~Donna Lea Simpson

Okay, so I didn't hit 50K on the NaNo project this year. I have no excuses. At least, no good ones because I'm pretty sure watching TV and reading are considered, at best, distractions.

So, I failed. I didn't win.

But I'm not worried about it. While NaNo is fun and a great way to bring writers together, what's more important to me is the fact that it gets me writing again. I have a story I'm working on. Sure, it's slow and painful progress right now, but it's words on a page and that's more than I had a month ago.

My story is what most would likely consider epic fantasy. It involves gods, god-kin (human and god offspring), Elementals, and miniature dragons. My main character, Moswen El-Brideah, is the recognized keeper of the god-kin bloodline. Her biggest fear in the beginning of the book is that her secret will be revealed before the god who birthed her ancestors. Unlike most of her peers, she posesses more than god-kin magic. She's also half-Elemental, the product of a meddling Elemental who has finally succeeded in corrupting the god-kin bloodlines. This is a secret that could destroy her family and leave her people without a ruling family to protect them. It could also mean her death or, even worse, her spiritual undoing in the afterlife.

Things are complicated when the god reveals his plan to restore himself to his former power in both this world and in the heavens where he must contend with the machinations of the other gods. He directs Moswen's family to make war on a legendary people, to destroy their faith in their own godess and to feed him their spiritual energy through conversion to his will. Although the directive doesn't sit well with Moswen or her family, the truth of the failing magic in the god-kin families forces their hand and scouting parties are sent to ascertain the strength, number, and location of the worshippers of the goddess Runne.

Moswen, who has just passed her god-kin test in the Temple of Oryn, has little time to celebrate her success. Distressed by both the political jockeying at home, she finds an excuse to leave the courts behind when her brother goes missing.

Okay, so that's as far as I've made it so far...so there ends the synopsis of Between the Heavens and Earth (current working title).

The only other thing I really tell you is the story is just about ready to pick up speed. The set-up is almost complete. I'm right in the middle of introducing one of the main antagonists. Once I get him situated where I need him (let's hope he cooperates!), I'm hoping the words will start falling more easily into place.

Building the foundation of the story is hard work!

So..like I said, I failed NaNo, but I'm okay with it because what I did manage to write is 100% usable. Not perfect. But usable. It'll need some polishing and refining, sure, but that's okay. It means I have something to work with.