A Preview

Okay, in lieu of my recent obsession with reading, I have been getting the urge to start up writing again.  And I only think it fair to brag, that last month, I finished my first novel.  I still have to get it edited and copywritten before sending it to publishers, but it is done.  So, I decided to post a sample:

"

“So,” said Hans after their tale, “Where did you plan to go?  Here?  I don’t think you would be safe here.”

“Well, I don’t know if Maran had the same thought as I, “ Lorelei said with a suspenseful grin, “but I thought of leaving Bremerhaven.  Actually, leaving Germany altogether!”

The reaction was not at all like she hoped.  The faces of the men were silent and horrified.

“Leave Germany.” John said, a look of amusement on his face, “Why would we leave Germany?”

“Because,” Lorelei stammered, realizing how ridiculous it sounded for her to ask four men she barely knew to come away with her to another country when they weren’t in any danger of being caught.  Why should they leave their home for her?

“Because I don’t want to face it alone.” She finished lamely.

“Are you asking for our help?” Said Michello with a smile.

Lorelei sighed, “I suppose.  But I’m hoping more for companionship.”  

“I’ll go with you.” Maran said, finally.  Lorelei looked at him to see if there was truth in his words.  He gazed at her, his eyes sharp with sincerity.

Michello winced somewhat before replying, “I’ll go, too.”

The girl looked at John expectantly, “Well?”

“Sure, I’ll go, if it means seeing France.” John grumbled.

Hans gazed around at the faces of his friends.  They were gazing back at him in anticipation, waiting to hear what his decision would be.

“I can’t.” He whispered.

“What?” John said, somewhat harshly.

“What are you talking about? Of course you can come!  I’ll be paying your way.” Exclaimed Lorelei.

“It’s not that.  I just don’t want to.” He stammered.

“That’s alright.  If he doesn’t want to come, that’s fine too.” Maran said hesitantly.

“May we ask why you don’t want to go?  I’m asking because I wouldn’t want to leave you all by yourself in Bremerhaven.  I would stay here with you.” Michello said. 

“No, you should go.  This reason is all my own.” Hans replied, “But I will tell you why if you wish.  For years now, as we rampage the streets, I have kept my eye out for a certain man, hoping to find him.” He took a deep breath, “I’ve been looking for my father.  I know it sounds stupid, but I really want to see a part of my family, especially since everyone else I have ever known is dead.”

“I realize your reasons, Hans,” spat John, “but your father, as I heard, was a drunk!  Why, ever would you go back to that?”

“I can’t expect you to understand my motives.  It’s just something I have to do, you know?  You all should really go off to France.  I can do this better alone.”

“Alright.  It’s a deal.  We’ll leave you here, but you must promise us one thing.  Go with us for a beer.  I’m sure Lorelei could spare us a little money.  After all, it’s our last night together.” Maran said.

Lorelei took a quick look at her bundle.

“I’ll buy you each one drink,” she smiled.

“Oh, I like her.” John grinned.                    

                                                                                                                                   "

Okay, from my Facebook post, you are all aware that I've finished 'The Hunger Games' and that I loved it.  But truly, I am now in a funk.  It was too good, too much of my time was invested and now all I can think about are those novels.  I finished it last night before bed (BIG mistake) and lay awake for what felt like forever thinking about it.  So beautiful and tragic and profound and the ending depressed me, but in a good way.  I don't think there was any other appropriate ending.  I feel emotionally wrecked and I'm kind of loving it...it's so rare to find a book (or set of books) that does that to you.  I wish I could post a million more words on it, but I honestly can't find them...all I can say is, read them if you haven't.  They are so worth the money.

You can't see a lot of difference on these pics, but the Rembrandt stuff really did work...and my teeth still feel clean

The Master Plan

The Plan...instead of trying for two weeks or a month of goals; I'm going to try for four days at a time! Then, if I'm good, I'll add four more days on to tally eight, and so forth! And, I'm going to write down a list of daily goals fresh every time because they will change a little.  And, I know this sounds bizarre, but I need an inspirational picture and there's this pin-up on Dave's calendar for January that has the body I want.  It's not perfect but it's slim and feminine and there's something about it that I admire...so, I'm cutting it out and keeping it with me.  Hopefully no one sees it though because it would looks strange without the explanation! And, I'm doing my nails now.  I put a coat of VitaSurge Growth on the bare nails, then I'm just going with the Diamond Strength nude nail polish (two coats) followed by my Acrylic gel.  In two days, I will reapply the Acrylic (Tuesday).
Tomorrows goals will look something like this:

1. Eat healthy 1500 cal diet
2. Drink 8 glasses of water
3. Scar zone (baby stretchmarks)
4. Wash face and  moisturize everything (face, hands, legs, arms, feet)
5. Write Marge a letter
6. Write one page in my novel
7. Don't spend frivoulrously
8. Work out for one hour

And that's that, I think.  Today, I'll do my pamper day...get myself ready for the week with a bath and a facial.  And, I'm trying out body butter for my moisturizing needs.  Plus, Dave and I will come up with nightly activities to keep us away from the t.v. and the snacks!

Fabulousness is Tough...Consistancy is Key

I am a frustrated mess! I hate not keeping to my goals....I can't stick to anything I set my mind to; probably because it's not set that hard! Dave and I are way behind on finances, and nowhere near our thin selves! What happens, is we have not much else to do around here but treat ourselves to pizza night or spend any dough we have on something stupid.  Maybe we need to come up with things for every night of the week that are fun and get us distracted so we don't eat out or overeat! Plus, my hands are a disaster still! The acrylic gel works awesome but when it comes off, I forget to put it on right away and then in a day or two, I do dishes and my nails get soft from the water and strip right off! I need to keep applying it all the time! It takes only two seconds.
On the upside, it's tattoo-mania in our part of the world! Dad's old friend Billy Lee (a.k.a. Hop-Sing) is down here and is a tattoo artist who works for awesome rates.   Both Wendy and my Aunt Pam have already had me design something for them and Billy agreed to do Dave and I this week or next week! So we're both getting Landon's name and birthdate on our backs! Pics to follow, of course.  And, the teeth whitening went well! The gel makes your teeth a tad sensitive but it's easy to use and does prove effective.  It's Rembrandt whitening and I'll update pics as soon as I can.
My new thing today is leg care! I got a Schick Intuition razor with my tampons the other day (you know, the one with all the aloe around it) and so I've not shaved my legs for a few days and am giving it a whirl tonight in a much-needed bath.  Then, it's my exploration of moisturization.  Exciting, I know.

More Ramblings...

Why is it so hard to form a habit(s)? They say it takes 21 days...which I could see being true; if you could make it that long.  I can't count how many times I've gone five days or so and then, out of mere laziness, ordered in and boom; that was the end of that for about a week until I tried again.  And, it's not just the weight-loss thing...I have the bad habit of falling into a drudgery type state.  It's hard as a mom to be always on top of your personal needs and wants but darn it, I want to try! I want to dress nice every day and work out and write and take care of my other stuff (like facials and nails and such).  The list goes on...being cool Mom is actually quite difficult; I mean from the outside.  Inwardly, I'm the best, of course (insert obvious joke here). 
So, this weekend, Landon went to Grandma's all weekend and I went to a Frame Show for work in Winnipeg on Friday, did a bit of shopping on Saturday and am using Sunday as my pre-fabulous day.
So, this morning, I applied Salon Effects to my nails; they are awesome (thus far, I don't know how long they'll last).  I picked the snake skin and they are so easy to apply and look amazing.  And I also did a base coat of acrylic gel which I got at Walmart to keep my nails hard so hopefully they'll grow! I finished off the morning with a chocolate/strawberry clay mask facial and a good dose of face cream and later, Dave and I are going to teeth whiten! An update on that later.

It's Here...

Okay...the time has come to reveal some nail styles that I've been playing around with over the last two months:

 This is one of my favourites.  I used Avon's Mosaic Effects.  It came only in black (but the white just came available-I can't wait to try it!) and it's fairly easy to use.  Just paint on your base colour; something bright is best and then when the first coat is dry, apply a thin layer of Mosaic and it crackles right away! It does tend to get goopy in the bottle if you don't tighten the cap really tight.

 As you can tell, this was right before Christmas.  The colours you can choose can be less intense, but remember to put the darker colour on second.  I applied a full base coat in green and then when it was completely dry, I applied some Scotch tape diagonally across the nail and applied a generous coat of red.  Once that was dry enough for handling, I peeled the tape and applied a top coat.

Firstly, I have to say that I love this pink.  But the jewels are just as fun.  I got them from Avon and they are slightly sticky on the back.  You have to have everything prepared and ready for this one because you have to apply the jewels to wet nail enamel.  Choose your colour and the nails you wish to apply the glitter to.  Paint on your coat (if using two coats, apply jewels to second one) and, using tweezers, place on diamonds while still wet.  Then, apply colour to other nails.  Once everything is thoroughly dry, apply a top coat.  These jewels stay on pretty good but I only use them when I'm going out as wear and tear of the day can wear them off.  I found some great stickers for nails at the Dollar Store (go figure) that don't come off until you remove them and look awesome.

Back in the Saddle Again

Wow! I fell of the wagon in every respect....I've done diddly squat since the last post and have been feeling way less than fabulous for the last month.   A little post-Christmas doldrums, maybe.  But, I'm starting to feel like I may be back on track in the next couple of days...just have to kick this stupid cold!
But, I've officially scared myself back into eating healthy and working out....I just realized that I was being relaxed in that regard because I've entered the 'I already weigh x amount, who cares about more pie?' phase.  It's bad.  So, back to the beginning.  A fresh new start!
I promise a post when I kick-start my new weight-loss regime (which isn't new, really, just hopefully followed!) and I will be updating some nail and feet info in a few days! 

Woah....let me firstly say that I'm pretty sure I didn't stop eating during the entire month of December! I don't even want to look at the scale or do a waist measurement but I'll hop on anyways....wait right here:

Just as I thought...Gained about ten pounds! Yikes! So, here's the new deal, starting tomorrow; six days a week of exercise for sixty minutes a day and no fried foods, salts or refined sugars! I will go back down to five days of exercise for forty minutes a day when I lose the pounds and just want to maintain my weight.  I'm excited and nervous....I want to see changes sooner than I will but I know I have to be patient; but I'm scared I won't at all, which I know also won't happen.

I'm also pumped for the entire year to come! Dave and I have already started talking about Christmas plans for this year as well as summer plans and the joy of seeing what each new day brings us.  We're both off tomorrow so we'll do a few things around the house but mostly we'll just relax with our son.  Then, off to work on Tuesday for two days for me and Landon and Dave will more than likely have a sleepover with Great Grandma on Tuesday night (keeping her company because she just lost her best friend in a car accident before Christmas).

And not to worry, I did not forget my fabulous hand and feet makeover! I've been experimenting with a few new looks and techniques and will post on that in the next week or two! I promise.  I will tell you that I picked up a new nail-growing gel from Sally Hanson because my nails just are too soft and keep ripping! Hopefully we'll have success.

Also, two weeks ago, I finished my 52nd book! I compiled the full list for you.  

Allison's 2011 Reading List 

1. Mistress of Nothing-Kate Pullinger

2. Water For Elephants-Sarah Gruen

3. Olive Kittredge -Elizabeth Strout

4. The Cider House Rules-John Irving

5. The Divide-Nicholas Evans

6. The Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers -Xiaolu Guo

7. Twilight-Stephanie Meyer

8. New Moon-Stephanie Meyer

9. Eclipse-Stephanie Meyer

10. Breaking Dawn-Stephanie Meyer

11. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner-Stephanie Meyer

12. Riding Lessons-Sarah Gruen

13. Ya-Ya's in Bloom-Rebecca Wells

14. Scarlet Thread-Francine Rivers

15. The Memory Keepers Daughter- Kim Edwards

16. Speaks the Nightbird -Robert McCammon

17. Queen of Bedlam-Robert McCammon

18. Mr. Slaughter-Robert McCammon

19. A Widow for One Year-John Irving

20. Crank-Ellen Hopkins

21. Glass-Ellen Hopkins

22. Fallen-Ellen Hopkins

23. Traveling With Pomegranates-Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Monk Taylor

24. Ape House-Sarah Gruen

25. For One More Day-Mitch Albom

26. The Forth Hand-John Irving

27. Rebel Women of the Gold Rush-Rich Mole

28. 10 Things Jesus Taught About Women-Susan Hyatt

29. A Prayer For Owen Meany-John Irving

30. The Lake of Dreams-Kim Edwards

31. The Smoke Jumper-Nicholas Evans

32. So Brave, Young and Handsome-Leif Enger

33. When God Was a Rabbit-Sarah Winman

34. Just Another Indian- Warren Goulding

35. The Tommyknockers -Stephen King

36. Extreme Vinyl Cafe-Stuart McLean

37. They Thirst-Robert McCammon

38. The Help-Kathryn Stockett

39. Dolores Claibourne-Stephen King

40. Baal - Robert McCammon

41. Band of Brothers-Stephen E. Ambrose

42. The Hour of Bad Decisions-Russell Wangersly

43. A Secret Kept-Tatiana de Rosnay

44. The Russian Concubine-Kate Furnivall

45. The Night Circus-Ellen Morgenstern

46. The Night Boat-John McCammon

47. Setting Free the Bears-John Irving

48. Perfect-Ellen Hopkins

49. Flying Changes-Sarah Gruen

50. The World According To Garp -John Irving

51. Chocolat -Joanne Harris

52. The Christmas Clock-Kat Martin

Well, that's it for now, folks! Cheers and hats off to a grand new year!