NaNoWriMo Report

Many of you may have noticed that I was a little bit scarce on this blog during November.

Usually, it's because I was busy writing for my NaNoWriMo goal, but it was also because November ended up being a pretty crazy month.

I was really close. I knew if I didn't get most of my story written before Thanksgiving that it would be really difficult to finish while we were in Idaho with family. I did pretty well, but I didn't get as far as I wanted to.

It's hard to write when these two want your attention!

My cousin, who is very good at NaNoWriMo, came to visit during Thanksgiving weekend and we had a writing party. I'm grateful that she encouraged me, because I was able to get quite a bit of writing done last
Friday thanks to her.

By Saturday night, I was at 39,312. Since I don't write on Sundays, that meant I had to write 10,688 words on Monday (yesterday). I knew I was unlikely to finish, but I was going to do my best.

Yesterday, I typed a bit, played with Adam a bit and then wrote a bit more. By evening, I had written over 2,000 words. I had about three hours to write by the time Kevin went to bed.

I did my best, but I didn't quite make it. At 12:00 a.m., I had written 47,406. That means that yesterday, I wrote 8,094 words. So, I was pretty close, but I didn't quite make it.

There were times I could have written, and didn't, but generally when I wasn't writing, I was spending time with family. So I don't really regret the use of time.

However, as usual, NaNoWriMo has helped me do the most important thing. It has helped me establish a pattern of writing. The second draft of my story is going well, and I now have a goal to finish this draft before the end of the year.

I have a lot of blogging and catching up to do in the next week, but this post will suffice for today.

Thank you for those of you who checked up on me and asked me how the writing was going. I really appreciated the encouragement!

I'm hoping to write most days in December. A lot has been happening around here!

Distractions

This week, I've been making an renewed effort to accomplish my goals.

I've been slacking a bit lately because I've been playing games for the last couple of weeks, and I decided on Sunday while I was trying to decide what I needed to improve in my life that I needed to have a game-fast this week. I needed to give more attention to my family and less to games. That isn't to say that I was playing them all day, but I was playing them too much.

My fast this week has helped a lot. I've been able to do more scripture study and spend more time with Kevin and Grig.

However, the problem is that when I drop one distraction it is hard for me to not to get distracted with something else.

So, this week, Kevin and I have been watching Superman. We've been watching the animated series and some of the animated movies they've made. Excellent films. He seems to like them too. We don't watch them all day, but we do watch a couple during the day. This frustrates me, because it seems like I always have to be mildly addicted to something. It's just so hard to just not have any entertainment at all.

Then, yesterday, I was reading a conference talk for my scripture study and I read the following phrase from a talk called "The Joyful Burden of Discipleship":

What of our earthly possessions? We can see what a tornado can do with them in just minutes. It is so important for each of us to strive to lay up our spiritual treasures in heaven—using our time, talents, and agency in service to God.

This talk was referring to the Oklahoma Tornado that happened a little while ago. It made me stop and think about my earthly possessions. What would I miss if I lost them?

I might miss my computer. Not because of the games or movies, but because of the journal articles and pictures. I would miss my dog and our snake.

However, if I made it through a natural disaster with my son and my husband (and brother-in-law), I would be wealthy beyond belief. Really, nothing matters but family. Nothing we own, watch, or enjoy can possibly compare the the worth of our families.

Distractions are easily gained (and not so easily dismissed), but they pale in comparison to the worth of any living soul. I am continuing to make my family my highest priority, even above my own wants and desires. That is who God is, and if I want to be like him, I need to be able to put aside earthly things for the greater good. My time should be used in building up myself, my family, and those around me to come closer to God.

That doesn't make the journey easy, but it does make it worth it.

Cell Phones - My Personal Rant

This is my rant.  Everyone is free (and welcome) to disagree with me.  I just don't understand the appeal of an iphone or its equivalents.

I own a cell phone.  For the longest time, I didn't want one.  I hate talking on the phone.  I would much rather communicate face to face with people.  Then I can see their expressions and get a better idea of what they are meaning to say and not just saying.  I try to intuitively grasp what people are feeling, and I think I'm getting better at it.  I can usually tell when someone is upset, annoyed, or happy.  So getting a cell phone was a big step for me when I went to college.

When I finally did get a phone, I got a trac phone because I didn't use it very much, so I figured why pay for what I wasn't using.  I would text occasionally, but honestly I dislike texting even more than talking on the phone.  If it is hard to understand what people mean when they talk, how much worse is it when they just write.  (And it takes sooooo long!)  Sarcasm is very difficult to catch when people are texting.  I don't know how many times people have been accidently offended by a text that was meant innocently, but personally, I would sometimes read texts and wonder, "What exactly do they mean by that?"

Generally, I try to assume that people aren't trying to deliberately be offensive.  I usually assume that people don't walk around trying to hurt other's feelings.  This mindset usually prevents me from becoming offended over little things.  However, it is difficult to get a text and not wonder about the meaning behind what people write.  Voice intonations can tell you a lot.  A few words tells you very little.

I am now on a Sprint plan.  I like it.  It serves me well.  I just don't get why everyone has such newfangled, fancy phones.  My phone does three things:  takes pictures, texts, and calls people.  That's it.  There's no internet access, no movie capabilities, and to be honest, the picture it takes are junk.  The pixelation's horrible.  Really though, do I need anything else?

I have a computer.  I get on the internet there.  I have a camera that takes pretty decent pictures.  I have a phone that calls people, when I remember to bring it with me.  My phone does what I need it to do and usually has great service.  In emergencies it has been quite handy.

It's hard enough for me to limit my internet intake without having it in my pocket all the time.  I want to spend time with my husband and son, but the world is becoming technology crazy.  At the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah they actually have addiction classes to help people overcome their addictions to their cellphones.  Missionaries aren't allowed to have cellphones in the MTC, but some of them are so mentally addicted to their phones that they literally cannot live without them.  Someone the other day told me about how their kid was getting ghost-texts.  They said that this meant that they would feel the phone vibrating in their pocket when there wasn't even a phone there!

I have my own 'addictions.'  They aren't drugs or anything, but I do love my laptop.  I like the internet, and I love youtube.  My husband and I can watch animal documentaries on there for a long time.  However, I think I would be fine if I could never get on the internet again.  I certainly wouldn't miss my phone, as long as I was close to family.  I do appreciate that there is a way to communicate with those I love when they are far away.  I actually prefer skyping, because then Kevin can actually see them (as long as the connection is good.)

Anyway, I feel like we are too dependent on technology in general.  I think as a culture, we've lost a lot of good manners about when phones should be used.  Who hasn't been annoyed when you're trying to talk to someone, and they keep looking at their phone?  I'm probably as bad as anybody, but I'm trying to put away the technology and spend more time with my husband out in nature, away from distractions.

If we all did that, would there be so much violence?  If we actually got to know our neighbors and went outside at night and spent time with those in our neighborhoods and with our families without any distractions, wouldn't we feel safer knowing that those around us had our backs?  Wouldn't it be nice to know that the people next door are good people, and our children are safe outside?

On the other hand, I see three-year-old children that know how to use their parents' phones with proficiency.  I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't get a fancy phone just so Kevin isn't technologically behind.  Technology is bound to keep improving, and if I don't stay up-to-date, I may be doing him a disservice.  So, how does that fit into my rant?  I don't know.

Please don't be offended by this rant.  I'm speaking in geralized terms, and I know not everyone is addicted to their cellphones.  However, try paying attention to how many times you check it in an hour.  You might be surprised.

So, I guess next time you are spending time with someone you love, put away the distractions for a couple hours, look them in the face, and listen.  Who knows?  You might actually enjoy it.