On the ninth day of NaNo...

Hello there :) It's been a while, hasn't it? In fact, it's been... 10 days. Actually, that's not that huge of a gap. I've done worse.

So I am nine days into National Novel Writing Month (affectionately referred to as NaNoWriMo, for the uninitiated), and have faced - and still am facing - what I think has been the worst kind of unexpected roadblock: a cold. It's a little thing, the common cold, but it can seriously mess with your routine sometimes. Luckily, I wrote a lot in the pre-sickness days, so if I'd missed my quota while sick, I would've probably been able to get to 50k in time.

Fortunately, I managed to write my quota or more each day, even when I had a really awful sore throat. Go me! /shameless self-promotion

Warning: TMI ahead. I will talk about sinuses and stuff.

To start with, I got a sore throat from my dad, which went away and then came back as a full-on sore throat and post-nasal drip thing. I would start talking to my mom, and then after a few seconds I would have to gulp back this painful grossness in my throat. It felt a bit like acid reflux, which I don't get very often, but when I do it's a pain in the ass. After lots of disgusting but relatively effective cough syrup - which didn't do much for me during the day, but at night it helped me sleep well - the sore throat went away, to be replaced with a stuffy nose that runs out of one nostril (a very weird sensation, I must say), and some coughing and sneezing. Right now, my ears feel like they're plugged up, but that might be an air pressure thing because it's getting warmer where I am, and later in the week it will drop back down to single-digit temperatures (in Celsius, that is, because single-digit temps in Fahrenheit would be freaking COLD). I'm still stuffy, still coughing and sneezing, and my left nostril is still dripping like a faucet. I guess I won't be going to the library tomorrow.

Okay, TMI over.

While I've been battling my cold and doing NaNo, I've also been reading a book from the library - The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. (Because I'm writing dystopian, I feel I need to take a break from The Hunger Games for a little bit.) I'm not sure if I can finish it by the 23rd, which is when it's due back, but I finished the third chapter yesterday so maybe I can do it after all. Of course, I could also keep it out late to finish it if I want to, and then pay the fine. I'd like to avoid fines if I can, though. I still have Dogsbody and A Wizard of Earthsea out of the library, too, but I can probably renew Dogsbody again, and I think I can renew Earthsea. If not, I'll add them to a wishlist - or, if I get another Chapters Indigo gift card from my grandparents, I could buy them.

That's all for now - I should go eat something, seeing as all I've had to eat and drink today is coffee, hot chocolate, and a popover.

Feeling loads better.

I'm not as stuffed up today, which is great. I should be well enough to go to youth group on Wednesday.

The past couple of days have been pretty nice. I think the weather's finally turning spring-like. Last night it was raining, which I thought was great. I went outside in the rain, wearing my hiking-style boots, to bring in a couple of dog toys that found their way outside. Smiles came with me to 'help' - in other words, I picked up the toys while she danced about in hopes that I would throw one. The ground was pretty soft, and I got mud and stuff on my boots, so I gave them a wash when I came back in.

Katie came over yesterday. She got me and Dad a T-shirt each in St. Martin - she was over there... last week? My shirt's quite pretty. We had turkey for dinner, 'cause Mom and Dad bought a turkey (or several??? I can't remember) on sale. I went back for the last of the Brussels sprouts.

We didn't go to church today because Dad had a really bad headache this morning. I'm not complaining, because it means that I can stay in my pajamas.

Oh, and I e-mailed Holly, since I haven't e-mailed her in ages.

I have to go eat soon...