Writing and Writing Updates.

So, I've mentioned several times that I love writing. And I've been doing a lot more writing lately, and that makes me very happy. So, let me show you what I've been working on.

Well, first is my Nanowrimo novel. At the end of the month, the story was not finished. And I am still deciding if I am going to finish it. It has been difficult to sit there and write considering I was writing it in a bad place. For now I am putting it aside, and maybe I'll get around to finishing the first draft.

One thing is short stories and poems. I've been writing a lot of these, and if you want to see some of them and enjoy my writing please feel free to follow my writing blog here. Now these aren't everything I've been writing in terms of short stories and poems.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've wanted to make a book of poems, with a CD to accompany it. That I am pleased to say is currently being written. They are love poems, but they aren't all about loving another person. They are all about all kinds of love. I'm probably going to throw in something I wrote about my cat, so you have a bit of an idea. None of these will be able to be read until I have the thing finished though. I would like to have it done in the spring. But seeing as this is an ambitious project for someone who is only 19, we'll see how it goes.

Next is Camp Nanowrimo. Camp Nanowrimo is very similar to the event in November, but these events have a little bit more flexibility in word count. And they take place over the months of April and July. Yes I will be participating, but it's too early to tell if I'll be blogging about them. But if you want me to, I certainly will.

Since I was little, I've wanted to be a writer. And now I feel like that dream may actually happen. It's getting so close I can taste it. All of the advice I ever received from writers that I have met is "write lots." And that's what I feel like I'm finally doing. I feel like this is a lot of writing to be doing. And it makes me very happy.

I know my blog posting has been all over the place, but I am trying to get back on schedule. Thank you guys for sticking with me.

Series I want to see in 2016.

Now, usually through out the course of the year, I want to watch a few tv series. So here is a list of things I'll probably be watching in 2016, and of course, I put these into categories.

Anime:
Ore Monogatari.
Alright, so I guess I'm going to this in there even though I finished it this morning. Ore monogatari is about a first year high school student, who is our unlikely hero of a beautiful love story. I feel in love with the premise of this series, and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. It was cute, and I cried, and I laughed, and all in all I loved this series. Which is why I'm throwing it on this list.

One Punch Man.
Now, I know very little about this series other than the main character is bald, and he can defeat villains in One Punch. It has me pretty intrigued, and I cannot wait to start watching this series.

Shougeki no Soma.
This is a cooking anime about a young boy named Soma who goes to this elite cooking school. From what I've heard this series is fun, and cute, and I cannot wait to watch it.

Live Tv:
The X-Files.
I started this a few months ago, but it being 9 seasons, it's safe to say it'll take me a while to finish. But I love all of the characters, and all of the mysteries that need to be solved. Think of this as CSI meets Twilight Zone. And they are getting a revival six episode series at the end of January, and that has me very excited.

Firefly:
I've never seen Firefly, but I've been told I need to, so this year, I want to watch it, and see what the fuss is about.

Merlin:
This is something else I've been told to watch, and haven't quite got around to it. But I promise, I'll start it!

Cartoons:
Gravity Falls.
Now, you guys know that I have already seen Gravity Falls, but the series is finishing up, so that's why I'm including it on this list. There is one more episode I believe coming out in February, so I'll be of course watching that, and probably crying over it too.

And that's really it. It's a short list, but with everything else I have going on this year, I'm glad there aren't huge lists of shows I want to watch. I'll probably throw in a few more, and even do a full review of some of the series I've seen. For now, I'll talk to you soon! :)

New Years Resolutions.

So I am a little late for this, but I blame my little hiatus. But here are the goals I have for 2016.

Read more.
So, I've talked about this before, I want to read more. This year I want to read 100 books, and put the books back in Basil's Books and Things. As well as I want to expand the types of books I read. I want to read more classics, and more adult books, and different types of YA books, and nonfiction books. And you'll get to be along for the ride.

Open my etsy shop.
I've talked about this just a little. And I am happy to say, I've started making things for the shop. I cannot share any of those yet, but soon you'll get to see the things I've been making to sell. Right now there are a lot of different things I want to make for the shop from bath stuff, to cute accessories for cold climates. So hopefully by late winter, early spring I will have that up and running.

Write more.
I'm going to be talking about this in another blog post. But essentially I want to write something every day. Even if it's just a blog post. I want to write something everyday.

Get healthier.
I feel like this is on everyone's New Years resolution list every year. But it's a good thing to try and work towards. I don't only want to be physically healthier, but mentally as well. But I feel like with my mental health I need to literally start rebuilding all over again.

Create more.
There are a lot of things I want to make, and a lot of things I want to do. I want to do more art, and more photography, and more cosplays. And there are a million things I want to do, and hopefully this will be the year where those things get done.

Use more photos.
Up until recently, my blog has been pretty much all text. And that's been mostly because I haven't had a decent camera to work with. Now I have one, and I can add some hopefully beautiful photos to my blogposts.

I hope you guys have awesome plans for 2016! :)

100 Book Challenge+January TBR.

So, for 2015 I'll be the first to admit, I did not read as much as I wanted to. Life just got in the way. But 2016 one of my many new years resolutions is to read more. And this year, I want to read 100 books.

There is a website called the 50 book pledge here and they offer contests and help you track how many books you read. Now for me at least 50 doesn't seem like a lot of books. I want to challenge myself a little more. Through the site you can change the amount of books your read (fact check that). So, I'm going to try and read 100 books this year.

Now, I am not going to be super hard on myself if I cannot complete it. But still, I am going to try.

And in light of this challenge, my tbr posts will change a little bit. They'll include a little wrap up, and how many books I've managed to complete in total, it's not a huge change, but there is something. This will begin when I give you my February tbr pile.

Anyway, onto this months tbr pile!

So, the first books I want to finish are A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin.... yeah, I'm still not finished it, but I am so determined to finish it this months. The holidays got in my way. As well as Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones. I was debating not even adding it to this list because I only have 100 pages left, but I'll throw it in there as well. And I will be doing a review on that.

The books I want to read are Memoirs of a Geisha. It wasn't a book that I got around to last month, but I'm getting back into reading more than one book at a time. So hopefully this will allow me to read more books.

The next book I'll be listening to is Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel. It was a Christmas gift, and I know nothing about it, other than it takes place in my city! I'll be doing a book review of this book!

And I'll be listening to some audio books. I found with audible it gives you a credit every month! So that's a free book every month, which I had no idea! So, I'll be listening to The Martian by Andy Weir. Since this book is so popular I'm not going to do a book a review on it unless you really want to read my thoughts.

Any way, there is my long list of books to read this month. Hopefully life won't get in the way, and I'll be able to make more time to read.

I'm back!

So, I took a one week long internet hiatus to kind of situate somethings, and I'll be the first to admit I did have one night on the computer because I had a con ticket I needed to buy. And surprisingly I didn't get the things I wanted done, but I did a lot of other things.

I went on lots of long walks, I had friends come over, my family did a sushi night. I did read a little bit, I did some knitting, and wrote lots.

Having some time away from the computer and the internet has helped in the ways of mental health, and put things back into perspective. I have lots of ideas for the future, and I feel much more refreshed.

However, I will be doing this internet hiatus thing twice a year, once in the winter, and once in the summer. I think it's hugely important to put away the gadgets once in a while. But, I am in no way condemning the use of them. I grew up with the beginnings of the internet, where most families had at least one computer in their home, and I see the use of them. But at the same time I see how they take over.

So I am pleased to say that I have a little bit of a stronger hold on myself, and what I want to do for this little bit of time.

The last week has been incredible with watching movies with the family, and walking through the snow. Just enjoying personal time.

I have one more week in my hometown, and this week I hope to get a few things done as well. Like find my yellow thread so I can actually work on my Bill Cipher cosplay. It's my one regret this week that I couldn't work on that. All because I couldn't find my yellow thread.

But for now I am back on a regular blogging schedule, and I am so glad to be back.

Internet Hiatus.

Alright, so I've been thinking about doing this for a while. And what better time than almost two weeks of posting every single day.

I am taking a short, one week online hiatus. No computer, no phone, nothing, for one week. I feel myself addicted to the internet, and I need to pull myself away a little bit, and get back to doing things I love. As you are well aware, there are a lot of things I want to do, and I feel like I never have enough time to do them. But if I take out the internet, I can get a lot of things done.

As well, my mental health has not been so great. Things have been hard, and I might do a whole post about my mental health story if you're interested, but it won't be happening until the far off future. There are things that I am not ready to talk about just yet.

I've also been struggling to come up with creative new ideas. I haven't been blogging for very long, but I find myself a little bit stuck as to where to go from here. I have no idea what to write about, I have no idea what I should share. I remember writing here and it was just me sitting and musing. I might go back to that a little bit. But for now, I want to get projects finished, and hopefully still have time to focus on my mental health, and seriously think about where I am going on this blogging journey.

So this week, here is the list of things I'll be working on.

1. Cosplays.
I've been neglecting this the most. I don't want to be that person who is trying to finish their costume the day before the con. I know I still have a lot of time, but I want to work on getting more of my costumes done. So hopefully this week I can finish something.

2. Book sorting.
I have a lot of books, and I keep adding to this collection. So, this week, I want to go through all of my books, and pick out the ones to either donate, or sell. I need to make more space for more books. I might do the same with my clothes, but I'm not sure yet.

3. Blog posts.
Now, this blog isn't neglected in the least, it's one of my most active forms of social media. But I want to have some more content out and ready to share with you. Whether it be another look book, or a book review or something. So hopefully, I'll be making more things to show you. And hopefully something more original, and creative.

4. Crafting.
As many of you are aware, I would love to start my own etsy shop. Through this week, I want to get a start on making somethings. It won't be much until the summer when I am in my home town, and not in class, but still, I'll do my very best to create as much as I can this week.

5. Read and write.
This one is very important to me. I love to read, and I love to write. But I am not doing enough of either for my liking. So, I'll be writing lots this week, and hopefully reading lots too. That'll mean more book reviews for you to enjoy.

So, I'll be leaving you, and the next time you'll see me is in the new year, that's crazy. January 3rd I'll be back. I hope you guys have a great week.

12 Days of Christmas Day 9: Christmas Baking.

Well, here we are almost done our 12 days of Christmas. And it's a little last minute, but I decided I needed to do some baking. As well as I have my grandmothers Christmas gift to make.

I love baking, it's always been something I've enjoyed doing. I like working with my hands, and creating something yummy. And Christmas time is when I do most of my baking. There is just something Christmasy about the kitchen smelling like baked goods. I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy.

This year I wanted to make breads and buns and stuff, so that's really what I focused on. And like yesterday, if you want a PDF file on how I made everything, I'll do my best to make it happen. The recipes I've gathered from all corners of the internet. And they all look really pretty, and they all taste really good.

Over the holidays, I feel like it's not Christmas without sweets, especially gingerbread. What are some of your holiday staples?

Happy holidays.