Baby Names - Just Because

My dear friend Ashley posted a link on Facebook to a girl's blog that was bored so she posted a list of her favorite baby names. I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I usually blame it on my being an author and thinking up awesome names because of that, but I've been asking lots of questions about family names and stuff for later reference and for when I have kids.

When I'm older and married and have kids - just so you all know. :P

I want my kids to have old-fashioned names that I'll bring back. So, without further ado, I give you my list of favorite baby names.


Hazel Julia
This is my all-time favorite name for a girl right now. My grandpa's mom was Hazel and I never got to meet her. My grandma's mom was Julia. I think the two of those names together would mean a lot to not only a child but also my family and me.
The great thing about this name is that just a few years ago, I would've cringed if someone mentioned naming a daughter this. It's just so old fashioned.
This is a name that unlike a lot of the ones I love, I wouldn't use for a story character because I want to use it for one of my children someday.

Hattie Jo

Hattie is also a family name. If I remember this right, Hattie was my great-grandpa's cousin but she actually raised him. But don't hold me to that. Either way, I love the name Hattie. Jo is my mom's middle name.

William Lee
William is my great-grandpa's first name, my grandpa's middle name and my little brother's middle name. I also have an uncle with this name as well. So it's definitely a family name. Although, I didn't really start liking this name until I read the Love Comes Softly Series by Janette Oke and loved the Willie character. Now I don't like the name Willie, but love the name Will.

Lucy Louise
Truthfully, I'm not 100% sure who Lucy was, but I know that it's in my family somewhere. Mom would know. And Louise is my grandma's middle name. I think this would be so cute because then she could be LuLu or LouLou. Or LuLou.


Other names I love but didn't make my top list:
Eleanor
Evelyn
Landon
Nathan
Matthias
Ryan

So there ya have it. Ashley's favorite baby names.

Wanna share yours? Do it and leave a comment with the link!

~Ashley

#thatawkwardmomentwhen . . .

. . . editing becomes more fun than the actual writing of a story.

Sometimes I hate when my writing process goes this way instead of the other way. Should I try to get more writing done, in place of editing/making a cover for a story that is yet to be finished? Um, yes. I should.

But most of the time, I have a better chance of writing a good story when I already have a good cover. Somehow it helps me put the story into perspective when I see the cover.

For example, when I'm looking for a book to read, I have to like the cover of the book before I pick it up and start reading. I don't know why but covers are important to me.

So making a cover for a World Without Sound will hopefully make it easier for me to have a better story now that I can see what the cover will look like.

I . . . hope.

~Ashley

A World Without Sound cover is copyrighted by AshleyStrawser & HannahLyter.

Beautiful People - Holiday Edition

I think that this month, since it's the first "real" book that I've ever written by myself, I'll focus on writing about my NaNo book so the questions will be focused on that. :)
My main character's name is Lainey.

1. What kind of holidays do they celebrate, if any?
I almost always have the Christmas season in my books. If there's not Christmas, there's usually one of the other major holidays, such as Easter or Fourth of July. There always has to be some sort-of holiday in my book because it just adds spice to the book.

In Lainey's book, there is a Christmas season, and a couple of birthdays that are celebrated.

2. What are they most thankful for?

I think that Lainey is most thankful for the family and friends that she has been blessed with. She knows that she couldn't live without them & that they were given to her for a reason.

3. Do they have any family traditions?

Hmmm....well, her family gets together on Christmas day to exchange gifts and have a large lunch together. In the story, her brother, Kent and his wife Kaelyn, had just had a baby, so it was something fun to add to the story - having a baby around at Christmastime.

4. What is their most memorable holiday memory?

Mostly just having the time to spend with her family & being able to be with them during the season.

5. What is the most memorable gift they have ever received?

Lainey would say it was her guitar. She doesn't play it much - but when she gets the chance, she loves to. And toward the end of the book, she picks back up her guitar and starts strumming again, finding her love for it once again.

6. Do they consider it important to be with family during celebrations?

For sure! Lainey doesn't have an amazing relationship with her family, but she does think that it's important to be with them. She doesn't get along with her family a lot, but she does love them.

7. Do they usually wait till the last minute to purchase gifts, or do they buy them ridiculously early?

No, Lainey is definitely a planner. I think it's because I mostly based her off of me. She's so much like me, actually, that sometimes I even get surprised by some of the things that she does! I'm thinking 'um...am I gonna do that sometime?' Well, anyway, the point was, she's a planner and she always buys her gifts early.

8. Favorite Christmas song? For fantasy authors, is music a part of their celebration?

I'd have to say that it's a toss-up between Hark the Harold Angels Sing & Silent Night.

9. Do they celebrate for religious reasons?

As Christians, yes.

10. How do they celebrate the beginning of the new year?

Huh, I didn't even think about bringing in the new year in the story. Maybe I'll have to add that in a second draft. Gives me some ideas!

NaNo is AWESOME

So, wow. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started writing my NaNo story. I couldn't believe it when I wrote 20K in the first two days.

It definitely slowed down from there but I didn't stop writing all together because I knew more than anything that I wanted to finish NaNo and do it well, and as quickly as I could.

My story slowly started coming together and my characters became real to me. Especially when I found people that I could use for my main characters. Truthfully, I just found my main girl character yesterday, after watching Monte Carlo with Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy. Well, after watching it, I knew that Katie Cassidy was my main girl character in the story. Her name is Lainey, and they just reminded me so much of each other - in looks. For whatever reason, the picture won't move from the top center of this post, that's why it's there and not here.

I reached 50K on November 16th - the day after my 18th birthday, so it was an awesome birthday present. I couldn't believe when I actually reached my goal. It was kind-of bittersweet though, but NaNo has seriously helped me get myself to write, and now that I'm finished with it, I want to keep writing.

Today, November 19th, I finished my story. Well, sort-of. I have a lot of things to add and subtract but the basic story is written. And I'm really excited about it.

NaNo made me want to write all the time. I have a million other plot ideas written in a notebook that I'm excited to get started on. Not that I don't already have a ton of stories that are already started that need writing.

There is one that I'm working on right now that I can't wait to get more writing done in. It was probably my best written 20-pages-in-a-notebook-story, but after that far, I didn't know where to go with it. I may have to start over and figure out a better plot, but I can't wait to get started on it and actually follow through.

I've gotten to a point where I know that the first draft of a story doesn't have to be perfect. Because it's not going to be. The first draft has to be just that...the first draft. It can be written sloppily and even stupidly, and the second time around can we fixed. That's the point. And I can't wait to write some more.

Because writing is fun.

And I love it.

~ashley

Week One = Finished

NaNoWriMo.

I didn't know what to expect when I started it. I was a little intimidated by it, to be honest. I didn't know if I'd be able to make it to the end of the 50K in the 30 days that I was allowed to finish it in.
I was scared, too. I had my plot down, but not very well - just the chapter summary, and a little about the characters. Not really enough to truly start a story and actually keep it going.

But when I started writing, I really got into the story. My characters came to life right away - the main character, Lainey, was really easy to get into (she's very much like me),and my best friend character, Taite, is very interesting in her own ways.

My plot is eh. I like it, but it's not coming along the way that I necessarily wanted it to. What I've learned about NaNo is that the point isn't for the story to be perfect, but for writers to get themselves writing. To actually sit down and write like crazy and not stop for any reason except to eat and maybe sleep?

At any rate, I'm loving it. Within the first two days, I had 20K but I'm starting to slow down some.

Total Word Count: 29,827

If you're a NaNo-er, comment and let me know what you're word count is, and how NaNo is going for YOU this year.

Also, if you'd like to find me on the NaNoWriMo website - my username is AshleyStraws

NaNoWriMo

So last year when NaNo came around, I had a small plot and some ideas, but nothing really set in stone. I kind-of failed. Pretty badly.

It could also be because Novembers are really busy with my birthday, Thanksgiving and stuff like that.

But no excuses this year! I plan to beat my record and get more than 30K this year! I know that I can do it - I just have to set my mind to it.

So a couple of months ago, I had a dream, and that's where my plot is coming from. I don't want to go into details, but maybe as I'm writing, I'll try to let you know that's going on in my plot and how well I'm doing. :)

As for right now, I have the story plotted out and put into a chapter summary. I also have my character sketches. Right now I'm trying to work on familiarize myself with the characters and their differences.

That right there might be the hardest part. I can easily write a character sketch, but trying to make every character different is something that's difficult for me.

If I do write the 50K book in November, it will be the second book that I've finished with more than 50K in it. And the first one was not really...good, I guess. I don't even know how I wrote 50,000 in it - because it's like...bad.

Okay, okay, the plot is good enough. But the story itself is just bad.

So I'm shooting for something better this time around.

Wish me luck!

Beautiful People: NaNoWriMo Edition

1. Sum up your novel in five words or less.
   Girl. Work. Guy.
   
2. Novel title?
   None as of yet. I still need to think about this one.
   
3. Sum up your main character(s) in one word each.
   Lainey - Outgoing
   Trent - Workaholic
   Taite (girl) - Romantic
   
4. Advice for newbies in three words?
   Don't stress - write.
   
5. Tell us about your secondary characters, how do they affect the story?
   Taite (Lainey's best friend) is the one that keeps her going through everything. She gives her great advice and keeps the story moving. I also picture her witty and funny.
   
6. Do you plan to stay up till midnight on the 31st?
   Haha, no. I don't think that I could swing that with my parents, or myself. :)
   
7. How many years have you done NaNo?
   Haaa...I tried this last year, and failed miserably - only got to about 30,000 words. But this year I'm hoping to get farther. Whether or not I hit 50K doesn't really matter as long as I get more than I did last year.
   
8. What came first, characters, or plot idea?
   Ooh...both are important, but I think that the plot comes first for me. Not a full plot, but I have to have a rough outline before I can just make up characters (names and such), when I don't have a situation to put them into.
   
9. How much prep do you do before November?
   I still haven't done near enough, so I need to get working on the rest of my plot, and get my characters done before I start writing on the first.
   
10. Now be honest, how do you really feel about NaNo?
    It intimidates me. But this year, I hope to beat it.
    

Beautiful People - August Edition

So since I've pretty much stuck with Elle Moser since the beginning of Beautiful People - I decided that I was going to keep her. She's definitely one of my favorite characters that I've ever had.

I have realized something, though. I kind-of share Elle with my best friend, Kylie. So it's a little hard to do that. But she's gonna have to be okay with me doing this. :) I know she will be.

And if not... well, she'll get over it in time.

I'm adding Elle's Polyvore set here, so that you can have an idea as to what she wears and such. :)

Elysse by ashleymorganstrawser featuring white leggings

Without further ado, the questions.

1. What is their biggest accomplishment? I think that Elle's biggest accomplishment is finished her first novel. In the story, she's working on getting it published, toward the end of the book, which is really cool.
2. What is one of their strongest childhood memories? They definitely include her best friend, Will. The two of them met when they were 5, and have been friends ever since. (They are 18 and turn 19 in the book). They had so many fun times growing up, it's hard to put them all here.
3. What is their favorite food? She just loves food, period.
4. Do they believe in love at first sight? I would have to say she believes in 'love at first speak'. She has a crush on a guy that has a British accent. Enough said.
5. What kind of home do they live in? Elle lives in a two-story house that has 4 bedrooms. She shares her room with her bigger sister, Sharon.
6. What do they like to wear? See above.
7. What would they do if they discovered they were dying? She would live the last of her days to the fullest, for sure. Spend time with the people that she loved and do some things that she never go to do, but would love to: Go to England, bungee jump...etc.
8. What kind of holidays, or traditions do they celebrate? In the book, they're just celebrating Thanksgiving with her family and Will's. Christmas is coming up soon in the book as well.
9. What do your other characters have to say about them? Will thinks that Elle is one of the best things that ever happened to him. He thinks that she's funny, smart and nice. He doesn't know what he'd do without her.
10. If they could change one thing in their world, what would it be? The fact that she's growing up and has to become an adult - and all that comes with all of that. She is coming to the realization that she might not always be able to be best friends' with a guy - so she thinks that growing up stinks.

Thanks for reading about Elysse Marie Moser. She and I both thank you.

Beautiful People June/July Edition

Skye by Ashley Morgan Strawser featuring frayed jeans

For some odd reason, it wouldn't let me add the Beautiful People graphic to my blog, so for now, we're going to have to live without it.
Above is a Polyvore set for one of my newest characters, Skylar Peterson. She's in one of my most recent stories that I just began writing a couple of weeks ago. With that said, I don't know much about this character yet, so I'll be just as ready to answer these questions so that I can know exactly who she is! :)

1. What kind of music does he/she like?
   She can listen to just about anything from Christian, to rock, to country. She isn't very picky, except she can't stand to listen to rap. It drives her crazy!
   
2. Does he/she like to go outside?
   Sometimes. She has to be in the right mood. Her idea of going outside is a trip to the mall, or a walk around town. She isn't the outdoorsy type.
   
3. Is he/she naturally curious?
   Yes, and it gets her in trouble a lot. She is actually more nosy than curious, so she asks a lot of questions.
   
4. Right, or left handed?
   Right handed. :)
   
5. Favorite color?
   Green.
   
6. Where is he/she from?
   A small-town in Pennsylvania.
   
7. Any enemies?
   Not really. She dislikes some people, and/or doesn't get along with them, but she doesn't really have enemies.
   
8. What are his/her quirks?
   She likes to dress-up and dress-down depending on the day, she likes to wear Converse with dresses, she likes to hang out with her best friend Ashlynn, adn her brother, Charlie, she likes to watch TV while reading a book.
   
9. What kinds of things get on his/her nerves?
   Her brother, Charlie. Enough said.
   
10. Is he/she independent, or needs others to help out?
    She is definitely independent. She likes to get things done on her own. But she also doesn't like to be doing things alone. So she's kind-of in the middle. It depends on what mood she's in, whether or not she wants company.
    

Beautiful People - April

I believe that I focused on my character, Elle Farris in the last post I did for Beautiful People. So I guess that I'll focus on her again! That will make things much easier!



1. How old is he/she?

Elle is 18.

2. What does he/she do with his/her spare time?

I would have to say that Elle does a little bit of everything. She enjoys hanging out with her best friend Will, writing, reading, Facebook, anything computer/internet.

3. Does he/she see the big picture or live in the moment?

Possibly a little bit of both. She definitely sees the big picture, including what she wants out of life, that kind-of thing. But she also lives in the moment, cherishing everything that she has, and remembering that it would be around forever. She looks to the future and enjoys what's going on in the present, too.

4. Is he/she a perfectionist?

Definitely not! Well, in some ways. It depends on what we're talking about. Elle has a messy room, but her desk is clean. Why, you ask? Well, her computer and writing stuff is on her desk, it must be kept clean so she can get to that stuff, right? Yeah. Right.

5. What does her handwriting look like? (round, slanted, curly, skinny, sloppy, neat, decorative, etc.)

Elle's handwriting is slanted and rather large. She almost always prints, never uses cursive, and she writes in big letters, back-slanted.

6. Favorite animal?

Giraffe! (Sky should get a kick out of this one.)

7. Does he/she have any pets?

Nope, no pets. At least not at the moment. That isn't saying that she won't in the future, but right now, there are no pets.

8. Does he/she have any siblings? How many? Where does he/she fit in?

Elle has an older sister, Sharon, and two younger sisters, Lily and Tammin. She's the second oldest.

9. Does he/she have a 'life verse' and if so what is it?

Her favorite verse is Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

10. Favorite writing utensil?

She likes gel-pens. Either in the color pink or purple, I'd have to say. 'Cause Elle is somewhat girlie, she must use girlish writing utensil, don't you think?

Lazyness

I've been so lazy with my writing so much lately. I can't find myself writing a story that I actually have ENJOYED writing. I have started book after book, thinking that maybe, just maybe, I'll find one that I can actually keep writing, without getting sick of it.
I finished a story - my first story I've ever actually finished that was over 50,000 words - (this was a couple of months ago that I finished it) and I haven't written a good, long story since then. I have so many story ideas and plots running through my head but I can't seem to actually sit down and write them.
I haven't been this lazy with my writing in such a long time and it's actually more tiring than writing a full-length story. I don't know what's wrong with me.
Like, shouldn't I just be able to sit down and write, without feeling like I don't want to? I have to write, it's such a big part of me. I can't stop just because my body is telling me to.


My newest story is kinda fun though. I started this one a couple of days ago and am really enjoying writing this one. It's one of those stories that is so easy to write because it's about the friendship between me and my best friend (Sky.) It's actually only loosely based on it, but the characteristics are the same, so it's so easy in that way. Coming up with the whole plot for the thing was the easy part. Writing it is the hard part. It has to be quirky, cause she and I have a quirky friendship.
(pic to the right: my new characters, Ashlyn and Skylar from my story about my friend and me. If you can't read it - it says: Ashlyn Saige McKinley, Skylar Kendall Williams, Cole Isaiah Barlow, Xaviar Tate Johnston, Trey Matthew McNevan - Oh my! - When friends get together, you never know what might happen.)
Although, my friend, Sky, and I have been writing our story like crazy again. We had gone on a lull and hadn't been writing much but now we're back into the swing of things and we're writing our next novel (when this one's finished, it'll be our third finished), Becoming Bekah. We're really excited about this one. It's our first book that's in third person. I hadn't written in third person before this story and was excited to start something new. It's actually the best we've written together and we're thrilled about this one. You can read all about Becoming Bekah on our writing blog here.
Be sure to read over the Ashen Sky Life Typecasts when you go to our blog. It's a lot of random ramblings but it's also a lot of fun. We just did a Questions and Answer about our stories, writings and our lives. It's quite interesting to say the least.
Sky and I have like 12 plots that need to get written! It's crazy. We've got so many ideas and aren't writing fast enough for our stories likings. But of course, they will wait until we're finished with Becoming Bekah. Which is slowly getting finished. We have about 17-18K more to go, but it probably won't take us too much longer if we keep writing at the pace we are going.
Our first story we ever wrote together was Love Anyway, which took us only 51 days to write and it was 73,000 words. We were pretty proud of that. Of course, that story needs a lot of work before it ever gets shown to anybody, lots of mistakes that need fixed, but it's a good plot.
Although, Becoming Bekah is taking us a little longer - we've been writing it for 72 days - and we have about 64-65K. I think it's because we're both super busy and haven't really had time to write a lot lately. It's kind-of discouraging, but the book is turning out better than we even anticipated.
Anyways, what was the point of writing this blog post?
Oh. Right.
To tell you that I haven't been writing much on my own lately.
I will get back into writing. I will. I will. I will.
'Cause writing is such a huge part of my life. I've been doing it since I was ten. I can't stop now. :P
~Ashley

My best friend, Sky, and another friend of mine are doing a monthly blog meme for writers. I am going to do this...because, well, this girls writes. I love writing. So here are my answers for the first month's questions.

Trying to figure out what character to do here....Elysse. That's who I shall do.

Does your character have a methodical or disorganized personality?
Oh my, oh my. My characters are usually all disorganized. About everything. Can I just say that now? I think it's partly because I, myself, am disorganized, except when it comes to writing. I usually always have my characters almost completely planned out before i start writing. As for a plot though...well, that usually slowly comes along with the characters. The characters are more important to me than a plot. If I can't connect with my characters....I can't write a story about them.

But then...Elysse is one of the most organized characters I have. She is from a book - or story - I am planning to write with my friend, Sky. She is one of those characters that yes, I can totally relate to, but no, I am nothing like.

Does he or she think inside themselves more than they talk out loud to their friends? (more importantly, does he or she actually have friends?)
Think inside themselves? More like...talk to themselves. But they've almost always got a best friend. In my latest story, my main characters are based off of my best friend and me, so it's simply so easy to write, it's not even funny.

Elysse- her best friend is a guy. They've known each other since they were babies and have been best friends since then. They fight like crazy, but couldn't imagine life without each other. They are so close.

Does his or her name have a special meaning?
My characters' names all have their own special meanings. My character's names MUST be names that I absolutely love, and would ... mostly likely, name my kids the names someday. Because, in a way, my characters are my children. I name them, I tell them what to do.
Oh wait. My characters actually tell ME what to do a lot of the time.
Kinda crazy.
Only writers would understand what I mean by that, am I right?

Does her name have a special meaning? Well, I'm not exactly sure how I came up with her name. I usually look through a baby name book and think "OH! That's a really cute name...I love that." But for this one, I'm not exactly sure how I came up with it for her.

Is there something he or she is afraid of?
I think that everyone has their fears and my characters usually have ONE thing that they are deathly afraid of - whether it be snakes (ick) or something more meaningful like not being able to trust people.

Elysse is most afraid of losing people in her life that she loves more than anything. She's lost a lot over the years that she's been on earth and she's afraid that people are going to walk out on her when she needs them the most.

Does he or she write, dream, dance, sing, or photograph?
Usually at least ONE of the words listed above.

Elysse is ... none of the above, actually. Sure, she enjoys doing those things - but she's not really an avid writer. Oh...I know. The girl is a dreamer. Which is up there, but I didn't notice it until I reread the list. She loves to sit and dream about what life she will have and who she will marry and what her life will turn out to be.

What is his or her favorite book? (or genre of books)
Elysse loves reading. But I'm not sure that I ever thought of what her favorite book was. She definitely would enjoy Christian nonfiction over everything else. But I would have to say that if I had to pick her a favorite book - it would be the....
BIBLE.

Who is his or her favorite author and/or someone that inspires him or her?
God. Definitely. He's the author of creation, right? What better author is there?

Favorite flavor of ice cream?
Oooohhh...yum, ice cream. I would definitely say oreo. And yes, it helps that I also like oreo ice cream.

Favorite season of the year?
Fall. Yep. She loves the fall.

What is their full name?
Elysse Marie Moser.
Better known as Elle.
She never is called Elysse. It's too girly for me. Even though she is one of my more girly characters she's definitely not girly enough to go by Elysse. So yeah, she's Elle almost all the time. Or her best friend calls her Ellie occasionally (when she lets him get away with it.)

28 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19

Day 19: A Hobby Of Yours

THIS I can do! But I've got hobbies coming out the wazoo, I don't even know where to start.

My biggest hobby has to definitely be writing. I write like a crazy person, whether it be stories, or blog posts, or statuses on facebook, I write SOMETHING a lot. Writing. Ahhh, I love writing. I've been writing since I was about ten years old, and finished my first book - if you can call it that - when I was about 12. That book should be burnt, or be thrown out the window, but I'm one of those people who doesn't want to ever throw away any of my past stories, because for 1, they're fun to look back at and see how I've matured at as a writer, and 2, because I may be able to use some of my plots - loosely - over again. :)

I also seriously enjoy playing my guitar. I actually JUST came downstairs from playing it. I haven't been playing much lately and now my fingers are sore from playing a lot this evening. I have been playing guitar for about 2 years. I have written - also cowrote - maybe songs and have done the music for them with my guitar. :)

This picture to the left was taken this fall at some railroad tracks near my house. I thought that it turned out pretty awesome. :)


I also thoroughly enjoy traveling places. This past year I've been to 6 different states, gone to Disney World, Williamsburg and had my FIRST ever plane ride! It was definitely a great year for traveling.
Disney World is my ALL-TIME favorite place to travel to. I love everything about it, I don't even mind the crowds because it's so amazing. When I go there, I feel like I've stepped back in time to my childhood and I can be a little kid. Everyone likes to be a kid again and whenever I go to Disney World, I feel that way. The first time I ever went to Disney World was when I was 5, then I was 11, then 15, then 16, just this past May. I love Florida! :D
Picture to the left is me and my friend, Ali, fro my most recent trip to Disney World, May of 2010.

Also past year (in November of 2010), I traveled to CO, as all of my blogger friends know, to visit my best friend, Sky. It was one of the best experiences I've had, because it was the first time that I've ever been on an airplane. It was so much fun to actually get onto the plane and travel to CO, but when I was actually there and had met Sky, the two of us had the best time! We laughed almost the whole time that I was there, until I left, then we cried. But the weeklong trip just brought us closer together and we talk even more since I got home!

A Couple Days Worth of Blog Challenge

Day 17: An Art Piece

Truth be told, I've never been too into art, if you want to know the truth. But I do really like landscape photos. Here's one I found.

Day 18: A Time You Felt Passionate and Alive

I didn't have to think about this one long! It didn't take much! Pretty much anytime I listen to, or play, music. Music is one of the most passionate things there is, and I always feel alive when I listen to it.

Day 19: A Talent of Yours

Wow, conceited much? You really want me to sit here and make a list of things that I think I'm good at? I would rather not. That's just rude and aren't we told that we shouldn't brag on ourselves much? Well, okay. Fine. I will say one thing.
I like to write. And I do it a lot. I write because I have to. My characters won't leave me alone. Writing is a big part of my life, and I must do it!
I loveeeee writing!
****Excuse the TFk Forward Motion Song on the iPod. IT was the only picture I truly had of my writing. :P ****

My Last Couple of Weeks in One Post

Erg, I haven't been posting enough lately. I guess it's because of facebook and the people that I'm friends with there know what's going on in my life, without having to read my blog. But there are some followers who are not friends with me on facebook, so I guess that I should be considerate to you guys, too, right?

My family has been developing the winter blues in the last couple of weeks. It's been cold and snowy, and we're just ready for spring to come, so we can get out of the house, and not have to worry about wearing coats and being cold. I want warm! Is that so much to ask?! ;) It was warm a couple of days last week, and that was SO nice.

Last week, I got the flu and was sick for a little over a day. I was glad that it didn't last longer than that, because I hate being sick. I guess everyone hates it, but I don't get sick very often, so it is just yucky. Very yucky.

I was super excited to get Jenny B. Jones' new book in the mail two weeks ago. Yesterday, I wrote a review of it for Mom's blog, here's the link:
http://heidi-strawser.blogspot.com/2011/02/save-date-by-jenny-b-jones.html

Jenny B. Jones also posted a picture that I posted of the book on her website! I feel so loved! :) I posted this picture on facebook and twitter and she decided to post it on her website! I didn't know about it until someone commented on my mom's review and said about the picture on Jenny's website. I was THRILLED to see it there.
Here's the link to that as well:
http://www.jennybjones.com/2011/02/18/oh-those-crazy-kids/#comments

I've been writing a lot lately. I started a story about a week ago and have been writing it a lot lately. I'm rewriting one that I've previously written, but changed it from 1st person to 3rd, and am changing a lot of the plot for many reasons. I'm really enjoying writing in third person and I NEVER thought that I would say that. I almost always used to write in first person so this was a stretch for me at first, but now I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

My friend, Sky and I started a writing blog a couple of weeks ago to keep track of our most current writing projects so we don't forget when we did what. I love writing with Sky and I love our most current story. To check out our blog go here:
http://ashenskybooks.blogspot.com

Lately, my family and I have gone from watching Psych - which we finished all the seasons that we could watch through Netflix - and moved over to watching Monk. We're on Season 4 of the 8 that are out, and we're really enjoying the show. I didn't like it at first but lately I've been loving it. I was still really attached to Psych when we started watching this show and I was comparing everything to it. But now I love them both!

The online magazine that I'm writing for is looking for homecshoolers ages 14-25 to write for their E-zine. If you are at all interested - email orliinfo (at) aol (dot) com. It's been great so far and I'm super excited for the first issue to come out soon! :D

Okay. Okay. Enough for now. I'm getting off the computer to watch Monk. :)

~Ashley