P C S !

For my non-military friends out there, this stands for Permanent Change of (Duty) Station.

In other words...WE'RE MOVING!!!

And *gah* can I take a moment here to vent about what a frustrating process it is? Especially going OCONUS?? ok done

Oh yeah, that means we're moving outside the continental U.S. for those who caught it. South Korea to be exact :)

We've still got two more months before we actually move, but we just finished getting the plane tickets and setting up our shipments of our household goods. So it's finally starting to feel a bit real. Sort of. I expect that it will really hit me when they show up to pack away our express shipment next month.

For now, we are just being crazy busy tackling life. It's amazing how much crazier things get when you add in a second kid. I'll be coming around again though more frequently soon as we get better adjusted.

First Rejection Letter

Another highlight from this past month was getting my first rejection letter.

This is not something that I'd normally say qualifies as a highlight. But when I first got it, it oddly felt good.



Alice In Wonderland (Original Manuscript)

Rejection letters are to be expected when it comes to trying to get published. I hadn't created a full length manuscript, but I have written a few shorter pieces since starting this journey and so I thought I'd take a stab at trying to get one of them published in a Literary magazine. After waiting for a grueling 5 weeks, I finally got a response. Thanks, but no thanks.

When I saw this response I almost felt relief. I had passed another rite as a writer. My first of many rejection letters to come.

I'm sure it feels good to get published. But it also feels good to be rejected and still love the act of writing.
 

Debt Free (#5)

This past month we had something else very exciting happen to us - we finished paying off my student loan! This means we are officially debt free!!!

I know financial stuff can be a bit of a bore to read through. But I am a total nerd and find it exhilarating to read and learn about, especially when I can apply it to my life.

If you're like me and get all giddy when it comes to finances I'd recommend looking up a few fellows to help expand your thoughts on this matter.

You've probably already heard of him, but if you're looking to get out of debt or not knowing where to start with taking charge of your finances, Dave Ramsey is who I'd recommend. He's a great motivator, and his "baby steps" are great for those who feel like they have no idea what they are doing.

If you've already set up your financial foundation and want to stretch your frugal muscles some more, I'd recommend heading over to Mr. Money Mustache's blog*. (Beware you may stumble across some explicit language) He has some great suggestions to help you shift your views on financial freedom and general consumerism along with some good info to help you get started right in investing. The forums over there are also extremely helpful (and free!).

Our plan from now on is to stay out of debt. We have one credit card open that never keeps a balance on it (but we do get rewards points!) which we will keep open and we will probably be looking to buy a house in the next five years or so (depending on our status with the Army). These are our only exceptions to the no debt rule.

Next step is to open an IRA account! We even have the money set aside for this. We just need to sit down and do it. But of course not a lot gets done around here with a toddler and a brand new baby in the house :)


*I'd really only recommend Mr. Money Mustache, but reading one of Dave Ramsey's book is what got me interested in finances in the first place so it feels wrong not to mention him.
 

Our New Arrival

No news is good news right? Well this little cutie is the reason you haven't been hearing from me for awhile :)

Jane decided to join us on January 22nd. We all love her to pieces!

A word on Editing and Revision

I'm over half-way done with my second writing class now and honestly all I want to do is seize everything I've written before and attack it again. It's starting to hamper with my assignments to continue writing new material.

I think I may have found a new drug. And it's called Revision.

I know a lot of people really dread this part - I used to be one of them. I was able to edit very easily; capitalize this, add a comma here. Not a problem. Didn't ever break a sweat. I would avoid revision though like the plague.

I think it was a combination of being too scared of trying again and being prideful. I liked what I originally wrote. If I didn't, I wouldn't have put it out there for people to read. What was wrong with the way it was? Wasn't it good enough?

Because right now I'm living through a blizzard

After going through my last class and forcing myself to stretch a bit I found that there was actually a freedom to admitting to revisions. I liked myself better. I liked my work better.

I didn't always agree on what the professor wanted me to do in my revisions, but accepting that maybe those things did need some work somehow allowed my creative juices to flow. I found alternate solutions to the problems presented to me (and alternate problems as well).

Not enough closure in the ending? But my ending is fine. Let's focus on the climax instead. Can you add to it? Does it need to be moved back? Who's missing from that moment that should be there?

Is your main character a little flat? But I like him the way he is. Maybe the supporting characters need more development instead. Can you create a foil? Can you add depth to a relationship?

I wish I had stumbled upon this sooner. I feel like I have much more control over my work. I feel more like a creator instead of an instrument. This monster who I thought would tie my hands behind my back instead has only opened dusty windows and encouraged long walks in the park.

There's a way to be happier with your work.

Not to mention there's a lot less pressure to get it all right the first time :)

Here's to Letting Ourselves Grow

I felt since this was the end of the year it would be a good time to look back on our time here in New York, and help get myself excited for these next few years. And a good way to waste some time while waiting for this little baby girl to come!


Visiting my brother and Grandparents in Queens

These past couple years here in New York have been amazing for me. I have pushed myself in so many different ways. I've also accepted some things that I had been denying myself for a long time. Here's a (very) small list of some of the things I'm proud of:

1. Joined a book club
This was something I'd always wanted to do, but never felt like I could for some reason. In January of 2013 I went out on a limb though and joined a group here on post. It's been amazing how much I've loved it and how much my confidence as a person has grown because of it. I committed in the beginning to be as involved in it as I could and I am now officially the leader, or the one in charge of it!

2. Bought my own car
When we first moved up here at the end of 2012 I finally got my name on a title of a car. Sometimes it just feels good to outright own something big like that.



36 weeks with Roland

3. Stayed behind during a deployment
In May of 2013, I found myself sending off my husband to Afghanistan while I stayed behind in New York. Many other women here were in the same situation as I was and I am so glad I decided to stay here with them rather than returning to Arizona where our families were. I have grown and loved the experiences I've shared with these women and am so grateful for their friendship.

4. Rocked a pregnancy and post-pregnancy body
This journey actually began in Arizona before I got pregnant and took up weight lifting. But since moving here I have kept it up and have accomplished some pretty great things. I helped get a workout group together, completed a tough mudder, and almost finished Jaime Easton's LiveFit program (a body building regimen) all in 2013. This was on top of being pregnant with my son Roland, and then healing. I have never felt so empowered and so healthy in my entire life. I haven't been able to be as rigorous this pregnancy due to some complications but I am excited to push this back into full gear after my little girl is born.



After the Tough Mudder

5. Accepted myself as a Writer
One of my dreams has always been to become a published Author. After wafting back and forth with schooling, in 2014 I finally took the plunge and took myself seriously as a writer. Already my writing has mastered new hurdles and I've made some great connections for the future.

6. Became a financial guru
I've always been good with money, and am usually the one in charge of our finances. But at the end of 2013/beginning of 2014 I started reading and researching out things concerning financial freedom and retirement. I didn't ever really want to think about such "adult" topics before, but I'm so glad I did. We're in a great spot right now because of it, and the next few years look so promising I get a little excited about it (you know, like in a geeky kind of number-crunching way).



4th of July Picnic

 

7. Chopped off my hair
One of the great things about being away from everyone you grew up with is you can almost start all over. Nobody knows you, and has no box to put you in when they meet you. You get to create your own for them! Since moving here I've been allowing myself to try different fashions, including new haircuts. I feel like I'm starting to develop an actual style, instead of just being stuck in the tomboy tween era. Chopping off my hair in 2013 forced me to face some physical things about myself I didn't like, and to own up to them. I've since been growing it out, but I honestly can't wait until I get to do it again - it was such an adventure!

Our time here in New York isn't done yet, but as you can guess we are gearing up for a move fairly soon. Unfortunately I still can't officially announce where we will be moving to (gotta love the Army) but I promise it will be soon. I've been so grateful for this season of our life here in New York, and am looking forward to the promises of our next adventure. I imagine it's going to be quite full of life learning experiences.

Here's to more chances to let ourselves grow :)



Roland & I (newborn photos)

 

NaNoWriMo Fail and End of Class

Just last month I *attempted* NaNoWriMo for the first time.

Let me preface the rest of this post with this - I failed.

If you don't already know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. It is a push to write 50,000 words in 30 days. (Learn more here)

I barely made it to 5,000.

I knew it was going to be hard, but wow I did not expect myself to fail as bad as I did. There are a few things though that now I feel better prepared for when I do it again next year. My biggest obstacle? Writing every day. It really does make a difference.

I'm still really glad I did it - even though it was super stressful with the end of my first writing class. I sat down last night to work on a new piece for this new class (that I was dreading writing) and was surprised at how easily I was able to crank out 500+ words. I can definitely say it was beneficial in increasing my word count.

Can we also just celebrate for a minute that I finished my first ever writing class?! It ended on November 30th and wow what an experience.

I wouldn't fully recommend that every aspiring author take a writing class. I could have easily gone through the whole thing and not improve my writing at all. The structure of the course didn't force me to change - I had to do that on my own. It did help me with deadlines, and making myself stay on top of my writing habits. However, I am a better writer now because I pushed myself. If you're not willing to push, a class like that will prove to be pointless.

I've already started my next class, as previously mentioned, so stay tuned for more updates! My writing journey is far from over :)