Happy Fall Y'all!

I'm finally back to blogging after what seemed like an eternity. I am happy to say that my kitchen fiasco is finally in its final stages. The kitchen has been completed, with the floor having to be done twice, and all paperwork has been sent to the appropriate parties. Unfortunately, the payment seems to be falling on my shoulders, so I will be working to stock my Etsy shop with lots of items. Some Halloween goodies will be hitting the shop this week, but the bulk of everything else will be added the first of November, just in time for Christmas shopping!

The fall season looks to be a very busy one for me. I have signed up for Nerd Wars on Ravelry. It is a crochet/knit tournament, of sorts. It is really just a fun way to give yourself a little kick in the pants to get some projects done. I have several Christmas projects that have been looming for quite some time. My hope is this tourney will help give me incentive to finish them sooner than later.

I'll be playing (I'm on Ravelry as thisgirlcreates) for Team Chilton Prep, which is all things Gilmore Girls.

I love Gilmore Girls. It is also where I first caught a glimpse of Jared Padalecki, before he became the smokin' hot Sam Winchester on Supernatural. :)

If you are interested in learning more about Nerd Wars, check out the Nerd Wars group page. We are only accepting signups until Sept. 27. The tourney starts on Oct. 1.

I will also be participating in NaNoWriMo in November and all prep courses in October. One of the items on my bucket list is to finish my first novel before my 40th birthday. Unfortunately, that is less than a year away now, so I really need to get focused and get writing.

I am very fortunate to have a great local NaNo group that does plenty of fun activies in preparation of NaNoWriMo. Never heard of NaNoWriMo before? Well, it stands for National Novel Writing Month and the goal is to write an entire novel in a month! It is actually 50,000 words from November 1-30, but believe me it isn't as easy at is sounds. I will be planning my characters, setting, and plot in October and then hit the ground running on November 1.

If you'd like more info about NaNoWriMo, just visit the NaNoWriMo main website. It is being tweaked for next month, but you can still take a look around and even sign up. If you do sign up, give me a holla! My username is melissaswriting. I know, not too original. :)

Also in November, I'll be opening my Etsy shop for the Christmas season. I am currently working on some brand new items that are pretty fun and really cute. I was very fortunate to have been added to the Etsy Kids Team.

The only stipulation to being on the team is that the majority of my shop items must be kids related. So, I have put many of my adult items, like my scarves, on hold and will be focusing primarily on plush toys and play food.

I will also be donating a portion of all sales in November to the CHARGE syndrome foundation. I'll talk about that more in a few weeks.

Whew! Lots going on over here. Plus after 21 years, my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates are back in the baseball playoffs. I can already tell it is going to be a great fall!!!