Was it just me who stayed up until midnight backing up all my writing files...in case there really was a new virus that was about to worm into my hard drive and ruin all my years of work?  Well, I did it anyway...I just couldn't stand the thought of losing things that cost so much sweat and blood.

Went to lunch today for a friend's birthday -- Chinese.  Cracked open my fortune cookie, read the note -- first impression, woo-hee!  Maybe something will happen with my writing.  Reread the fortune, slapped my head, Oh no!  So what's your take on it?

Fortune:  An unexpected event will soon make your life more exciting.  (Um, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good event and some days my life is already way more exciting than I need). 

It also reminded me a bit of Kazdreamer's general tarot reading for me.  Hmm, maybe the stars are telling me something.  Sigh!  Wish I knew what it was so I could somehow prepare for the unexpected.  LOL.

March in a Nutshell:

Critiques:  One full novel and ten chapters

Word Count:  Grew by 9500 words (Whew!  Not bad for me...if I can do that this month, I'll be finished or close enough that the momentum will carry me through -- I know, I've been saying that for months).

Books read:  (Only 6)

Beastly by Alex Flinn -- Interesting twist to the Beauty and the Beast story.  I liked the story from a beast pov.  Very modern and unique turn to an old tale.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang -- Excellent portrayal of three generations of Chinese women.  I enjoyed learning more about the culture.
Eyes of a Stranger by Rachel Ann Nunes -- Okay, fairly predicitable, I thought.  Although I did like the twist at the end.
Far From You by Lisa Schroeder -- Loved this very well connected and emotional portrayal of a young woman dealing with the death of her mom and the intricacies of building new relationships.  Well done, Lisa.
Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson -- A little edgier and shallower than I like.  A story about getting caught up in the middle of prom planning and discovering that she cared about things she hadn't expected to care about.  I've heard good things about her other books, and just picked up Speak from the library -- I'm willing to give her another shot.
Audrey Wait! by Robin Benway -- Not my thing.  Edgier and shallower than I like.  And I struggled to read this because of the language.  You can roll your eyes, but I know hundreds of teens and none of them use the f word in every other sentence. Cute idea here, but I found it predictable.  I did like the ending when she took control of her life. 

Now I feel bad because I always want my reviews to be positive, which is why I usually just highlight the positive things I liked (even if there's only one or two things) and I don't do many book reviews.  Um, but each of these was obviously interesting enough for me to pick in the first place.  I'm a picky reader.  Just because maybe a book wasn't my thing doesn't mean that you won't adore it. 

Journaling -- Still need to improve here.
Exercise -- Better but still need to improve here.  (Hoping to do some serious hiking next week).

Weight loss -- about 6-7 lbs.  (14 lbs. total)  But the most important thing, I'm eating much healthier and my cholesterol dropped 112 points over the last three months and that's been my most important goal.  I feel better, have more energy, hopefully look better, and am getting much more done overall.  Yay!  Now if I can just keep it up.  I'm hoping having everyone home for spring break doesn't kill my goal.  But if so, I'll just have to start again when they all go back to school and hope to make up my losses.  I'm crossing my fingers here.

Well, hope you all had a great month.  I'm looking forward to April and the "unexpected event", lol.  I'm hoping to finish my WIP, and hope that it's a great, successful, and happy month for all of you!  (And that's no April fool'n).

While the weather is mild here today, it looks like March is roaring like a lion in other parts of the country.  I can't help wondering if it's coming our way.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying the newly showing grass (almost all our snow melted last week) and sunshine.  My kids start outdoor soccer practice this week.  It's nice when they get to be out again.

February didn't turn out to be as productive in some areas as I'd hoped (writing) but there was a lot going on with my family and kids school projects (and yes, some stalling/procrastination on my part).  For February being a short month...it was really long.  :)

I haven't been doing a lot of reading -- only six books this month and all at the beginning of the month.  (I have so many I'm trying to get to).
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin (YA) -- an interesting take on the afterlife but not a book I'd personally read again.
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock  (YA) -- great voice!
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (again, to get ready for my book club) by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barows - interesting format, relaxing read.
Kissing Frogs by Laura Marie Altom (adult) -- fun idea but plotting felt a little weak even for a romance novel.
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (YA) -- lovely retelling.  I personally like her Dragon books better.
Palace of Mirrors by Margaret Peterson Haddix (YA) -- interesting ending that I didn't expect.

I did 22 critiques for friends.

Only wrote 7,666 words on my WIP -- didn't complete the novel as I'd planned (probably another 25,000 -30,000 words needed).

Didn't do as well at journaling this month.

Improved exercise and healthy eating -- Lost 7-8 lbs. Woo-hoo!

Well that's about it for me (more than you wanted to read, I'm sure).  Hope you all have a happy Monday!