This month I am grateful that I hit my 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo, and for an awesome writing retreat with the Story Queens, and for new beginnings (okay, that one is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I’m trying to look at the silver lining of losing my job)…

With thanks… Sunday November 13… NaNoWriMo day 13 – 528/2528 words…
Today I am grateful for an amazing, magical month away with Juz – and grateful to be home in our little realm again too…
I’m grateful for the scent of star jasmine that hit us when we got out of the cab (and the nes, and the explosion of purple from the flowering jacarandas.
And despite being tired beyond belief, I’m bemused that we stayed up so late. Feels so strange to be going back to work tomorrow after our wonderful adventure away.
And I’m grateful that I managed to get 2528 words written for NaNoWriMo on the long plane ride home. Not quite caught up, and I lost a day time-zone-wise, but it’s coming together…

November, star jasmineWith thanks… Monday November 14… BR day 1… NaNoWriMo day 14 – 700 words… 12,051 steps…
Today I am grateful for cooler breezes…
I’m grateful for Jillian Michaels – I started her Body Revolution program again this morning, and it’s fun to be back with her and the gang 🙂 And even though it’s the “easier” fortnight, there are enough modification options to make it tougher (or less tough, if you want) that it really kicked my butt. Today’s workout was front of body, so push-ups, chest flyes, shoulder presses, tricep extensions, squats, chair squats with front raises, lateral raises etc…
I’m glad I got some NaNo scribbling done on the train to and from work…
I’m happy that I made it through the day at the mags – jetlag hasn’t flattened me yet, but there’s still time 🙂
I’m grateful for the beauty of Sydney, and Hyde Park – it’s just as beautiful as England and Wales, if you look…
And I’m sad that the Kids Mags division is closing and Viv and I have been made redundant. I’ve been there for eight years, so it will be a big change. I’m a bit of a swirl of feelings right now, good and bad, happy and sad. So much I’ll miss, but we have a few months left to go. And then, who knows?! I’m trying to focus on the one door closes, another one opens sentiment…

With thanks… Tuesday November 15… BR day 2… NaNoWriMo day 15 – 400 words… 14,416 steps…
Wishing everyone much love, joy and magic on this beautiful full moon night. May its sweet light illuminate you with inspiration and inner wisdom this month, and inspire you to work towards your dreams and goals… Bright blessings xx
Today I am grateful for cups of tea, and that although I’m waking up at 4am every day, I’m making it through the day 🙂
I’m grateful for a fun, kick arse workout once I’d dragged myself out of bed – Body Revolution workout two. I haven’t done this program for a few years, and I kinda forgot how tough it is. In a good way… Today it was back of body – heavy rows, good mornings, bicep drags, deadlifts, lunges etc, which I love!
I’m happy that I got some NaNo scribbling done on the train to and from work…
And I’m grateful for the beauty of the full moon, and time to climb the hill and gaze on its orange/gold radiance… It was so beautiful, wandering over to the little tor in our backyard park, huge bats wheeling out of the moreton bay figs, loads of people up on the summit – and a gorgeous orange (super) moon! xx

With thanks… Wednesday November 16… BR day 3… NaNoWriMo day 16 – 0 words… 13,537 steps…
Today I am grateful for a day to work at home – although I spent most of the day sorting out photos from our trip, and ended up writing not a single word for NaNo. Which is a bit weird – I’m guessing I had a shocker migraine and couldn’t face it…
I did manage to work out though – today was cardio, so I did Body Combat. Had to modify a few moves for my knee, but it held up pretty well… And I also made it to the post office with a big box of Seven Sacred Sites for my distributor – they were all out!

With thanks… Thursday November 17… BR day 4… NaNoWriMo day 17 – 1515 words… 10,609 steps…
Today I am not so happy I had to go in to do an extra day at the magazines, but it meant I could let my art director take next week off, so all good.
I’m glad I battled my way through Body Revolution – I’m still exhausted, but I got through it 🙂
I’m glad I managed to leave the office briefly to see the Trolls screening – it’s very cute…
And I’m happy that I managed to write 1515 words on the train to work, typing them all in when I got home…

With thanks… Friday November 18… BR day 5… NaNoWriMo day 18 – 415 words…
Today I am grateful that I got to work by 7.30am, so I could power through a whole lot of pages at the magazines…
I’m happy that I worked out – Body Revolution workout one – and very grateful for Cute Night with Juz 🙂

With thanks… Saturday November 19… BR day 6… NaNoWriMo day 19 – 1100 words…
Today I am grateful for many things, I’m sure, but a month later, I’m struggling to remember what we did.
I did work out – Body Revolution workout two – and Juz did it too. I’m certainly grateful to him for sharing the Jillian adventure 🙂

With thanks… Sunday November 20… BR day 7… NaNoWriMo day 20 – 0 words…
Today I am grateful for a day to chill out at home with Juz, and do a bit more photo uploading, but I can’t remember specifics – it’s already December and I’m trying to catch up…
It was cardio in Body Revolution, so I did an hour of Combat. I modified the shuffling to the side moves, cos of my stupid knee, but I’m happy to have been able to work around it. I’m still waking up at 4am, but I’m coping okay, so not stressing too much about it – I’m sure I’ll get back to normal eventually 🙂 xx

With thanks… Monday November 21… BR day 8… NaNoWriMo day 21 – 300 words… 13,326 steps…
Today I am grateful for an awesome Jillian workout – she’s an evil genius, with her weights combos, and makes me think of my sweet friends I worked out with Jillian with 🙂
I’m glad I got lots done at the magazines – my designer is away this week, and I have to send three mags to print and finish a fourth, so it will be a busy one – lucky she’s super-organised and we worked ahead a fair bit 🙂 I’m happy that I managed a few NaNoWriMo words on the train to work…
And I love that Green Day made a political statement at the AMAs, about the horror that is Trump… There have been some great articles too – love this one: Huffington Post xx

With thanks… Tuesday November 22… BR day 9… NaNoWriMo day 22 – 356 words… 13,175 steps…
Today I am grateful for a fun catch up dinner with a friend, and a walk there and back with Juz through the blessedly cool evening dark…
Not so glad that I’m way behind on NaNoWriMo – I’ve only just passed 20,000 words of the 50,000 I need, with only eight days to go! I’ve never been this far behind, and I have had occasional doubts that I’ll make it – and a few people have tried to convince me it’s okay to give up – but I’m too stubborn for that!
I’m glad I got heaps done at the magazines and sent Disney Princess to print…
And I’m grateful for a fun Jillian session – workout two rocks!

November With Thanks, Story QueensWith thanks… Wednesday November 23… BR day 10… NaNoWriMo day 23 – 307 words… 14,255 steps…
Today I am grateful for an awesome hour of BodyCombat to get me out of my stressy head and back into my body. So much fun to punch and kick and let all my frustrations out 🙂
I’m happy I could make it to the early screening of Moana, so I can review it in the mags… It is so so sweet, and a little kick-ass too!
Not so happy that I had a shocker migraine all day, which started while I was working out and never really left. Painkillers helped, but I was so nauseous that all I could keep down was vanilla milk. I’m guessing that the stress of a twelve-hour day didn’t help either. BUT, after next week, it should be way more chilled out as we wind down. Fingers crossed!
And I’m glad I managed to send two mags to print and get a lot done on the fourth – although it’s really creepy in the office at night! I realised I was the only one left on our floor when I had to wash my cup in the dark kitchen… But I made it home by 10pm, just in time to spend a little bit of time with Juz, and although I barely made a dent in my NaNo word count, at least I got lots of steps in. (Yep, always looking for the silver lining!)

With thanks… Thursday November 24… BR day 11… NaNoWriMo day 24 – 1770 words… 11,502 steps…
Today I am grateful for a day at home, so I could rack up some NaNo words.
I’m happy that I did my Jillian workout, then sat myself down and cranked out some words…
I’m glad I managed to walk enough steps every hour to make my Fitbit happy, and that I did enough stair climbs to get the fireworks on my dashboard, ha ha…
I’m happy that I sat down and wrote some more words in the afternoon, and that I also got to sort out a few more photo albums. So many wonderful moments from our magical trip…
And I’m grateful for a quiet night in with my sweet hubby…

With thanks… Friday November 25… BR day 12… NaNoWriMo day 25 – 4400+ words… 10,832 steps…
Today I am grateful for the Story Queens writers retreat! Selina, Kim, Laura and I headed up to a lovely house on a farm in the Hunter Valley, so we could write like crazy and brainstorm our goals for next year.
I’m glad I managed to squeeze in a Jillian workout before I jumped on the train and headed north – and happy I bashed out a bunch of words on the train.
I’m grateful for a fun afternoon as we drove up there together…
I’m grateful for a super-productive writing session in the afternoon, fuelled by mugs and mugs of tea.
I’m grateful for the llamas and horses and bunnies in the fields around the house…
I’m grateful for a fun dinner out on the verandah, and chatting late into the night…
And I’m grateful for another productive writing session before bed, cos who needs sleep?!

With thanks… Saturday November 26… BR day 13… NaNoWriMo day 26 – 5000+ words…
Today I am grateful for the beauty of the morning as the sun rose over the paddocks and through the trees, and for a walk with Kim to say hello to the llamas and giggle at the tiny bunnies, and admire the horses…
I’m grateful for several super-productive writing sessions – some of our hubbies thought we’d spend the whole weekend chatting and get no work done, but we rocked our word counts today – and also managed to have a fun break for lunch, mini tea breaks, time to chat about writing, characters, plans and life… #12000wordsandcounting

With thanks… Sunday November 27… BR day 14… NaNoWriMo day 27 – 4000+ words…
Today I am grateful for another early morning start to my writing – up early with Kim to tap away on our laptops as we ate brekkie and drank tea…
I’m grateful for a productive writing session with the four of us, and for late checkout so we could keep powering on…
I’m grateful for a fun lunch at a fancy restaurant to celebrate how much we’d achieved over the weekend, and to chill out and chat about more than just writing and projects and plans, although there was lots of that too 🙂
I’m happy that I wrote even more on the train home – my 50K goal is getting closer…
And I’m grateful to Juz for meeting me at Redfern Station so we could have dinner together the walk home in the magical gloaming…

With thanks… Monday November 28… BR day 15… NaNoWriMo day 28 – 407 words… 14,382 steps… Dark Moon wishes…
Sending dark moon blessings and love to all as the new moon approaches. Look within, at this magical time, and seek out your own inner wisdom and hidden truths, and uncover what you need to release, so you can get in touch with the passion and drive that will fuel your new moon wishes xx
Today I’m happy that I got my Jillian workout in before racing off to work, and upped the weights on a couple of moves.
And I’m grateful that I managed to fit in some NaNoWriMo words despite almost eleven hours at the mags. Am writing. Will catch up. #nanowrimo #pantser #intothemists

With thanks… Tuesday November 29… BR day 16… NaNoWriMo day 29 – 1472 words… 10,021 steps… New Moon wishes…
New moon blessings! Wishing everyone much love and magic at this time of new beginnings. Tap in to the new energies and all the potential swirling around us, for new growth and new ideas and new dreams. Make a wish for this magical month to come, then dive in and make it come true… xx
Today I’m glad I got my workout done – I really like this one.
I’m glad I could hang out with Story Queens author Rebecca Bosevski for the online launch of her debut novel Enchanting the Fey. It was a pretty hectic day at the magazines, but I managed to carve out an hour to join the party…
And I’m happy/relieved I at least got 1472 NaNoWriMo words in today – kinda cool given I was at the office for 12 hours 🙂 Now just 7818 words to write tomorrow, ha ha ha! xx

NaNoWriMo winnerWith thanks… Wednesday November 30… BR day 17… NaNoWriMo day 30 – 7846 words… 13,169 steps…
Today I am grateful for an awesome hour of BodyCombat to kick off the day – and so very glad/relieved/happy that I DID IT! My fifth NaNoWriMo winI managed to hit 50,0130 words in 30 days – 7846 of them today… Nothing like leaving it til the last minute 🙂 Not that I’d recommend that method, or want to try it again, but #stubbornforthewin!
Rhiannon, your story is almost ready to be told… It’s been a crazy month, but I wouldn’t have it any other way…
Workout done, and the first two of my many word sprints for today done too – 1111 words 🙂 I didn’t even mean to – I did two sprints, and one was 581, one was 530 🙂 xx
Sprint three done – 1016 words! Less than 6000 words to go! (And a load of washing done too – I’m getting so much done, ha ha!) xx
Sprint four done – 1004 words… That 50,000 word count is getting closer! xx
Sprint five done – 1005 words. I will hit that 50K tonight, I’m too stubborn not to! (And cos I started in the UK, technically I have a few extra hours up my sleeve if I don’t hit it by midnight – although I may be delirious and incapable by then!) xx
3.7K more words to write tonight for the win. #nanowrimo #amwriting #intothemists #oopsireallyleftittilthelastminute xx
Sprint six done – 1451 words – so I’m down to 2,231 left to write! Woo hoo! xx
Sprint seven done – 2259 words. I freakin’ did it! xx
It was my craziest day *ever* – just under 8K words in a day. I have friends who regularly write 10K a day, which blows my mind, but it was actually less difficult that I’d thought – it just took a lot of focus and stubbornness and battling myself to just sit down and get it done 🙂 I won’t be making a habit of it though! xx