Task #33 - Pumpkin carving

Fairly straightforward really - pumpkin carving has always been my favourite thing about halloween, as I hate scary movies and we never get trick-or-treaters at our house! ;)

Last year's design was a bat, so this year I went for a grinning cat (as the Cheshire Cat would've been a little too much of a stretch) ... think I may have to fashion some sort of pumpkin animal every year from now on! :)



(Evil kitty, carved 31/10/2010)

Task #14 - Celeb snapping!

This task requires me to be photographed with a celebrity, and in a hugely fortunate turn of events, I actually managed to meet two celebs in the space of a long weekend this month ... the lovely Lee Mead following his gig in Aylesbury on November 7th, and the uber-talented Tim Minchin following the very first performance of 'Matilda - A Musical' at Stratford on November 9th.



What can I say? I'm a very lucky girl! :D

Task #38 - New dishes

This task requires me to try out a new recipe every month ... and last night was my first attempt. Will make a list so that I don't forget what I've been cooking ...

October 2010 - Stuffed chicken breast with rosti (yummy)

November 2010 - Mustard and lemon sausages with carrot mash (delicious, but very rich!)

December 2010 - Carrot and coriander soup (quick, easy and very tasty)

Task #101 - Inspire a friend

I just found out that a fellow PostCrosser has signed up to the Day Zero project thanks to my recommendation - so this completes task #101 for me, as it was to do just that. Yay! :D

Task #65 - A-Z of new songs

I thought this task sounded fun - to listen to 26 different songs, all new to me, starting with each letter of the alphabet. So I decided the best thing to do is just look on a few of those 'lyrics/song anthology' websites and tackle the alphabet in order a letter at a time. Here we go ...

A = 'Acapella' by Kelis (Fab!)
B = 'Bartender's Blues' by James Taylor (A bit slow, but I've always loved his voice)
C = 'Cold River' by A-ha (Not bad)
D = 'Dancer' by Queen (OK)
E = 'Every Rose Has Its Thorn' by Miley Cyrus (OK)
F = 'For You I Will' by Monica (Nice)
G = 'Garden' by Pearl Jam (Love the music, not so sure about the lyrics)
H = 'Half Of My Heart' by John Mayer (Nice)
I = 'If I Had You' by Adam Lambert (Awful!)
J = 'Just Because' by Jane's Addiction (Love the music, but not the guy singing!)
K = 'Kissing You' by Miranda Cosgrove (Not bad)
L = 'Life Is A Highway' by Tom Cochrane (Cool - love the chorus!)
M = 'Make It Shine' by Victoria Justice (Pretty good)
N = 'Now We Are Free' by Lisa Gerrard (Lovely)
O = 'One In A Million' by Guns 'n' Roses (Would be fab if it wasn't so racist!)
P = 'Peace Of Mind' by Bat For Lashes (Gorgeous)
Q = 'Quicksand' by La Roux (OK)

Task #2 - Sing!

Last week I joined a ladies choir based a few miles from my home, and on December 5th I'm due to sing in public for the first time in well over a decade! I must admit that I've been struggling a bit in finding my voice and hitting some of the high notes, so I guess I might need to move down from the dizzy heights of sopranoism, but for now that's where I am ... and I haven't been asked to leave yet, so I can't be that bad - can I??!

Task #97 - NaNoWriMo

This one really does scare the bejesus out of me, but at the same time it sounded kinda fun, so I've gone ahead and signed up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). All participants are required to attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, throughout the month of November. Am more than a bit apprehensive, but will give it a go anyway ... ;)

Here's the link, just in case you fancy having a stab at this yourself ...



08/10/10 - Update
I'm so pleased to be able to say that today, completely out of the blue, an idea for a story popped into my head, and I somehow managed to get it all written down in note form before it disappeared again. It's your typical chick-lit gubbins unfortunately, but this is the first time that I've ever had a clear idea for a complete novel in my head, and I really do feel that seeing it through it will be the best way for me to complete this task. It may turn out to be utter rubbbish, but my biggest fear was not having any idea of what to write come November 1st, and just sitting there in a blind panic - now at least I have something to work with and get my teeth into :)

01/11/10 - Update
Well, today's the day that I can finally begin my novel ... and yet I have no urge to write! That'll hopefully come as the day goes on though - can't bear the thought of having nothing written several days in. Wish me luck, cos I'm gonna need it! :(

12/11/10 - Update
I did make a start, I promise ... but I really haven't got much further than that, with a grand total of just 3664 words at the almost-halfway point. It's not really looking good, but I have excuses - namely having been away for a few days this week, and also feeling quite poorly with yet another bad cold just recently. I certainly haven't given up completely though, and aim to have at least made it to half a NaNo novel by the end of the month, if not the whole thing!