Ferocious, meow meow, HELLO, SUNSHINE!

Those are the words I left in WriteMonkey on my personal desktop as a fullscreen reminder to myself to BLOG, BLOG, BLOG when I got home. "Rachelskirts? Blogging two days in a row? What black magic is this?" you might ask. It's NaBloPoMo, which is not so much magic as it is a curse. (Of course, if you really like reading blogs in November, I suppose it would be pretty magical.)

Point is, I'm participating in NaBloPoMo again this year, and I have teeny tiny hopes that I might actually make it all the way through this time. I have also chosen November 1 as the day I start the 30 Day Shred and November 6 as the day I participate in my very first 5K (walking, not running). Also also, I am re-reading Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project and am trying to tackle the first challenge—energy—by going to bed early.

This seems like a really bizarre time of the year to take on all these projects (did I mention that I'm also knitting a scarf for my Grandma? for Thanksgiving? and that my lack of talent for this craft has already made me cry?), and normally I'd blame this lapse in sanity on the end-of-October sugar rush. But shock of all shocks, I didn't eat a single piece of Halloween candy this year. GAH. Anyway, I'm not really looking at this as the start of any long-term changes in my life. Instead, I'm taking my New Year's resolutions for a test-drive before I fully commit in January, the proper month to change one's life for the better.

In conclusion, I would very much welcome ice packs, kittens, or encouraging postcards this month. What will I offer you in return? Mediocre blog posts and/or pictures of my cat.*

*If that doesn't float your boat, leave a comment with a [tasteful] suggestion of what else I could give you in return for your kindness this month.