My Baffling Brain

If you're looking for my Celebrate the Small Things post, you can find it here .  Time for the Confessions Blogfest, hosted by Dani and Jackie . The idea is to confess anything you're not proud of.  Here are my confessions: - I bought a piano on a whim two years ago, and have yet to use it. This is mostly because it needs tuning, and I just haven't got around to getting someone in to do it yet. It is a little embarrassing that I spent so much money on something I have yet to use. - When I listen to music alone I have it really loud and sing along really badly. I love singing, I'm just no good at it! I also dance around like an idiot. - When I'm watching something alone, I have a tendency to shout at the TV, even if I've watched the movie/programme before and know what's going to happen. I also tend to get more emotional watching things on my own, so I cry more - maybe because I desperately try to hold my tears in when I'm watching things...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - After being so worried about money last month, I needn’t have worried at all. Because I did much less hours than usual, I got taxed a lot less than I usually do, so my pay was actually still quite high. I should still have enough left over after expenses to move into my savings. This is a huge weight lifted from my mind. - My meeting with my tutor went really well, he said my writing has improved a lot since I started the degree and that there’s not much else that needs doing to my dissertation, just minor edits. It's very nearly finished now, which is exciting and scary at the same time! I'm hoping to send it off to be bound at the beginning of next week, which means I'll be handing it in early, which is strange for me!

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I finally finished Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last week, so now I'm onto Order of the Phoenix. It's awesome, of course - I love how angry Harry gets in this book, because it shows that he's not perfect, and I would be angry too if I was in his position! I got a big chunk of reading done yesterday, which was nice, because usually I only fit in a few pages every night before bed. 2. What I'm writing I just finished the third drafts of my short stories for my dissertation, so it's getting quite exciting now because I can see the finishing line! I'm going in to university today to see my tutor and see what he thinks of my work so far, so hopefully he won't have too many problems with it! Then ...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last we ek. This week I'm celebrating: - I mentioned this in my What's Up Wednesday post, but I'm celebrating starting regular exercise this week. I've started going on jogging/skipping sessions with my sister in our local park, and I'm loving them. I just need to make sure I keep going! - I finished all of my second drafts of the short stories for my dissertation this week, and I've started the third drafts. They're starting to look like finished pieces now, which is exciting! - Summer is drawing to a close here, and I'm relieved! We still have a little warm weather to go, but before we know it autumn and winter will be upon us, and I can't wait!  - I'm also celebrating the fact that my boyfriend has gotten a job - he's struggled to get them in the past so thi...

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading Another slow reading week, I'm still reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire but I should finish it today, I'm right at the end (the best bit!) 2. What I'm writing I've just finished all of the second drafts for my dissertation. I ended up scrapping one of my stories, because it just wasn't working. I figured I was better off spending the time I could have used trying to make it work working on the other stories instead, to make them better. So now I have six stories, instead of seven. 3. What else I've been up to I've mostly been working and writing over the past week, as usual, but I also did something a little out of the ordinary (for me) last night. My sister and I have been mea...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - I realised yesterday that there's less than a month until I have to hand my dissertation in. While this is scary, it also means that in a month time it'll all be over and I'll be able to relax, and go back to working on the story ideas that have been waiting not-so-patiently in my head over the last year.  - I downloaded the trial version of Scrivener this week and I love it - I'll definitely be buying the full version, as soon as I can afford it.  - The dissertation's still going well. My first drafts are better than I thought they were, and I'm thoroughly enjoying editing and revising them. They're shaping up nicely. 

The Express Yourself meme is co-hosted by Dani and Jackie . Each week bloggers answer a different question, so they can get to know each other better. This week questions is: Which book/movie do you wish you lived in? OK, so I'm going to go with the obvious answer: Harry Potter. Let's face it, most of the people who read the books wished for that magical letter inviting them to Hogwarts. The feasts alone are enough to entice me; all that lovely food to choose from, without having to cook anything yourself! And then actually learning the magic; I'm fairly certain I would have gotten much better grades at Hogwarts than I did at school. My favourite lessons probably would have been Charms and Transfiguration. I think I would have quite enjoyed potions, too. 

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by  Erin L Funk  and  Jaime Morrow , and the idea is to let other bloggers know where you are with any writing and reading goals you may have. 1. What I'm reading I'm still reading through the Harry Potter series. I've slowed down a lot since I've got back from Spain, but that's to be expected; I haven't got much time for reading now that I'm back home. I'm currently reading Goblet of Fire, which I'm enjoying a lot. It's amazing that I've read through the series so many times, and yet the story is still capable of stirring my emotions. I still laugh at the funny parts, cry at the sad parts and smile at the happy parts. Hopefully I'll get find time to finish it within the next week. 2. What I'm writing I'm still working through the edits and revisions of my dissertation stories, and they're going really well. I got quite a lot of wo...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating:  - It seems like my flu is finally getting better. I made the mistake of going to work yesterday, thinking "Oh, I'll be fine." I lasted two and a half hours and then came home. I rang in sick today, but hopefully I'll be OK to work tomorrow. The only problem now is that I've lost hours at work, and since I had already lost hours because of going to Spain I won't be paid as much as I wanted to be, but there's nothing I can do about that. I'm getting used to being short of money, anyway!  - I'm actually getting somewhere with my dissertation now, so that's good. I'm getting back into my routine, except the flu part! - Since I won Camp NaNo, I get a 50% off code for Scrivener. I've wanted to try it out for a while...

The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. My insecurity this month is a common one: I'm struggling to find the time to write. I haven't worked on my dissertation properly since I got back from Spain over a week ago. What with unpacking, doing more overtime at work to make up for what I missed while I was away, and getting back into routine, my writing has been neglected.  I was hoping to spend a lot of time catching up this week, but then I caught the flu - maybe it's nature's way of telling me to slow down a little. I'm feeling a little better today, so hopefully I'll be able to get some work done a little later on. I'm not too worried right now, because I've got plenty of time before the deadline; it just means I'll have to work a little harder to get it all done in time. 

I had another great month for goals in July: - Write my dissertation/finish Camp NaNo - I managed to get my 12500 words written by the 19th, just in time for my holiday. - Read lots - I read 8 books in July, which is amazing for me. I got a lot of reading done on holiday - I think I read 6 of the 8 books while I was in Spain. I'm at 33 books out of my goal to read 50 now. - Have an awesome holiday! - I definitely achieved this goal - I had a wonderful time in Spain.  Here are my goals for August: - Finish my dissertation short stories - I have a lot of work to do this month, since I want my dissertation to be finished, or very nearly, by the end of August. It's due on the 12th of September, and I really want to use my time in September to write the critical analysis that has to be handed in with it, and to do any last minute editing.  - Read 5 more books - I know I won't get as many books read as I did in July, but hopefully I'll still get some read...

Celebrate the Small Things is a weekly bloghop hosted by Viklit over at Scribblings of an Aspiring Author . The idea is to post anything you want to celebrate from the last week. This week I'm celebrating: - the fantastic time I had in Spain. I feel rejuvenated now, and have much more energy. Everyone needs a break every once in a while :) - being back in England. While I loved it in Spain, there's no place like home! Plus I missed my kitten, Misty, terribly, so I'm glad to be able to snuggle her whenever I want again.  - getting a lot of notes written in Spain for my dissertation. This means I can start on rewrites straight away, which is great. It's all coming together!