Introducing...Hunni Silk

Oh, bloggers and writers, it's been too long!  There has been chaos in the house of DeVore for the past week and it's kept me off of the internet. (Whaaa?  I know).  I even got the opportunity to take a "day off."  Jake's aunt booked a hotel on Pensacola Beach for us.  It was so nice to just get away and it was something that we desperately needed. Since we are on-the-job 24-7, we don't have a lot of time to do things as a couple.  Especially something romantic to help maintain our relationship.

Speaking of romantic, Jake's cousin told me that I should try my hand at writing romance novels.  Just the thought of it used to make my cheeks flush into a palate of rouge but these days, it is not my naivety that keeps me from that genre.  Well, actually, to be honest, it probably is.  I don't write "romance" because whenever I tried it came out too...cheesy.  But I like a good challenge.  So my goal this week, is to come up with a plot for a romance novel, that I will enjoy writing...

These days, I find the prospect of romance novels to be more fun and less trashy.  Or maybe it seems like it would be fun because of the "trashy" aspect of it all.  Don't get me wrong, there are fantastic authors out there who write romance novels.  I've never read any of their work (I've never actually read a romance novel before...though I started a few...they were bad). 

She also suggested that I change my pen name from Hunni Daniels to Hunni Silk.  What do you think?

Breaking News...

Jake's grandfather is back home from the rehabilitation center, which means a lot of things.  First, that means that he's done a lot of recovery since he went into the hospital.  He can walk again (though he is still very weak) and he can help feed himself.  They are both very slow processes but we are all very patient with him.  As for me, I feel like he accomplishes little victories everytime he does something for himself and when he walks with us or stands up by himself.

It also means that (since he needs a lot of assistance), homelife just got a  tad more complicated.  It's day two since he's been back and we're already developing a schedule (which is so awesome).  We are working on a routine for him so that he can get the most out of his day.  I am developing a routine for myself (it resembles the summer routine that I had when I was here last summer - get up, clean the kitchen, sweep, mop, dust, coffee, write, make breakfast, help with meds, etc.).  The health care specialists and therapists from Caring Hearts are supposed to stop by today to see what he needs from home and see about getting a therapy routine for him as well.  Although it may not seem exciting, the family is very excited.  I have to admit, I am thrilled and excited as well.  

The most recent news is that Jake's aunt is going back home, which means that Jake and I will be here with his grandparents by ourselves (alone for only a week though).  While last summer, that wasn't a problem at all (I would go with Jake's grandmother while he stayed at home with his granddad), it's a bit more complicated now that it takes two people to help his granddad move around, changed, and other daily ritual things.  We'll make it work though.  Just as long as we keep our priorities straight, it should work out fine.  Anyway, the dormatory will be in full effect soon.  We're anticipating a visit from Jake's cousins, aunt, and Jake's dad as well.  I'm excited to see everyone and for everyone to see just how far Jake's granddad has come since his stint at the hospital a couple months ago.  It was looking pretty bleak when he came out of there but now it's a whole new story.

In addition to all that, I'm also going to be "home" a lot more which means that I'll be at my computer doing frequent writing sprints.  I will no longer be able to write for sprints longer than two hours but if I plan it right, I should be able to get some good word slinging in.  My goal for now is to get at least one short story done every week and to continue to work on my novel idea (working title: Holland Manor).  I really want to title it with a pun on the word manor.  "Manor of Speaking" or "Family Manors" or something...

Wish me luck!

Today's prompt:

Base a short story on the phrase "There's more than one way to skin a cat"

Hibiscus Flowers in the Rain

It's been raining here in "sunny" Florida.  The past couple days have reminded me of home sweet home in the Pacific Northwest.  It's been very inspiring.  I feel like flinging words like there's no tomorrow.  There's something about grey skies that really gets my creativity going.  Grey skies and the pitter patter of rain drops on the tin roof over the patio.  

In other news, Jake's granddad has a new roommate.  Broken wrist.  He seems pleasant enough, even though he's apparently hard of hearing.  The TV is on so loud that I can't hear myself think.  Lucky for me, I think The Producers is on.  It could be worse.  It could be Elmo's World...  Not to mention, the new roommate is pretty witty and clever.  That's pretty inspiring as well.  

I have two long term projects that I have been working on: a satirical piece of historical fiction (with a dash of James Bond and a splash of Sherlock Homes) and a humorous (at least that's my intention) adventure story with a lovable group of outcasts and a look at how we treat the elderly in modern day American society.  My self-diagnosed ADD keeps me from locking down only one project at a time.  I figure that focusing on two, very different projects should come in handy because no matter what mood I'm in, I will be able to work on one story or the other.  Now my only problem is staying focused on these long term projects when the distraction of short stories (my first love) is constantly pulling at my attention strings.  Oo, look!  Shiny!

Oh my god...how is it that I've never watched The Producers before?

Caching Florida

Knot a Pine #13

On our way home from the Health Center of Pensacola Jake, Tigre and I often hit a couple cache spots.  It's helped us explore the streets of Pensacola a bit and learn a few basic geocaching tricks.  We rarely get to go exploring deep in the woods but it's still fun.  I love the feeling of finding a tiny container and signing our name on the logsheet.

Bullseye

The "treasures" that we find aren't anything to write home about but I still like to trade items when we can.  We've gotten mardi gras beads, army men, plastic footballs, bracelets, scissors, etc; we've left firemen figurines, army men, bracelets, money, McDonald's toys, and Burping Tuna stickers.  It's not about the treasure though.  It's about honing my ninja skills and it's about the journey.  It's about exploring the town that we're vacationing in.  It's about feeling the orange, clay-rich dirt on our fingertips.  It's about looking amongst the Florida flora.  It's about the things that we experience on the way.  Teamwork. 

 

 

Cantonment is A-1

We're looking forward to coming back home and hunting around our hometown.  Camping and hiking are our favorite passtimes.  Caching in the beautiful woods of the Pacific Northwest will soon be on that list as well.  The excitement will be the same but the feeling will be different.  Geocaching in the Washington rain should be a unique experience for sure.

Newest short story prompt: 

What kind of treasures do you find while geocaching?

Follow the Yellow Brick...

Jake and I have been geocaching so that I can get my big booty out, into the real world, and off of my computer.  Well, that's not all true considering I use my new Windows phone to navigate but it's as close as I'm going to get.  Baby steps.   

Tomorrow is our day off which means Jake wants to go hunting for gun shops and I want to go hunting for..., Tupperware out in the middle of the woods.  As uninterested as I am in firearms (I know I will kick myself in the upcoming zombie apocalypse), this will probably be a good experience for me.  I don't know much about guns and being knowledgeable will be good for upcoming projects, stories, and the occasional mugging.  Research counts as writing, right?

I will admit, I have been less dedicated about writing.  I fully intend on remedying this today by spending the rest of the today writing up a storm.  I will sling words.  Believe me, adverbs will fly...

Caching in on going out

A writer's job is very sedentary.  We sit a lot.  Because of that, it's very important to get up and get out every so often.  "But I don't wanna!  I just want to sit and write and read and surf the interwebz..."  No.  Getting up off of your tush is a necessity and it will reward you two fold:

1. It will ensure that you won't be a fat slob.
2. "Write what you know" won't help you if you don't go out and experience the world a little.

It also aids during periods when you get stuck.  Fresh air is good for the lungs and soul.  There are plenty of reasons that come to mind.  Because of this, I fully intend on sharing my experiences with you, in hopes to help inspire you to get out and do something as well.

Yesterday, I introduced the topic of geocaching to my boyfriend, Jake.  He had never heard of the term before (to tell you the truth, I think he thought I was making it up).  As defined by the website, geocaching is "a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices.  Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at the location."  Sometimes there are logbooks to sign.  Sometimes there are items to trade.  There are more that 1.75 million caches around the world since the start of the project back in 2000.  Jake was thrilled.

We have planned a test-run with a small cache located somewhere in Pensacola, this Sunday after Jake and I get finished at the gun show at the Pensacola Fairgrounds.

The minimum requirements for going on one of these GPS adventures are (1) a free membership on the website, and (2) a GPS-enabled device (like my new Windows 7 phone).  Armed with my smartphone, we will be trekking out to find our treasure on Sunday in hopes that Jake will continue to fall further in love with a hobby that we can do together.  I only learned about it myself a couple years back but am thrilled to re-fall-in-love with it.

If we do have a great time, I'm thinking of compiling a geocache specific day-hike backpack. filled with:

• Dollar General Items for trade
• a $1 Item
• a $5 Item
• a $10 Item
• Garbage bag for "Cache In Trade Out"
• "While searching for caches, geogachers collect litter along trails and properly dispose of it."  While normal Cache In Trash Out Events are larger gatherings that focus on cleaning up or beautifying the area, Jake and I plan on doing this for most -- if not all -- of the trails that we go on.
• First aid kit
• Handy wipes
• Paper towels
• Rubber gloves
• Pen
• Extra Socks
• Protein bars
• A couple bottles of water

Have you ever gone geocaching on before?