where to start?

First, the hair. What do ya think? I'm very pleased. Thanks Justine from Curl Up N' Dye!



Second, the new car. Yep, I bought a 2009 Toyota Yaris in beautiful black.

I love it almost as much as my hair. This came to me in my quest to lower my debt to income ratio. With this car, I have a slightly lower monthly payment, the car is in MY name and ONLY my name, I'll save on gas because of the sweet mileage, and I have a three year warranty that I didn't have before. I really liked my previous VW bug, but it was time to move ahead and make some serious choices about the future.

That said, I went to my NACA workshop concerning purchasing a home and found out how awesome their program is. Their goal is to get as many people into realistic, legitimate mortgages as possible. They require you to make goals about what you want and how you plan to get there, along with demonstrating how you will make it happen. That is the tough part. You have to have patience. Since, I want to get into a condo and get into it the right way, I'm willing to take the time. They say roughly three to six months. And though my living situation isn't the greatest, I'd rather make sure I'm set for the future once I'm out of here. I don't want to be in this position ever again!

Other than that, my cellulitis on the tattoo cleared up and its almost back to normal skin. I can't wait to get the next two!

My writing has been put on the backburner in all this car and home mess, but my schedule is starting to clear up and I'm aching to get back into it. I'm hoping to get out to RWA's conference and push the novel, like Maura is going to do. I noticed in the RWA magazine, that its possible to get a scholarship by writing in. I may just do that. Then I'll only have to worry about airfare and lodging. We'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Honestly, I hope to have the novel done in the next couple of months, and ready for an agent. Obviously, my January goal sheet is on my mind, but hey, things happen and goals can be rearranged. :-)

Quote of the Day: Let me walk through the fields of paper
touching with my wand
dry stems and stunted
butterflies....
~Denise Levertov, "A Walk through the Notebooks"