I DID IT!!!

I am so happy! It was a rough month without adding this to my plate, but I'm so glad I did it. I'm very proud of myself. I wrote a novel- start to finish- no outline or anything- in 30 days. It's a rough first draft, but it's halfway decent.

Now maybe I'll get some motivation to continue working on the other novels I've been working on forever!

Joe and I also saved a lot of money in November for that challenge as well. We don't have the final tally yet, but it was close to or over $1000. here are some things we did to save money:

Sold the entry bench & LoveSac
Sold some DVDs
Worked LOTS of overtime
Didn't eat out as much

And with that money we saved, we found we had enough money to purchase some big-item things we'd been wanting. Within the next week or two, we will get a new couch, love seat, chair, and ottoman. We purchased a free-standing mirror for the bedroom and a bar set for our kitchen. It's great!

In addition, on Friday night, Joe and I went to his mom & step-dad's house so I could interview his mother for the National Day of Listening. It was a great experience, and we took turns interviewing each other until all four of us had been interviewed. Then we had a good conversation before calling it a (late) night.

It has been a stressful month and I've complained a lot, but I made it through. Most of my Christmas shopping is done already, and we're not getting a tree this year since we'll be out of town (we may buy a fake tree after Christmas to keep for future years), but we put up some lights outside and did a little decorating inside (very little, but better than none). We are looking forward to our trip to Utah to see family!