November 2013 Recap

November has been a pretty crazy, amazing month. I can't believe how fast it's gone by. It feels like it was just Halloween and now all of a sudden it's the second last day of November. I'm doing this a couple days before the end of the month because I'm leaving on a trip Friday morning, and I've scheduled this post ahead of time. A bunch of friends and I are taking off to New York State to do some Christmas shopping. It's my first time doing Black Friday and I'm terrified. I'm not a big shopper to begin with, I don't like crowds, and I'm not aggressive, but it's the only time everyone else could go so...say a little prayer for me! lol

Here are some of the highlights of November:

I went to the 3rd annual Ontario Blogger Meetup on November 2nd. It was my first time going, and I had a blast. I went with Kathy from I Write, I Read, I Review, and got to meet a bunch of bloggers I've been talking to for years, plus even more bloggers who were new to me. We exchanged books, talked about books, had a great meal, and it was just overall a fantastic, memorable day. 

Kathy and me

On November 5th, I released my fourth book, a Christmas novella called The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. I wrote this book last December and waited anxiously for months to finally release it into the world. This story is really special to me, and I hope people will enjoy it.

My sister-in-law, mum, and I took my nephews and niece to have professional pictures done. We were supposed to do family photos but decided last minute just to get pics of the kids done. I've wanted to go to a specific photographer for years, and I finally got to go to her. She was definitely worth the wait - the pictures turned out amazing.

Noah (11), Logan (3), Maddy (5 months)

On November 16th, my sister-in-law and mum told me we were going out for dinner and that it was my brother's surprise birthday party (his 40th birthday was November 26th, my 30th birthday will be December 16th). When we arrived at the restaurant, I was the one surprised - it was a party for me. A bunch of my friends, including my childhood best friend who I hadn't seen all year, were there. After dinner, it was my brother's turn to be surprised - we went to a friend's place and had a surprise birthday party for him. How many siblings get to celebrate their birthdays together? It was pretty special, and a lot of fun.

Top: Me and my mum; my cake (my nickname is Mimi in case you were wondering who Mimi is lol). Middle: The gifts my sister-in-law gave me (a cupcake stand, and a huge set of kitchenware - utensils, knives, measuring cups, etc); me and my brother. Bottom: my childhood best friend and me; everyone (13 in total - my lucky number!).

My sister-in-law and I went to see About Time. I adore Rachel McAdams and anything to do with time travel, so I was really excited about this movie and it lived up to my expectations. It made me laugh and made me cry, and I can't wait until it comes out on DVD so I can watch it over and over. It's from the creators of Notting Hill and Love, Actually, which are two of my all-time favourite movies. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

I also got to see The Day of the Doctor (the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary special) in the theatre in 3D (!!!!!). I thought I would miss it entirely because I don't get Space or BBC, and I didn't think it would come to my city, but it did! I preordered tickets, and I ended up getting to watch it on a live stream (thanks to Patricia Lynne) Saturday afternoon. Getting to see it in 3D in a theatre full of Whovians was an incredible experience. I had no idea how many people to expect - I saw a special one day only U2 concert in 3D in the theatre in January and the theatre was only about 1/3 full. When we arrived at the theatre for The Day of the Doctor, there was a huge line-up in front of the auditorium. When we finally got in and got seats, the theatre filled up quickly, and it turned out to be a sold-out show. There were quite a few people dressed up - one girl was wearing a Tardis dress, a guy was dressed as Ten with red and blue 3D glasses, a couple guys were dressed as Eleven, and one guy was dressed as Four (people applauded when he walked into the theatre). Several people had Doctor Who t-shirts on, and even more people seemed to have sonic screwdrivers. 

As for the show itself...I was so excited to see that there was a special theatric preview of sorts with Eleven and Ten. Eleven talked about theatre etiquette, and then Ten came on, warning people about how things in 3D were often alarming...like Eleven's chin. *snickers* It was hilarious. PLUS...David Tennant on a giant screen in 3D. *swoons* It was like heaven. I laughed, I cried, and I cheered and clapped along with everyone else at the end. The only thing that sucked was that there was a making-of featurette at the end, but my mum and I had to leave early because we had to catch the last bus. It was either that or pay a fortune in cab fare, and I'm saving every cent for my trip to the States (plus the tickets were pretty expensive to begin with). I'm sure the extras will be on the DVD, but I was bummed because I wanted to see it on the big screen. 

It was still an amazing experience, and I'm incredibly grateful to my mum, who has absolutely no interest in Doctor Who, but who went with me because she's the best mother ever.

On my brother's actual birthday, we had a small family party - dinner, cake, and presents. He really appreciated it. 

See the cupcake stand? That was one of my early birthday presents from my sister-in-law

And finally, in November I participated in NaNoWriMo for the second year in a row. I 'won' on November 27th, hitting (and surpassing) 50,000 words. My WIP is called After the Storm, and it's a standalone companion novel to my third novel Waiting for the Storm. I still have about 10,000 words to write, but I'm hoping I can finish in the next week or two. You can read a teaser from the book and find the GoodReads link here.  

So that was my month in a nutshell. How was your November? What were some of the highlights? If you did a recap, feel free to post the link in the comments!

 

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