WOW. It's been ages since I've updated here. What was the last one, April or something? Holy shit, people probably thought I died.

I ain't dead, promise. And, because I'm turning into an organizational freak (ha!), here's a list of what I've been up to, in no particular order:

• Church just had Vacation Bible School two weeks ago. I was a teacher for the 8-9 year olds this year. And I had.thirteen.kids.every.day. O.o I'm still boggled over that. They were good kids though, and I think I learned more from them than they did from me. (Honestly, who knew that a 9 year old kid would know who the Backstreet Boys were? During their heyday, she was...barely more than a twinkle in her mother's eye. Suddenly, I feel very old.)


• The Navy has proposed the building of and OLF (Outlying Landing Field) in our area. Actually, the precise spot of the landing strip would be less than five miles from my house. It would also uproot several families that have been here since Jesus was a baby, and my church (my beautiful, history-rich, survived-the-civil-war, almost-200-years-old church!) would be in the buffer zone (the circumference of land the Navy would eventually expand into, if they wanted). Oh yeah, there's two family cemeteries they'd be taking over, too. *sigh*


• I have finally picked up the slash writing again. I think the last time I wrote slash was... uh... *blank* Anyway, does anyone remember Touch the Sky? Well, that's what I picked up the other day and started tinkering around with. I've pretty much decided to rewrite, because to me what I have so far kind of hangs in spots, though I do like the beginning. Angsty AJ is always good, in my opinion. So yes, I'll be working on that.


• OMG! Big news! I get to see my Plumsie in 12 days! In fact, 12 days from now, I'll be hanging at the hotel with her in Lancaster, PA! *does crazy happy dance of excitement* My church is taking a trip to see a play called In the Beginning, take a little tour of Amish Country, etc. We'll only be in PA for two days, and Plumsie is going to come down and stay at the same hotel so we can hang out and such. *squee*


• For Mother's Day, I received this:
  
  
  
  Meet Alexander. An Alphasmart 2000. He can't do anything but save things that I type up and send them to the computer when I hook up the cord, but that's all I want him for (he's my bitch). He goes with me everywhere (well, 'cept the shower), and never complains when I forget to make tea, whines when it's time to go to bed, or grumbles when he's in the mood and I'm not... Okay, I think I just weirded myself out.


• I'm really considering writing a Justin het story. I mean, most of what I've come across in my story searches have either been boring, clichéd, unfinished, or so horribly written that I could barely make it through a chapter. And, by story, I'm talking one of those long ones that goes on for a whole bunch of chapters and covers many years...Epic is what I'm talking about, I guess? Of course, I know me. I'd get maybe three chapters done, lose interest, then pfffft. God, I hate being like that. Why can't I stick to a story?!


• I'm really, really, really liking the new ads that Justin did for Givenchy. In fact, as soon as I finish this post, I think I'll go icon some. My icon space is sadly unused.


• I'm also really digging this song. I so need to d/l the rest of the songs from Justified. Anyone happen to have any? *bats eyelashes hopefully*

(whoops, totally hit post without meaning to)

• In case no one can tell, I'm in a Justin mood. Damn. Because, despite how some may have tried to sway me, I do not like him. I swear. *cough*

That's about all I can think of that's interesting at the moment. The kids are doing good; Kevin's gearing up for Kindergarten and Katie's already got her book bag packed for her first day of HeadStart. The hubby's still working full time--OH! He's a great uncle now! His oldest nephew (Justin. Seriously, that's his name. He also has a nephew named Alex. *smirk*) and his wife Christi had a baby girl last month. They named her Alexis and call her Lexi. But yes, my hubby's a great uncle. Which means my mother-in-law is a great-grandmother. And her mother is a great-great-grandmother. Awesome shit, man.

That's it. I'll post soon, promise!

♥

Because trumpeterofdoom posted this at the precise moment I wanted to write something silly. So yeah, blame her.

Short for now, but I will post more parts as I write them.

Completely un-beta'd, so any glaring spelling/grammar mistakes you see are all my fault.

From Nick's point of view. Y'know, in case it wasn't obvious.

( But there was one little problem. He no longer had hands. )

Again, it's JM's fault. *hides*

An AJ/Howie ficlet to get her through some sort of paper she was writing. I told her she could have the ending when she said she's finished even though I think she's lying so here it is :)

( You know I love you, babe )

sweet_sugarplum has written the most adorable ficlet here. It's Arok. It's adorable and funny and teh hotness, so everyone must go read it now. :)

That's all.

Okay, I have a general idea, but...

What does canon actually mean?

In my mind, it means that real events and chronological things happen in the fic. Say I was writing a Millennium-era Backstreet fic about Kevin/Nick. If I were to include the fact that Kevin was engaged to Kristin, that would be considered canon, right?

So, if I were writing a pre-Never Gone fic about AJ/Brian. If I excluded the fact that Brian was married and Baylee existed, but included post-rehab details about AJ, would it be considered canon or not? Can a story be considered canon if it includes mentions of actual events and appearances but ignores other things that go on in the Boys' actual lives?

*is confused*

I ask this because I have a story in mind that takes place around Black & Blue. I want to include a bit of drug and alcohol abuse, but not with AJ. So as I wrote down my notes, I was adding actual events (thanks to the fabulous Backstreet Chronology), and then the "We Win at Canon!" icon popped into my head.

*is beyond confused*

Title: Looking At Your Damn Shoes -- Part Two
Pairing: AJ/Nick
Summary: The continuing story of two screwballs who are perfect for each other, but would be damned to admit it to anyone.
Dedication: to inahurricane because, quote, "There is not enough AJ/Nick in the world!"
Warnings: Language, masturbation, voyeurism. Among other things. *cough*
Word Count: 3,154 double Dude!
Part One can be read here

Again, I was thinking this would be short. A quick pwp, to satisfy myself the readers of part one. But, no, they took over again, and, well, here's the result. Enjoy ♥

( Just tell him--Hi, Brian, I just finished fucking the hell out of AJ, and he's too weak to even move-- )

Title: Looking At Your Damn Shoes
Pairing: AJ/Nick
Summary: Nick realizes the one he views as perfection actually prefers imperfection
Dedication: to inahurricane because, quote, "There is not enough AJ/Nick in the world!"
Warnings: Language, unfulfilled masturbation
Word Count: 2,563 Dude

I started this in a notebook this morning while waiting for the bus with my son. I was thinking it would be just a few paragraphs, no more than 1000 words at most. I came back into the house and sat down to type up what I had written, thinking I'd post it and then crawl back into bed for another hour or two. But, no, these two characters had to just drag the story out and make it impossible for me to go back to sleep, and here I am posting this more than three hours after originally starting.. What I had thought would be simply a tiny ficlet has turned instead to this, and, well, let's just say I'll be writing more of these two in the future. ...damn them...

( Are you going to stand there looking at your damn shoes all fucking day, or are you getting into the car? )

*thinks she has a couple*

Is anyone interested in a bunch of photocards or a tour book? My mom was cleaning out some old stuff and brought me a box that has a big stack of photo cards by Panini, and tour book from...I don't know what tour, honestly. I'm assuming it's one of the earlier ones, judging from the pictures? It has a © 1998 in the back, so... *is clueless when it comes to NSYNC*

Also!

turloughishere, you do like 98 Degrees, right? I have a bunch of photo cards of them from Panini as well. I think I have one or two packs of cards that were never opened. If you're interested, let me know.

If anyone's interested in any of the above (turlough has first dibs on the 98 degrees stuff, though!), drop me a comment. I've already pulled out the few cards that I wanted from the stacks, but to be honest, I'm not interested in the tour book. Again, let me know, and if you need more info (I can scan some of the cards for reference... I have some of the card wrappers too *facepalm*), just let me know. :)

First, there was bsb366

Then, boomingvoice created nick366

So, here:

aj366


^{Shit, now I have to come up with four more posts so I can catch up.}

For those Americans on my flist:

Happy Thanksgiving!

And, for those non-Americans on my flist:

Happy Thursday!

I have two 20 pound turkeys cooked, rested, and now waiting in the refrigerator to be warmed up just before everyone gets here for supper. I have 2 gallons of fresh collards prepared, waiting to be warmed up also. I have tracked down every mote of dust in the house and shooed it out; every piece of clothing has been washed, dried, folded and put away; the less-friendly cats have been demoted to my bedroom for the day; the friendly cats (Puss, and Boots, lol) have been bathed and are now sporting their new Thanksgiving collars.

Kids stayed at Mom's last night. Christal (my niece) was over there and they begged to go. Which gives me time to get everything set up without the help of tiny hands. Though, Katie did cook the collards, literally. She rinsed them, she washed them, she cut them (with her little safety scissors), she added water, ham and spices to the pot (with me measuring it all out), she stirred in the collards, she checked on them every time the timer went off. And, when I told my mother-in-law that I had the collards ready, she announced loudly, "MAMA! I DID THE COLLARDS!" Heh.

So far I have fifteen words down for my MTYG assignment. Go me. *snort* Hopefully tomorrow I can work on it. The kids are spending the weekend with my brother and his family, and the hubby has to work half a day tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to a big pot of coffee and my computer. I also have tons of flist catchup to do, meh.

*hugs all*

I've been a very good girl this year. I ate all my vegetables, drank my milk, obeyed my Mommy and--

Wait, wrong Santa. *blush*

Okay. I had to go to my email to remember the pairings I chose, because, well, I'm forgetful like that. If you choose the first, I will love it. I'm very easy to please. A holiday theme would be awesome, but whatever plot bunny strikes you will certainly be wonderful. I love angst and tension (UST is heavenly), and absolutely adore schmoop.

Should you be doing my crossover pairing, I just have one request: No bashing of the other members of their groups. Again, the things in the above paragraph are true.

Oh! Almost forgot! P0rn is great, too. ;)

With extreme gratefulness,

Me

working on the lj layout -- got the image up and currently tweaking the colors. So, um, forgive the mess. :)

ETA: I.fucking.hate.lj.customization.

*stomps away growling*

*bounces*

Three things, quickly:

1 - A big hug and candy-coated kiss to ckanerock for the v-gift. It was very appreciated. ♥

2 - NaNo begins in (according to my clock) approx. 45 minutes. *has entire first chapter plotted in head, down to the shoes a certain character will be wearing, le sigh*

3 - Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween! My kids went to the festival at church (hayrides, bonfire, roasted marshmallows and candy for all, woohoo!)

And, most importantly:

Plumsie, sorry I missed you. The kids had to stay at Nana's for a 'few more minutes' and the next thing I knew it was after 10:30. I'll definitely be on tomorrow. *smooches* ♥

duoshinigami reminded me last night (at freaking 11PM *glares at DS*) that today is TrickC day. She gave me a sneak peek of her awesome fanart for today, so I was inspired:

( TrickC ficlet. Or drabble. Whatever. )

Katie (my 3 year old daughter) got a balloon at the church's Halloween Party/Fall Festival the other night. The helium has since died, and she's still toting it around. She has it wrapped in her hooded towel and is calling it her baby. *snorts* She wanted me to remove the string so it'd have a 'belly bean like me', so I did so, but in order to get it off I had to take the towel off and she screamed, "MOMMY! THE BABY NAKED NOW!"

*five minutes later*

Katie just informed me that she wants me to make another baby. *blinks*

...

Hahahahahahahaahahahahahahaha NO

In other news, the first practice went well Friday. We basically listened to the song a few times and everyone got to provide input on how they'd like to arrange it. At the moment it's looking as though one of the male altos will be doing lead vocals with me, thank God. The music director had us go through it once, and the only way I could actually sing was to sit down and close my eyes. Everyone in the church is so encouraging, though, and even when I know I've messed up they focus on the positive. Awesome. :)

♥

Last post tonight, I swear.

Okay, for some reason this just hit me, and I'm jotting it down here for posterity so I can laugh hysterically at myself later in case I want to turn it into that 'behind the scenes' ficlet that ckanerock is forcing enticing me to write...

( I need sleep. Or either psychiatric help. Or both. )

Quick explanation : My kids have been going to AWANA for the past month or so, at a local Baptist church that I went to a few times (they went to Bible School there as well). It's every Wednesday night, and we just got back (Kevin wanted to listen to the choir practice).

I had my mp3 player, and I was sitting in the foyer-type area listening to Brian's solo stuff and was singing along without realizing it (to 'Wish', my second-favorite song on the cd). Lo and behold, the head music man had the CD, and he came out to talk to me about it. So we chatted a while, and then the next thing I know he's asking me to come in and sing 'Wish' for the choir, because they've been wanting to do a performance of it.

To make an exceedingly long story short, I've been asked to sing. In the big Baptist church. Next month. With a choir behind me. And tons of people in front of me. And they record all of their services. I'm kind of bouncing between ohmygodtheylikemyvoice!!! and Ican'tsingforcrapwhyme?! at the moment.

I go back Friday afternoon for a solo practice.

*frets endlessly*

Gacked from turloughishere and turps33

The rules are easy, just post 6-12 things that recently made you happy! Then tag 6 people and force them to post this meme on their LJs. Because it is good. Everyone needs a little happiness once in awhile.

1. Talking/writing with my Plumsie.

2. New.Backstreet.Music. *fangirl squee*

3. Kevin learned his Bible verse for church.

4. Captain Jack (our new kitten, not the character) curled up in bed with me last night and stayed in the same spot all night. (Okay, the character doing that would be awesome too)

5. I actually wrote slash today! (my previous entry, yo)

6. Hearing a DJ on the radio saying how much he loved the Boys music.

7. ckanerock helping me out.

8. DS squee-ing when I popped up on AIM the other day.

I tag you and you and you and yes, you too! Go on, do it! :)

This is for ckanerock, but everyone else can read it too. Yes, Cin, I know you said to just throw myself into my NaNo, but I had to give you this little pittance as a way of saying thank you. You know why. :)

( Brian and Alex and rain, oh my! )