Writing, Research, and Completed Goals

I awoke this morning to a thick layer of frost on the ground, and without my contacts in, I almost thought it was snow. That was a very fitting sight for the first day of December. The last week of November was painful for Oklahoma as an ice storm ravaged the state for four days, leaving thousands without power and broken trees scattering the state. But as a new month begins, the sun is shining and the temperature is barely above freezing.

But before we move on to what December holds, we can't forget about November. It's always a busy and creative month for me. The laundry pile is knee high, the kitchen is a disaster, and the floors are horrendous. And while all of this is irritating my housewife tendency to keep everything (relatively) clean, I don't really care. Because I reached my goal. 52,700 words in twenty-six days. The novel total was 86,132 words, 234 pages. The most productive day was November 9th with 4587 words. Now I begin the task of proofreading TWO novels. That will probably take me longer than writing the story, because I get bored of proofreading within about thirty seconds. So if anyone wanted to read anything I've written within the next ten years, think again. Oh, and I came up with a working title. I'm not convinced it's the right or best one, but tentatively it's called The Countess and the Castle.

This is how I spent most of November. Quite cozy.

NaNoWriMo isn't just about writing; it's about discovery and growth. I learned a lot of things both about myself and about Regency England. In every novel I write, I try to expand my horizons and incorporate different aspects of 19th century society into the scenes. Of course, this requires a great deal of research. I've always loved doing research, but it can be very time consuming and frustrating when you have a deadline. Here's a few things that I learned: 

I wrote two Christmas scenes, something I'd never done before, so I had to research Christmas traditions such as what they ate and how they celebrated. Regency Era traditions were very different from how we celebrate today, in fact, they even differed from Victorian and Edwardian traditions! Christmas trees were uncommon, unless the person had connections with Germany or the Americas, but they did decorate with other greenery. The greenery would be put up on Christmas Eve and taken down once Epiphany ended. Leaving it up longer was considered bad luck. Furthermore, I ventured outside my comfort zone by specifying dates and events throughout the story. The novel takes place between 1814 and 1817. Napoleon returned from Elba early in 1815, and since one of my characters was a naval Captain, he potentially would have been in the line of fire had Napoleon not been defeated at Waterloo. Also, 1816 is known as the "year without a summer". Modern scholars attribute this phenomenon to the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia that affected the climate worldwide (New England experienced snowfall in June!) Because of this climate change, crops failed and winters were a great deal harsher than other years. I wrote a line that said "the crop yield was good this year" only to have to change it after I realized that nobody's crops would have excelled that year.

This is a fraction of what I learned, but it all feeds into the vat of knowledge I've accrued about life in Regency England. One day, I'll get through a chapter without having to look something up. I also found a bunch of links that will aid future research. Thank goodness for bookmarks! But what's more important than facts and figures is that I discovered that I can write 50,000 words in a month. I can finish something if I really put my mind to it. No matter what I think, or what anyone else thinks, I can finish what I started. I still don't know exactly how I did it, and frankly sometimes I think that I did my math wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. I suppose it all goes back to the old adage: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So December. There will be lots of proofreading, cleaning, and video gaming. I'm about a quarter of the way through Cranford, the last book in my list for Reading England 2015. I am looking forward to a great deal of baking, sewing, and decorating, after Advent is over, of course. Also, I should probably mention something about no longer placing my fictional characters above my husband's needs. He probably appreciates having my full attention again. So with the sun shining and essential oils in my diffuser, I delve back into the swing of things after a month's sabbatical. And I'm not even complaining.

New Year, New City, New Projects

A new year means new adventures and new challenges for most people, and being married to a Naval officer (or any military personnel) only means change is inevitable. The month of December was one of the most chaotic months of my life, but January is threatening to be even more hectic, if that's possible. Once everything settles down, 2015 looks promising. So here's a rundown of changes and what is to come.


Changes Aplenty

In the second week of December, my husband finished Primary flight training and selected his platform. When I say "selected", I mean that he told the Navy what his top three choices for what he would like to fly and they tell him what he's actually going to fly. Fortunately, the needs of the Navy aligned with the desires of the aviator-in-training. So my husband will be flying the E-6 Mercury, which is based at Tinker Air Force Base, located right outside of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

E-6 Mercury -- a.k.a. the other woman.

But before we get to Oklahoma, he still has a lot of training to do. Advanced flight training for future E-6 pilots takes place at NAS Corpus Christi (Texas). So, after spending two weeks visiting family, we returned to Florida in time to welcome the movers and watch all of our belongings disappear in the matter of a few hours. On January 6, we loaded the trucks with the valuables (the bike, the Xbox, the weapons, the sewing machines, and the cat) and made the trek to Texas. The cat behaved and nothing flew off the trailer, so I call that a successful day's journey.

Trying to figure out what is going on while stopping to gas up.

The last several days have involved living in the Navy Lodge, surprising the cleaning ladies by telling them that we only needed them to take the trash, playing lots of Xbox, and eating more microwavable meals than I have at any other time in my life. Tomorrow we will get the keys to our new house on base, freshly painted and carpeted, and hopefully our furniture will arrive sometime before we move to Oklahoma. Alas, I will almost miss the coffee and pre-packaged blueberry muffins in the hotel lobby, just because I didn't have to make either of them.

Returning to "normal" life almost won't seem normal because something, whether it was visiting family for two weeks or living without furniture/in a hotel, has been abnormal for such a long time that I almost don't remember what normal feels like. But hopefully we will discover normalcy and return to it within a few days.


Projects Aplenty  

A new year means new projects and challenging one's self in new and different ways. As a housewife, I have a slew of new recipes that I hope to try and a new house to decorate with new curtains and quilted treasures. But these minor projects aside, I have two goals for the new year which should keep me preoccupied for many months.

Wardrobe renovation: Every year fashion changes, and I get increasingly tired of my clothing choices. So, this year I hope to make new outfits using mostly fabric which has been lying around my parent's house for upwards of ten years. I plan to fight with a few Vogue patterns (and will probably lose) but ultimately I hope create some new, stylish dresses. Pictures to come in future months!

Books, books, books: Each year, I try to read books on diverse topics. I always read one fantasy series, Dickens novel, classic female author, political theory, historical, and theological, and the rest of the year is filled in by historical fiction. But this year I'm challenging myself to read more classics by Reading England 2015. This challenges readers to read different books which take place in different counties in England. My mom and I are doing this challenge together, and starting with three books and adding more depending on how quickly we read the first ones. The first book we are planning to read is Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. In May, a film adaptation (trailer found here) of this book is coming to the silver screen, starring one of my favorite actresses, Carey Mulligan. So in preparation for this masterpiece from the BBC, Hardy's classic Dorset novel is the first on our list. As for my yearly Dickens novel, I have chosen Nicholas Nickleby. Like most Dickens novels, this book takes place in several different cities but it primarily occurs in Yorkshire. Again, I am looking forward to watching the 2002 film adaptation of this movie, starring Charlie Hunnam, Anne Hathaway, Romola Garai, and a handful of other wonderful actors. My yearly female author selection is the Lancashire-based North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. I adore the film adaptation of this book starring Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-Ashe. I have been hoping to read this novel for several years and I am very excited to finally read it.

If you are interested in traveling to England through literature, I highly suggest looking into this challenge. It is a fantastic way to read a wide variety of literature from different eras and counties. If you want or need suggestions, I'll readily give my opinion. (Austen and Dickens are my favorites, and are always excellent places to begin.)

And if you aren't into reading, I encourage you to do something in the new year to increase your knowledge or skill set in this new year.

A Day in the Life of a Navy Wife

Contrary to popular belief, being a military spouse (even as a housewife) isn't all fun and games. Sure the pay and benefits are fantastic... but when the Navy decides to throw a wrench in all your plans, you start to ask yourself if it's really worth it. So here's a day in my life as the wife of a naval avaitor-in-training.

***

0700: Wake up. Roll over. Husband? Nope, not there. Oh right, now I remember. He had a 6:30 brief for a flight at... I can't remember the time. But he'll be home... sometime.

0715: Coffee.

0800: What am I doing today? Um. Proofreading (assuming I can concentrate), reading, sewing. I should probably do dishes. And clean things. The living room looks like a tornado hit a flight school, but I have to accept the fact that there are things I can't change in life. Like the fact that airplanes are the only topic of conversation in our house anymore.

0830: I should get breakfast. But I really like Facebook right now.

0900: What am I making for dinner? Well, that depends on what is going on tomorrow. Does my husband have a flight? I don't know, and I won't know until this evening. So... what should I bring down from the freezer? I better plan for him having a flight, even though it'll probably get canceled due to weather because Florida hates everyone. (You are probably asking, what is the correlation between flying and dinner? Well, certain foods cause air sickness, so if the husband has a flight, he eats very light dinners.)

1000: I believe I hear the husband's truck backing into the driveway.

1002: Mmmm. Flight suit.

1015: How was your flight? Oh, it was canceled due to weather. Shocking. Yeah, it does look nasty outside. Do you have a flight tomorrow? No, you aren't on the tentative schedule. Do you have duty tomorrow? No, not as far as you know. Well, that's helpful. Kinda. But I still won't change what I'm planning on cooking.

T-6 Texan, the training plane used at NASWF.

1100: Craaaap. Does he have clean undershirts and socks for tomorrow? When did I last do laundry? Oh, he doesn't have any more tan shirts clean to go with the tan flight suit, but he still has some black shirts. I guess he's wearing the green flight suit, then.

1200: Lunch.

1230: "Oh look, the clouds are going away! Someone can fly! Not me, but someone." (Yes, my husband just said that.)

1300: The guys are coming over for dinner. Advanced notice is for losers. Guess the steak is going back into the freezer. I have nothing else that will feed four people and keep in mind food restrictions. Oh, John thinks he only has a sim tomorrow? That helps SO much. I guess it's time to rearrange the menu or run to the commissary... But I don't feel like going out. I can rearrange the menu. Burgers it is.

1400: More coffee, this time with booze. It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

1500: If the guys are coming over, I need to make sure the house looks semi presentable. But... netflix.

1600: OK, now I actually have to do things. Like start dinner.

1700: Is the schedule out yet? No. Isn't it supposed to come out around this time? Yes.

1730: Look! Avaitors! Guess what the topic of conversation is going to be tonight. And guess how much of it I'm going to understand.

1800: Is the schedule out yet? No. Wasn't it supposed to be out an hour ago? Yes.

1900: How about now? Oh, the schedule is finally out! What do you have duty tomorrow? No. Do you have a flight tomorrow? Yes. So the tentative schedule lied? Yes. I'm glad I planned for a flight even though you didn't think you'd have one. What time is the flight? 1700? Great. Right over dinner. I guess I'm having leftovers tomorrow and you're eating when you get home. Oh but it'll probably be canceled because the weather forecast looks bad? There's nothing like having no clue what your work schedule is for the next day.

2000: Well, at least we can stay up later since the flight is way too freaking late. Never mind, we're old people. Lets go sit in bed for an hour and read because we're tired. Or fall asleep at 8:30...

***

Obviously not all of these things happen every day, otherwise I would have admitted myself to the insane asylum months ago. But every. single. day. I have to figure out what I'm cooking and try to guess what the flight schedule will be hours before it comes out. And when it does come out, it's normally several hours after it is supposed to come out. It is impossible to plan anything for the following day, because without a doubt if we want to do something, he'll be on the schedule for something. Of course, whether a flight actually happens is weather, instructor, and plane dependent, and all have a habit of being uncooperative. Some weeks are worse than others, but I'm still looking forward to the end of flight school, whenever that may be. And despite the negative sides of his flight training, I'm still thankful that my husband has a steady job that he enjoys.

Welcome to the Navy. Just remember: Semper Gumby. Always flexible.

The husband's squadron patch -- VT-2 Doerbirds.

Being a housewife isn't a job, right?

I've always dreaded dinners with people that I don't know well. It isn't that my conversation skills are lacking, or that I am an overly shy person. But there's one question that I hate answering: "what do you do?" I respond simply that I'm a housewife, and quickly turn the conversation back to my guests. I am not ashamed that I don't have a career other than being a wife, but I've always felt like people look down on me for not doing more with my life.

I graduated in December 2012 with a degree in European History. I was at the top of my class. I graduated a semester early because I took 18 credits a semester and pushed myself to the limit. I was one class short of a double major. I would have gone to grad school if I'd never met my husband, but I was fortunate enough to marry a man who loves me enough to let me choose whether I want to work or not. Without sounding too pompous, I'm a fairly intelligent person, and I like to think that is evident in my conversation.

Most people are too courteous to question my decision to be a housewife, but in nearly every case the looks I get ask: "Don't you want to do more with your life?"

My simple answer is no.

Just because I don't get up at 6:30 every morning, get ready, and rush out the door to get to work on time doesn't mean that I don't "work". I clean the house, do the dishes, fix dinner, and run errands. This allows my husband to come home to a house that is (normally) clean and a home-cooked meal. He can focus more on his work instead of fretting about having clean socks and lunch meat for the next day.

Being at home every day allows me personal growth, too. I read, write, play the piano, and sew. In the last few months, I've made six charity quilts, with another in progress. This does not include other projects that I have completed for myself, family, and friends. I helped with Vacation Bible School last week and attended a seminar at church the week before, both opportunities that would have been more challenging if I worked outside of the home. This is just a short list, which I could expound upon for at least another paragraph.

I can also focus more on my husband's needs. Part of marriage is recognizing your spouse's needs and doing your best to accommodate them. While he's in aviation training, he spends most of the day and evening studying. So by fixing him dinner and doing the laundry, I'm doing the only thing I can to help him through flight school. Staying home also allows me to spend what little time I can with him, according to his schedule, without distracting him too much from his studies.

I could go on for hours about the benefits to not working, but my point is this: I am doing plenty with my life. What is more important than helping my best friend and husband in what he needs? Helping at church? Cooking for the flight students who are having a study session in our living room? Not working outside the home opens up numerous possibilities -- possibilities which I'm incredibly grateful to have. I have the chance to help other people, to make their lives easier, and to perform my vocation as a wife and friend.

I won't say that there aren't negative aspects to being a housewife. Our income is limited to an officer's salary, which means watching our finances and limiting our spending. My friendships are limited to church friends and my husband's Navy friends, since I don't have work relationships to cultivate. And I don't have the deadlines that I would have had in grad school that would have forced me to heighten my knowledge through research and lecture.

So next time you meet a housewife, don't judge her for not doing more with her life. She has chosen a career just like you have. She is serving her family so that their lives are more comfortable and enjoyable. She is impacting the world just as much as you by raising her children to be respectful, intelligent people. She is sacrificing herself and her desire for the people that she loves.

And honestly, I think I have the best job in the world.