What's up Wednesday

What's up Wednesday is run by the lovely Jaime Morrow and her sister Erin L.Funk. You can check out their blogs by clicking their names. It's a really simple blog fest. Each week we answer the questions below and you get to learn a little about what we are up to.

1. WHAT I'M READING
2. WHAT I'M WRITING
3. WHAT INSPIRES ME, RIGHT NOW
4. WHAT ELSE I'VE BEEN UP TO

So let's get started. 

1) What I'm reading. 

I haven't had a lot of time to read this week, so I am still reading The Dream Thieves by Maggie Striefvater. As with The Raven Boys, I found this a little slow to get into, but now I'm being sucked in and finding it harder and harder to put down. 

I haven't fully decided yet what I will be reading next, as I have so many great choices and am not sure I will be getting all that much time to read next month, as I've decided, after much deliberation, to take part in NaNoWriMo next month, but we shall see. 

2) What I am writing. 

Well, I've stopped working on pretty much everything at the moment; partly due to life being pretty hectic and partly because NaNoWriMo is going to see me writing like crazy.

I plan to try to complete Finding Kelsey's first draft and get a good way through editing Memory Book during the month of November, so things may get a little crazy. 

3) What inspires me, right now

A few things, actually. First, I learned a new term this week; it's pantser. Apparently, this is someone who doesn't plot their novels out first, but just sits down and goes for it; something that I've always done. Curious, I asked my writer friends on facebook the question, "Are you a plotter or a pantser?" and was amazed, when most of my friends declared themselves pantsers. Having, for years, listened to people talking about their plotting process and feeling like a freak, I now feel much better, knowing I am not alone in my approach and that has certainly inspired me. 

Another thing that has inspired me has been working out my total weight loss this year; a whopping 10 stone! I still have a long way to go, but I am feeling so much more confident now, especially as the last time I was this small was before I had my son. 

I really let myself go after I had my son; largely because I felt really depressed about my back pain. Slowly but surely, I am getting it off and am aiming to reach my ideal weight as quickly as possible, without taking the drastic step towards weight-loss surgery. I just personally feel that tax payers shouldn't have to foot the bill to get me out of a mess I got myself into, not when I can get myself out of it. That's not to say I think people are wrong for having weight-loss surgery, because I don't think that at all. My sister-in-law just had it and it has done wonders for her. Also, Paul Mason, who I discussed on my blog recently, also took that step. For Paul, it was very much a case of that or die and for some, losing it themselves is just far too difficult over the long term. It is just my own personal feelings that stops me taking that route; plus I would not want the worry and guilt that would come, should I fail to keep the weight off later, after having had such an operation. 

Anywho, my weight loss has really inspired me to keep pushing forward with that and to keep pushing forward in all things in life, no matter how difficult. 

4) What else I've been up to. 

Well, I had my personal independent payment (PIP) examination on Monday. I was so nervous, my anxiety really kicked in big time. Not because of the assessment itself, but because it was being held somewhere I hadn't been before, which is always a worry with my wheelchair because it is wider than most chairs and you never know if it will fit through the doors. Thankfully, it fit through all but one and the distance I had to walk was very very short, just a few steps, so that was okay. 

The big bad storm the night before, I just went and slept right through, so that was okay. We didn't see much in the way of damage the next morning either, when on the way to my appointment, just a lot of flooded fields. The roads, however, were clear, meaning the relatively new flood defenses are holding up well. 

Also on Monday, our money finally came through, which means we were able to pay off my mobility scooter completely and are now able to do up our house. At last! We are all very excited about that. 

Hubby is even going to treat me to a nice mobility scooter canopy that turns my mobility scooter into a funny looking like car slash green-house. Okay, not very stylish, but at least I will be warm and dry throughout the winter. Just have to wait for it to be delivered, now. 

how my scooter will look with new canopy. 

My lovely Hooch is doing a lot better. There is still a lot going on internally that they are not to sure about, other than that it is not good, so he doesn't have to much time left with us. They don't want to risk putting him under, given his age and breed, so we are seeing how it goes for now and tackling the rest, should he go down hill again.

Last of all; a little bit of sadness/happiness. I tried on my fav jeans from before I was pregnant, only to find that I had gone past the stage where they fit to the stage where they are now too big. :( I was half-tempted to put a bit of weight on, just so I could wear them for a while, but decided to just wear them anyway and walk around everywhere, holding them up like a fool. Well, they were my favourite jeans, ever. I, sadly, can't wear a belt due to having an injury where the belt would rest, so it was holding them up or nothing. :) 

So, that's me. What have you been up to this week?  

Love and hugs, Joss xxx 

P.S If you are doing NaNoWriMo and would like to be writing buddies, please add me, Jossie Marie Solheim and put a note of your name below, as a comment, so I can add you too. :)