We Did It!!

Celebrating Song of the Day: "Oops!...I Did it Again..." by Britney Spears

Saturday, November 26, 2011 is a date that will live in infamy...at least in the household of two greedy, sleep-deprived cousins. You see, we managed to collect this:

That's right--Quita and I won our second NaNoWriMo challenge! Can we get a woot woot? How about a little dance?

Thanks.

So yeah, my contemporary YA (with a hint of magical realism), So Now You Are Cursed, clocked in at a lovely 56,441 words. And Quita's contemporary YA, The Captive Soul, ended at an awesome 57,205 words. So, as promised, we treated ourselves to this:

I tell you, victory has never tasted so sweet.

We thought last year's NaNoWriMo was difficult, but this year was a pure juggling act. I had to work on revisions for another novel, while Quita started up a part-time job (in addition to her full-time one of yelling at...I mean, TEACHING high schoolers). Not to mention everyday we pretty much wanted to punch our WIPs in the face. But with will power, and the thought of chowing down on some Five Guys grub, we got through it.

So now what?

Well, we're going to ignore our stories for a while--and by a while, I mean MONTHS. Then we're going to eventually draft ideas for our next WIPs. But most importantly, we're going to READ like it's going out of style.

What about you all? Have you finished NaNo yet (if you participated, of course)? What are you going to do with your WIPs once you're finished? But most importantly, how are you going to REWARD yourselves? :)

7 x 7: In Which We Take a Stroll Down Blogging Lane

Reflecting Song of the Day: "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes

Yay! The awesome KO (who just got AN AGENT, btw--go congratulate her!) passed along this lovely award to us:

As part of this award, we have to highlight some of our past posts that fit certain superlatives and then past it along to 7 other lovely bloggers. And so, let's do this:

Most Beautiful: Um, how can you not love this inspirational clip of a little boy just learning to ride his bike? Of course, it has nothing directly to do with writing...and we didn't do much but upload the video on our blog, but still. It was motivational, people!

Most Helpful: Though she's only done three, it seems like you really all like it when Quita does her "What Agents Want" posts. She'll be sure to add newer additions in the near future.

Most Popular: Aside from blogfests and our BAZILLION contests (What can I say? We love to give), our most popular post may have to be this one in which I announced that I was agented (major props to Sarah LaPolla, yo). Thanks SO MUCH for all of your support, lovelies. It means a lot. :)

Most Controversial: It started off as a fun idea. Quita wanted to share an article from the SCBWI Bulletin about YA cliches. I mean, we even got a great number of comments...including one from someone named: "Anonymous." That's right, we got our first virtual spanking from someone who didn't want to be named. Apparently, Quita linking to the original article was not enough for Anonymous--we should've included the author's name. Point taken.

Most Surprisingly Successful: I truly thought our post, "Our Take on Race in YA," would be considered controversial--so we were surprised with how many of you all supported our opinions. Sure, the number of comments won't go down in record books, but it was the quality of the comments that really impressed. We all had a great discussion!

Most Underrated: We had such high hopes for our First Lines Critiques. I mean, when we first announced it, we got such positive feedback and a lot of entries. But then when it was time to actually critique said first lines...crickets. So because of that, Quita and I are a little wary about offering any other critique workshops in the future.

Most Prideworthy: Well, for me, I had a blast comparing opening chapters to appetizers in a restaurant. If you're a fan of this blog, you already know by now how much I LOVE to eat. Quita chose this post in which she loves on fellow blogger, The Tabby Catt--she had so much fun writing her poem of all things Abby. :)

Well, that was awesome. It was nice reflecting on our blogging past since it gives us an idea of where to take this puppy in the future. As far as who we're passing this along to--well, anyone who wants it! We figure this award has been around town more than a loose girl, so if you haven't gotten it and want to join the party, go for it!

We Gots Us an Award!

Feeling Lovely Song of the Day:

It's always great to get awards. Especially awards that celebrate things you work really hard on...and believe us, we work hard to keep you all entertained here. So, yesterday after having a loooong day, we came home to this:


Yep, the Stylish Blogger Award from Caroline Tung Richmond!!! Thanks, Caroline- we truly appreciate it!!!! "throws confetti and balloons*--wait can you throw balloons??

So, the rules to accept the award this award is to thank and link back to the person who gave you the award, list 7 things about yourself and pass the award along to ten other awesomtastic, Stylish Bloggers, and finally contact said bloggers.

This, we can do!

7 Things about Pam and Quita:

*We are totes obsessed with the movie, Inception. Pam requested a Blu-ray player for Christmas just so we can watch Inception on it.

*We will murder a mo-fo if they mess with our family. WE can talk about them all we want, but if you speak out of turn, we'll eff you up.

*Pam: When I was younger I was riding my bike, and one of my neighbors wanted me to chase him. He moved too quick, my front tire hit a curb and I hurt my hoo-ha...but I can still have babies someday!

*Quita: When I was younger, I was hyper. I was playing and ran into a long wooden stick hanging from the bed of a truck. I hit my head and still have trouble remembering things to this day...

*We LIVE for chocolate and peanut butter mixed.

*At around ages 9 and 10 we would write a few pages in our Lisa Frank (or any other) notebooks and read them out loud to each other. (Early on critique partners !)

*Going to the movie theater is one of our favorite past times. Unless of course they are crowded b/c we both have a slight case of agoraphobia ;)

YEAH! Now you know seven new things about us and we get to the fun part!!! Here are ten other Stylish Bloggers that we would like to pass this award on to.

1.) Racquel Henry!
2.) Abby Stevens
3.) Glenna Walsh!
4.) Alicia Gregoire
5.) Emy Shin!
6.) Jessica Byam!
7.) Jamie Manning!
8.) Alex Mullarky
9.) Meredith (from Meredith Writes)
10.) Kate Scott

If you don't know these bloggers, go check them out- NOW! Thanks again to Caroline!!! We will be in touch with our fellow Stylish Bloggers :)

Free Friday- We got an Award- Woot Woot!!!!

Writing Song of the Day: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor (check it out below!)

We are a little stressed with end of the school year crap- so it was a nice surprise to get an award from our long-lost sister, the lovely Blue Lipstick Samurai. YEAH!!!! Look at how cool this award is:

Now, in order to accept this award we have to do the following:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason! (In no particular order...)
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award.

7 things about US:

1.) Although we technically were born as cousins- we are in fact, the same person. Just so ya know!
2.) Pam can do the Stanky Legg, the Jerk, and she can crank that soulja boy!
3.) Quita can roll her stomach.
4.) We both have an affinity to stalking Hollywood actors/musicians.
5.) We can rap the entire theme song to Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and remix it with the tune to the Golden Girls.
6.) We have a weakness for chocolate chip cookies, General Tsao chicken, lasagna, and pizza-YUMM!
7.) We are responsible for half of the revenue that Tropical Smoothie has made this year.

We pass this on to the following bad ass and intriguing bloggers:

1. Racquel
2. Leila
3. Shannon
4. Jaydee
5. Sandy
6. Wendy
7. Casey
8. Angela
9. Marilyn
10. Kristin
11. V.M Pettingil
12. Veronica
13. Melanie
14. Stina
15. Kara
    

Go check out their blogs now- we know you'll love them as much as we do :) We love awards! Woo hoo!